tech.nocr.at » Gaming

Bus Shelter Video Gaming

Frank — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:21:25 +0000

Waiting for a bus will never be boring again if you live in San Francisco. Yahoo has just installed giant touchscreen panels at 20 San Francisco bus stops. The giant multi-touch screens not only allow you to play games, but allow you to play against people at other bus shelters.

Top scores for each neighbourhood are kept and the bus shelter that rakes in the most points will will a block party featuring OK Go.

I’m actually surprised that something like this hasn’t happened yet. Living in the age of “always connected” and with interactive media already the norm, something like this should have happened a while ago. Kodos to you Yahoo, great idea.

Bus Shelter Video Gaming originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/22. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Official Kinect SDK Coming Soon

Frank — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 06:02:03 +0000

Balmer let the world know during CES that Microsoft would be releasing an SDK for their popular Xbox 360 add-on the Kinect. Sources say that Microsoft may be preparing the release of the SDK sooner than they anticipated, in just a few months. “Sources familiar with the plans” told WinRumors that an official SDK and drivers are being prepped for a beta release “in the coming months,” potentially arriving with an upcoming XNA update dubbed the “Community Technical Preview.”

Ever since the release of the Kinect, hackers have been having a field day with it. Unofficial USB drivers for the Windows environment have already been developed and there are countless hacks out there from X-Ray vision to controlling World of Warcraft.

Now that Microsoft has acknowledged the popularity of the product and will be officially releasing the SDK maybe we might see another revolution in PC gaming, one that could rival the early 90′s.

Official Kinect SDK Coming Soon originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Open Source HTPC’s That Don’t Suck

Frank — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:30:11 +0000

In our next installment of Distros That Don’t Suck we will be looking at open source HTPC software. Sure you can load up VLC or even use Windows Media player, but having a dedicated solution with a UI that is made for a TV is a lot easier and pleasing. I’ve left the PVR-centric software like MythTV and Freevo off the list since their main purpose is to act as a PVR. I’ll be reviewing open source PVR software by itself at a later date.

XBMC – The Xbox Media Center Project started as homebrew software for the original Xbox gaming system and has since been ported to Linux, Windows, OSX, AppleTV and even as a standalone Linux based LiveCD/LiveUSB image. It offers a clean UI, intuitive interface and can play just about anything you throw at it. It offers a plugin system with a huge repository of community plugins to enhance the experience. It’s real easy to setup and it’s configuration is portable across operating systems. If you have an old Xbox laying around this makes a great HTPC that is powerful and best of all cheap.

MediaPortal – This is a Windows based HTPC software so technically it’s not 100% open source since it requires Windows and doesn’t offer a Linux port. If offers everything you would expect in HTPC software; Video streaming, DVD playback, Internet Radio, Picture Gallery and it’s own plugin system. You will need a compatible TV Tuner card to enjoy PVR features and to watch TV but it’s not needed to run the software. If you are a Windows fan and are looking for an alternate to Windows Media Center this is as close as you can get without the cost.

Element – Element is an open source HTPC system that comes pre-loaded with XBMC and the ability to play back just about any media locally or over the Internet. Element also has it’s own framework for offering add-on modules that allow you to play content from services like Hulu, Cooliris, Boxee, Clicker, Amazon on Demand and Youtube. They have adapted the UI’s of popular open source software like Firefox and Pidgin so that it fits the TV experience better than their native desktop versions. They also offer an Android app that allows you to use your Android phone as a remote control; definitely a neat idea for the times you can’t find the remote anywhere.

GeeXboX – A Gentoo based fully functional media center that can be run from LiveCD, LiveUSB, or be installed on a hard drive. GeeXbox is a very lean distro that doesn’t require a lot of processing power so it’s perfect for older hardware. It uses Enna as it’s primary media center application to play your music, videos or look at your pictures. This is the perfect distro for the no-frills experience when you just want to play your media and aren’t looking for any additional functionality.

Open Source HTPC’s That Don’t Suck originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Fling iPad Joystick

Frank — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:54:30 +0000

It’s no surprise that the iPad has taken off as a mobile gaming platform. The only downside to all that mobile gaming is the lack of a physical joystick. Virtual on-screen keyboards are okay for certain games but if you are into any type of sports or driving games using the virtual joystick can be a major pain. Ten One Designs aims to change all that with Fling, a tactile game controller for the iPad

You simply stick it onto the screen of your iPad using its removable suction cups, and you end up with a real analog stick. It’s made our of transparent flexible resin so you can see through it, accept when you are using your thumb on it but the same can be said for the virtual joystick.

The unit will run you about $25 and comes with its own microfiber case that can be used to clean the screen. Ten One is accepting pre-orders of the Fling starting January 6th.

[Ten One Desgins' Fling]

Fling iPad Joystick originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/04. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Windows Phone 7 NES Emulator Barred

Frank — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:12:48 +0000

Looks like Microsoft is “pulling an Apple”; barring an emulator of the classic 8-bit video gaming system NES. Matt Bettcher has put some hard working into getting this emulator to work (video of it running after the break) and Microsoft has just shut him down.

Matt is looking to drum up community support in hopes of changing Microsoft’s mind, and in the meantime he will be releasing his project into the open source world. Come one Microsoft, every device with a screen and an input device should have an NES emulator.

Windows Phone 7 NES Emulator Barred originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/02. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Top 10 Of 2010

Frank — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:51:37 +0000

Another year is almost behind us and thanks to our dedicated and loyal readers our 3rd successful year bringing you the latest in gadgets, gaming, technology and the bizarre.

We have brought the monkeys in (by monkeys we mean a crafty worded perl script) and have compiled the the most viewed posts here on tech.nocr.at. This list doesn’t just contain posts from 2010, it contains the top ten most viewed posts this year regardless of when they were created.

Without further ado, tech.nocr.at’s top 10 posts of 2010:

Let us know in the comments what were your favorite posts of 2010.

Top 10 Of 2010 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/12/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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PSP Phone This Spring

Frank — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:00:48 +0000

We have been hearing about Sony’s Playstation Phone for quite a while now, and today Asahi Shimbun which is one of the largest newspapers in Japan reported that the device which is supposedly based on the PSPgo will be released in the coming spring.

If you believe the report the units will hit the US and European markets first. The phone is also reported to have a smaller form factor than the PSPgo and will be build by Sony Ericsson.

I hope that it’s gaming capabilities won’t be based on the PSPgo. Only being able to download really sucks.

PSP Phone This Spring originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/12/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Sonic Screwdriver Wiimote

Frank — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:17:24 +0000

Playing Dr. Who in a game is cool, but playing one while using a Sonic Screwdriver is even better. Later this fall the Wii will be getting a title called Doctor Who: Return to earth and the BBC has teamed up with a peripheral maker to create a Sonic Screwdriver Wii controller.

Playing the game which will feature the likeness of the current Doctor (Matt Smith) and his sidekick Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) should be fun whilst holding the infamous Sonic Screwdriver. I bet it would be even better if you could get a Tardis in your living room as well.

[Via Official Nintendo Magazine]

Sonic Screwdriver Wiimote originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/09/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

NES Controller With Android

Frank — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:31:18 +0000

Now that mobiles phones have advanced to the point that they are great gaming machines why not have a proper game controller to enjoy them? That’s an itch that hacked Sk3tch just had to scratch. By hacking together an original NES controller, an Arduino and a blueSMRF Bluetooth module he was able to use the controller via bluetooth and even demo’s the hack by playing Super Mario Brothers 3 in an emulator in the video after the break.

He says that the mod it Alpha at best, but from the video it looks great to me. All he needs to do now if slap everything together in a nice case or better yet, find a way to put all of the components in the NES controller itself.

