Libmii is an in-development library to allow homebrew developers to use Miis in their applications.

Download Here and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

Last night, Nintendo held an event for platinum members of Club Nintendo to try out the new DSi. Quite a few interesting tidbits were shared at the event, including that DSi owners will be able to download Game Boy and GBA games. I am going to mark this as a rumor for now, however. We haven’t heard about this in Japan and Nintendo has yet to officially confirm the news.

- Will be only able to download Nintendo GBA/GB titles at first
- GBA/GB games will be region-locked
- Will be able to run the games from an SD card
- Calculators will be downloadable
- Opera available for download on DSi launch day
- Confirmed that owners will receive 1000 free points

http://www.nintendoeverything.com/?p=12752 ...

An Xbox graphic designer who allegedly suffered abuse over his sexuality at work claimed Microsoft has a culture of homophobia, according to papers submitted to a tribunal.

Jamie Durrant, 38, who is homosexual, is suing Microsoft for £45,000 for "hurt feelings" because he says he was called by nicknames including '*** Boy Jim'.

Mr Durrant claims that mocking messages were circulated with headings including 'I'm Jim and I'm Gay', 'Me and My Favourite Men' and 'Ladies Are Bad'.

Mr Durrant earns £50,000-a-year designing video games for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console.

He claims that the firm did not have policies in place to deal with his complaints about homophobic harassment.

Mr Durrant, of Godalming, Surrey, is suing Microsoft at London South Employment Tribunal for discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation.

He has been signed off sick for depression for seven months and is demanding £45,000 in compensation for lost earnings and injury to feelings.

Last month, Microsoft banned a lesbian Xbox gamer who was being harassed by other players.

The gamer named Theresa suffered homophobic insults after identifying herself as a lesbian in her profile.

Microsoft suspended Theresa's account because her reference to her sexual orientation was considered "offensive" to the Xbox community.

Mr Durrant has been employed for 11 years in Guildford by Lionhead Studios, which was bought by Reading-based Microsoft two years ago.

In legal papers submitted to the tribunal, Mr Durrant claimed that the abusive emails were first sent in January last year.

He said: "I have never hidden my sexuality from the office and I felt this could be targeted at myself.

"This was not the first time there was homophobic content in the office.

"Previously, I had tried to deal with it myself. This time, I did not feel that I could."

Mr Durrant said he complained to human resources chiefs that there was a "homophobic attitude" within Microsoft.

He claimed he agreed with them not to raise a formal grievance for fear of creating an "uneasy atmosphere" in the office.

Instead, it was allegedly agreed that HR would email staff reminding them of "how to behave responsibly in a diverse office".

Mr Durrant said he expected the email to be sent within a fortnight but months went by without anything happening.

When he queried the delay, he says he was allegedly told that the firm would have to draw up new policies before any email could be sent.

He said: "I was very surprised that Microsoft did not have any policies relating to this sexual orientation harassment."

Mr Durrant claimed that he did not think HR chiefs were taking his complaint seriously.

He was allegedly asked to sign a document agreeing not to raise a formal grievance and confirming that he was happy his complaint was being dealt with.

He said that he refused but it was agreed that Microsoft would post its anti-discrimination policy on the firm's intranet for staff to see.

Mr Durrant has accused Microsoft HR chiefs of "blatantly disregarding" and "obstructing" his complaint.

He said he was offered counselling but said: "I feel like they're making out that I'm the one with the problem and not the homophobic aspects of the company."

He was signed off sick for depression in August last year and is still on half pay.

He said: "I feel I should be compensated for the stress that this whole complaint procedure has placed on me, the amount of effort and time I have put into trying to get this resolved and acknowledgment that they have done nothing whilst the homophobic harassment continued, making my workplace uncomfortable and unpleasant."

Microsoft denies discriminating on the ground of sexual orientation and is vigorously contesting Mr Durrant's claim.

