Archive for October, 2008:
The Only Wii Homebrew Guide You Will Ever Need [How-to]
Finding a clear and concise guide for loading homebrew software on a game console is almost always impossible—the info is always changing as homebrewers battle new hack-blocking software updates (like Nintendo’s recent doozy), and it’s scattered across countless gamer forums that you don’t want to have to sift through, trust me. Thankfully, the Wii’s homebrew scene is fairly stable, and took only a few days to bounce back (mostly) intact after being temporarily shut down last week. Here you’ll find a guide for easily getting homebrew up and running on any Wii, even if you’ve run the recent updated, to play old-school emulated games and watch video on your Wii. It’s easy, trust us.
The gear you will need:
• A copy of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• SD card (2GB max) and reader
• Twilight Hack software [download v0.1 beta 1]
• Homebrew Channel software [download, beta 9]
• Homebrew Browser [download v.0.2.3b]
Note: links fresh as of October 31, 2008. If you’re here a few months after that, check each project’s linked site for any new versions.
First things first, if you haven’t updated your Wii since October 23, 2008, don’t do it yet. Follow our guide here without updaing, and then follow these instructions to install a tweaked version of the 10/23 update that won’t kill your brew. Now, on with the guide.
Load up your SD card
Now, there are programs like the Wii Brew SD Installer that will grab or come bundled with the necessary files and will set up your SD card in a fairly automated fashion—but those programs can often be as confusing as the homebrew code itself and are rarely multi-platform, so I find it easier to go at it fully manual-style, which really isn’t that hard at all and is more likely to work perfectly. Here are the steps:
1. Unpack the Twilight Hack zip file and copy the “private” directory to the root folder of an empty SD card.
2. Unpack the Homebrew Channel zip file and copy the “boot.dol” file and “wiiload” folder to the root of your SD card as well.
3. Create a folder on the root of your SD called “apps.” Unpack the Homebrew Browser zip file and put the “homebrew_browser” directory and all its contents in your “apps” folder. Your SD card should look like this:
Time For the Twilight Hack
I think someone told me the intricacies of how the Twilight Princess hack works once, and I understood it not one iota, which is fine, because you don’t need to understand it to use it. So let’s just leave it at that, and go on with the knowledge that this is one of the weirdest backdoor hacks you’re likely to come across. If you don’t own Twilight Princess, it’s good, you should, but a rented copy will work just fine too. Before you do the hack, make sure you’ve played Twilight Princess at least once and have a data file saved.
4. With the SD card you just prepped inserted, go into the Data Management interface and delete your previous Twilight Princess saved game (you should back it up first to the SD card or you’ll lose it). Copy over the Twilight Hack save file from the SD card.
5. Before you put in the Twilight Princess Disc, look at the bottom: in the first dark band after the data portion of the disk, there will be a printed number. If it ends in 0A-0, you will use the TwilightHack0 save; if it ends in 0A-2, you use TwilightHack2.
6. Fire up Twilight Princess and select the correct save file. Once the game loads, walk backwards. The Homebrew Channel loader will fire up immediately—follow the onscreen instructions for a couple button presses and your Wii is official ready to brew. And now, feel free to switch to an SDHC card over 2GB, because the latest Homebrew Channel includes SDHC support. (But your Wii proper will still be unable to read it). 
Grab Some Apps
The SD card we’ve prepared here comes with one app, the Homebrew Browser, which thankfully is a Wii Shop-like conduit to many, many more apps that can be downloaded and installed directly on the Wii without ever removing the SD card. You can also manually download and install individual homebrew apps can simply copy the directories they come in to your “apps” folder on the SD card, and the Homebrew Channel will recognize them automatically. The Wii Pack Generator is a great source for directly downloading apps, and it has a few that aren’t listed in the Homebrew Browser.
7. Since the Homebrew Channel stores all of your added apps and data on the SD card, the first app I would download is ftpii, which is an FTP server for the Wii that allows you to login from any computer on the same network and access the SD card. This is awesome for loading movies or more apps to the card without having to physically swap it back and forth from your computer to Wii. To install an app simply fire up the Homebrew Browser, find it in the listings, and click “Download” for it to show up on your main Homebrew Channel menu automatically.
