Wii update available today.

This morning I just downloaded the latest Wii firmware update. I noticed that my Wii's blue light was lit up and knew it wasn't a "Blue light special". The update includes changes to the Forecast channel, News Channel, Wii Shop Channel, among other things. Some folks have warned this might brick you Wii if you modded it. Most folks should have no problems.

Let the time wasting begin- Bejeweled for the iPhone

Popcap has designed a Web 2.0 site that allows iPhone users (a most anybody with a web browser) to play Bejeweled online for free! Yep, those days of me playing Bejeweled on my Palm PDAs can now be relived on my iPhone. While Bejeweled is not necessarily new on the iPhone, Diamenty is an excellent clone of Bejeweled, this is the first game from a major game developer designed specifically for the iPhone. The direct link is http://static.popcap.com/iphone./

"SEATTLE, July 30 /PRNewswire/ -- PopCap Games, the leading developer
and publisher of casual games, today announced that it has launched a
custom version of its flagship game Bejeweled(R) for the Safari(R) Web
browser on Apple Inc.'s new iPhone(R) and is making it available at no cost
to iPhone owners. Beginning today, iPhone users can log on to
http://www.popcap.com via the iPhone's Web browser and play the
iPhone-specific version of the original match-3 puzzler Bejeweled for free.
This customized version of Bejeweled leverages the Web 2.0 capabilities of
Safari and the wireless capabilities of the iPhone, and has been optimized
to take advantage of the iPhone's unique display and input controls. PopCap
developed the Safari-based version of Bejeweled in partnership with Polish
developer Arkadiusz Mlynarczyk, one of the first programmers to take
advantage of the Apple iPhone's capabilities for video gaming purposes.
"We're excited to be providing the most popular puzzle game of the 21st
century to users of the most advanced mobile device yet created," said
Andrew Stein, Director of Mobile Platforms at PopCap. "We wanted to give
the hundreds of thousands of iPhone users a fun, fast gaming fix -- and at
no cost, no less."
PopCap's leadership role in the mobile gaming sector is reflected in
several recent milestones, including the hiring of key mobile industry
executives, establishment of direct partnerships with wireless carriers,
and the recent launch of Chuzzle(TM) Mobile, the first mobile game that
PopCap has developed and distributed directly. Bejeweled and Zuma(TM), two
of PopCap's most popular games, have also been runaway successes on Video
iPods since their introduction on those devices last year."

Source: Mac Daily News

Nintendo Wii still selling like hotcakes!

My family and I love our Wii and apparently we are not the only ones. As of July 15, over 3 million Wiis have been sold worldwide. The Wii has surpassed the Play Station 3 by a margin of 3 to 1. This according to Reuters' personal tech department. As I have mentioned before the Wii provides a completely new gaming experience that many folks can get involved in and you don't have to mash buttons in order to play (to the extent of a PS3 or a xBox 360). I think both Sony and Microsoft had better provide a similar or slight better gaming experience if they want to come out on top again.
BTW, it is even rumored that the Wii will be hard to find this holiday season. So if you are thinking Christmas for your kids, you better start shopping now.

Choosing video games for your kids.

Focus on the Family has a good article on how to choose video games for your children. While many people would not have a problem picking the right game for their kids, I think there are many that would have a problem and probably leave it up to the kids to decide. That alone can be very dangerous. Focus on the Family gives some great helps for parents and even some tips when choosing a video game. My family owns a Nintendo Wii and we love it. Our boys enjoy to play it, but I'm careful to pick family friendly games as my boys are quick to imitate the action going on in the games. Video games can have a huge influence on your children and consume a lot of their time that could be better spent else where. Time limits to video games are extremely important. So here is an excerpt from the article, I hope you find it useful for yourself or your church family.

"Here are the facts: Total U.S. retail sales of video games, which includes console and portable hardware, software and accessories, grew six percent in 2005 over 2004. The video game industry generated $10.5 billion in record-breaking sales, surpassing the previous record high of $10.3 billion set in 2002. The healthy increase in sales was driven by the success of the portable game market.1

As a parent, what do you do when violent video games are atop your child’s list of must-have entertainment?

The vast majority of people who play games do so with friends and family. Almost 60 percent of frequent game players play with friends, 33 percent play with siblings and about one-quarter play with their spouse and/or parents.

This trend will only increase. Parents need to make an effort to educate themselves about video games so they can model appropriate choices for their children. Specifically:

Are there any real benefits to playing video games or is it all detrimental?
How do you choose family-friendly games? What types are there?
How can you control the way the games are used once they’re in your home?
The content of concern is graphic in nature. Hand-to-hand combat, shoot ’em up and blood-and-guts are just inappropriate for children and desensitize them to violence."

