What do you get when you cross a device designed to track IR light and a computer-controlled missile-launching toy? A Wiimote covered in impossible-to-remove tacky duct tape residue! And also a fairly cool auto-aiming missile launcher.
It looks like a simple enough project (now that someone else has written all the code): just tape a Wiimote to the sort of USB missile launcher found at ThinkGeek (for example), connect the Wiimote to your computer using Bluetooth, and use the GlovePIE code found in the tutorial. Your turret will then aim at any IR light source! It's at your discretion whether or not to pelt that light source with foam darts.
All Animal Crossing games are wonderful, but that's not all they have in common: as it happens, each game in the series to date has featured an unwieldy, cumbersome user interface. Every tool and item can only be selected by opening a totally separate menu, you can't skip through any of the game's (oft-repeated) dialogue, and writing letters/entering text is a royal pain in the backside, thanks to the excruciatingly annoying on-screen keyboard.
This morning, JC's hands-on impressions of Animal Crossing: City Folk revealed that Nintendo had fixed the first problem, by allowing users to cycle through their inventory with the d-pad. And now the third issue has been resolved, for City Folk will let players hook a USB keyboard up to their Wiis -- superb news! Just give us the ability to skip instantly through Nook's natterings and Blathers' blather, and we'll be pleased as punch.
Our friends across the pond (and Chris) have a choice when it comes to keyboards for their Wii. No, we're not talking about the wide assortment of cheap USB keyboards that are out there and compatible with the console, we mean Logic 3's Wii keyboard above. Aside from its plain design, it features the normal QWERTY set-up and will cost you £14.99 (about $30). It will release on July 18th.
Unemployed loafers might do well to apply down at Nintendo, as they need a new lackey to take care of some business. That business might be very interesting, as the opening is for an experienced USB ... dude. This means the under-utilized USB capabilities on the Wii might be getting some decent stuff for future pluggage. External memory is the hot ticket, but that's still kinda boring. How about this thing for plenty of cool air during a hot, sweaty Wii Sports session?
Hit the jump for full details of the position up for grabs.
Are you likely to be spending some money at Target in the near future? Then you might as well head on over there sometime soon and pick up this Speed Racer-themed gift card (which you can use later to buy what you actually wanted in the first place). Even if you're not interested at all in the upcoming game (or movie), you'll still land yourself the free mini USB 2.0 Flash drive that comes with it. The drive only holds 62.8 MB worth of stuff, but should that bother you, you're missing the key word here -- free.
Initially, 51.6 MB will be taken up by promotional Speed Racer goodies, but that stuff can always be deleted. Those of you who are looking forward to seeing the Mach 5 in action soon enough, though, might enjoy some of the extras provided. According to GamerTell, the drive includes:
Five coloring book-style pages featuring the Mach 5 and Racer X's car (PDF file)
A special code for the Wii version of the video game (we wonder what that will do/unlock?)
Due to the nature of the internet, we're sure you'll be able to find the game code without buying the Flash drive-bundled gift card. Still, we recommend getting one of these pseudo-free sticks if Target is one of your regular stomping grounds.
Posted Mar 10th 2008 11:15AM by Eric Caoili Filed under: Mods
With Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, and even Yoshi-themed Wii casemods already out in the wild, it was only a matter of time before someone personalized their console with everyone's favorite mascot, Mario. BeerBellyJoe sculpted the plumber's figure out of clay, affixing him to one of the Wii's side panels before painting the entire system. Interestingly, that cloud looks nothing like the bush!
It isn't visible in the image above, but there's a pipe on the other side that doubles as a Wii remote charger. The front of the decorated base also has an extra USB port and an LED mushroom that lights up when the port is in use. Hit the gallery below for more shots or click the "read" link to check out Joe's guide on how to make your own Mario Wii mod.
We're not really in the market for a sensor bar, since ours Just Works and we've managed to conceal the little cord, but if we were interested in replacing it, we'd choose CYBER Gadget's 2Way Sensor Bar. It's the most versatile third-party sensor bar we've seen. It retails for around 2000 yen ($18).
The 2Way Sensor Bar can operate on 4 AA batteries when wireless play is desired, or it can be powered by the Wii's (or any) USB connection. Too bad it doesn't have internal batteries that could be charged over USB, or it would be perfect.
Unfortunately, the unobtrusive design of the original sensor bar has been replaced with a Wii-imitation white slab with some lights on it. We don't really mind the clock, because, hey, if you've got a thing sitting on top of your TV, it might as well make itself useful.
Posted Dec 24th 2007 4:00PM by Eric Caoili Filed under: Mods
Hori's USB Illumination Stand -- available in black and white -- seems straightforward, lighting up your Wii with LEDs as it siphons power off the console. But what's with the $19.90 price tag at Play Asia ($22.90 on NCSX), and why is that extra cord in the back also plugged into one of the system's two USB ports? Though you can't tell just by looking at it, the front flap of the base opens up to reveal a USB port powered by that extra hook-up.
