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Admit it. You've got an old GameCube from yesteryear laying around, and the slow economy (and fear for your life) is holding you back from running to your nearest brick-and-mortar to pick up a Classic Controller for your Wii. You know you want to play Super Mario 64 to work off that turkey, but you can't justify laying out the cash. Fret not; YouTube user marcan42 has you covered, courtesy of a PIC18F4520 microcontroller and makeshift GameCube connector, along with a chopped off Nunchuk extension cord. Of course, you could just pick up a different model, but that would be way too easy. We didn't say it was pretty, but if you're still intrigued, check the full vid after the break.

Update: As a bunch of commenters have pointed out, this can be done already by plugging the GameCube controller directly into the Wii. However, this mod lets you do it wirelessly -- err, if you don't count the big microcontroller and mess of wires.

Source:
http://www.engadget.com

Over two years ago, Agere Systems filed a suit against Sony for potential infringement on patents regarding "wireless local area network apparatus." Looks like the courts ruled in Agere Systems' favor. Sony has been fined $18.5 million for use of the technology in their devices, such as the mylo and PSP. The jury ruled that the patent infringement was willful.

Source:
http://www.pspfanboy.com

Just over a week ago we reported on the initial news of the Nintendo DSi being hacked.

Today, a new video is available showing homebrew running on the brand new Nintendo DSi courtesy of A252 via YouTube.

To quote: The famous Homebrew of Yasu now run on DSi.

PS: Take that Nintendo!

This is the site of the author of the Nintendo DSi exploit. Video below:

Source:
http://www.ps3news.com

Here's the public presentation of Heavy Rain for the PlayStation 3 made by its Producer at Micromania Games Show 2008 in Paris.

- In this demo, the player takes the role of a young journalist who is investigating on several girls' disappearances, she goes to a house of a taxidermist who is suspected of killing these women. In this presentation, the Producer of the game shows 2 different ways to finish this demo, there are lots of different ways to get through the story.

- Multiple view camera system, not always behind the girl.

- The demo is fully playable, no cut-scenes, the player can control the girl at any time.

- The Sixaxis motion sensor is used in the game to make different moves (open a window, raise or hit on an object, etc.).

- It is possible to hear what is happening in the mind of the character, so the player knows the different choices that are available.

- No loadings in the game!

- Backgrounds are fully interactive (all objects can be used, all doors can be opened, etc.).

- Very interesting Split Screen System to keep an eye on the murderer, control the character at the same time.

- The player has to maintain several buttons to stay hidden, uncomfortable situation for the player to reproduce the same stress in the game.

- Quick time events for some action scenes.

Source:
http://www.gamekyo.com

For Google to believe that it should have free, unrestricted and uncompensated access to copyrighted material has always shown me the heights of hubris at this company.

It's good for you, Google would say, gently patting the heads of The Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers, and millions of writers who watched their hard work digitally co-opted in the name of progress.

Google made a compelling argument: the more people with access to a book, the more revenue authors and publishers stood to gain. While that might be true, it wasn't Google's decision to make. And the company's opt-out policy—instead of asking permission, we're just gonna do it unless you tell us not to—was icing on the cake.

When Google started digitizing entire libraries at a time, ludicrous reached an entirely new level.

It would seem that Google has finally come to its senses, and both sides in this two-year dispute, which cuts to the core of Google's business and how it displays search results, will be the winners.

That's because writers are indeed seeing the writing on the wall: their world is going digital in the same way music and movies did before them. Look no further than last week's Oprah Winfrey show where Oprah herself, the driving force behind turbo-charging the publishing industry with her Book Club, proclaimed Amazon.com's electronic book reader "Kindle" as her most favorite thing. Ever! Jeff Bezos sat in the audience, beaming, having just announced in the company's third quarter earnings that 185,000 titles are now available for the device.

The Google settlement comes at a key time for the company, and represents a huge win for rights holders, authors, and other intellectual property owners. You have to wonder whether the company's long-running feud with Viacom over YouTube is on the settlement list next. Its recent agreement with CBS might be a hint of more cooperation to come between Google and the rest of the entertainment world. Guys, there's lots of money to be made here, but it takes cooperation. That it has taken Google this long to realize that is kind of stunning.

Paul Aikin, executive director of the Author's Guild, called this the "biggest book deal ever" on this morning's conference call. He said that his group had a fundamental disagreement with Google, and "probably always would."

For its part, Google's Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said on the conference call that Google was built on making the world's information more accessible. He didn't say it, but I would offer: A noble goal that carries a price tag.

Google will pay a staggering $125 million to settle this case. Staggering for publishers, chump change for Google. But it's a start. It's a clear victory for writers and publishers, and should serve as a wake-up call to Google that even though a company is built on new technology, it still sometimes has to play by the old rules.

Source:
http://www.cnbc.com