Greetings, all!  Desktop Arcade is still in the Pop’n Music controller business, and I’m still doing joysticks and IIDX controllers on request.  I owe 4 IIDX controllers that are horribly overdue, and this current batch of Pop’n controllers everyone’s waiting on has been dribbling out the door, and I’ve got 8 of them just about ready to head out the door, pending me putting their bottoms on and testing them.  I want to thank everyone who has been patient, as when my buttons finally arrived, I became ultra busy with school and some family-life stuff, which took more of my time away from Desktop Arcade.  I’ve got a bunch of people emailing me interested in ordering, and if I haven’t replied to you yet, you will hear from me in the next couple of days.

For those of you who haven’t already, I suggest keeping an eye on my public Twitter account, www.twitter.com/dumpsterkeeper .  There, current customers will be able to catch updates on shipments, especially now that I have to drive to a Fed-Ex location to ship, whereas with DHL they used to do pick-ups right from my doorstep.  I post a lot of nonsense and banter to it, but with the weather getting better, I will be giving everybody a look inside the inner-workings of Desktop Arcade, including shots from inside of my work shop (once I do some spring cleaning in there, it’s a mess!) So, for those interested in keeping an eye on things, or getting a peek at what a day is like around here, I definitely suggest following it.

I’ll be posting on here a lot more, as I plan to change the website and add a lot of new features to it.  I plan on starting a new section of the website, probably entitled “D.I.Y. Desktop Arcade” which will sell parts (buttons and microswitches for now… in the near future, IIDX turntable assemblies and possibly plexiglass key panels will follow) and I will also be posting tutorials you can use to help build your own joysticks, Pop’n Music controllers, and some other projects I’ve built or planned on building over the years.

I sure hope you’ll all join me over the next few months, as I rebuild Desktop Arcade, and try to build a helpful community for people like myself who love video games and love building stuff, and decide to put those two passions together.  Five years ago, I decided to bring affordable Pop’n Music controllers to Bemani fans all over the world, and now I want to bring those same high quality buttons and components I’ve used in my products to anyone who wants them.  I’ll have pricing and other information available soon.

Your friendly, neighborhood Bob Vila of Bemani,

Steve Handelman