News from the Drunken Coders:

The first flash carts designed for the DS are on the way. I should be getting my demo unit soon so standby for a review.

You want a free one? Well you are in luck. They are holding a coding competition with lots of great prizes. Here are some details:
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Alright, so as anyone who idles on the forum or in the channel can tell, things are starting to get out of hand with the free NeoFlash offers.

No disrespect to those applying, but a lot of the time a site is a quick hack job, or a DS section with just links (if anything) added. Of course, a handful of the time someones inspired to do some work on a small game or app.

So, to throw things in a different direction, the simple handouts will be ending.. but fear not. There are plenty of prizes to be given away in the first DS-Only coding competition, offered by NeoFlash.

The rules are fairly straight forward, but bound to change.

There will be 2 categories for entries. The first is for homebrew games, the second, for apps. Apps include loaders, emulators, calculatrice, audio players, and whatever else you can think up.

The game division will have ten prizes total. The first 5 coders will get a NeoFlash 1Gb. Second 5 get a 512Mb unit.

edit: Just recieved an offer of 3 PSPs. The top ranking game will have a PSP prize, as will the first and second place application.

The app division only has 5 places, as we're looking for quality apps that might take a bit longer to code than the average small game. The prizes will be 1Gb units.

We are looking for *complete* programs. It's always nice to see a work in progress, but please don't submit anything until it's final. One entry per author please. Also, don't post your work publically. An email address will be given closer to the dead-line for submission. A NeoFlash banner is required before the main program starts. A simple 'touch to continue' is fine Wink

If its obvious that a lot of effort was put into your project, you won't go away empty handed. It seems no one is selling passmes anymore, so a developer can't get far without one.. or in this case, a free magic key!

So please, get on it! You've got through June 15th to complete your program. It should also be mentioned that anyone who has already recieved a free neoflash can still enter, but isn't allowed to recieve another free unit Smiley

The rules are likely to change at any given moment. Refresh like a madman!

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php?topic=127.0

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Someone has converted the MP3 Player from the Qoob v1.2 BIOS into a DOL file which can now be used with the other Gamecube Modchips including Viper and the softmod software.

Download Below: ...

News from Bor Revolution:

Tails has completed an awsome new mod called Vampire's Rage. It features characters from Guilty Gear and uses advanced features from tails private new version of beats of rage, called Dark Bor Turbo+. This is a highly recommended download, and is available in the complete mod's section!

http://borrevolution.vg-network.com/ ...

Wow a great few days for new sites, this time its a new French Dreamcast site which has tutorials and much more, check it out here --> http://dreamagain.free.fr/

Thanks to SiZiOUS and DC France (http://www.dc-france.com/) for the last 2 news items. ...

Mekanaizer our friend from Portugal (dont talk to me about the soccer match we were cheated out of winning ) has opened a new website for Dreamcast development and his projects.

Check it out here --> http://mekadevspot.info/ ...

Tapwave, the makers of the PalmOS-based Zodiac handheld gaming PDA, have announced—essentially—that the platform is on its way out. The company still stands and will be working to do co-branded products with other companies, whatever that entails. You should probably just go read their statement yourselves. It almost sounds like they’ll be helping people build PSP titles, to me.

But the Zodiac, for all its shortcomings (namely, not being the PSP), is a pretty neat device, especially if you just want a Palm PDA that can occasionally play games. ...

It's been a trying time for Zodiac fans lately. With clearance-style Zodiac prices in the UK, deep discounts in the US, Fathammer quietly removing the Zodiac from the list of compatible devices for some of its upcoming games, and Tapwave keeping their mouths closed through it all, the future was looking dim. But...at last...Tapwave has provided some answers.

The following is some information, straight from Tapwave's Senior VP of Marketing, Byron Connell. While many of his comments raise more questions than they answer, they do provide some reassurance to Zodiac fans that Tapwave's future is more positive than recent events might have us believe.

******************************

Here is what we are focused on:


Tapwave is starting to transition from offering Tapwave branded retail products to developing new co-branded products for OEM partners (i.e., other leading consumer electronic companies). These partners will be introducing future multimedia products based on both the Zodiac technology platform and Tapwave's next generation technologies. This approach allows us to leverage other company's brands, distribution, marketing funds and geographic expertise. Some of these partner companies are interested in delivering a next generation gaming experience, but most (with the arrival of Sony PSP) are really focused on working with us to create other mobile solutions – e.g., rich multimedia, navigation and communication. Of course, you can see this business transition starting to happen in UK as we speak. This was planned. To facilitate the move to a new OEM business model, Tapwave is also working with Dixons and other UK resellers to manage this transition. Customers are likely to find some good deals in the process and will of course continue to receive great support, etc.

Developing and closing new business and partnership opportunities. You should hear more about this in the coming weeks since we have recently closed a multi-product business partnership with a leading Chinese company.

Developing our next generation multimedia platform.

Raising additional funds to help drive future programs – yes, unfortunately this is an ongoing part of being a small privately funded company. Wish I had Sony or Nokia’s budget

Consolidating our e-commerce software download to a single vendor. Note: Unfortunately customers in UK and Singapore will experience some store access issues during this transition which has just begun.

With that said, there are also some great new developments for Zodiac…


A new Zodiac API is back under development for hardware MPEG4 decode (to help developers take better advantage of the ATI chip for improved video performance). This one has been on my personal wish list for a long time as well.

The new software driver for the Sandisk WIFI+256MB card is very close to release. The beta is currently available for download on our site. The card itself will also be made available from our online store shortly.

New web browser from Nvarra (Nweb) recently completed/enhanced for Zodiac and being readied for release. Very nice application.

Mapopolis GPS solution available and entire US Map collection on a single SD card. Works with both Bluetooth and SDIO based GPS receivers.

The high score reporting/tournament zone project is back in development. We will likely roll out a basic version in beta form first.

A new Bluetooth enabled version of Megabowling.is close to completion (much better than IR based, etc.)

Mototrax MTX (the 1st X-forge 2.0 title) is now GM quality and is still in line for release after final doc, testing and Activision sign off. Other Tapwave branded titles are on hold (not canceled) pending OEM interest.

Based on last week’s discussions with Fathammer, we are also expecting a couple more 3D X-Forge titles from them in the next couple months.

MessagEase for quick and easy input now runs on Zodiac. You can download the Zodiac version from http://www.exideas.com/ME/Downloads.html

Several other great new 3rd party apps/games that you are probably already aware of…etc.

http://tapland.com/news_arc/?id=636 ...

Heres a new pic of the Xbox 2 Prototype Controller: ...

FluBBa has released a new fixed version of PocketNes the Nes emulator for the GameBoy Advance that also works on the Nintendo DS and Gamecube Gameboy Player. Heres whats new:

UPDATE: fixed the sound... download again.

Download Here.

Download over 100 Homebrew Nes Roms Here. ...