NES Controller With Android originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/09/03. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Iron Man 360 Mod

Frank — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 04:57:51 +0000

A 19 year old modder decided to take his love for Iron Man to new levels. He decided to take his 360, add some gold and red paint, add a custom arc reactor on the side of the case that mimics the ring on the front of the box and add some spit and shine. Voila, an Iron Man looking Xbox 360.

I wonder if his custom arc reactor RRoD’s as well. Check out the video below to see the unit in action.

Iron Man 360 Mod originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Gamepad For iPhone

Frank — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:15:40 +0000

The iPhone/iPod touch has quickly become a gaming favorite. There are tons of games for you to enjoy and best of all, it’s small and already in your pocket. The unit is great for games that require nothing more than touch like board games and trivia games, but when it comes to games that require a lot of movement or dexterity like a sports game it can be really hard to use.

Enter the iControlPad which is essentially nothing more that a massive case for your iPhone that adds some buttons and a few joysticks. This is for the hardcore gamer only, not really small and compact as you can see form the picture, but if you like gaming on your iPhone then this is for you.

There is one small downfall, it requires a jailbroken unit to work since it requires some software that is using private api’s that Apple won’t allow. No word on pricing or availability yet, but you can sign up for more info right on their site and be notified when it’s ready to ship.

Gamepad For iPhone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/28. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Emulate a PSP on Your PC

Frank — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:35:49 +0000

PCSP – the PSP emulator for Windows just got an update to 0.3.0. Although most games don’t work properly yet it’s a step in the right direction. The latest upgrade brings an overhaul to the graphic engine which now renders textures better and speeds gameplay.

Some of the major changes include:

Plenty fixes on GE engine including new shader render.
Joystic support!
Analog pad support
Lot of fixes to HLE

For a complete changelog or to download the PCSP emulator check out their site.

Emulate a PSP on Your PC originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/24. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Hardcore Portable Dreamcast

Frank — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:15:32 +0000

Although the SEGA Dreacast wasn’t the most popular console on the market hardcore geeks everywhere hold it near and dear to their hearts. It took a nose dive shortly after being launched, but due to the fact that some of the games that were released for it are just short of awesome and the fact that pirating said games is super easy it lives on.

Modder Techknott took his Dreamcast and decided to cram it into a portable unit he could carry around. The unit holds the discs in the back, features a colour screen that was ripped out of a PSone and uses all of the original Dreamcast controls. It even has A/V output so you can still enjoy the game play on your TV.

It’s one-of-a-kind so you won’t be able to run out and buy your own, too bad.

[Link to Portable Dreamcast]

Hardcore Portable Dreamcast originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/23. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

RTCW Open Sourced

Frank — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:37:56 +0000

During the recent QuakeCon festivities id released something that should make the modding community super happy; source code. People can now access the source to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Return to Castle Wolfenstein via id’s FTP.

The code is being release under the GNU license which allows for both free and commercial use as long as credit goes to id and no one tries to claim it as their own.

I wonder how quickly we will see some awesome game modded off the source.

RTCW Open Sourced originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

RTCW Open Sourced

Frank — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:37:56 +0000

The code is being release under the GNU license which allows for both free and commercial use as long as credit goes to id and no one tries to claim it as their own.

I wonder how quickly we will see some awesome game modded off the source.

RTCW Open Sourced originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Mini Arcade Machine

Frank — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:11:32 +0000

Master modder Marcelo Souza of São Paulo, Brazil has built one cool tabletop arcade machine emulator. This isn’t your average mame cabinet. Marcelo has added custom optical sensors to catch coin inserts and built the unit off of a Arduino board. Check out the video of the unit in action.

If you know how to read Portuguese you can head on over to Marcelo’s site and read up on how he built it. Looks like Marco will also be selling kits for those of you who might want to build your own!

Mini Arcade Machine originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Modded PSP Includes LEDs, Camera And More

Frank — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:53:42 +0000

What do you get when you take a stock PSP Slim 2000 and add a second joystick, 32GB of flash memory, a second port for charging, and a built in camera? A usable PSP, that’s what.

Of course the unit is running custom firmware so you can easily run every emulator under the sun and make the PSP usable. Check out the video after the break of the modder explaining what he did.

Modded PSP Includes LEDs, Camera And More originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/03/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Handheld Gamecube Mod

Frank — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:10:58 +0000

Sure, we have seen our fair share of game console mods here at tech.nocr.at, but never one so shinny (just look at all those finger prints!).

The sweetest part of this whole mod is how Techknott hid the optical drive behind the flip-up LCD screen. The whole mod looks comfortable to use, just wish the finish was something other than chrome so you don’t have to be constantly cleaning it. Check the video out of it in action after the break.

Handheld Gamecube Mod originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/03/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Nintendo DSi LL Here On March 28th

Frank — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:32:04 +0000

Nintendo fans rejoice, you too will be able to cash in on the DSi LL on March 28th of this year. The fuller DSi comes at you with a larger 4.2-inch screen and a full-size pen stylus as compared to the is original brother.

Nintendo has also added support for eBooks. Although you will be able to flip the unit sideways and use it in a traditional book format you won’t be able to read those book unless you plugin a special DS cartridge.

The new DSI LL will hit store shelves on March 28th for $190. The eBook system will come at a later date with a 100 Classic Books title shipping around June 15th.

Nintendo DSi LL Here On March 28th originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/02/24. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Nintendo DSi LL Here On March 28th

Frank — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:32:04 +0000

The new DSI LL will hit store shelves on March 28th for $190. The eBook system will come at a later date with a 100 Classic Books title shipping around June 15th.

Nintendo DSi LL Here On March 28th originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/02/24. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

PSP GO FW 6.10 Hacked?

Frank — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:19:13 +0000

A video that has been flowing around the inter-tubes shows a PSP Go running firmware 6.10 running a Genesis Emulator. This can only mean that the Go’s 6.10 firmware has been hacked, no?

According to PSP Hacks ….

Good News! – Well Neon says it is and if this video is anything to go by then we may be inclined to believe him. The video shows a PSP Go running a Genesis Emulator and the hack is apparently a kernel level exploit.
Now for the bad new, Neon says he has no plans on releasing the hack, whether he is just playing hard to get is not yet apparent but it will no doubt lead to many pessimists insisting that the cake is a lie.

Does this mean that we might soon be able to use the internal 16 GB of memory in the Go for custom firmware goodness? I sure hope so.

[Via PSP Hacks]

PSP GO FW 6.10 Hacked? originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/13. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

iControlPad: Gamepad For Your iPhone

Frank — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:13:06 +0000

Since the release of the iTunes app store the iPhone and iPod touch have really been pushed as the next great portable gaming platform. Game developers have really started to push the limits of the device but the one major stumbling block has only been the “touch only” interface.

The iControlPad looks to change all of that. It’s a case for your iPhone that offers dual analog nubs, a gamepad controller and of course a few buttons. There is also an internal battery that charges your iPhone while you play.

Bad news is that you will need to jailbreak your iPhone to use this since it’s not an official Apple licensed product, but the iControlPad is supported by some of the biggest devs like the boys that make all the cool emulators. If you’re interested in the device, you can can place a pre-order by signing up at their site.

iControlPad: Gamepad For Your iPhone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/13. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Tweet From Your Joystick

Frank — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:52:13 +0000

Xbox 360 fans rejoice, you will soon be able to tweet from your Xbox 360, another great reason to not use the console for what it’s made for, playing games. You’ll also get a few other tweaks to the update that will be pushed down on the 17th like on-demand 1080p HD video from the Zune Video outlet. Check out the video of Twitter on the 360 after the break.

[Via Engadget]

Tweet From Your Joystick originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

NCube: Portable Gamecube Goodness

Frank — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:46:38 +0000

I’ve seen my fair share of portable Gamecube systems, but this has got to be one of the slickest I have ever see.

