News from ED:

It has been a while since you got a blog update - I KNOW you were waiting for one.
Well, that problem with PayPal and your MASSIVE preorders including hundreds of eMails to reply to did take some time, so we did not have much time to do blog updates.
As the Pandora is coming close to a release now, we also had to do a lot of organization work so that everything will come together nicely.

Still, we were working on other stuff for the Pandora, too, so here is a brief update:

- We did some font tests for the GUI (gmenu2x - and another one is in development, so you should have two GUIs soon ). The gp2x font was way too small on such a high resolution screen, so we did some testings and found out what font size is readable and what not. With the font fixed, gmenu2x is now fully working on the Pandora the same way it is on the gp2x. Now we can focus on improvements. I'll post a video soon - but I'm out of the office until October 19th, please be patient until that time

- The last components and fixes for the prototype case are being applied at the moment. That includes the keyboard mat and the hole for the stylus. Shouldn't be too long now until the case is finished.
Here are some pictures of the WIP keyboard mat. Still missing some stuff like air channels, but looking very nice already:

...

News from ED:

It has been a while since you got a blog update - I KNOW you were waiting for one.
Well, that problem with PayPal and your MASSIVE preorders including hundreds of eMails to reply to did take some time, so we did not have much time to do blog updates.
As the Pandora is coming close to a release now, we also had to do a lot of organization work so that everything will come together nicely.

Still, we were working on other stuff for the Pandora, too, so here is a brief update:

- We did some font tests for the GUI (gmenu2x - and another one is in development, so you should have two GUIs soon ). The gp2x font was way too small on such a high resolution screen, so we did some testings and found out what font size is readable and what not. With the font fixed, gmenu2x is now fully working on the Pandora the same way it is on the gp2x. Now we can focus on improvements. I'll post a video soon - but I'm out of the office until October 19th, please be patient until that time

- The last components and fixes for the prototype case are being applied at the moment. That includes the keyboard mat and the hole for the stylus. Shouldn't be too long now until the case is finished.
Here are some pictures of the WIP keyboard mat. Still missing some stuff like air channels, but looking very nice already:

...

A few days ago I posted a video of something that we’ve come to call BootMii. I think it’s time to answer some questions about what it really is, what it does, and how it will help you. Oh, and by the way, before I bore you and you stop reading this, at least note that BootMii is entirely software-based. The hardware in the video is merely for debugging.


The first thing that you need to realize is that BootMii isn’t a single application or hack - it’s a platform for hacks. Up until now, we’ve had little control over what software our Wiis truly run. Sure, we can run our own stuff, but ultimately we’re users of the system - everything we do has to go through Nintendo’s software. We can avoid updates and try to understand the existing system, but we’re still dependent on it. Every piece of Wii Homebrew currently depends on Nintendo’s IOS. This isn’t a bad thing (it provides many bits of code that we don’t have to write), but it also means we have to follow its rules.

Now, there have been some hacks around the system, of course. PatchMii was developed to get rid of some of the restrictions of IOS - but it’s not particularly practical, and only really works for one IOS at a time. Starfall gets rid of some annoyances of the system menu, but it’s an ugly low-level filesystem hack that will get erased with any Nintendo update. And at any time Nintendo can come and update the entire system to patch all the holes. Of course, we don’t expect the latter to happen (we have / will find more holes), but nonetheless it’s still unnerving to a degree.

BootMii - let’s call it the BootMii platform - is about changing that. Instead of being users of the system, doomed to hacking our ways from the inside, we’re going to turn the tables around. Now we’ll have control and Nintendo’s software will have to go through us to do anything.

Before going into details though, I must mention another subtle but important detail about how we’ve decided to go about designing BootMii. While we will be taking control of the system, we want to accomplish that while minimizing any changes to the existing system. This has many advantages. By keeping BootMii separate from the existing system for the most part, we can switch it on and off at will. This might become handy if, for example, Nintendo decides to start banning homebrewers from online games.

Now, I’ve said that BootMii is a platform. We’re still working on designing and building most of it, so don’t expect detailed explanations about the still-to-be-written pieces. Instead, today I’ll talk about the part of BootMii that was demoed in the video: BootMii-Core.

BootMii-Core is a very important piece of BootMii, ideologically speaking. What it does is give us full control of the console as early in the boot process as possible. A mere fraction of a second after you hit the power button on your console, BootMii-Core will already be running and you’ll have the ability to do anything at that point. This isn’t the only advantage, though. By being such an early hook, BootMii-Core is also the most brick-resistant piece of software that can be written for the Wii. You’d have to deliberately brick your Wii to kill BootMii, excluding one particular type of update by Nintendo (we’ll get to that later).