8. For videos, install MPlayer. There are a couple versions - you want the “dvdlib version.” Then you can dump media files (I tested a few non-HD DiVX and MPEG videos, all worked great—but the Wii choked on the 1080p MPEG No Country For Old Men trailer I tried) onto your SD card and play them on your TV. No high-def, but if the Wii is your main machine, this is nice.
9. And, most important, SNES9X. Plays Super Nintendo ROMs without flaw. Essential. There are emulators for tons of other consoles, from the Genesis to N64.
One Small Catch, Now
DVD playback via DVDX is one of the only things that hasn’t been updated to work with the newest Nintendo update. When it does, you can install it simply via the DVDX listing in the Homebrew Browser (we’ll update this guide), and play DVDs through MPlayer. Custom WAD and backup installers (read: game pirating gear) are also not yet fully adapted to the new block, but you weren’t going to be messing with any of those anyway, right?
So there you have it. With a few minutes of tinkering, you now have a Wii that can play just about every vintage video game system imagineable, play your downloaded, ripped or DRM-free purchased videos on your TV, and world of other tricks. We’ll update this guide should anything change.
Japan Prepares for a Rhino Attack with Two Dudes in a Rhino Suit [Costumes]
In the spirit of Halloween, I wanted to show you this absolutely amazing video of Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo training for an escaped rhino by dressing up two guys in a big rhino costume. Instead of candy, they’re dressing up for safety.
Watch! As the “rhino” walks slowly towards the security force! Listen! To the very dramatic music! Look incredulously! As the “rhino” is pushed aside by small poking sticks! Laugh! As two guys in a rhino costume are shot with tranquilizer darts from a van! I only wish all emergency preparedness drills were this hilarious. [Arbroath via Neatorama]
Tags: pictures, gossip, photos, news, videos, information, scoop, images, pic, info
London Getting Bomb-Proof, News-Delivering Trash Cans [Boom]
In London, public trash cans are hard to come by, as they’re an easy receptacle for bombs. Which makes it hard to throw things away properly! Now, the city is going to bring trash cans back, but they’re going to be big, hulking masses, totally bomb-proof and equipped with LCD screens to tell you the days news as you throw away your coffee cup.
The city intends to install dozens of the fancy waste receptacles in London’s financial district next year. And boy, do they sound expensive!
The technology reduces the shockwave of an explosion — which usually creates devastation by destroying nearby objects such as windows — and because most of the bin is made of steel, it can contain the heat and shrapnel generated. He said that the technology “reduces the peak pressure of an explosion and extinguishes the fireball”.The green bins will double as an information service called Renew, with large screens on each side of the device relaying the latest news.
Traders walking past on their lunch break will be able to check the latest share acais, but on their way home the screens will display travel information and other news. The authorities will also be able to use the screens to relay urgent security information.
Is it just me or does it seem like every single decision the British government makes hinges on the threat of terrorism? You guys are starting to seem a bit obsessed over there. [Times Online]
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At Last, Space Football Is Coming! [Sports]
Stand aside Michael Jordan, because ex-Washington Redskins linebacker Ken Harvey has been pitching NASA scientists and venture capitalists alike on a high concept sport: Float Ball. Planned for venues including space shuttles, the Moon and even Mars, needless to say, it’s a crazy idea. Actually, scratch that. It’s only a half-crazy idea.
Float Ball is a combination of football and basketball in a zero gravity environment. Players bounce their way through the court, ricocheting off the floor, ceiling, obstacles and other players. The goal is to throw the ball through the hoop. The bigger goal is to throw your player with the ball through the hoop—a maneuver we’re coining right this second as the space jam.