Designed and hacked together by a Ben Heck apprentice, the NCube is a beautiful creation. The case is a seriously modded Datamax Kid’s Delight and the screen is an unmodded Zenith PSone display. The unit also has a 2-way switch so you can choose to run off batteries or AC, a memory card slot and a rear-mounted disc drive.

You can read up on the 90 hour journey to create this or just skip right down to the end of this article to see it in action.

[Link to NCube Design]

NCube: Portable Gamecube Goodness originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Snegenes-P

Frank — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:54:31 +0000

What the hell is the Snegenes-P you ask? Snes + Genesis + NES – Portable. If you’re the hardcore 8 or 16 bit gamer and refuse to use one of those fancy handheld emulators like the Gemei X760+, then why not build yourself one of these?

Modder Trstn18 smashed together components from all his favorite consoles into this custom see-through case so that you can see all of the messy goodness. Coming in at 8.6-inches wide, 5.4-inches tall and 1-inch thick, it’s not really portable in my opinion. Powered by 6 2600mAh batteries, this beast should get you somewhere between 5 to 7 hours of game play on a single charge. It also has composite video and stereo outputs so you can enjoy all of your 8-bit goodness on your TV.

As you can clearly see, the back of the unit is a bit of a mess. I’m not too sure how comfortable this thing will be when you hold it with a massive cartridge sticking out the back.

[Via Ben Heck Forums]

Snegenes-P originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/10. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

In Case You Missed It: Week 44 Round Up

Frank — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:22:01 +0000

Another week another bunch of stuff that we posted. In case you missed any of it we have everything from Videogame Alarm Clocks to Secret Knock Door Openers. Enjoy.

Gadgets

A Cell Phone For Grama
USB Boobie Warmers
Fuel Cell Charger
Batteries For The Web 2.0 Generation

Gaming

Videogame Alarm Clocks

Hacking and Security

DIY: Star Trek Bluetooth Communicator
Turn A Dead 360 Into A PC
DIY: Auto Tracking Sentry Gun
DIY: Arduino AppleTV Remote
Secret Knock Door Lock
DIY: Digital Mixtape
Build A Real Working Tricorder, Sort Of
Build An Annoying Beeping Thing

Mac

MacHeist Nano Bundle: $154 In Apps 4 Free
Hacker Hacks Jailbroken iPhone
10.6.2 Kills Off Atom CPU Support
iPhone Safari Bug Could Cost You Cash

Tech News

Google Voice Invites
Woops: 10.6.2 Doesn’t Kill Atom Support

In Case You Missed It: Week 44 Round Up originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/09. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Videogame Alarm Clocks

Frank — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:41:10 +0000

Every hardcore gammer should alway emerge him or herself with gaming at all times. Games on your phone, games on your PDA, games on your computer, games on your tv and even gaming to wake you up. The guys over at the TechEBlog have put together a pretty cool collection of “Alarm Clocks Made From Video Game Consoles”.

My personal favorite is the Xbox 360 with built in space for your kleenex. I sure hope whoever made that one picked up a dead system to build it with. If not, that can easily be classified as the most expensive alarm clock anyone person should own.

If you know of any other cool things made from video game consoles, let us know in the comments or in the tech.nocr.at forums

[Link to Alarm Clocks Made From Video Game Consoles]

Videogame Alarm Clocks originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/03. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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In Case You Missed It: Week 43 Round Up

Frank — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:35:51 +0000

In case you missed anything last week; we have everything from Metallica on your iPhone right through to a $1200 Mouse. Enjoy

Gadgets

Remote Controlled Tissue Box
Electronic Guitar Shirt
Sucker Alert: $1200 Mouse
Sucker Alert: Wattgate 381 “Audio Grade” Socket

Gaming

Nokia Kills The N-Gage – Are You Shocked?
Nintendo DSi Get’s Bigger
Quickdev16: SNES Developers Cart
Soccer Hero

Hacking and Security

Use Your iPhone To Control Your Car
Mr. Wake – The Uncatchable Alarm Clock
Crush Your Cans With Electricity
3D Video With One Camera
DIY: Tesla “Spooky Spirit” Radio
Phaser Boasts 300mW Laser
iPhone App To Crack Combination Locks

Mac

Tap Tap Revenge Metallica For The iPhone

Tech News

XBMC on ARM
Install 59 Apps Quickly And Easily
Water Drops At 2000 FPS

In Case You Missed It: Week 43 Round Up originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/01. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Nokia Kills The N-Gage – Are You Shocked?

Frank — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:45:57 +0000

You might want to sit down before you read this. Nokia has announced that they will be stopping all support for it’s plagued portable gaming platform, the N-Gage. Yes, I know, you might be saying “Dude, didn’t Nokia stop supporting this thing like years ago?”.

The move really isn’t a huge shock, the platform has been begging to be put out of it’s misery for a few years now. Although Nokia has officially announced that no further games will be published for the unit, it also said that it will continue to sell currently available games in the Ovi Store until September 2010.

Although purchased games will alway continue to work on the unit, any of the connected community features will also cease in 2010.

On a side note, anyone wanna buy a slightly used N-Gage? Cheap.

Nokia Kills The N-Gage – Are You Shocked? originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/31. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Nintendo DSi Get’s Bigger

Frank — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:14:42 +0000

The Nintendo DSi just got a whole lot bigger. The DSi XL was officially unveiled yesterday by Nintendo. The new handheld is a lot bigger, which is one of the things that fans have been asking for. Instead of dual 3.25-inch displays the bigger brother will now come with 4.2-inch displays. It might not sound like a lot, but if you do the math that’s close to 30% bigger. The unit weighs 314g which is 100g more than the DSi and the overall size is 161 x 91.4 x 21.2 mm.

Besides the size and the new battery that claims to offer 13-17 hours of game play when minimum brightness is used, everything else stays the same. The DSi XL will cost about $220 in Japan where it will be available November 21st. The rest of us shmucks will hopefully see the unit sometime in 2010. It would have been nice to have this unit in time for the holiday season, but like most decisions that Nintendo makes wil releases, North America is always last.

Nintendo DSi Get’s Bigger originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/30. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Quickdev16: SNES Developers Cart

Frank — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:25:43 +0000

If you are a true hardcore 16bit gaming geek and have always wanted to whip up your own homebrew games then you might be interested in the Quickdev 16. The unit is a cartridge for the Super Nintendo system that comes with everything you will need to develop for the platform, including the Atmel AVR Atmega644 with boot loader, USB connection for putting your code on the cart, 16 megs of SRAM, and an RS232 converter for a debug terminal. It’s available for Windows, Linux and the Mac.

Homebrew for the SNES was quite rare back in the hay day of the system so if you think that spending all your time coding for the same system 20 years later will bring you anything more than some geek cred then you are sadly mistaken. On the other hand, if your a hardcore emulator playing monkey, then whipping up your own game for the SNES platform might be fun!. For $120 I’m not sure if the cost justifies all that fun.

[Link to Quickdev16]

Quickdev16: SNES Developers Cart originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Soccer Hero

Frank — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:44:08 +0000

Nothing like having a bunch of friends come over and play some Guitar Hero, especially when beer is also at play. Is especially better when you come up with some creative ways to play your favorite rhythm game.

These guys have the right idea. By using an Arduino and some piezo sensors they have managed to rig together a game of guitar hero that’s played with soccer balls. Unfortunately there isn’t too much info available on the project, but connecting piezo sensors to an Arduino is pretty easy. Check out the video below for all the action.

Soccer Hero originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/25. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

In Case You Missed It: Week 42 Round Up

Frank — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:49:12 +0000

In case you missed anything this past week, we have everything from cooling with mineral oil to video editing on your iPhone. Enjoy.

