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Luna's Sega @ Dreamcast Keyboard FAQ V1.5
(Feb 6, 2000)
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This FAQ is based on how the keyboard operates on the Sega Dreamcast game
console, but mainly it's use in V1.219 of Planet Web's browser, which was
released with Issue #4, March 2000, of Official Dreamcast Magazine. There
is a lot in here that is inaccurate for the original browser (V1.25), so
if you are not using the updated browser, I've kept the FAQ for the older
version online at http://www.topcities.com/Anime/seungmina/ in the
Dreamcast area.
This isn't much of a tutorial on how to operate the browser, but how the
keyboard works with it. If there's interest, I'll create a DC Browser area
on my site with tons of information, news and more. E-Mail me if you're
interested in this!
NOTE: I know this isn't related to the keyboard, but I figured this may
help a lot of people.. On the Command Cluster, there is no longer an option
for bookmarks/favorites! You can still get to them through B on the
keyboard, but did you know that B on the control pad now does the same
thing?
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Updates
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Feb 6, 2000 (V1.5) - Added games that I know work with the keyboard, fixed
information on how to access Hotmail & Yahoo, updated Future Release Info,
and many small changes as to what the KB can and can't do. Now for V1.219
of the browser!
Jan 26, 2000 (V1.4) - Added information on accessing Yahoo! Mail.
Jan 19, 2000 (V1.3) - Added in information on the upcomming releases of
the DC Browser.
Jan 16, 2000 (V1.2) - Added the X key to the keyboard shortcuts chart,
and various grammer fixes and stuff like that.
Dec 23, 1999 (V1.1) - Added info on how to access Hotmail and the Bookmarks
shortcut that I forgot to put in previously.
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Introduction
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Since the DC keyboard doesn't come with instructions, and the browser's
manual doesn't explain the keyboard very well, I thought I'd write this FAQ
to help people live a happier life while net surfing on their DC.
This FAQ is split into these parts:
1. How to find a KB
2. Hooking it up
3. General Use
4. The commands explained
5. Quick reference chart
6. Accessing Hotmail & Yahoo! Mail
7. Tips and tricks
8. Future release information
9. Games that use the keyboard
If you have questions, comments, corrections or additions, e-mail me at
seungmina1@hotmail.com. The most current version of this FAQ can be found
on my web site in HTML form, Luna's Lunar Page at:
http://www.topcities.com/Anime/seungmina/
And in text form at www.gamefaqs.com. It will also be posted at the
SegaWeb and Dreamcast.net forums found at:
http://www.segaweb.com and http://www.dreamcast.net respectively.
(And maybe in the FAQs section on SegaWeb, Adam?) ;)
Please note that neither Sega or Planet Web have had any part in creating
this FAQ, nor was it approved by them. This is just to help out all the
folks that would like to know what the keyboard can do on their Dreamcast,
without having to waste all that time figuring it out yourself. :) All
opinions in this FAQ are mine. You may distrubute and reproduce this FAQ
as long as you don't change it in any way.
Used a lot in this FAQ:
DC = Sega @ Dreamcast
KB = Keyboard
URL = Universal Resource Locator, commonly known as a web address
Most keys are listed ALL IN CAPS.
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1. How To Find A DC Keyboard
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There are many places to buy a DC KB. Of the ways I know, in the U.S. at
least, here's what to do.
I bought mine at a local Electronics Boutique. I simply called them up,
asked if they had one, then asked them to hold it for me so I could pick
it up a few hours later. It cost me $24.99 plus tax, U.S. dollars.
Online, here are three sites that I found that have it. All prices are in
U.S. dollars and are accurate as of December 15, 1999.
EB World (www.ebworld.com) - Electronic Boutique's online presence. They
have it for $24.99.
UGO Direct (www.ugodirect.com) - I had some problems with my order from
them on the keyboard from what seemed to be a misinformed phone rep.
Still, they have the best price of the three in this section: $19.95
Game Cave (www.gamecave.com) - They have it for $24.99 as well.
And of course, you can find it at Sega's web site. Do you know of other
places that have it? E-mail me at seungmina1@hotmail.com and let me know.
Please include the URL to the site so I can check it before I put it in the
FAQ. The information in this area can change at any time! Please make sure
you know the price before you order!
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2. Hooking It Up
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The keyboard plugs into a controller port on the front of the Dreamcast,
and will work when plugged into any of these four ports. Unlike the
previous version of the browser, you can now use any control pad that
you'd like to use! So, in the simplest of terms, plug the keyboard into any
port you wish to, and use any control pad that you'd like. If you have 2-4
pads, I recommend putting it in port 4, as you'll probably have to unplug
it considerably less then ports 1 or 2 to use a control pad in that port.
Previously, you needed to use the control pad for the following things:
* Selecting a bookmark
* Selecting a name from your address book
* Scrolling either of the above windows or clicking any other button
along the bottom of them
* Clicking the OK button to delete e-mail messages
* And any other pop up window with the exception of entering a web
address, where ENTER will do the trick after you type the URL
But not any more! The enter key now works as the pad's A button almost
everyplace! The only places that you need to use the pad are when you want
to check the checkbox to select an item in the browser's equivalent of a
pull down menu, and when you want better and faster control of the pointer.
Before you use your keyboard with the browser, I recommend you hide the on
screen keyboard. You can do that like this:
Press START on your control pad or ESC on the keyboard and select Options.
Under the Display Settings selection, go to Hide On Screen Keyboard and
select Yes. Since you have a keyboard and won't need to suffer through
"typing" with your control pad, you will have no need for the screen
filling virtual keyboard.
