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Right now I'm working on the "hardware related to platforms" basis to see how it connects to the Media thread.
Hardware should refer to accessories and models. The main groups I've found for now are: (groups names are subject to be rethinked.) - controllers () gamepads groups: joypads, joystick, - networking Wii LAN adapter, modems groups:lan, internet - cables groups: audio/video - removable media detailed floppies, optic disks, memory cards, etc. groups: Cartridge, Optical disk, Cassette tape, Floppy disk, Video tape, Memory card, Paper Tape - mediareader used to read the "removable media", sometimes can read multiple formats - expansion various multitap, Spectrum Kempston interface groups: extra controllers/ memory / better chipset - models Amiga 500/600/1200/... , NintendoDS / nintendo DS Lite, GBA/GBA SP groups: better design, improved performances - other input devices microphones groups: audio input Notes: - Gamepads have usually unofficial (yet legal) clones, I would enter just the official one if possible. - Some gamepads can be (officially) used with other platforms too (like the Gamecube controller with Wii) so we need to link already available hardware to other platforms, instead of adding it more times. Data stored for each entry Name - optional flag - type (group) - manufacturer - release date Some samples that would be clearer better formatted, sorry. Wii Wii remote - - controller (other) - nintendo - 2006 Nunchuck - - controller (addon) - nintendo - 2006 Classic controller - optional - controller (gamepad) - nintendo GC Controller* - optional - controller (gamepad) - nintendo Wii Zapper - optional - controller (lightgun) - nintendo - 2007 Wii LAN adapter - optional - networking - nintendo 12cm Optic disk - - removablemedia (optic disk) - nintendo - 2006 Gamecube GC Controller - - controller (gamepad) - nintendo WaveBird - optional - controller (gamepad) - nintendo DK Bongos - optional - controller (other) - nintendo Microphone - optional - otherinput Action Pad - optional - controller (other) Beat Pad - optional - controller (other) ASCII keyboard - - controller (other) - optional - controller 8cm Optic disk - - removablemedia (optic disk) NES NES Four Score - optional - expansion (extra controllers) - nintendo - 1990 Commodore 64 5¼ Disk - - removablemedia (Floppy disk) Cartridge - - removablemedia (Cartiridge) Cassette - - removablemedia (Cassette tape) Commodore Datassette - optional - mediareader - commodore ZX Spectrum Kempston interface - optional - expansion (extra controllers) - Kempston Micro Electronics Cassette - - removablemedia (Cassette tape) Tape player - optional - mediareader - various Amiga AGA A500 - - model - commodore - 1987 Amiga CD32 - - model - commodore - 199309 Arcade SYSTEM 573 - - model - konami re: Hardware Wii SD Card - recommended - removablemedia (Flash Card) - nintendo/various GameCube Memory Card - optional - removablemedia (Flash Card) - nintendo Gamecube GameCube Memory Card - recommended - removablemedia (Flash Card) - nintendo NES NES Satellite optional - expansion (extra controllers) - nintendo - 1990 (wireless Four Score) Zapper - optional - controller (lightgun) - nintendo R.O.B - optional - controller (bi-directional) - nintendo Unfortunately for PC (Win, Linux, Mac, DOS) this needs to be more of listing of the internal capabilities of the hardware than the hardware itself. Like the CPU instruction sets, shader models in GPUs and such. Also, CPU architecture is also a factor, especially on Linux, for Windows this is only difference between x86 and x86_64 (amd64, with which ia64 is largely compatible with).
Soundcards on DOS are among the few that don't fall under this. PC is a bad beast, no standards (or too much!) and you could attach on it any hardware from the one for the first 8 bit computer to the latest console controllers, I would do the best to handle the other 99% of the platforms and then see how the PC will fit. PC is a bad beast, no standards (or too much!)
The technology is continually developed and expanded by a multitude of companies instead of just one like it is with consoles who dish out whole new console rather than improve the old when they feel like it (Wii is quite different in this, it seems, though their improvements seem to be only multitude of curious new controllers). And there are standards, too many as you call it. I just see it as requirement for the continuous development :) If there weren't standards, there would be proprietary technologies (EAX 3 and later, PhysX, Glide, etc.) and those are worse than the hundreds of standards out there (OpenGL, DirectX, OpenAL, etc.). A lot of devices work with "generic" drivers, that's a result of standardization for one (you never see non-generic harddrive driver for one) :) and you could attach on it any hardware from the one for the first 8 bit computer to the latest console controllers
Pre-PCI devices can't be attached to modern computers, but serial/com ports seem to be still present for some curious reason although I haven't seen any devices being sold for those and I doubt there are drivers for them on modern operating systems except maybe on linux. Possibly more useful to engineers. Console controllers can be attached when they either use USB connector or have an adapter available, and the benefit is that the system is not hard-coded to only accept certain types of devices. re: re: Microsoft is always trying to eliminate the older hardware standards, probably because their OS is bundled with so many new computers. Its against their "Naked PC" manifesto ('Any PC hardware sold with the latest Windows is _only_ for piracy, bla, bla, bla'). Vista blocks the use of PC gameports. Actually blocks it. It is so thurrow it eliminets its use in DOS games and even blocks devices that convert gameport controllers to USB or Parallel. Of course Microsoft makes USB gamepads also. Mac and Linux work differently. Older hardware is hardly ever removed from Linux, is it is, its merely moved out of the kernel, or installation programs, its still available and no barrios are added to eliminate it. Mac simply drops support when new hardware is released. But again, they don't try and stop its use. The often provide the necessary software for free download so their new hardware can still make use of older hardware. I'm not sure about BeOS, OS/2, or any of the other IBM-PC compatible operating systems. My guess is they never attempted to block old hardware. PC hardware manufactures may stop supporting older standards but I've never heard of one purposefully blocking them. So were are left with two reasons that older hardware standards are abandoned. Market value, which is a perfectly legitimate reason and worth considering. Or Microsoft decrees it; since Microsoft is only one company and "the PC" is not actually theirs, this reason is pointless. So, will standards eliminated by market value have a place on UVL. Well, they already do, most of the platforms on UVL have lost their market value and are no longer manufactured. re: re: re: Vista blocks the use of PC gameports.
This I've not heard of before. But then I always disable them and many others in BIOS before installing any O/S myself, so I wouldn't even notice it if I had Vista and it blocked them :) I'm more willing to believe Vista just doesn't have generic drivers for the things bundled anymore which the hardware manufacturers never provided themselves because the generic drivers in older operating systems were good enough. There's also problem that the hardware manufacturer's drop support for their devices and no longer write drivers or control software for the devices, so their usability goes down the drain if you upgrade beyond what they support. This has already occured to me with a printer, a scanner and an ethernet NIC :) P.S. Game port for one is usually integrated into the soundcard, so they likely rely on the generic driver for that anyway. Blocking it would require that the O/S recognizes it positively. Mostly this is just MSRP info for the future hardware feature
NES Four Score 1990 Nintendo Japan/North America/Europe MSRP: $29.95 NES Satellite 1990 Nintendo Japan/North America/Europe MSRP: $39.95 Arkanoid Taito MSRP: $59.95 (only packaged w/Arkanoid) US/Japan Powerglove Mattel (US)/PAX (Japan) MSRP: $49.95 | |||
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