With the port conveniently positioned on the front, you can plug in a USB keyboard or, one day, an external drive without having to mess with the tangle of wires in the back. You can see a close-up of the hidden port and another shot of the base after the break.
Aside from charging a Wiimote dock or utilization the limited keyboard support, you might not think the USB ports on the back of that sexy Wii of yours are useful in regards to much else. In this day and age, lots of things can charge or run on USB. Heck, we know we charge our cell phone on USB more often than whipping out the AC adapter and plugging it into an outlet.
Considering that, we wanted to know how you're making use of the Wii's USB ports. If you leave your console in standby, you can charge this or that through your Wii. So, how do you make use of the USB ports?
Nintendo's online store is no longer offering the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector. According to the item's listing, it has been "discontinued until further notice." Tipster BPM speculates that Nintendo's deal with Buffalo Technology has ended. We find it more likely that the proliferation of cheap wireless routers, which work even with non-Nintendo devices like computers, caused demand for the item to shrink.
Nintendo suggests the Wii LAN Adapter as a potential substitute for the USB dongle, or you can just go buy a wireless router.
Of course, no activity on Nintendo's part is any fun without some idle speculation. With that in mind, the real reason they've discontinued this item is because they're going to release a new version that has a picture of Mario on it.
Yesterday, after the update enabling USB keyboards in the web browser was released, Logitech mentioned that they'd be releasing a special Wii keyboard. We immediately got the crazy idea of a keyboard with a Wii pointer built in, so you can point and click by waving the keyboard around. It was a weirdly practical, and fun, idea.
But as always, reality is less awesome than our controller fantasies. Logitech announced that their "new" USB keyboard will be ... the Classic Keyboard 200. (pictured above). They added a blurb to the Japanese product page that mentions that it's been tested with the Wii browser and found to work. Which means that you can get the new Wii peripheralright now, because it's just their basic USB keyboard. It only seems to be available in white in Japan, however. Importing might be worth it for you, because in addition to the color, the logo will say "Logicool" (Logitech's Japanese name) which we find hilarious.
Posted Sep 7th 2007 11:15AM by Eric Caoili Filed under: Mods
Adding color to your console no longer means you'll have to void your warranty by breaking it open. While more complicatedmods have you pulling off panels to replace the Wii's shell, GT Coupe's "crystal clear cases" -- available in blue, pink, green, white, and black -- allow you to just slip the system into the plastic housing for the desired hue. Each case come with a blue-LED-lined, cooling-fan-equipped stand to accommodate your refitted console.
DealExtreme lists the Dazzle Colorful and Luxury Kit at about $30, but only has the pink case in stock. You can find the other colors for much cheaper ($22) if you're willing to make your purchase through eBay. Head past the break for a couple more photos of the kit.
We're not sure how someone decided to randomly plug in a keyboard after yesterday's update and test it, but bless the little buggers at NeoGAF who gave it a shot -- because it works! Before you start turning cartwheels, however, know this: keyboard support seems limited. We tried an older Micro Innovations keyboard we used to use with the PS2 first, and it was a no go -- but a newer Apple USB keyboard worked like a charm for messaging and in the Wii Shop channel (but apparently nowhere else). We can only guess the Wii wanted to match. We must say, however, the cord length required some moving-around of things on our cluttered game stand and typing in an uncomfortable standing position. Still, this update bodes well -- if a future update brings keyboard functionality to the Internet Channel, things could get very interesting indeed.
You may think that this is just a normal tiny Wiimote with a USB connector sticking out of it.Fooled you! If you can believe it, this is actually a USB thumb drive.
Reader Ryan Kruska put his existing thumb drive into a stylish cover made from one of the Wii toys from Wendy's. Then, because he is a kind and generous soul, he created a Flickr gallery with step-by-step instructions.
We'd love to see what else you guys can do with the Nintendo-themed kids' meal toys. It's like Wiimote hacking, but much less technical, and without as much financial investment! Also it doesn't do as much. But other than those things and probably some other things, exactly the same.
Though not as psychedelically colorful as PEGA's Wii stand and remote charger, Brando's Crystal Cooler isn't without its own glitz. The USB-powered base has a built-in "high-velocity" fan to keep your console's temperature low and an LED glow that'll color your living room walls an electric blue. If you squint and straddle one of your couch's arms like a bike, it'll almost feel like you're riding through Tron on a lightcycle.
We're still not convinced that the Wii needs a cooling fan, but some gamers will look for any excuse to light up their hardware. Priced at nineteen dollars though, the product doesn't even automatically turn on after detecting high temperatures. Instead, users have to manually hit an unmarked switch behind the stand. That's some ol' malarkey right there. Speed through the post break for more glamour shots of the Crystal Cooler.
Though not as psychedelically colorful as PEGA's Wii stand and remote charger, Brando's Crystal Cooler isn't without its own glitz. The USB-powered base has a built-in "high-velocity" fan to keep your console's temperature low and an LED glow that'll color your living room walls an electric blue. If you squint and straddle one of your couch's arms like a bike, it'll almost feel like you're riding through Tron on a lightcycle.