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3. General Use
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Believe it or not, the keyboard is the perfect thing to use when you want
to type. :)
Now the adventure begins! You may use the arrow keys to (slowly) move the
pointer around the screen. Holding two arrow keys at once will move it
diagnally, like UP and LEFT will move it up/left. ENTER will act as the A
button and select items. When not in a text entry field, ESC will bring up
the command cluster, where you can select an option with an arrow key and
hit ENTER. Press X in a frame to select that frame so you can scroll it
around.
While typing, ESC won't bring up the command cluster, but will instead
clear the line you're typing on. You will need to hit START on the control
pad to get out of typing mode. You'll hear the little noise it makes when
putting the virtual keyboard away, and can use the ESC key or the START
button to bring up the cluster at this point.
To type, use the arrow keys or control pad to highlight a text entry box
and hit A (control pad) or ENTER (keyboard).
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4. Everything Explained in Excruciating Detail
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How this little table works: This is just like the quick reference at in
this FAQ, but with more detailed descriptions. In both tables, "Key" is the
key you press and "Function" is what it does.
Key Function
---------------------------------------------------------------------
F1 http://www.
It will clear the line & put this at the beginning
F2 .com/
F3 .html
F4 .edu/
F5 .org/
F6 .net/
F7 .jpg
F8 .gif
F9 .gov
F11 Current URL - This should be more useful then it
really is. If you try to use it while sending mail,
it'll put the URL to the send mail screen.
Y Magnifier - Same as the Y button on the control pad.
Press once for a small magnifier window, again to make
it larger and a third time to get rid of it.
X Select Frame - Selects the frame your pointer is
currently in so you can scroll and work within that
frame.
G Brings up the URL (web address) entry box. Type the
URL you wish to go to and hit ENTER. Think of it as
'Go To URL'.
B Your Bookmarks (favorites) Window.
ENTER Works like control pad's A button.
Page Up Moves you up the page at about 1/2 page at at time.
Page Down Moves you down the page at about 1/2 page at a time.
Hold either 'Page' key down to keep scrolling the
screen.
HOME Browsing: Top of the page. Text Entry: Beginning
of line.
END Browsing: Bottom of page. Text Entry: End of
current line.
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5. Quick Reference
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Key Function
---------------------------------------------------------------------
F1 http://www.
F2 .com/
F3 .html
F4 .edu/
F5 .org/
F6 .net/
F7 .jpg
F8 .gif
F9 .gov
F11 Current URL
Y Magnifier (On - bigger - off)
X Select Frame
G Go To URL
B Bookmarks
ENTER Select items
Page Up Scroll up 1/2 screen
Page Down Scroll down 1/2 screen
HOME Top of Page or beginning of line
END Bottom of page or end of line
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6. Accessing Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail
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With the previous version of the browser, accessing Hotmail was a problem.
When logging in, the browser would tell you that there's not enough memory
for that operation. Planet Web has fixed the problem, and you are now able
to log into Hotmail directly at www.hotmail.com.
In Hotmail, I recommend setting your message width to the lowest setting
(62, I believe?) otherwise the message text area will be much wider than
your screen making it quite the hassle to type an e-mail.
The next paragraph's information was accurate with the previous browser,
but I haven't had the chance to check this, especially since I don't have
a Yahoo! mail account. If you do, please e-mail me if you've been succesful
using Yahoo! mail without this workaround:
If you're having trouble logging into Yahoo Mail, Planetweb suggests that
you login at http://my.yahoo.com and then switch to Yahoo Mail. If you are
having some other difficulty with Yahoo Mail, write to Planetweb support
at: support@planetweb.com.
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7. Tips and Tricks
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Use keyboard shortcuts to help you enter URLs easier:
Let's say you wanted to go to Sega, do it like this. Hit G to bring up the
window to enter a URL, tap F1 which will clear the line and type
http://www. for you. Then type 'sega' and hit F2. That will give you the
line: http://www.sega.com/ with only 7 keystrokes!
Use Page Up and Page Down to scroll the screen:
With the keyboard, moving the pointer can take a while. To make your life
easier, scroll with Page Up and Down. At the same time you can move your
pointer with the arrow keys if you'd like.
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8. Future Release Information
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From Dricasworld (www.dricasworld.com):
Sources at Planetweb have hinted that Java support will make it into their
upcoming 2.0 release.
Java, unlike other programming languages is designed to be operating
system independent. If a Java program (or applet, as Java programs created
for the web are called) is created on one platform it can run on a number
of other Java-compatible systems, ranging from Windows 98 to Linux, and
soon the Dreamcast.
To accomplish this cross-compatibility, Sun (the company behind Java
technology) requires developers such as Planetweb to purchase licenses.
Furthermore, developers have to participate in strict compatibility
testing to ensure their Java "machines" are worthy for consumers.
Given Planetweb's reputation for releasing buggy and rushed software,
incorporating Java into it's browser suite will be a difficult but
manageable task.
Considering Planetweb's Java implementation becomes ready for prime-time,
Dreamcast users will be able to look forward to seeing such applets as
interactive games (tic tac toe, blackjack, poker, etc), advanced text
manipulation (animated text, karaoke-type marquees, etc), and much more.
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8. Games that use the KB
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Small section so far, but if you have a keyboard for your DC and find a
game that works with it in any way, including just entering high scores,
let me know!
Chu Chu Rocket (Demo Version): The demo version of Chu Chu Rocket that is
on the same disc as the browser update will let you use the keyboard! The
arrow keys move, the A key has the same function as the A button on the
control pad, and ENTER is the same as START on the control pad. Now you
can have 1 more player then you normally would, because you can use the
keybaord!
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Thanks for reading! Remember, if you have questions, comments,
corrections, additions or tips, e-mail me at seungmina1@hotmail.com.