Let’s revisit the boot sequence of the Wii. The very first piece of code that runs is boot0, which is part of the mask artwork of the Hollywood chipset and thus entirely untouchable. It loads boot1 from the beginning of NAND and verifies it against a hash stored in non-writable memory. This ensures that boot1 is also untouchable (you’ll brick your Wii if you try). Here’s where it gets interesting: boot1 is supposed to load boot2 from a special reserved section of the NAND Flash memory. Boot2, which is a sort of mini-IOS, then kicks off the loading of the system menu (and ends up loading its required IOS beforehand). However, the boot2 verification uses the same exact infrastructure as the one used in the rest of the Wii, and it is also vulnerable to the fakesigning bug. Since boot1 is untouchable once the Wii leaves the factory, every current Wii in existence (as far as we know) is and forever will be vulnerable to this bug, which lets us install a fakesigned boot2 of our choice.

As you may have guessed, BootMii-Core is such a fakesigned boot2. However, it isn’t a hacked version of boot2, nor is it a replacement for boot2. First, you need to realize that boot2 as it actually is stored isn’t a monolithic piece of software. The following applies to boot2 and to all IOSes prior to IOS30, and to the boot file of IOS30 and beyond. These IOS binaries are in a simple format that is in two parts: a simple header, a small ELF loader, and the payload ELF proper. The ELF contains the actual IOS/boot2 code, and the ELF loader is a simple stub that loads it into memory and runs it. BootMii-Core replaces the ELF loader, leaving the original boot2 ELF payload intact.

Now, getting a bit more technical, the BootMii-Core “ELF loader” is itself ...

via Eurogamer


Konami has told Eurogamer that Silent Hill: Homecoming has been pushed back to February 2009 in Europe.

The spooky PC, 360 and PS3 game was expected at the end of the month, on Halloween. No reason was given for the delay, and the publisher was reluctant to discuss the matter further.

We suspect regional localisation issues are to blame. Or, perhaps, Konami simply wanted out of a busy release period. Maybe the extra time will even be used to address a few issues.

Silent Hill: Homecoming was released in the US at the end of September and has earned decent critical applause - resulting in a Metacritic average of 73 per cent.

Homecoming is the sixth instalment in the long-running and successful Silent Hill series (Silent Hill: Origins on PSP being the fifth). Team Silent, however, no longer has a hand in the games, having backed out after Silent Hill 4. ...

via Joystiq


Deca Sports, Wii Sports, Carnival Games and all the other minigame collections on Wii had better watch their backs ... or at least join together, forming some kind of bargain bin Voltron to do battle against Big League Sports. Activision is bringing the new minigame collection to the Wii "this holiday season."

The collection will include 22 of the most "thrilling situations" from tennis, basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse, and hockey. Also, there's character creation so (as we're sure they expected by now) it seems your Miis will miss out on the fun. ...

Nice to see a new N64 emulator released, heres the full info:

Mupen64Plus is a plugin-based N64 emulator for Linux which is capable of accurately playing many games. Included are four MIPS R4300 CPU emulators, with dynamic recompilers for 32-bit x86 and 64-bit amd64 systems, and necessary plugins for audio, graphical rendering (RDP), signal co-processor (RSP), and input. There are 3 OpenGL video plugins included: glN64, RiceVideoLinux, and Glide64.



October 13th, 2008: I finally got around to tagging and releasing version 1.4.1 of Mupen64Plus. I should have done this a long time ago, but I guess it's better late than never! This version includes no new features over v1.4 but it does include over 20 bug fixes. Some of the problems that are fixed include: a major slowdown caused by the On Screen Display, a bunch of different crashes in the 64-bit version, an installation script bug on non-BASH shells, some Blight input fixes, a fix for Conker's BFD, and memory leaks. Details are in the RELEASE file as usual.

Download and Give Feedback and Compatability Reports Via Comments ...

via Computer and Video Games


If you're a multi-platform owner and stuck for which console you will buy Saint's Row 2 for, your decision may be swayed by the fact that the PS3 version will completely lack Trophy support.

THQ has confirmed as much to CVG that following confusion over whether or not trophies would be supported in the game, with conflicting reports and statements all over the place.

Official word is that it's not happening.

The spokesperson could not confirm whether or not Trophy support would be added in a patch post-release, nor why it was omitted in the first place, although we suspect the launch of the trophy system may not have sat well with the already-delayed development schedule. ...

New from Success HK



This NDS-LITE Portable Speaker Pro has the crystal clear sound ality effect with super bass and dual high-quality speakers with woofer effect.
The speaker is easy to use, designed foldable for easy carry and no battery needed. It is compatible with all NDSL too. ...

via Eurogamer


It's been announced that the first DS instalment in the TrackMania series will be released on 21st November.

TrackMania DS will feature more than a hundred circuits, three single-player modes and three types of environment. Rally tracks require you to handle dirt paths and winding tracks in ultra-light vehicles. In the Desert it's all about giant potholes and chain bridges. Power-slides and skidding skills will be needed for the Stadium circuits, where you'll get to race stylised F1 vehicles.


TrackMania DS will cross the finishing line, stand on the winners' podium and spray champagne in the face of a girl wearing hotpants on 21st November. Discover why that's exciting news in our TrackMania DS hands-on preview. ...