Gadgets

Asus Keyboard PC

Gaming

Cool Your Xbox With Mineral Oil
PS3 Smashing Into A TV At 80 KMH
Open Source DS Bluetooth Adapter
Black Wii For The Brits
Rock Band For iPhone Now Available

Hacking and Security

Remote Control That’s Impossible To Lose
DIY: Build A Solar Power Station
PS3 Laptop
Hard Drive Lock Pick

Mac

Dead: ZFS For The Mac
Rebel EFI: A Thorn In Apples Side
ReelDirector: Video Editing For Your iPhone

Tech News

Project Eagle Claw: Taking Out The Scammers
Skype And Chrome Go Portable
Microsoft’s App Lab
Windows 7: Will You Upgrade?
B&N Nook Officially Released
Super Fast Robot Hands

In Case You Missed It: Week 42 Round Up originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/25. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Cool Your Xbox With Mineral Oil

Frank — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:52:17 +0000

You really have to be playing your Xbox non-stop to generate enough heat to justify submerging your Xbox motherboard into a non-conductive fluid such as mineral oil which B-rad used.

Besides the two obvious things that should never ever be submerged, the hard drive and dvd drive, every other component that was housed inside the Xbox case was submerged into a fish tank fill of mineral oil. Surprisingly enough, after he submerged his unit it ran on average 10 degrees cooler.

Maybe it’s worth while if you’re having a cooling issue, but one thing is for sure, having something like this out in the open will almost guarantee that you will never get laid.

[Link to B-rad's Xbox Tank]

Cool Your Xbox With Mineral Oil originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/24. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

PS3 Smashing Into A TV At 80 KMH

Frank — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:26:44 +0000

What happens when you throw a Sony PS3 into a 46-inch Bravia KDL46X 3100 LCD TV? Total destruction. What purpose does throwing a gaming unit at a TV at 80 Km/h? Well I really don’t think it has anything to do with scientific research. Could it be a viral marketing video for Sony Australia’s new “buy a Bravia get a PS3″ campaign? I think so Sony, I see right through you.

Sit back and enjoy the video after the break. It sure beats smashing your Wii-mote into your TV.

PS3 Smashing Into A TV At 80 KMH originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/22. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Open Source DS Bluetooth Adapter

Frank — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:58:31 +0000

Gordan Savicic and Gottfried Haider of DSbrut have just released their open source bluetooth adapter for the Nintendo DS. The adapter will allow the DS to interface to other bluetooth devices like GPS units and keyboards. This should really open up the homebrew scene.

Almost two years in the making, we’re happy to finally release our DS Bluetooth adapter. The tiny Slot-1 cartridge allows you to hook up the Nintendo DS wirelessly with other devices such as GPS-receivers, robots and so forth. Today we’re making all materials of the project openly available, including the schematics and a GPL-licensed software library for the Nintendo DS, because we believe in open hardware design and want to encourage collaboration in the hardware hacking community.
In our design, we use a tiny ATmega168 microcontroller to make the Nintendo DS speak to the RN-41 Bluetooth SMD module by Roving Networks. Using this piece of hardware the Nintendo DS can scan its neighbourhood and establish connections to other Bluetooth devices (supporting SPP). The module can also be remotely connected to, allowing for a range of interesting applications. We also developed a software library for the Nintendo DS, making it easy to use this new Bluetooth interface.

[Link to Open Source Bluetooth DS Adapter]

Open Source DS Bluetooth Adapter originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/20. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Black Wii For The Brits

Frank — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:41:11 +0000

Those lucky kids across the pond in the UK will be getting the limited edition black Wii on November 6th, bundled with Wii Sports Resort no-less. Nada for us Wii loving fans here in North America. Just more proof that Nintendo does not love you.

The limited edition bundle will include a Wii-mote, nunchuk, MotionPlus peripheral, Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. We here on our side of the Atlantic will be getting the black Controller Pro though.

That’s okay Nintendo, if we want a black Wii we can just spray paint our current units. Not as if it will look good or anything like that and don’t even get me started on the possibility of streaking. Come on Nintendo, can’t we just get the black Wii too. Pretty please?

Black Wii For The Brits originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/20. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

PS3 Laptop

Frank — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:25:09 +0000

Our favorite gaming console modder, Ben Heck, is back at it again. We have already seen his Xbox 360 Elite Laptop mod and more recently his NES Cartridge mod and now his brings us this super sexy PS3 Laptop mod.

As light or as small as a netbook it is not but it’s still impressive how he managed to integrate a 17-inch HD display into the whole thing. Ben says that he could have made it smaller but wanted to use as large a screen as possible while still making it portable. Check out the video of the PS3 Laptop below.

PS3 Laptop originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Rock Band For iPhone Now Available

Frank — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:14:27 +0000

You can now head over to the iTunes App Store and pick up Rock Band for your iPhone for $10. One of the most anticipated games for Apple’s mobile gaming device lacks all of the hype that was built around it.

I decided to dish out the $10 today to play it and besides suffering some serious cramping of the hands it really didn’t live up to all of the hype.

Sure it’s got multiplayer support via bluetooth so you can jam out with your friends but what happened to some of the cool features I enjoy on the console version like drum fills for overdrive? Mashing my fingers against the screen just didn’t have the same feeling as holding a guitar or actually hitting the drum pads.

If you don’t like the 20 songs that it comes with, you can download others in a two-song pack for a buck. I personally wouldn’t bother. I’d rather spend my buck on some other mind numbing game or useless app.

If you want to experience all of the fun that you get when playing rock band then take your console and instruments with you everywhere you go because you’ll be pleasantly disappointed if you spend your hard earned cash on this game.

[Rock Band for the iPhone]

Rock Band For iPhone Now Available originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Sega Gen Mobile

Frank — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:36:30 +0000

Do you remember the Nomad? Sega’s first attempt at a portable gaming device that allowed you to play Sega Genesis games? No? Let me refresh your memory. It was big, bulky, had terrible battery life and cost almost $200 and that was 10 years ago.

In today’s world you can pick up the Genmobile for under $60. It isn’t made by Sega but the AtGames Gen Mobile is fully licensed. As well as playing classic Genesis and Mega Drive cartridges, the Gen Mobile comes with 20 built in games including Sonic Spinball, Golden Axe and Altered Beast. It also has TV out so you can play all of these classics on your TV.

If your not into the tiny 2.5-inch screen you can also grab the Gen Core. It’s by far the smallest complete Genesis system ever.

You can head on over to Stone Age Gamer and pick up the Gen Mobile for $54.90 or the Gen Core for $39.99. If you want to expand your 8/16 bit game horizons why not look at the Gemie X760+.

Sega Gen Mobile originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Rock Band For Your iPhone

Frank — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 05:43:55 +0000

This past week EA Mobile confirmed that Rock Band for the iPhone and the iPod Touch is set to be released this month. So far all we know is that it’s set to be out this month, no idea on pricing yet and that it will come with no less than 20 tracks for you to play along with. Guitar, bass, drums and vocals are all in there based on your difficulty settings. As well as the single person mode you can also do multiplayer via a Bluetooth hook up with other iPhones.

The tracks that have been confirmed to come with the app are as follows:

30 Seconds To Mars – “Attack”
AFI – “Girl’s Not Grey”
All-American Rejects – “Move Along”
Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”
Blink-182 – “All The Small Things”
Blondie – “Hanging on the Telephone”
Foo Fighters – “Learn To Fly”
Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
George Thorogood & the Destroyers – “Bad to The Bone”
Jethro Tull – “Hymn 43″
Joan Jett – “Bad Reputation”
Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Simple Man”
Motörhead – “Ace of Spades ‘08″
Pixies – “Debaser”
Presidents of The United States of America – “Ladybug”
Rise Against – “Give It All”
Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Cherub Rock”
Steve Miller Band – “Take The Money and Run”
Go-Go’s – “We Got The Beat”

This will definitely be one of the best (if not the best) games for the iPhone this year. Count on it.

