Taking Control of Mathematica was posted on the Wolfram blog about 10 months ago. That just shows you how how far behind I am on the blog schedule because I finally got a chance to try it out.

Mathematica 6 has built in support for input devices with the Manipulate function. So, you can use a number of controllers to adjust any 2d or 3d plot parameter. You can imagine the possibilities!

Support for controllers includes support USB gamepads, joysticks, IR remotes, and, last but not least, the Apple sudden motion sensor built into your Macbook or Macbook Pro. 

You knew about the sudden motion sensor (SMS), right? It was originally intended for the practical use of preventing damage to your hard drive if your laptop hits the floor but it has a variety of additional uses.

I took it upon myself to whip up SMS controls for some existing 3D examples in the Mathematica documentation. The main problem I encountered was that the SMS values changed so quickly and I didn't have the CPU power to re-render my object when the values changed. I'm not really a Mathematica master, but I settled on nesting my Manipulates in a Dynamic so I could set an UpdateInterval. You can download my Sudden Motion Sensor Controlled 3D Plots Notebook.

You may notice how exceptionally swift and dextrous I am. This unexplained speed doubling is surely due to my roommate's Dell, but the point remains.