A spokeswoman said: "Microsoft is unable to comment on pending litigation."

Microsoft said it had suspended the lesbian Xbox gamer's account because it does not permit "expression of any type of orientation, be that hetero or other" in profiles.

It invited players to report any inappropriate behaviour, adding: "Harassment of any kind is not condoned and is taken very seriously."

Mr Durrant's case is due to be heard later this year.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sciencean...omophobia.html ...

We got a word from a tipster (who frequently tips off Chinese trade paper Digitimes), that Nintendo will be refreshing Wii internal hardware this summer, with 65nm versions of both its CPU and graphics chips, while clock rates would stay the same.

Currently, the IBM PowerPC based CPU is made on a 90nm process and the ATI “Hollywood” GPU is likewise 90nm. Both companies have been making 65nm chips for over a year, while ATI also has 55nm working technology as well.

Furthermore, thanks to the new chips, the Wii is said to be “passively-cooled”, meaning it won’t require any fans.

Considering how cheap flash memory is these days, it would be easy to assume that Nintendo would increase the 512 MB internal flash storage as well. However, according to the source, the new version of the Wii would have no other hardware changes besides 65nm technology and new heat sinks for cooling.

It makes perfect sense for Nintendo to go 65nm, as both Sony and Microsoft have updated their CPUs to 65nm (in Microsoft’s case, the GPU as well) and are currently working towards 45nm. Compared to 90nm, the 65nm manufacturing process not only brings lower power consumption and cooler processors, but substantially reduces manufacturing costs as well. However, as usual, there is no official word from Nintendo. Considering that the company still hasn’t released the official Wii specs, it’s unlikely that they’ll share the news of 65nm parts.

We’ll only know when someone dissects their new Wii this summer.

http://www.digitalbattle.com/2009/03...u-this-summer/ ...

Do you remember Project Ringo? If the answer is no, we don't blame you! Sega opened up a teaser site for the mysterious game back in early February, then spent the next few weeks offering up no real hints as to the nature of the game. That's about to change shortly.

The latest update to the teaser site reveals that an official unveiling for the new game will take place next week, on April 3. The source for the info will be both the teaser site as well as Weekly Famitsu.

So it looks like the answer to that two month-old question of "What is Project Ringo?" is almost at hand! Those who can't wait can get a glimpse at what is presumably the game's main character via the Flash animation at the teaser site or in the images we've captured for our media section.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/965/965648p1.html ...

The Rock Band Track Pack: Classic Rock has been made official. Previously leaked through ESRB ratings, the twenty pack disc is now official and heading to consoles May 19 in North America. It will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Wii.

This standalone disc features 20 songs that can be imported onto your hard drive (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 only) for use in your Rock Band library and can also be played as is. The disc will set you back $29.99.

Here is the full set list:

Boston -- Peace of Mind

Boston -- "Rock and Roll Band"

Dead Kennedys -- "California ?ber Alles"

Dead Kennedys -- "Holiday in Cambodia"

Free -- "All Right Now"

George Thorogood & the Destroyers -- "Bad to the Bone"

James Gang -- "Funk #49"

Jethro Tull -- "Hymn 43"

Lenny Kravitz -- "Let Love Rule"

Pat Benatar -- "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

The Police -- "Can't Stand Losing You"

The Police -- "Truth Hits Everybody"

Rush -- "Closer to the Heart"

Rush -- "Red Barchetta"

Siouxsie and The Banshees -- "Kiss Them For Me"

Steve Miller Band -- "Take the Money and Run"

Steve Miller Band -- "The Joker"

The Stone Roses -- "Love Spreads"

The Who -- "Baba O'Riley"

The Who -- "Behind Blue Eyes"
All songs have been imported into Rock Band using the master tracks.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/965/965265p1.html ...

The Rock Band Track Pack: Classic Rock has been made official. Previously leaked through ESRB ratings, the twenty pack disc is now official and heading to consoles May 19 in North America. It will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Wii.

