From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 92 12:54 CST

Subject: Gold Brick Info Summary...

Due to  numerous requests I am posting a summary of the responses that
I received to my request for information about the Gold Brick.  Again,
thanks to all of you who contributed.  Hope this helps.

William
------------------------------------------------------------------------

=======> Contributed by David Gotthold:

These are some posts from a while ago, I hope you find them helpful.

-----

This is my first posting to the net so forgive me if my header is
screwed up.

I just spoke to  Donald Vastlake (I think),  
[email-masked], AKA the guy who designed the software for  
the Goldbrick at Transfinite Systems in Cambridge.

The Goldbrick is a device which allows any Nintendo device to be  
connected to a Mac via the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB).  The device will  
detect the presence of the powerpad, U-force, powerglove, as well as  
standard joysticks.

It appears the Transfinite uses the box to develop software for  
physically impaired children. He cited an example where some speach  
impaired kids used a powerpad to make menu choices which would  
trigger a voice synthesizer for them.

The Goldbrick does read the high-rez mode with full x,y,z,roll analog  
finger data being reported. He seemed to think that IF he were to  
develop an RS-232 version, it wouldn't be ready for at least 6  
months. 

The ADB is real bizzare and Apple licenses firms to develop for it.  
The docs on the Mac (Inside Macintosh ...) don't give detailed  
treatments on it and apparently Apple deals with those who it finds  
distributing devices for the ADB if they aren't licensed.

I don't know what the legal implications are if a device is built  
that isn't intended to connect to the Mac but rather to the  
peripheral but it seems to me that the powerglove problem would be  
solved if someone were to come up with that device.

The Goldbrick comes in two flavors. The model 1 is a programmer's  
development box which you can take apart to make firmware updates or  
whatever. It costs $245. The model 2 is a little box that just sits  
inline between the glove and the ADB in an injection molded case. IT  
runs for about $160.

I know, we can all buy Macs and use them to hook the glove up to our  
PCs!

Yes, we do provide full XYZ, roll, and finger bending inputs from the
Mattel Power Glove.  Our current product plugs in the Apple Desktop
Bus.  We chose this for a number of reasons including hardware and
software simplicity, the ability to plug in multiple of our devices,  
etc.  (Since our device also understands the normal Nintendo  
controllers, power pads, the Broderbund UFORCE, etc., you might want  
a couple of them plugged into a machine at one time.)

(Note we have nothing to do with Xerox Corporation.  I just happen to  
be reading the news on a courtesy account I have on a Xerox mahcine.   
Please send queries, etc., to 

[email-masked] or call us at 617-969-9570.  We are  
considering coming out with an RS232 version but woul~ not be for  
some months.)

Donald Eastlake

(PS:  Because a few people seem unable to resist the binding between
Nintendo and video games, let me make it clear that our product,  
which is called "Gold Brick" by the way, has NOTHING to do with  
Nintendo game cartridges, the Nintendo game cartridge slot, emulating  
the processor that the Nintendo Game Deck uses, or producing an NTSC  
or other video signal. It's just that we chose Nintendo controllers  
as a class of interesting,rugged, cheap, easily available  
controllers.)

+1 617-969-9570         Donald E. Eastlake, III
ARPA: [email-masked]    usenet:  {cbosg,decvax,linus}!cca!dee
AppleLink:  D2002       Box N, MIT Branch PO, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA

===========> Contributed by Gordon Booman:

Here is the address of one of the Goldbrick guys:

  +1 617-969-9570         Donald E. Eastlake, III
  ARPA: [email-masked]    usenet:  {cbosg,decvax,linus}!cca!dee
  AppleLink:  D2002       Box N, MIT Branch PO, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA

==========> Contributed by T. K. Larson:

William:  The information you requested:

GoldBrick: Includes interface to PowerGlove, JoyStick, Infrared, hware box,
Tnote:266, user doc., software CDEV to program inuput device, and Demo
pgm's Cost for developer version $245.00 + 14.00 shipping

Goldbrick Contact: 
Transfinite Systems Company, Inc.
Post Office Box N
MIT Branch Post Office
Cambridge, Mass  02139-0903
617-969-9570

==========> Contributed by twkingsb.eos.ncsu.edu:

This was on Internet a little while back....

-----

[email-masked] (Laird Popkin) writes:

>There is a company in the Boston area, whose name may be Gold Brick but
>that's only a vague memory, which makes a product which interfaces the NES
>Powerglove to the Mactosh via the ADB port.  They have software which
>allows the Powerglove to be used as a 2-d mouse controller or as a 3-d
>controller.  I was a bit impressed that one of the defined ADB controller
>types is a 3-d controller, with a number of interesting options.  Last year
>this fellow demoed a number of 3-d Mac applications driven by the
>Powerglove.  The interface was fairly expensive ($2-300) but it allowed you
>to use any NES controller (i.e. the Powerglove, IR "joystick", power pad, or
>joystick) which allows a wide range of cheap inputs to play with.

>It's a small company, so they don't advertise much.  I'll try to track them
>down.

The name of the product is 'Gold Brick', the company is:

   Transfinite Systems Company, Inc.
   PO Box N
   MIT Branch Post Office
   Cambridge, Ma 02139
   +1 617-969-9570

They did a demo of this product attached to a Power-Glove, and
a MAC at WorldCon this year...

...I wasn't too impressed (sorry)...

At that point, they claimed price was $169.00.

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