Rock Band For Your iPhone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/11. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Gemei X760+ Portable 8 Bit Gaming

Frank — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:32:42 +0000

I grew up playing 8 bit games. Gaming systems like the NES and good old fashion arcade games really allowed you to separate the men from the boys, not these fancy games the kids now-a-days have.

When I stumbled across the Gemei X760+ I was elated and over joyed. Come on now, it starts with an X and has a + in the name. Once I found out that it also has a whole bunch of emulators that played such classics from the NES, SNES, Genesis, GB GBA and arcade classics I was sold. Then I stumbled across the fact that you can also play video and mp3′s and you could even pump it all out to a TV via it’s TV out port, well, I wanted 2 of them. All this joy for only $81. Go get yours now.

Gemei X760+ Multi Platform Portable Gaming System

Gemei X760+ Portable 8 Bit Gaming originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

PSP Go Gets Patrially Owned

Frank — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:33:34 +0000

What’s the thing been out for? 4 or 5 days? and it already has been partially owned. This has to be a record somewhere.

It looks like your typical save game exploit, but it also seems that it doesn’t allow enough access to the hardware yet to install something like custom firmware. If the great team of modders working on the PSP go keep this up we should have some custom firmware roll out in the next few weeks, hopefully.

Check out the video of the exploit in action below.

PSP Go Gets Patrially Owned originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Nintendo DS On Your Mac Or PC

Frank — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:11:11 +0000

DeSmuME is a Nintendo DS emulator for the Mac and for the PC that gives you the full functionality of the DS; buttons, touchscreen interface and even the Wi-Fi connectivity. It’s feature packed and allows you to play both Homebrew games and ROM images. It also offers some extra features that are not available on a physical DS like taking screenshots, creating movies from game play, loading cheat codes and even saving your game play.

It’s 100% free and can be downloaded from here. You might also want to check out NDS Homebrew for an impressive collection of homebrew games and applications.

Nintendo DS On Your Mac Or PC originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/04. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

FIFA Soccer 10 For The Iphone

Frank — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:16:06 +0000

Steve Jobs wasn’t kidding when he said the the iPhone and iPod touch would revolutionize gaming. EA Sports has just released FIFA Soccer 10 for the Apple mobile platform. This is EA’s first attempt in the soccer area on the device but if Madden NFL 10 is something we should be looking at then FIFA 10 will rock.

At $9.99, a somewhat heft price for an iPhone game when you can grab Real Soccer 10 for only $6.99, FIFA 10 promises to deliver more licensed teams as well as a “Be a Pro” mode that will allow you to create a player and track him over multiple seasons.

If you don’t have an iPhone or iPod touch, EA will also be releasing FIFA 10 on all the usual dedicated gaming consoles on October 20th. I’m willing to bet that they will cost a bit more than $10.

FIFA Soccer 10 For The Iphone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/04. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

The Retro Mini

Frank — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:56:54 +0000

Got $49.99 burning a hole in your pocket? If so then you can spend it on the Retro Mini. Running off 4 AA batteries, the Retro Mini gives you an outstanding 8 hours of NES goodness. You can pick up old NES cartridges for pennies a pop these days so why not relive your childhood with this portable unit.

NES gaming on the go, the cartridge is bigger than the unit, but at the very least you can have some fun on the bus play Punch Out.

If you have your heart set on 8 bit gaming goodness, you can stop by ThinkGeek and pick yourself up one.

The Retro Mini originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/05/14. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Industrial Strength Firewall, Poor Mans Budget

Frank — Tue, 12 May 2009 05:44:27 +0000

What in this world could protect your computer(s) or network better than a firewall? If you said not connecting your machine to the Internet your right, but most of us can’t live for more than a few minutes without being online. Hell, it gives me the shakes.

Now, here at the Frank residences we have multiple machines. A family machine, a MythTV box, various gaming consoles, a bunch of laptops, and a bunch of servers that preform various tasks. We also have multiple static IP’s to help out with the work load. It’s a lot of traffic coming and going, and although a basic Linksys or Dlink might do just fine, I was looking for something more flexible, something more powerful. I have gone through many open source firewall/router packages in the past and they all have their pro’s and con’s, but one the I have stumbled on and love is pfSense.

This project started in 2004 as a fork of the m0n0wall project, but focused towards full PC installations rather than the embedded hardware focus of m0n0wall. pfSense also offers an embedded image for Compact Flash based installations, however it is not the primary focus. It has a powerful packaging system that allows you to add additional functionality like a squid proxy server or Radius server to it’s already long list of features.

Right out of the box you get some neat features that you might only see in a massive commercial product.

Outbound Load Balancing – If you have multiple Internet connections you can use the built in load balancing feature to bridge them together into one fat pipe.
VPN – Built in OpenVPN, PPTP and IPsec servers for when you fell like calling home.
Redundancy – Setup 2 multiple firewalls. In case one pfSense server dies, the other one will pick up the slack.
Real Time Graphing – See exactly what’s going on with your traffic.

If you have a spare PC laying around and want the solid protection that a industrial grade firewall can offer then give pfSense a try. You really don’t need to be a BSD wizard to install it either. Download the iso, burn it to a cd, load the cd and choose install. All of the configuration and settings are changed via’s it’s intuitive web page.

Give it a whirl, you won’t be disappointed.

Industrial Strength Firewall, Poor Mans Budget originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/05/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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DSi Here By Next Summer

Ryan Yewell — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:06:36 +0000

The latest Revision of the Nintendo DS, the DSi (with its main new feature being 2 built-in cameras, with a more multimedia focus of pics/music), is now available in Japan.

But all of us North Americans want to know, when can we get our hands on it? Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, has said in a Reuters press release that in 2009 “an autumn or year end launch would probably be too late”. So, by some simple deduction it looks like the DSi will land in North America sometime this upcoming summer.

[Via Reuters]

DSi Here By Next Summer originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/11/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

UPDATE – Beatles Make It Into Rock Band

Ryan Yewell — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:35:40 +0000

At the time of this post, further details were yet to be announced, but it appears official, Viacom and MTV Networks (owners of “Rock Band”) have licensed Beatle songs for their Rock Band game.

This is a pretty big deal, since even major players like iTunes don’t even have Beatle songs yet. In fact, no subscription/download service has landed the Beatles yet, so this is a first. I’d say this is just another sign that gaming is becoming a big deal.

Rock Band and Guitar Hero are currently battling it out in your living room and on your entertainment consoles, so this could help cement Rock Band as the winner, we’ll just have to wait and see.

As mentioned, I’ll have more details later today on as many of the specifics as I can (i.e. what songs, if they will be downloadable, or a stand-alone disc, etc.) At that time there should be official press releases from both MTV and the Beatles record label.

UPDATE: As promised, here are some more details on the Beatles Rock Band deal.

First and foremost (and maybe obvious), this project has the full blessing of, and input from, surviving members Ringo Star and Paul McCartney, as well as from Yoko Ono (on behalf of John Lennon) and Olivia Harrison (on behalf of George Harrison). Hopefully that means great vibes/design all around for when you’re playing Beatles music on your plastic instruments in front of your TV.

Also, the Beatles music will be in a stand-alone game (not via downloadable content, at least not for now) and most likely won’t be in your hands until sometime late 2009 (i.e. just in time the holiday season, surprised?)

The official press release states “the game will be an unprecedented, experiential progression through and celebration of the music and artistry of The Beatles”.

So, it appears the game will span the entire Beatles legacy, taking select songs from start to finish. As a bit of a side note, it looks like the music created by the members of the Beatles when they went into their solo careers will not be in the game, so no “Imagine” for us… At least not this time around. For those keeping score, the Beatles disbanded in 1970… Wow, nearly 40 years ago.

