Not exactly sure if this is the right forum for this thread, but o'well... here goes.

I'm building a nestalgia mod of sorts... an old foxconn mATX board, sporting a socket 7 Intel Celeron 500Mhz proc, 512Mb of ram, and an ati 3d rage pro agp. Well, I'm building the system to act as a console of sorts, as it will have all sorts of old school games, PC and console-based alike. As I got to thinking, I won't really need a keyboard or mouse much, so I mainly just want the USB controllers to act as a mouse also when navigating around windows. I googled around and found JoyToKey as a keyboard/mouse emulator for joypads, but was wondering if anyone would have any better ideas or ways of going about this.

That is an excellent idea, but unfortunately I have not ever researched it much (don't know why).
I will be following this thread though as it may give me some ideas for my oldest rig.

Yeah, today I will be putting this thing together to try out the mouse emulator software and see how it works. Since we're both dealing with old rigs, another reason I am wanting to use the emulator is because the mATX mobo I'm using doesn't have a standardized I/O panel on the back... all it has is a gigantic keyboard connector that I have to use a PS2 adapter to use modern keyboards, and the PS2 mouse port connects via a 5-pin header on the mobo... talk about old hardware. But I'll keep you posted, and I may even start a project thread.

Ahh, an AT keyboard plug, don't see those too often.
The oldest rig I plan to keep in use is actually a P 1 300MHz machine, I just haven't decided what I want to use it for yet. Maybe an internet gateway, maybe an old game rig (think King's Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, etc.) that doesn't speed up the game, who knows.
I do have a Commodore VIC-20 though that I have somewhat immediate plans for though, but this is your thread.

Eh, don't worry about it... this is a learning experience for us both I guess. I'll start a project thread tonight and get some ideas flowing.. show some pics.. as I also have a bit of modding to do actually. But feel free to discuss your old school build here too, I don't mind at all.

Not so much a build as a redesign for a different function. What I am going to attempt is to shove a slot-load DVD burner, card reader, and USB hub (perhaps multi-function hub, maybe for eSATA as well) into the VIC-20 body and have it powered internally with a 1U or some other small form factor PSU so that there is only a power cable and any USB/eSATA cables coming out of it.
I don't really dig slot loaders all that much, but a full size optical will not fit.
I'm going to see what I can find about the emulator you chose and/or any others available.