It sure would be nice...

[JSMain]

... If there was a USB plugin!

I know, It's Too secure! Or should I say designed with proprietary device functionality.

Is there a USB to serial converter?

I have a MixMan DM2 that I'm dieing to setup as a controller for another software other than mixman. Girder could make this possible, if only the USB plugin.

With the transition to USB and firewire, what are the chances this coulb become reality?

[Ron]

It's all a matter of the manufacterer either writing a plugin or releasing the docs. it has been like that for all of the other devices. ( notable execeptions where reverse engineering took place ) There is nothing in Girder that prevents people from using a USB plugin. It just hasn't been written.

[JSMain]

So then it's just a matter of time then!

[Ron]

If someone feels like it you could have such a plugin tonight. ( don't count on me since I do not have the required information )

[JSMain]

I don't know how easy it would be, but I am surprised that if it could be wrote by tonight that it would indeed be easy, and that it hasn't already been done. :lol:

I'll cross my fingers and hope someone will do one one day soon.

[Ron]

Jeff, the problem is not technical, its 'company policy'. Girder isn't important enough to support (in their eyes ;-) ), or Companies want their remote to only work with their software/hardware. That's where the problem is.

[JSMain]

I understand the "Company Policy" on the USB plugin components, but are you refering to "Company policy" towards USB itself?

[Ron]

no, that is not USB specific, it applies to any connection method.

Btw there already is an USB plugin, the streamzap plugin.

[JSMain]

That's what I thought!
Thanks!

[war_pig5]

Btw there already is an USB plugin, the streamzap plugin.

I don't consider the Streamzap plugin a true USB plugin, because it only works when the Streamzap software is running.

this means that we Girder/Streamzap users must have all of the following:
0) the usb receiver hardware ...which communicates with...
1) the driver (zremote.sys) ...which communicates with...
2) the software (zremote.exe) ...which communicates with...
3) the plugin (Streamzap.dll) ...which communicates with...
4) Girder

It is a long pathway, prone to bugs like the ones that prevent us from using the buttonmode plugin: http://www.girder.nl/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2782

Companies want their remote to only work with their software/hardware. That's where the problem is.

Now that's definitely true! the streamzap program could have been made to communicate directly with the driver, like the zremote software does. But they decided to make it work only through their program, either for anti-piracy or ease-of-programming purposes.

It would definitely be a Good Thing if we had a a plugin that circumvented the software and possibly the driver.

I'm willing to help with this project, but my little programming experience is mostly in UNIX and i have no experience with usb programming at all. I imagine that there are libraries that exist that would make programming USB drivers much easier.

Another thing that would make this easier would be if we had permission to use the source code of someone else's generic serial port plugin.

And a USB dump program! I'm on a roll... of thinking of ideas, but i'm short on actually finding any of these things i imagine exist.