With all the hype, and legacy, that is the Beatles, I really hope Harmonix makes something at least borderline bleeding edge, because just slapping a coat of paint that is the Beatles onto a game design that is a few years old won’t do this project justice. We’ll all just have to wait to see how it turns out.

UPDATE – Beatles Make It Into Rock Band originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/31. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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WoW Now 11 Million Strong (and still growing)…

Ryan Yewell — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:10:20 +0000

For all you under-rock-dwellers out there, a brief explanation of the phenomenon that is World Of Warcraft. It’s made by Blizzard. It’s a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It’s been parodied on SouthPark. It’s a big deal, if for nothing else than the cash-cow it’s created for Activision Blizzard.

Well, World Of Warcraft has now surpassed 11 millions subscribers. Doing the math, if you don’t even count the initial purchase price of the game, and just look at the monthly subscription revenue, a WoW subscriber spends between $13 and $15 dollars a month depending if they are month-to-month or pre-paid.

So that means, in subscriptions alone, Activision Blizzard is making anywhere from $143 million to $165 million EACH MONTH. Nice…

Even nicer… In a conference call with industry analysts back in September, Blizzard revealed that, since the launch of Wow in 2004, the TOTAL money spent on everything from servers, to catering, to staff, has been $200 million (which is what they make in revenue every month and a half.)

So yeah, Blizzard has been in the black, like nobody else’s business, for quite some time. You can clearly see why other companies have tried to dip into that market with upstart MMORPG’s like Warhammer Online, Conan Hyborian Adventures, Hellgate London (to be terminated in January 2009), and even EA/Bioware’s upcoming Star Wars The Old Republic.

And BTW, the latest expansion pack for WoW, Wrath Of The Lich King, is out November 13th, just in time for the holiday season. That’ll mean another $40 bucks a pop for any of the existing 11 million subscribers, plus the additional subscriptions it will bring.

Personally, I’d like to know what the forecast from Blizzard’s number-crunchers is, regarding what percentage of existing subscribers they suspect will buy the Lich King expansion this holiday season. Even if you did an extremely conservative estimate of 1 in 10 existing WoW’ers picking up Lich King, that puts another cool $44 million into the coffers. Wow. Big numbers indeed.

WoW Now 11 Million Strong (and still growing)… originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/30. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

More Dead Space, More Of Everything

Ryan Yewell — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:31:16 +0000

If you own an Xbox 360, PS3, or decent PC, and can appreciate top notch audio/visual production values in your video games (along with some solid gameplay and storyline), then you owe it to yourself to check out “Dead Space”, Electronic Arts’ new survival horror game.

Dead Space is getting scores in the mid to high 80′s on Metacritic, which doesn’t really tell the whole story, as EA has created one of the most stunning visual and audio experiences you’ll have in a video game this year.

BTW, for those that aren’t familiar with metacritic.com, it’s a site that mashes published scores of games, movies, music, etc. from mostly
well-known and respected sources into one overall “meta” score. When I worked at Electronic Arts, the metacritic score of a game was used as a measuring stick internally within the studio, so you can be rest assured that metacritic is highly regarded within the industry as an objective way of scoring a game, if you believe that’s possible.

Anyway, more to the point of this posting, in an interview with Variety, Dead Space executive producer Glenn Schofield mentioned how
EA is working on a Dead Space sequel (not all that surprising), and that the intellectual property (IP) that is “Dead Space” is getting shopped around for more comics, movies, and probably anything else EA can put its stamp on. This mandate isn’t only reserved for Dead
Space, of course, as Army of Two is another IP that is getting shopped around for other mediums and is likely getting a game sequel as well.

http://weblogs.variety.com/the_cut_scene/2008/10/army-of-two-seq.html

Why I find this interesting is that, as we move forward day by day, year by year, the gaming industry just keeps getting bigger, and our
entertainment is starting to truly spread into all kinds of mediums, from movies, to comics, to just about anything.

We’ve seen music move into games with Rock Band and Guitar Hero, we’re seeing game IP’s move into comics and movies, though the movies have been mostly disappointing so far (but anyone interested in a Gears Of War movie, no doubt it will arrive someday).

We’re on the cusp of what will soon be, if not already, a melting pot of all mediums, and Electronic Arts is poised to be a major player
(they are already the biggest software entertainment company in the world, if you don’t include those that also manufacture the hardware… Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo.

As the current generation of consoles create experiences and stories that rival that of TV/movies, we’ll see who becomes king of the hill
when it comes to consumer’s choices and consumer dollars (my bet is on the gaming industry).

More Dead Space, More Of Everything originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/28. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Homebrew Channel Back Up And Running

Frank — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:25:03 +0000

The Homebrew Channel, which broke when Nintendo rolled out an update on October 23rd, is back up and running and better than ever. Not only did the crafty guys mange to subvert Nintendo’s efforts to put them out of business, they managed to squeeze in memory card and SDHC support too.

You can grab the updated firmware here and install it via these easy instructions:

Instructions: Simply load one file, then the other. It does not matter in which order you load them. Use any method. If using tona’s build, simply run the single included DOL to install. You will need to create the meta.xml and icon.png files if you choose a build other than Matthew_8’s Homebrew Channel friendly package.

[Link to the Homebrew Channel]

Homebrew Channel Back Up And Running originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

E3 Revamp

Ryan Yewell — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:30:24 +0000

Well, it’s official. This year’s E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) will try and recapture some of the glory days before it was drastically downsized/neutered in 2007. If you were to talk to most industry professionals, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who actually like the redesigned format of the the last two E3′s, which is probably the main reason for this re-redesign.

The official press release of the upcoming E3 2009 states:

changes include increased booth sizes, increased qualified audiences, and an intensified focus on reinforcing the high-octane growth, innovation, and capitivating entertainment that are driving the computer and video game industry.

More details will be released in the coming weeks. The event will take place June 2-4, 2009, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For more info, go to www.e3expo.com.

Who knows, maybe this will be the start of the return to E3′s glory years, but many think those days are gone forever.

E3 Revamp originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/23. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Evo “Smart Colsole” Is Linux Based

Frank — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:08:55 +0000

When was the last time you say a gaming console released that didn’t come from one of the big three? A while a bet. So you might be happy to know that Envizions Computer Entertainment will be releasing the Evo “Smart Console”. The interesting spin on this new console is that it’s nothing more than a Linux-based computer. It’s not a new concept, Linux has been powering many desktop products from your WiFi router to your Tivo, but gaming?

The unit includes an overclocked Athlon 64×2 5600 processor and an ATI Radeon 3200 graphics card. Development will be geared specifically to the Evo unit so no built in MAME emulator or anything of that nature, but this does open up the world of Linux gaming development.

The new console is set to ship on November 20th with a hefty price tag of $600

Evo “Smart Colsole” Is Linux Based originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/23. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Ryan Yewell — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:10:06 +0000

This game has been in development (and rumoured) for years already, and even back in July John Riccitiello (CEO of Electronic Arts, owner of Bioware), let slip in an interview enough details that it was pretty obvious what was coming. At any rate, yesterday it became official, game developer Bioware (Knights Of The Old Republic, Mass Effect) and LucasArts announced a new Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game called “Star Wars: The Old Republic”.

The makers say the game will focus more on story than other MMORPG’s have in the past, and will take place roughly 300 years after Bioware’s Knights Of The Old Republic, thousands of years BEFORE Darth Vader and all that drama. So, will you fight for good, or evil?

[Link to Star Wars: The Old Republic]

Star Wars: The Old Republic originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/22. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

PSP 5.0 Firmware Hacked

Frank — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 03:33:07 +0000

Is there anything that hacker Dark_AleX can’t do? I mean just a mere 2 days after Sony releasing version 5.0 of it’s firmware for the PSP he has gone and thwarted the security measures. This will allow people to update their PSP without the fear of losing and homebrew functionality.

