Since I'm still sick and have even lost my voice, I thought I'd spend a couple hours today geeking it up with some fun gadgety things on the 'net.
Regular readers of ThePete.Com know that I'm a bit of a gadget nut. I'm also a wannabe hacker. Not the kind that busts into computer system, but the sort of "new-wave" hacker that repurposes things. In the case of this entry, I'm going to talk about the Nintendo DS and getting a web browser or other common 'net apps onto it.
(Alas, I am still one referal short to get my free DS, but that's a topic for another post.)
Now, Nintendo has said they won't be putting out a browser or do anything PDA-ish with the DS. They say that they're leaving that up to third party companies to do. The problem? None have done so yet and it doesn't seem like anyone is going to, either.
This is where the homebrew community enters the scene. Now, [http://www.akkit.org/|Stephen Stair], has just managed to break the wall between the DS and the 'net using something other than officially sanctioned DS games. [http://www.akkit.org/dswifi/index.html|Read about his continued progress at his website.]
Does this mean that we can now surf the web on our DSes? Not quite. Some of us can, but some of us are SOL.
Now, the reason I went with the DS over the PSP was the price. In fact, the DS is even cheaper now than it was when I bought it. It's over $100 cheaper than the PSP. The idea of an Internet-ready device for under $150 was just too tempting for me to avoid. The thing is, you can't just run homebrews on the DS. You need a flashcart--a device that pretends that it's a GBA cartridge but is effectively a mini hard drive. You can run GBA homebrew apps this way with no problem. However, you can't run DS homebrew this way. This is because the DS only looks for DS code in the DS cartridge slot.
How do you tell the DS to look for DS code in the GBA slot? You use a PassMe--a device you plug into the DS slot and then plug a DS cartridge into it. The catch here is that you either need to build it yourself or buy it from someone who will build it for you. [http://www.natrium42.com/|Natrium] is one guy who builds PassMes for cash. This is annoying since he charges $25--that seems like a lot of cash for just a circuitboard with a couple things soldered to it. But, hey, I don't fault him for charging what he thinks it's worth, I just don't want to spend that much.
The alternative then is to go with a WifiMe. This requires that you have a PC and one of the handful of the supported wifi cards--in other words, seems pretty weak. I've got a Mac and even if I had a PC, the odds of having one of the supported wifi cards would be slim. I could intentionally buy one from the [http://ralink.rapla.net/|list], but there's that "spending money" thing again. (If you do go with one of the cards from the above-linked list--don't go with the USB versions--they don't work, apparently.)
So, ultimately, I can't get on the 'net without buying something extra. Which is very frustrating to me. I did pick up a GBA Moveie Player for $25 ([http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=246&products_id=3983&PHPSESSID=36c69f5951cb7254f0b6a3b7ccdf13ed|you can get one here] from Lik-Sang.com, a reputable Chinese vendor). The GBAMP is usually used to play movies, audio and old NES games but can be converted into a flashcart. The catch there is that you still need the PassMe/WifiMe to get the DS to look to the GBA slot of the DS to run the DS code.
The only real good news in this post for the average DS user (like me) is that Nintendo does have a new, officially sanctioned, wifi service coming out sometime in November, 2005--yes, just days away. You'll be able to take you DS to any McDonald's or a number of video game stores and get on the 'net, presumably only to play games on the 'net. They're even releasing [http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=278&products_id=7807&PHPSESSID=36c69f5951cb7254f0b6a3b7ccdf13ed|a wifi USB "dongle"] that will allow you to use your computer to connect your DS to the 'net if you don't have a wifi router.
That's nice, but what about a browser? Instant messaging? Email? Do I dare hope for VoIP?
Perhaps the dongle will make it easier to get the DS to run homebrew DS code from the GBAMP? Perhaps the dongle won't even work on Macs. >_< Perhaps the dongle will be just the beginning of Nintendo catching a clue regarding how awesome the DS would be if we could do all of those things with it.
What the hell's a "dongle" anyway?
OH yeah and my apologies for any typos or poor grammar, I'm still getting over that cold and am going a bit loopy, I think...
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