Tim Child

So recently it was my birthday and I got a Nintendo DS Lite.  Some say that I am too old for this kind of thing, but I recently found out that it could be modified to run some homebrew code quite easily, including Linux and I couldn’t help myself.  My Xbox modifications have turned it into one of the best things I own, so I wanted to see what this does.
Well that was all I needed to get on the case, so I went into Bergen to get a black DSLite – the new small formfactor model, and I think it looks quite nice even though I probably bought it in the most expensive place in the world for it:

Then I ordered from a site called hopebuy  that initially looked quite dodgy, but turned out really well.  To get it working you need a gamecard running custom software, then a device to store your homebrew applications on. These usually are based around some kind of flash memory.  I decided upon a superkey card, and a supercard lite in black with a 1Gb Micro SD card.

It arrived in about 4 days from Hong Kong.  And all worked straight away, I formatted the MicroSD card (which is amazingly small – like a small fingernail), then put in the superkey in the back of the DS Lite, with the supercard lite in the front holding the MicroSD card.
Software is free available on the web from dev-scene.com and here are some highlights:

• DS:Linux.  A Linux port running on the DS – amazingly small text but I am going to use this for its SSH client I think!  With the built in WiFi it becomes fully networked.
• DS:DrumMachine: A TR909 and TR808 emulator for the DS. – haven’t got this to work yet but I am sure that I will do soon.
• DS:Organize: A palm pilot kinda app.
• DSVNC: A VNC client which I haven’t used yet because I don’t run VNC at home.
• Moonshell Media player for MP3s, videos etc..
• Nitrotracker – an xm tracker for the DS.  This is my favourite application so far, its alot of fun, and you can even record from the built in Microphone.

There are emulators, homebrew games and much more, but I haven’t had time to look at them all yet, and so I am going to go and have a play.  I will report back!

Totally excited about this, almost as much as the upcoming Nintendo Wii.  Its a Halflife/Counterstrike mod that acts like the old Nintendo N64 title Goldeneye which I have many memories of spending happy hours running around throughing bouncing bombs and more around.

So much so that I went home and just downloaded Steam, and purchased Counterstrike Source so I could play it.

Hows that for a impulse purchase!!  -  Well actually only $19.95 but all the same, I don’t really play games on the PC but I couldn’t resist this.

Damn I have always loved the Halo series, and now it looks like I am going to have to buy an Xbox 360 as Halo 3 has just been announced with a teaser video and slated for release in 2007.

http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?link=Halo3Announcement

And if you check out the videos, they have declared that everything is being rendered on the Xbox 360 in real time.

The videos show some clue to the story line so watch closely.

Amazon have changed their delivery date on the Sony PSP to the 24th June, 2005, of course they are taking pre-orders up until then but it could of course be delayed even later. But whats the point? Perhaps some of the button bugs that have been talked about will be ironed out by then.

If think I will be getting one just to carry on my almost forgotten obsession with WipeOut as WipeOut Pure is being launched at the same time. The latest issue of Edge magazine has a good article and of course ign has a review .

And meanwhile in the real online world of the BBC, the technology section has the following interesting reviews out:

Net V.2
Playing Exchange
Podcasting
Super Computers get Faster

I have seen several of these over the years but this is perhaps the best that I have seen for a long time and it is also running from a Mac, go check it out:

http://www.creativebastard.com/

Yepp, Halo2 perhaps the most eagerly awaited game of all time has been leaked out onto the Net a month before its 9th November release date. There are different versions going around, but its mostly the european versions. News at IGN has more information here: http://xbox.ign.com/articles/557/557133p1.html aswell as the beeb http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3743110.stm