Torque posted this rather interesting tidbit of news:

Hi!

I'm thinking about implementing some kind of frontend for dingoo linux.
For it's first incarnation I want to implement a On-Screen keyboard (for
things like dosbox / "emergency" terminal).

so, here's how I think it could work:

Basic use cases:

- user presses a button on the device for a short period of time =>
on-screen keyboard is displayed, exit by pressing same button
or clicking UI element
- user presses a button on the device for a long period of time =>
OSD comes up and allows user to start another emu, player, or
display some system statistics, exit s.a.

Implementation:

- implemented as a daemon which listens for input
- daemon brings up UI
- daemon emulates keypresses when a key on the OSK are pressed,
and thus forwards them to the emulator / player

Current state of affairs:

- got a simple demo program running in my development VM using
guichan http://guichan.sourceforge.net/
- planning to use http://code.google.com/p/xmlguichan/ for easy
customization
- there's also a GUI editor http://sourceforge.net/projects/gce
=> not yet evaluated
- I assume input is handled as a joystick device, so:
- tried out js2mouse http://freshmeat.net/projects/js2mouse/ in
order to emulate mouse events for guichan
=> this somewhat worked, but the curser was jumping around
randomly
options are:
- try to get js2mouse working by testing js2mouse / SDL settings
- patch the guichan SDL backend to react to joystick events
recommendation?

Open questions:

- is this a good idea?
- how can I simulate key presses? some linux guru might be able to answer
this more quickly than me spending hours googling
SOLVED(?): http://www.einfochips.com/download/dash_jan_tip.pdf seems
to be the way to go
- who's going to draw me a nice GUI / OSK? (my artistic capabilities are
very limited and only surface randomly )

Please discuss!

UPDATE

uinput stuff seems to work. gonna start a basic daemon tomorrow.
it will probably also translate joystick to mouse events using uinput
for guichan.

also evaluated gui editor (not very thoroughly), seems very basic ...
also doesn't seem to use the same xml format as xmlguichan. ...

New from Divineo UK

One of the failings of the Xbox 360 console is it's reputation for developing GPU based faults known as "the red ring of death", E74 error or sound but no display.
Two of the most effective remedies are to clamp the processer or fit heat sinks to the memory chips on the underside of the board - the Xecuter RROD Fix Pro kit addresses both of these problems and offers an all in one solution with the necessary tools, heat sink paste / pads, screws and washers.


Many guides and fixes are avaliable over the internet and if enough time is taken to read up on the subject you could at the very least resurrect a dead console or even permanently fix one!
Please note that Microsoft offer a 3 year warranty on some of these faults and can be contacted via thier website. ...

New from Divineo UK



It can be pretty tricky trying to get into your Xbox 360 without the proper tools, with the Team Xecuter Xbox 360 Unlock Kit V2 the job becomes simple.

This high quality unlocking tool allows easy access to the inside of your Xbox 360 console, coming in two parts it is perfectly formed to allow both the sides and the back of the console to be opened with the minimum amount of fuss with no unsightly marks left after the job's finished.

So whether you want to be plain nosey, repair or modify your Xbox 360 the Team Xecuter Xbox 360 Unlock Kit is a must for hassle free opening ...

Nintendo's talkative global president Satoru Iwata turned a few heads when he told CNBC that the company had another handheld gaming system completed and ready for production sometime in the past three years, but that it ultimately decided not to release it. Though he didn't give any details on the handheld, he did say that, "in the history of Nintendo there are several such examples." We can only hope that some kind of wild, awesome Gameboy prototype hits our desk one day. Nintendo's most recent handheld, the DSi, has moved over a million units, including around 435,000 during its first week of sale in the U.S.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/08/n...the-past-thre/ ...

There's just something so defiant about this "Power Up" charging stand from Mad Catz -- it seems specifically designed to take up as much cubic footage as possible, and even the name is domineering. The stand is bizarrely formed in the likeness of a miniature Wii Balance Board, with a replacement battery pack included in the kit with contact charging points to take out all the exertion of flipping the B-Board and swapping out batteries. A foot pedal release mechanism pops the Balance Board out of the stand, and there are a couple of free-spirited USB ports on the thing for charging up whatever other awkwardly-shaped gadgetry you might have around the house.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/08/w...catz-just-dar/ ...

Shigeru Miyamoto has responded to the announcements of Microsoft's Project Natal and Sony's motion controller by saying that new control schemes only work if you make compelling games with them.

"The interesting thing about [these announcements] is it takes a great deal of experience to be able to create full gameplay experiences that take advantage of motion control," he told the BBC.

"We've been experimenting with motion control for over five years now, and based on the announcements we've seen here at E3, it seems like the other two companies have really only been experimenting with this only very recently."

Miyamoto isn't worried, apparently, and believes that both announcements show that, "number one, they've looked at what we've done with Wii, and seen the value in that, and now they're moving in the same direction that we have already established."

Miyamoto's comments continue the fine E3 tradition of executives passively slagging off the competition. For example, Microsoft's John Schappert told Eurogamer last week that having to hold a controller is "a big barrier to being able to get people to enjoy interactive experiences".

Nintendo, however, can argue that Wii MotionPlus is out this Friday, with Wii Sports Resort following next month, which is rather more tangible than the tech demos shown off at E3 by its competitors.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mi...ars-experience ...

Tecmo has whipped the wrappers off PSP action game Undead Knights, which is set to launch this autumn.

Undead Knights casts players as evil heroes Romulus, Remus and his wife Silvia who each makes a pact with a demon to be resurrected after being murdered for speaking out against the Queen.

Not only are they walking and talking again, but they've been granted the power to resurrect their own army of 10 zombies from fallen enemies - even boss characters - to do their bidding. They can be clumped together to form ladders or bridges, or thrown at larger enemies to cling-on and weigh them down.

Romulus, Remus and Silvia are no slouches in battle themselves and are played interchangeably as the campaign unfolds in typical third-person hack-and-slash style.

Ad-hoc multiplayer for four friends will be supported and feature a variety of modes including zombie tossing deathmatch, which sounds novel.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/te...nights-for-psp ...

Bethesda's Todd Howard has told Joystiq that the developer thinks Fallout would translate well to iPhone, and has been experimenting with potential designs - but it hasn't found one that works yet.

"I think that the world of Fallout is unique enough that it could work on any platform. I think some of the things we do like VATS, I think that could translate to any platform, particularly the iPhone," Howard said.

"We've looked into those things, we just haven't found the thing that supports the brand well. I wouldn't be surprised if it does happen one day. The iPhone versions that we've designed and said, 'Ehh, we don't think we're going to do that right now', there are ... there are a lot of them."

Howard mentioned that Bethesda was working on a game for Apple's device at New York Comic Con earlier this year. Sounds as though it's Fallout after all, but work is progressing slowly. Here's hoping it strikes on a way to support the brand better soon.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/be...iphone-fallout ...

Infinity Ward has clarified that Modern Warfare 2 is meant to be a direct sequel, which a first for the Call of Duty franchise.

Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, IW community speaker Robert Bowling said the name Modern Warfare 2 was picked to illustrate just that.

"This is a direct sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. That is what we are trying to get across to our audience. It's not just another one in the Call of Duty franchise," he said.

"This has never happened in Call of Duty before. They're typically their own campaigns and totally unrelated to the previous one. This one, is indeed a direct sequel and we just want to make that clear."

Modern Warfare 2 launches for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on 10th November.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mo...-direct-sequel ...