Open Source Mac

I stumbled upon this website while looking for some applications for my Mac. Of course free is much better for me ;) , I did find CashBox, a financial manager, and Frozen Bubble, a fun game that I played on Linux. There were some other apps, but I will save those for later. It's a great summary of open source software for macs and you would do well to check it out.

Wii is no. 1 selling game console again!

My family and I really enjoy our Nintendo Wii. The gaming experience on a Wii does not compare to anything else I've every played. The graphics are plenty good for me and it's so much fun to watch my boys play boxing and the WiiPlay games. My wife and I share many laughs from their Wii experiences.
So when I read that the Wii is the no. 1 selling game console again, I was not surprised. Since my kids can play and enjoy the Wii and I've read that senior citizens also play the Wii, it's not surprising to see it become the best gaming console out there.

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. sales of video games, devices and accessories rose 33 percent to $1.1 billion in March, propelled by sales of new video game consoles like the popular Wii from Nintendo Co. Ltd., market research firm NPD said on Thursday.

The Wii was again the No. 1 current-generation video game console, selling 259,000 units. That $250 console uses a motion-sensitive controller that has been popular with mainstream gamers as well as new audiences like females, senior citizens and very young children."

Read More

Nintendo's Wii top seller in January, beats out PS3 and Xbox 360

Nintendo's Wii tops both Xbox 360 and PS3 in the United States for January. Looks like a lot of people are warming up to the Wii. I know that it is quite hard to find in the Buffalo area. Many of the Wii's accessories are also sold out. You can usually find games just fine, but extra remotes, nunchucks, etc. are hard to come by. I'm sure the price of the Wii makes for a better sell and I think folks are really interested in a new way to "game".

"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s <7974.os> Wii was the best-selling video game console in the United States in January, and the Japanese company also boasted four of the top 10 games, data released on Wednesday showed.

The figures from market research firm NPD showed that U.S. shoppers snapped up 436,000 of the Wii, which debuted in November for $250 and features a motion-sensing controller that has helped build buzz for the machine."

Source: Reuters

We bought a Wii.

This past week, our family bought a Nintendo Wii. While I'm spending more time on it then my boys, although they chomp at the bit for their turn, I must say that it is a cool device. I love the interaction of the device and that you have to move in order to play games. It's a lot better then sitting in a chair or on a couch mashing buttons.
The price of the Wii is a whole cheaper then the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I paid only $250 for the Wii. I see that as being affordable for more families. If you have a Game Cube, your Game Cube games can play on the Wii. The Wii also supports parental controls which means you can control what kind of games that are played on the Wii based on the games rating. I think this should give parents more comfort over what their child is playing. You are also able to download older Nintendo games from past game systems like Sega, NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, etc. While not all games are available from those systems many are and cost from $6 to $10. Again not a bad deal at all in my opinion. The Wii also comes with Wi-Fi which helps you download the games and surf the internet. I'm just impressed that the device only cost $250.
To me, it seems that Nintendo is attempting to reach families with this new game system. Learning to play the Wii wasn't hard at all and my wife who doesn't play a lot of video games found it fun and easy for her to learn. Even my oldest who is 5 has been able to play the Wii. It could definitely offer some family fun.
I would recommend the Wii. It's graphics are good and I like the I have more control over the games on the Wii. The Wii also gives a report at the end of the day how much time was spent on the Wii and it's broken down by activity as well. This is store in a message inbox and cannot be deleted as far as I can see. Which means you see how much you child is really playing on the Wii. Games are still expensive for it in my opinion, but compared to other gaming systems not so much. The Wii is still hard to find and you might do well calling around before you go out shopping for one.

What's making news.

Lots of things going on in the tech world today.

Microsoft has launched Windows Vista today. This latest version of the Windows comes almost 5 years after Windows XP. It is said to be a more secure and robust version of Windows. I'll let you all know what I think as soon as I complete my upgrade to it this week.

Apple has given the Shuffle a spot of color today. Funny how their announcement comes the same day as Vista is releasd.

Apple has also announced their $1.99 AirPort Extreme 802.11n Enabler. This will allow some Mac users to unlock their Mac computers 802.11n feature.

Nitendo's Wii is doing quite well for Nitendo and their profits. Funny thing about the Wii is I know several adults who have been playing the Wii and they love it. There are not much of gamers themselves, but they do like the interaction of the Wii.

This one is a couple days old, but Palm has end of life'd their Lifedrive Mobile Manager. I love my Lifedrive and I had been hoping for a new version of a Mobile Manager, but it looks like there may not be a Lifedrive 2.