Wii Backup Loader leaked onto the net -- welcome to pirating hell Nintendo

Wii Backup Loader leaked onto the net -- welcome to pirating hell Nintendo

by Thomas Ricker, posted Sep 19th 2008 at 5:11AM

It was bound to happen sooner or later, and now we're hearing that the infamous Wii Backup Loader -- the hacks that allow you to run "backup" Wii games without a modchip -- is out riding the 'net thanks to an overzealous beta tester. At this point, only the patient and hardcore should apply as the v0.1 loader is in a very (very) early beta and apparently still buggy. The rest of you should just wait for the final release assuming Waninkoko doesn't just throw up his hands in disgust and abandon the homebrew community already irritated by the introduction of warez.

[Thanks, David E. and Joey C.]

http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/19/nintendo-thwarting-wii-modders-with-epoxy-locked-chips-wii-back/

Nintendo thwarting Wii modders with epoxy-locked chips; Wii Backup Loader abandoned

by Nilay Patel, posted Sep 19th 2008 at 12:04PM

A double shot of bad news for the Wii hacking set today -- not only do new Wiis appear to have a modchip-proof layer of epoxy around the DVD-ROM IC chips, Waninkoko has abandoned the Wii Backup-Loader project. The modchip news isn't all that surprising -- Ninty's been fighting a losing battle against chip devs for a while now, and gluing things down with epoxy is a logical solution -- but Waninkoko quitting is a bit of a shock, since we just caught wind of the Wii Backup-Loader a few days ago. Apparently he's not happy that it was leaked this morning, so he's dropping it, but surely an outpouring of affection in comments will change his mind.

[Thanks, Linh T]

Chevy Volt hits the road, video style

Chevy Volt hits the road, video style

by Nilay Patel, posted Sep 20th 2008 at 8:36PM

The Chevy Volt had its big debut last week, and although the official pictures were far cooler than those leaked dudes-in-suits shots we saw a while ago, there's something about this slow-motion video of the all-electric-drive car in motion accompanied by some soaring Coldplay that pulls at our jaded heartstrings -- now if Chevy would just add in one of those fake engine sounds audio systems, we'd be in heaven.

US Army turns to toy company to develop new weapon

US Army turns to toy company to develop new weapon

by Donald Melanson, posted Jul 24th 2008 at 5:38PM

We're not quite sure how the pitch session went with this one, but it looks like the US Army was so impressed by toymaker Lund and Company's Hydrogen Fuel Rocket that it decided to recruit the company to build a decidedly more lethal version of it. The new system, dubbed the Variable Velocity Weapon System, will apparently be able to be switched between lethal and non-lethal modes, and be loaded with rubber bullets, actual bullets, or other projectiles, which are fired by mixing a liquid or gaseous fuel with air in a combustion chamber. What's more, the company says that the technology could be applied to any size weapon from a "handgun to a Howitzer," and it says a demonstration version could be ready in as little as six months, with full production possible within 18 months, pending approval.

Project: Alien Mouse gets your arm into it

Project: Alien Mouse gets your arm into it

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 25th 2008 at 2:51PM

Mizanur Rahman is clearly sick and tired of traditional mousing devices. So sick and tired, in fact, that he's kicked out a rendering of the Project: Alien Mouse. In short, this decidedly gigantic mouse shoots for ergonomics by providing a place for your wrist, lower arm and maybe your elbow if you're a small enough person. We'll be honest, all those gel cushions sure look comfy from here, but the amount of brain energy that would be required to use it kind of puts a damper on the whole deal.

PS3 homebrew capabilities inevitably leads to Pong

PS3 homebrew capabilities inevitably leads to Pong

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 27th 2008 at 1:51PM

If you'll recall, the evolution of homebrew on the Wii started out quite similar to this. First comes the Hello World proof of concept, then comes Pong. It would just be wrong to unfold otherwise, right? Dragula96, the same guru who whipped up the original homebrew hack, has now introduced 2 Player Pong 1.0 -- the first notable game to take advantage of the Java devkit (at least, that's how it looks from here). Currently, the collisions are "very basic" and further tweaks are necessary before it's perfect, but it should be stable enough to take you to some sort of blissful state for now.

New Xbox 360 Dashboard update gets leaked, shown off

New Xbox 360 Dashboard update gets leaked, shown off

by Donald Melanson, posted Jul 28th 2008 at 11:11AM

Sure, we've seen the Xbox 360's forthcoming Dashboard update demoed in a polished presentation and detailed in high res press pics, but if you're like us, you don't really get exciting about something until it's leaked out into the wild and shown off blurry cam-style. The particuarly adventurous can apparently even take their chances and install this new "Xbox Experience" update themselves, but the exact details about where to get it and how to install it are understandably a bit hard to come by. If you do go that route, however, you'll need to make sure you have a modded console with an Infectus 2 Chip in the system and, most likely, a second 360 to fall back on in the event the first bursts into flames. The rest of us will just have to make do with the video after the break.

[Via Xbox-Scene News]