Griffin PowerMate driver for modern macOS(github.com)
60 pointsby classichasclass7 hours ago10 comments
  • zdw2 hours ago
    Would be great if it could do other things, like be a volume knob, or do media play/pause, given that scrolling and mouse button press seem like things you already have a mouse to do?
  • dmwood5 hours ago
    Yippy! I feel like I'm 15 years younger
  • maroonblazer4 hours ago
    >Of course, modern controllers exist that offer many more literal bells and whistles...

    Anyone have a favorite 'modern controller' for those of us who no longer have a PowerMate?

    • jrmg2 hours ago
      Not commercial, but “Engineer Bo” on YouTube has an interesting series about building his own very professional looking scroll knob:

      https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYK5tmZIBWtHYt4w8Y6P6ba-I...

    • Rebelgecko3 hours ago
      I don't have one, but Ploopy's knob is intriguing (https://ploopy.co/knob/).

      LilyGo/TTGo also has some interesting knobs with some unusual features features (force feedback or LCD touchscreen on top of the knob, depending on model) but again I don't have firsthand experience and these might take some DIY

    • ThrowawayR23 hours ago
      There was a poster on HN a while ago that recommended¹ the Drok USB volume knob because it can be reconfigured to send keystrokes or mouse actions. Just Google for "configure drok usb volume control knob" for instructions. I reconfigured mine to send mouse scroll events for scrolling through documents.

      ¹ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31702940

    • eksu4 hours ago
      Surface Dial is a good hardware target.
    • lukeh3 hours ago
      Microsoft Surface Dial is nice. You'll also need to write a driver...
      • jauntywundrkind3 hours ago
        As usual there is very very very good Linux support for a device (this device, the MS Surface Dial), better than anywhere else. https://github.com/daniel5151/surface-dial-linux

        Some are calling it the most obvious trend of all computing. And that was before the agentic age super put its finger on the cosmic scales of justice+hacking.

    • parl_match4 hours ago
      some elgato stream deck models have knobs. 3Dconnexion also still around
  • TheAtomic4 hours ago
    I love this. PowerMate was the ultimate fidget tool when not scrolling, editing, etc.
  • detourdog6 hours ago
    I have one of these all I need to do is find it.
    • donatj6 hours ago
      Literally thinking the same thing. I have one somewhere... Haven't seen it in twenty years
  • timnetworks6 hours ago
    I have one of these and now all I need to do is find a reason to use the Mac.
  • haunter5 hours ago
    Damn I always wanted to one of these! So cool
    • _-_-__-_-_-3 hours ago
      I check eBay from time to time, they are usually very expensive.
  • mcphage3 hours ago
    I have one of those, but never used it too much—if the button got pressed while my Mac was asleep, it immediately woke up and kernel panicked. I don’t know if there was something odd about my machine or my particular PowerMate or what?
  • fzzzy6 hours ago
    Lol I wrote a new driver for the bluetooth one a few months ago.
  • joshmarinacci6 hours ago
    Curse you! Now I have to go clean out the attic to find mine.