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While I am not sure why you would want to listen to FM radio on your Nintendo DS-Lite, Dragon Electronics has created a FM Radio Converter which allows you to do exactly that. The tuner plugs into your DS Lite’s GBA port and is powered by its battery so it doesn’t require an additional power source of its own. While I guess it might be useful to take to a sporting event to listen to local radio coverage, it seems like there would be cheaper and more compact solutions. Similarly I’d think an add-on for playing MP3s or other compressed audio format would be better for music. Still, I am amused that somebody bothered to make a FM terrestrial radio tuner for the DS-L. The Dragon Electronics Stereo FM Radio Converter is available from Brando for $15. |
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At CES in 1978, Texas Instruments introduced the Speak & Spell. This device was pretty slick to a much younger roclar, though I do think I preferred Speak & Math. There was also a Speak & Read, but I don’t remember us having it. As the kids of my generation have all growed up in physical age and some even have kids of their own, there has been some interest in emulating these teaching toys of yesteryear. Below are a couple of the emulators for the Speak & Spell. The Java based emulator from speaknspell.co.uk didn’t seem to randomize much at all and only had the basic functionality, but it looked and sounded nice. Kevin Stonge’s Flash-based emulator seems pretty close to the complete package. I was unfortunately unable to find one for the Speak & Math. Enjoy! |
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Emulator - speaknspell.co.uk
Emulator - kevinstonge.com
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As I mentioned before, problems with Wiimote related damage has been well documented on Wii Have a Problem and even I have had my own problems. But the problem of the wrist strap breaking seem to have been handled rather well by Nintendo’s Wii Strap Replacement Program. The folks at Handheld Items have come up with their own strap replacement. Rather then keeping the Wiimote firmly four to six inches from your wrist, their Retractable Wii Sports Cuff allows you to fling the Wiimote “up to 13-inches” before the cuff snaps the Wiimote back into place. Seems like this could only cause more carnage then good, but perhaps thats what folks want these days. The Retractable Wii Sports Cuff For Remote Control is available directly from Handheld items for $6. |
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There are an increasing number of Wiimote charging solutions available on the market. Here are three of them to peruse. I overbought AA batteries a couple of years ago for some reason, so I am waiting until I manage to use them up before exploring the rechargeable route. First up is Thanko’s offering, the USB Charger for Wii Remote Control (Gizmodo Referer, Engadget Referer) which charges via USB and comes with a Lithium-ion battery pack and is available for $29. Next up we have Brando’s Wii Rechargeable Battery & Charger Stand (Gizmodo Referer, Engadget Referer) which also charges via USB and comes with a battery pack. Linked below is Joytech’s offering which can charge two Wiimotes and comes with two battery packs. The Joytech Power Station is available directly from their UK store for a little over $49. |
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After Nintend released the Wii, the first I heard of using a Wiimote on a Mac was DarwiinRemote. That seemed interesting, but I couldn’t think of a good use for it not to mention even the author has in big letters that the freeware is unstable and experimental. The next evolution of course was to meld DarwiinRemote with Mac Saber to create WiiSaber. The Amazing Rolo has now taken the concept one step further and turned the Wiimote + Mac combo into the Wii Loop Machine. He uses the Wiimote to wirelessly sync, control, and manipulate loops. The whole Wiimote + Mac combo still seems pretty flakey. In the roughly two minutes I tried, I couldn’t get it to function on my iMac, though Parallels was probably getting in the way. I was able to get the Loop Machine working on a Mac Book Pro and quickly learned why I am consumer of tunes rather then a producer.  The Wiimote also insisted on vibrating the whole time I was using the software which The Amazing Rolo mentioned would be fixed in the 1.1 version of the software. If nothing else, watching him use the software in the video in the link below and pictured to the left I found to be entertaining. |
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Speaking of Opera, according to IGN’s sources, the Opera based Nintendo DS Browser will be released stateside on June 4, 2007. The Nintendo DS Browser was released in Japan on July 24, 2006, Europe in October and Australia in January. Until recently, Nintendo of America had not indicated any release date at all. Given how much time I spend in front of my various computers, I am not sure if I will bother purchasing this, but it will be nice to have the option! |
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