Hacking Keyboard Add-on

[Airwolf]

First of all, I don't know if this question goes in this forum.

After talking with a friend, and seeing DS Linux in action, we wondered if it's possible that a keyboard add-on would be used in the GBA Slot. It was a lot of speculation of course, since either of us knows well the DS hardware.

We speculated that the GBA Slot is mainly an storage device, which is used mainly for reading. What if in this slot you can receive input signals which alter a certain data structure, which only detects changes on keys. Meanwhile, in slot 1 is running a program which every amount of miliseconds check for changes in the data structure, and this way simulate reading data from a keyboard.

This idea assumes the DS can multitask processes of course, but in theory, DS Linux would allow that.

Again, maybe this was a pipe dream Dilbert-boss-style, and we assume that if this is possible someone would have thought of that before, but we are curious for the reasons of why this is not possible.

Thanx in advance.

 

[Smuff]

I guess it's possible......
I remember a few years back you could get a little keyboard that plugged into the bottom of an Ericsson mobile so you could type text messages quicker and easier.

 

[FAST6191]

not only is it possible it has been done:
http://www.brolinembedded.se/projects/keyboard/
ironically it uses the Ericsson keyboard you mention rambozotheclown, the better route I guess though would be to use the serial port addon to passmes.

As for a keyboard the touch screen works for me and if a zoomable keyboard was implemented (kind like a touchscreen rendition of an ergonomic board (I hate the things in real life but they would work here) thing) that would be better I reckon.

 

[Veho]

not only is it possible it has been done

Strictly speaking, that's not what Airwolf was talking about.


A Slot2 PS/2 port would be very possible. I think that would be the ideal solution for Slot1 card users.

You know what else would be possible? A Slot2 card with a USB port

You would have to write DS Linux drivers for every single bit of hardware you want to plug in there (and rewrite DS Linux to work with two slots, using the data exchange protocols you define in the drivers), so the only person who could actually use this would be the person who wrote DS Linux in the first place, but! it would be possible.

 

[Little]

I think we need a wireless keyboard add on for the wii!