Despite Harvey’s popularity space entertainment circles, he has no plans on how to fund the space sport. But he doesn’t expect the vision to actualize over night. Astronaut fitness programs coupled with VR simulators would naturally progress into high stakes competitive sportutainment. And while he may be right, Harvey forgets about one thing:
Geeks hate jocks. So go build your own spaceship, a’hole. [NYT]
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Palm Treo Pro Coming to US Through Sprint? [Palm]
If Sprint’s website is any indication, and it probably is, the Palm Treo Pro will be arriving to the service sometime in the near to far future. There’s no formal page for the Europe-only handset at this time, but it’s been spotted in a product drop-down menu (pictured here). If you’ve been waiting to upgrade your Palm on your Sprint contract, know that the currently available 800W is basically the same thing. Both handsets run Windows Mobile and feature a 320×320 screen, GPS and Wi-Fi. The Pro is just a bit thinner with a nicer battery. [Sprint via brighthand]
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Amazing Costume is Either a Kid Dressed as a Mech or a Mech Dressed as a Kid [Halloween]
Happy Halloween! Bad news! Your costume sucks compared to this kid’s, which is amazing. It’s a homemade chicken walker mech costume, and it is so badass I can’t quite put how badass it is into words. I think between this and the Lil’ Mega Man costume we can conclude that Halloween is the best time for awesome dads to work on really fun, nerdy costumes with their kids. What can I say, I’m a sucker for familial bonding mixed with awesome walking mech children. And check out this adult-sized AT-ST walker costume:
Clearly, walkers are this year’s Amy Winehouse costume. [2Wicky via Make; Make]
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Confirmed: New MacBooks Support 6GB RAM [MacBooks]
While we’ve officially confirmed that the Nvidia chipset in the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros can theoretically support up to 8GB of RAM, Apple says the capacities for each top out at 4GB. Turns out, the actual number is right there in the middle—chip supplier Ramjet has tested and officially confirmed that the new MacBooks can support 6GB RAM via one 2GB module and one 4GB module. But why not eight?
According to the rep I spoke to, Ramjet’s tests and previous experiences by others have shown that 8GB of RAM in a notebook throws OS X into fits, making it unstable for actual use. Ramjet claims though that 6GB is a screamer—utilizing a fresh new 4GB 1066 SO-DIMM paired with a 2GB; the performance gained by having an extra two gigs negates the performance loss that tends to follow from having an unmatched pair of differently sized modules. Sadly, that combo will set you back around $675 at Ramjet ($600 for the 4GB module alone). But it’s possible.
So when’s that update for true working 8GB support on these notebooks going to come, Apple? [Ramjet, Mac Rumors]
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Hubble Resumes Operations, Sends Back Picture of Lost Starfox 64 Level [Hubble Space Telescope]
The Hubble Telescope, which was quite nearly lost this month to a combination of old age and a fritzy 486, has resumed “regular science operations” today, and sent back this spectacular picture of a pair of galaxies engaging in some kind of celestial slow dance. The mission to replace the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling unit (SIC&DH), the temperamental system at the heart this whole debacle, is planned for April of next year. Until then we’ll be able to depend on a steady supply of cosmo-porn, courtesy of the Hubble’s backup systems.
Surprisingly, the replacement SIC&DH, which will undergo extensive testing starting in mid-December, will be constructed from hardware of the same vintage as the hilariously old version that keeps flipping out in space right now. Whatever works, I guess.
Even by Hubble standards, the latest picture is pretty amazing. As much I’d like to start off on a some kind of Saganesque soliloquy about sand, whales and the vastness of space, I can’t because this picture looks exactly like every third Starfox 64 level. Seriously NASA, are you playing some kind of trick on us? Is the Hubble really OK? Is space even real? [NASA via The Register]
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Freakishly Real Jules Robot Now Makes Faces Right Back At You [Robots]
We’ve shown you Jules the robotic head before, but now a team of scientists have added real-time human expression mimicking—and taken him marching right across uncanny valley. A team at the University of Bristol, UK, have combined Jules with some analytical software that looks at a person’s face and tweaks Jules’ 34 servos to copy their expression. The results are like a physical version of the software ‘bot Emily we showed you a few months ago…but combined with Jules’ real 3D rubber head it’s a scary, and I mean scary, taste of what our future robot masters servants will behave like. There’s another even scarier vid, just for Halloween.
“Researchers rarely shower!” Scary stuff indeed. Let’s hope that the ‘bots get better at smiling before we start incorporating them into healthcare or childcare environments, eh? [NewScientist]
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Nintendo DSi To Hit US, Euro Shores In Summer ‘09, Says Iwata [Nintendo]
The dual-camera DSi hits in Japan tomorrow, but thankfully, it seems that we occidents won’t have to wait until “well into 2009″ as originally thought. Nintendo pres. Satoru Iwata told Reuters that a fall or Christmas ‘09 release would likely be too late. Which leaves Summer or even before as the new launch window. Get your cat ready to be photographed now. [Reuters via Kotaku]
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