5.0 brings some useful features to the table like the Playstation store that will bring direct download movies, and games.

PSP 5.0 Firmware Hacked originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DarthCast

Frank — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:26:11 +0000

Looks like Ben Heck has been raising some crafty apprentices. Only a few months after Ben Heck Forum member hellraizer churned out an impressive portable Nintendo 64, he has struck again by crafting an handheld Dreamcast using a Lazer Doodle shell like he did with the N64.

Inside the chassis he jammed a Dreamcast, Quantam controller, PSOne LCD screen, power supply and what must be some serious battery power. All-in-all you get about 3 hours of game play, which is better than what I get on my PSP. Check out the video after the break.

[Link to DarthCast]

DarthCast originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

PSP-300 Now Available In North America

Frank — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:07:32 +0000

The wait is over, the PSP-3000 Ratchet & Clank entertainment pack is now available in North America. The bundle will cost you $199.99, while pricing on the economy black PSP-300 kit due out next month is still unknown.

The Ratchet & Clank bundle includes a silver PSP with a copy of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, a National Treasure 2 UMD movie, a 1GB memory stick and an online download voucher for echochrome.

PSP-300 Now Available In North America originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Rock Band Smoke And Light Kit

Frank — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:19:05 +0000

Do you think that you are a? Play Rock Band day and night? Why not add to your experience with the Rock band smoke and light kit. Alright, so I agree with you, this is a stupid idea, but then again stupid people buy stupid things. Performance Designed Products will soon be selling a smoke and light effects kit that will synchronize with the music from Rock Band. Not too much more info but it seems that the kit is only available to Xbox 360 owners.

You can pre-order it right now from Amazon for $99.99 as it won’t clutter store shelves until November 11th. rockstar

Rock Band Smoke And Light Kit originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/14. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Slimmed Down Xbox

Frank — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:11:46 +0000

Once Microsoft decided to roll out the 360, they had no plans to offer a lite or slim version. One modder has decided to defy the laws of console gaming and build his own slim version of the original Xbox. The slimmed down Xbox is reduced by almost 2 inches in length, width, and height. With a total reduction in volume of around 60%, you know this unit has undergone a serious diet. The weight of the unit is just as impressive, 4 pounds down from a hefty 8.5 pounds.

The mods were possible with some new components – a slimline DVD, 2.5 inch drive, Wi-Fi adapter, and a pair of Iceburg4 Pro Chip Cooling fans keep it all nice and cool.

He should produce a slim kit that people could buy, with original Xbox units selling now-a-days for peanuts they make great media center PC’s since that can run XBMC or ever a MythTV frontend.

[Link to Xbox Slim]

Slimmed Down Xbox originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/11. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

New Xbox Experience Coming Nov. 19th

Frank — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:43:22 +0000

We have all been waiting for it and we now know when we will get it. On November 19th Xbox will roll out the Xbox 360 experience, and your dashboard will never be the same. Avatars, group chat and some other new features are in the works. The new 360 dashboard will roll out on November 19th worldwide.

[Via Joystiq]

New Xbox Experience Coming Nov. 19th originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/10. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

250GB NES Cartridge

Frank — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:32:52 +0000

This one is perfect for all you retro gaming fans. NES Cartridges have been repurposed to be many things; ash trays, gaming consoles, even coasters, but now a crafty modder has jammed in a 2.5″ 250GB SATA drive inside with a usb controller. Although this isn’t the worlds smallest portable hard drive, it is one of the coolest.

If you want to bump up your geek cred then you can actually purchase this one for $180 on Etsy

250GB NES Cartridge originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Use Your PSP As An External Display

Frank — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:22:45 +0000

With a simple piece of software you can use your PSP as an external display. The software, which is available to download on their site, allows you to use the PSP as a 960×544 display. The data is sent over compressed and then decompressed for display. Although this sounds like it would slow things down, the video above shows it working nice and smoothly. Currently only 32 bit Windows XP or older is supported.

[Link to PSP Display]

Use Your PSP As An External Display originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Nintendo Unveils DSi

Frank — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:37:35 +0000

We all knew it was coming. It’s been one of the most talked about releases on the net, and last night made it official. The new DS, dubbed the DSi, will be 12% thinner (they got rid of the GBA slot), have two built in camera (one if reported to be VGA resolution), a bugger (3.25″) screen, and have built in music playback. You will also see an SD slot and some internal storage to enhance the multimedia experience. Nintendo

They will also be rolling out a “DSi Shop” to sell content. The unit will also have a browser application that is free. The store will work off the same point system as we have seen on the Wii.

Unfortunately we won’t be seeing the DSi in North America until sometime in 09, but if you live in Japan you can grab a black or white unit on November 1st.

Nintendo Unveils DSi originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/02. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Are These The New DS Screens?

Frank — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:00:18 +0000

There have been a lot of rumours flying around the internets about a new Nintendo DS lurking around the corner. We have seen rumours of a built in camera and even GPS, but if these leaked shots are accurate, then it quashes the rumours of a wide screen unit hitting the market. The only difference I can see is they are going from a 3 inch screen to 3.25 inches.

Could these be accurate? Quite possibly. The internet is a wonderful marvel of information. Only time will tell.

Are These The New DS Screens? originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/30. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Atari 2600 + Guitar Hero = Atari Hero

Frank — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:31:18 +0000

What happens when you smash an old Atari 2600 and a Guitar Hero guitar together? The Atari Hero of course. Conner over at Slippery Brick has done just that. This crazy casemod is a real beauty. The guitar is wrapped in a custom circuit board pattern, and in place of the strum bar is a tiny (i mean real tiny) LCD screen so you can enjoy all of that 8-bit action. If that wasn’t enough for you, he also embedded the fire button in the neck of the guitar and added a custom joystick and paddle controller right into the body.

It took Conner about 2 months to build this slick casemod and by the looks of it it was totally worth it. The unit plays any classic Atari 2600 game you can throw at it. The whole thing is powered by a couple AAs. I wonder how much game time you get with only two AAs powering an LCD and the Atari itself. Probably not that much.

Now if someone could only jam a 360 or PS3 into a Guitar Hero guitar so that you could play Guitar Hero on your Guitar Hero guitar. A boy can dream, can’t he?

[Link to Atari Hero]

Atari 2600 + Guitar Hero = Atari Hero originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Thrustmaster’s Lightsaber Wimote Add-On

Frank — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:10:27 +0000

There have been quite a few lightsaber add-ons for your wimote’s before, but this one from Thrustmaster actually looks quite cool. The units are powered by three AAA batteries and have 17 blue or red LED’s for some glow in the dark fun. I’m not sure how much they will add to gameplay, but they will cause some fun when you swing it around and smash the light on the end table in your living room.

[Link to Thrustmaster]

Thrustmaster’s Lightsaber Wimote Add-On originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/28. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

NES Controller Sockets

Frank — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 02:18:06 +0000

Been hacking up various old NES units just to get a hold of the controller connectors for your mod projects? Look no further because for the very first time you can buy the controller connectors by themselves. Parallax has just released a 7-pin socket connector that is compatible with the classic NES. For just $2 a piece you can now start the process of jamming your classic NES in everything from a toaster to a pack of smokes (now that would be impressive).

[Via Make]

NES Controller Sockets originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Mamebook – Macbook Arcade Cabinet

Frank — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:45:19 +0000

Got an old Macbook laying around? Why not make your very own cocktail arcade cabinet with it. Crafty hacker Frederic Sebton decided to do something with the broken Macbook he had laying around. He crammed the internals into an Ikea Ramvik sideboard and with a little finessing and hacking he came up with this great arcade cabinet.