This standalone disc features 20 songs that can be imported onto your hard drive (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 only) for use in your Rock Band library and can also be played as is. The disc will set you back $29.99.

Here is the full set list:

Boston -- Peace of Mind

Boston -- "Rock and Roll Band"

Dead Kennedys -- "California ?ber Alles"

Dead Kennedys -- "Holiday in Cambodia"

Free -- "All Right Now"

George Thorogood & the Destroyers -- "Bad to the Bone"

James Gang -- "Funk #49"

Jethro Tull -- "Hymn 43"

Lenny Kravitz -- "Let Love Rule"

Pat Benatar -- "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

The Police -- "Can't Stand Losing You"

The Police -- "Truth Hits Everybody"

Rush -- "Closer to the Heart"

Rush -- "Red Barchetta"

Siouxsie and The Banshees -- "Kiss Them For Me"

Steve Miller Band -- "Take the Money and Run"

Steve Miller Band -- "The Joker"

The Stone Roses -- "Love Spreads"

The Who -- "Baba O'Riley"

The Who -- "Behind Blue Eyes"
All songs have been imported into Rock Band using the master tracks.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/965/965265p1.html ...

The Rock Band Track Pack: Classic Rock has been made official. Previously leaked through ESRB ratings, the twenty pack disc is now official and heading to consoles May 19 in North America. It will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Wii.

This standalone disc features 20 songs that can be imported onto your hard drive (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 only) for use in your Rock Band library and can also be played as is. The disc will set you back $29.99.

Here is the full set list:

Boston -- Peace of Mind

Boston -- "Rock and Roll Band"

Dead Kennedys -- "California ?ber Alles"

Dead Kennedys -- "Holiday in Cambodia"

Free -- "All Right Now"

George Thorogood & the Destroyers -- "Bad to the Bone"

James Gang -- "Funk #49"

Jethro Tull -- "Hymn 43"

Lenny Kravitz -- "Let Love Rule"

Pat Benatar -- "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

The Police -- "Can't Stand Losing You"

The Police -- "Truth Hits Everybody"

Rush -- "Closer to the Heart"

Rush -- "Red Barchetta"

Siouxsie and The Banshees -- "Kiss Them For Me"

Steve Miller Band -- "Take the Money and Run"

Steve Miller Band -- "The Joker"

The Stone Roses -- "Love Spreads"

The Who -- "Baba O'Riley"

The Who -- "Behind Blue Eyes"
All songs have been imported into Rock Band using the master tracks.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/965/965265p1.html ...

The Rock Band Track Pack: Classic Rock has been made official. Previously leaked through ESRB ratings, the twenty pack disc is now official and heading to consoles May 19 in North America. It will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Wii.

This standalone disc features 20 songs that can be imported onto your hard drive (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 only) for use in your Rock Band library and can also be played as is. The disc will set you back $29.99.

Here is the full set list:

Boston -- Peace of Mind

Boston -- "Rock and Roll Band"

Dead Kennedys -- "California ?ber Alles"

Dead Kennedys -- "Holiday in Cambodia"

Free -- "All Right Now"

George Thorogood & the Destroyers -- "Bad to the Bone"

James Gang -- "Funk #49"

Jethro Tull -- "Hymn 43"

Lenny Kravitz -- "Let Love Rule"

Pat Benatar -- "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

The Police -- "Can't Stand Losing You"

The Police -- "Truth Hits Everybody"

Rush -- "Closer to the Heart"

Rush -- "Red Barchetta"

Siouxsie and The Banshees -- "Kiss Them For Me"

Steve Miller Band -- "Take the Money and Run"

Steve Miller Band -- "The Joker"

The Stone Roses -- "Love Spreads"

The Who -- "Baba O'Riley"

The Who -- "Behind Blue Eyes"
All songs have been imported into Rock Band using the master tracks.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/965/965265p1.html ...