Using a PS3 controller with Windows - a better way
Two months or so ago, I wrote a post recommending an awful piece of software called Motioninjoy. It was the only thing I knew of that let me connect a DualShock 3 to my computer, and I tried to live with its (numerous) bugs. And its shady advertising.
But from the PCSX2 forums, a new contender appears! Scarlet.Crush’s Xinput Wrapper for DS3 connects your PS3 controller to your PC, emulating an Xbox 360 controller (just like Motioninjoy does, except with less hassle). It features a simple driver installer, USB and experimental Bluetooth support that works better than Motioninjoy, lets you swap between USB and Bluetooth, and doesn’t require any sort of intervention post-restart. I just tapped my controller’s PS button for the first time in a week, and within 15 seconds or so it connected. Oh, and the drivers are signed.
Windows graphics driver for the Sony VGN-AW31S
So there’s an AW31S sitting next to me right now for some reason, freshly upgraded to Windows 8. There is, as usual, a slight problem: its graphics card (an Nvidia 9600M GT) didn’t work out of the box.
First stop: Nvdia’s website. Unfortunately for my mental sanity, Nvidia refuses to install any of their drivers, because Sony doesn’t want you to. Better go get their 2009 driver instead of Nvidia’s 2013 one, right?
But alas, that didn’t work out. I think the download cut out halfway every time I tried - either that or their installers are corrupted. Not sure what I was expecting from Sony.
Fortunately, though, there is another way! This site apparently hosts every single Nvidia Windows driver ever made, and sure enough, it found the one I needed.
From then it was just a matter of downloading the files, copying the patched INF into the driver installer folder, and running setup.exe.
Fixing HDMI audio stutter with Radeon-based cards
…on Windows. Sorry guys, another non-Linux post.
Anyway, my audio started stuttering recently. It’s mostly random - happens every two-three minutes or so - but it’s really, really annoying. I tried tweaking the Windows mixer’s sample rate, tested both Clementine and foobar2k, alternated between DirectSound and WASAPI for output… no change.
A not-so-quick Internet search revealed that I’m not the only one. Thread one, thread two, thread three.
So, what is the problem?
Using a PS3 controller with Windows: gaming and mouse control
Update: you should really use this method instead.
My Windows desktop has suffered through a lot during its lifetime - usually minor issues like Windows screwing up filesystems or dust-produced overheating. This year, however, I had to deal with two dead graphics cards, hard drive failure, RAM deterioration, oddball hardware-related bugs, and a broken power supply fan to top it all off.
Now it has a brand new AMD HD7770-based card, a more powerful fan inside the power supply (hooked up to 5V through a SATA power cable that happened to be dangling around), 2 GBs of RAM, and runs the Windows 8 Release Preview. I’ll probably buy a license after it expires.
Although the thing was made in 2006, it can still run modern games reasonably - things like Skyrim or the new Most Wanted. And it’s hooked up to a 32” HDTV. The logical next step? Buy a gamepad.
So I found and bought a DualShock 3 for about 30$ at the local flea market. Then I just had to bring it home and make it work with Windows 8. Easy, right?
Well, almost.
Push notifications: Dropbox and Google Talk
A few days ago, I started experimenting with sending messages between my computer and my phone. Why? Firstly because Pushover isn’t free, and secondly because I couldn’t find anything that worked in reverse.
Me being myself, for the first day socket.io and GCM were the only things on my mind. Of course, though, the final solution doesn’t involve either of them. Fortunately. ;)
What does it involve, then? 3 services:
Chrome for Android, and the LastPass bookmarklet
After months of resisting the change for various reasons - “it’ll be slow”, “it won’t integrate”, “the stock browser is all I need” - I finally caved in and installed Chrome on my Android phone.
It’s probably not the fastest browser around, but it’s great in every other aspect. And then there’s the killer feature - browser sync!
Except it has a small problem.
An awesome music player: Audacious
Today’s post starts with a screenshot:
Yes, that is Audacious, running in “Winamp Classic” mode, rolled up and hiding in plain sight at the bottom of my desktop.
Now, my music playing needs are very limited - mostly ah.fm. In addition to being ridiculously unintrusive, Audacious it has two other features that make it perfect for that:
Making GTK just a bit easier to use
So the last couple of days, I’ve been working on a little Python library to make writing GTK apps easier. Why? Probably because I like reinventing the wheel. It’s pointless but fun, like so many things in life.
The main highlight of it is that you can use a simple markup language to write your UI.
Window #main
VBox
Button #new "New window"
Button #close "Close"
I call it IML, the Indented Markup Language. Couple it with a bit of Python code, and it magically turns into an actual app:
A review: Puppy Linux “Slacko” 5.3.3
If you’re a Linux user, you’ve probably heard of Puppy. It’s a very small and lightweight distro that manages to stay fully featured - it has a browser, email and IM clients, graphics editors, an office suite, an organizer.. the whole bundle, and then some.
I haven’t tried Puppy in ages, so yesterday evening I decided to download the latest version - “Slacko” 5.3.3 - and give it a spin. And… well, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed.
So, hi! I’m Andy, and this is my new tumblr blog. As the header says.
I like writing - both “normal” text and code. I’m a Linux user, and you’ll probably catch me writing distro reviews before soon. Actually, I think I’m going to write one tomorrow.
I also have a thing for writing documentation and HOWTOs. My old blog gets most of its page views because of them.
Now all I have to do is replicate that success here. Sounds like fun.