He’s got a detailed diary of what he did on the mamebook blog with detailed picture and accounts of what he went through to put it all together. You don’t really need a Macbook to make this work, an LCD and a CPU is all you really need. But this is a great starting place if your interested in building an arcade cabinet.

[Link to Mamebook]

Mamebook – Macbook Arcade Cabinet originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/24. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Famicard – An NES Inside An NES Cartridge

Frank — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:58:30 +0000

Remember the Super Genintari which jammed 4 different classic game consoles into a single unit? Well, how about an NES system inside of an NES cartridge. The famicard is just that.

The unit includes a fill NES cartridge slot, joystick ports, and audio/video output all housed in a classic Zelda case. This is perfect if your a road warrior and want to take you classic games with you without the use of an emulator. Just don’t plug a famicard into a real NES, I heard the world would explode.

[Via Kotomi]

Famicard – An NES Inside An NES Cartridge originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/24. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Kill Aliens With A Laser Pointer

Frank — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:30:42 +0000

“Interference Laser Games” is a game that you play via a projector. Nothing fancy so far, but what if I told you that you control the game with your average everyday laser pointer. Check out the video to see how the pointer is used in Space Invaders and Pong. Essentially it’s the same as a mouse except it’s a freaking laser pointer.

No idea on how it works our how it’s built, but it looks like a fun project to work on.

Kill Aliens With A Laser Pointer originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/23. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Nintendo Stops Modders With Glue

Frank — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:39:48 +0000

Nintendo has just landed a serious blow to mod chip developers. By using something as simple as epoxy, they have made it a sticky (no pun intended) situation for people who are developing mod chip for their game console, the Wii. Glued down epoxy around the DVD-ROM IC chips will surely make it hard, if not impossible, to use a mod chip in a Wii console.

In another shocking story, Waninkok, the developer of the Wii Backup-Loader that we mentioned the other day has decided to quit the project completely. Apparently he’s not too happy that it was leaked this morning, so he’s decided to drop it. I sure hope that he changes his mind, it’s the only way to get around the whole epoxy problem people will be facing.

Nintendo Stops Modders With Glue originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Portable N64

Frank — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:15:36 +0000

It’s truly amazing that the hacking community in the benheck forums continues to provide quality hacks like this portable N64. Darth 64 is a portable N64 that uses parts from a N64, PSx, GameCube, and a Lazer Doodle (that’s the case).

List of features:

Psone screen with original backlight.
Flush mounted headphone jack.
5000maH Li-Poly batteries with quick charger and protection circuit.
Gamecube style joystick and d-pad.
Rear shoulder buttons and twin z buttons.
Cart slot relocation.

You can read up on the whole process here.

Portable N64 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

10 Things You Can Do With A 360

Frank — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:18:43 +0000

Physical hacks are great but that requires a screwdriver and some form of mechanical instinct. So for those people who don’t fall under that type of user TechRadar has a great list of “10 things you never knew you can do with an Xbox 360″. For example did you know that you could do the following:

Connect your Xbox 360 to two screens at once
Play your own music in original Xbox games
It can write its own blog
Play Xbox 360 games online for free – without a Live account
Interact with your Xbox 360 music
Connect your Xbox 360 to a wireless network without an official adaptor
Play music from your iPod
Reset your Xbox 360 video settings
Play any media file, plus online videos on your Xbox 360
Use any HDMI cable and still get digital surround sound

Check out their detailed post on how to do any of the above.

10 Things You Can Do With A 360 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Wii Backup ISO Loader

Frank — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:15:00 +0000

The above video shows you a very legit looking Wii backup ISO loader that’s in the works. The loader works via the super easy to use homebrew channel. It seems that you will have to rip the game disc and then patch it before you can burn the copy. No release date has been set yet, but if what we are seeing it real this could open the Wii backup scene wide open.

Wii Backup ISO Loader originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Ultimate Arcade Cabinet

Frank — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:07:00 +0000

Last week we mention the Super Genintari which housed 4 classic console system. Well, today we take it one step further with the ultimate arcade cabinet. The C-MACC arcade cabinet can play virtually any emulated game thanks to the computer that is buried inside.

The unit also contains a Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and a few other game consoles, meaning you can literally play any game ever made on it. It comes with a set of custom controls on the front and even has buttons on the side for playing pinball. Total cost to build: $8,900. A bit pricey for the average Joe, but just imagine the years of entertainment a unit like this would bring.

[Link to Ultimate Arcade Cabinet]

Ultimate Arcade Cabinet originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Pole Position On Your iPhone

Frank — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:00:42 +0000

Ahh, the many rolls of quarters I dumped into this wonderful game at my local arcade (was more like a laundry mat with a crap load of video games). Now all of that fun can be relived in the palm of your hand. The iPhone version of the hugely popular games offers three methods of control: tilt (based on the accelerometer), slider (swiping your finger left and right), and steering wheel mode (control a steering wheel on screen with your finger). No matter how you go about driving, this game should bring your hours and hours of enjoyment. You can pick it up at the App store.

Pole Position On Your iPhone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Xbox 360 Wireless Interface

Frank — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:04:11 +0000

A crafty hacker on the benheck forums decided that building a portable Xbox had been done so instead he decided to build a wireless video interface for his Xbox 360. The device acts more like a “thin client” and streams whatever his Xbox is playing. The unit has a 1.2GHz A/V receiver and the guts of a wireless controller. It’s powered by two 2600mAh batteries running at 7.5V and even has it’s own built in charging circuit.

It’s a crafty build and great for playing Xbox games while wondering around the house. Plus, it will keep your girl friend/wife off your back for hogging up the TV.

Xbox 360 Wireless Interface originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Super Genintari – 4 Game Stations In One

Frank — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:43:43 +0000

Big retro gamer? Emulators no fun? The wife upset because you have 8 consoles hooked up to the family TV? Well then the Super Genintari is just right for you. The Super Genintari combines 4 classic arcade systems into one unit. An Atari 2600, NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis are rolled into one package.

You can have all 4 system cartridges plugged in at once and it only requires a single AV cable, which makes switching between Sonic and Super Mario Brothers a breeze.

The whole box measures about 14″x10″x5″ and is made entirely of transparent bronze acrylic, formed and shaped on a homemade strip heater. All of the openings for the buttons, cartridges and controller ports were carefully cut with a cordless Dremel. The face buttons are clear acrylic domes with each system’s logo epoxy glued in place and back-lit with orange LEDs when pressed. The entire system is incredibly easy to hook up, consisting of only one standard power cord and one A/V cable. It’s a little on the large size considering the room needed for all the boards, cartridge connectors and built-in transformer, and there’s also the fact that I refused to use clone systems since I wanted 100% compatibility and faithful reproduction. (No Yobos, Super Joys, etc.)

[Link to the Super Geintari]

Super Genintari – 4 Game Stations In One originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/11. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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360 Chatpad On A PSP

Frank — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:57:22 +0000

Just because the Xbox 360 Chatpad box says that you need an Xbox 360 to make it work doesn’t mean that it won’t work on a PSP, with a bit of skill that is. All it takes is some patience and the willingness to try something different.

“Hey all talk a look at my Microsoft Xbox360 Chatpad connected to my PSP Phat and Slim. Thanks to Jean over at ps2dev.org and this project that he developed we can all have nice keyboards connected to our PSP’s. My PSP’s are running CFW 4.01 M33-2, a special version of piKey and a custom flash on the Chatpad. Text input is a breeze and it works with the Sony OSK (on screen keyboard) and the Danzeff OSK under AFKIM. It does not work with PSPWrite and other ZX-81 applications because they are not compiled to do so but Jean is working on a compatible drive to make them work natively.”

[Link to getting your Chatpad working on your PSP]

360 Chatpad On A PSP originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.