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My perspective on the future of the Wii |
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| Topic: Technology |
1:04 am EST, Nov 20, 2007 |
In a recent post, I talked a bit about the Wii, X Box 360, and the PS3. I dug up a lot of articles to get a few facts for that post, and I kept reading after the post. Since then I have done some thinking and I have some theories: My theories: 1080 supportWhile the resolution is currently 480, the full power of the ATI "Hollywood" chip is unknown (Little information has been released, most information about the chip has has been obtained by hacking apart a Wii). Since the chip can read all the good stuff that the Game Cube's "Flipper" video chip, everyone assumes it is an upgrade. But upgrade implies some kind of improvement, and a 720 or 1080 resolution is an improvement. Unconfirmed reports from "drunken employees" claim that the Wii can support 1080. The current Pinout of the Wii AV interface supports YPbPr, 16:9 switchable interface, but thankfully not enough pins for HDMI. One of the pins on the AV connector also supports an adjustable number of lines. So, the current connector with a YPbPr connector can support HD. So, 1080 support can be as simple as a firmware "switch", or a small single chip hardware upgrade in a "new and improved" version of the Wii. DVD support (or a HD disk support) The original prototype of the Wii (Called "Nintendo Revolution") was a black version of the Wii, and had full DVD support. The current Wii does not have DVD support out of the box, though a small hardware mod and boot disk make a Wii able to play a DVD. However this mod does require "griding away pins on the MB" and a new chip thrown on, along with the bot disk swap out. After the initial release of the Wii, some PR people went on record claiming DVD capabilities would be added in late 2007. The post-release delay was claimed to be due to "fee negotiations" about the cost of DVD standards. Since then, the exact date statement has been recanted, and has been unofficially changed to "someday". This kinda hints that DVD capabilities can be added with a firmware upgrade and a "DVD Channel" thing. Several polls have indi... [ Read More (0.4k in body) ] |
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Kameraflage - Digital Camera Visible Only | productdose.com |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
9:32 pm EDT, Sep 16, 2007 |
There's all kinds of practical uses for a dye that's only visible to digital chips, but we like all the mischief that could be wrought.
This came up in a discussion I had with some friends this week about anti-counterfeiting technologies. Of course, this immediately lead to They Live references. I urge you not to click on that wikipedia link, BTW, unless you plan to spend the next half an hour lost in a wikihole that ranges from the Tachistoscope to Andre the Giant has a Posse. Kameraflage - Digital Camera Visible Only | productdose.com |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
7:17 pm EDT, Mar 30, 2007 |
This amused me. xkcd - Captcha |
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Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal |
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| Topic: Humor |
8:32 am EST, Jan 28, 2007 |
Recently, xkcd has caught the attention of several users on MemeStreams. Jokes about romance and mathematics go over well with this crop of nerds. If you are riding that meme, I suggest checking out Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. In many ways, it has the same general thing going on, but it is way more mean spirited... And that's a good thing. This comic publishes daily as well, so you can use it as something to balance off your daily dose of Dilbert, Doonesbury, and Sinfest. Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal |
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