DriveDoctor
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Datel Drive Doctor for Wii does statistics and code injection, requires soldering
Surely the whole point of purchasing a commercial product to run a few homebrew games or activate a few cheat codes is that there's no soldering required: that's not the case with the Datel Drive Doctor for Wii. The $34.95 Drive Doctor is designed to allow Wii owners to connect their console to their PC with a USB 2.0 cable, enabling you to review the internal statistics of the Wii, eventually run homebrew games, and even inject code "into the data stream ... it's fun!" Unfortunately, the press release mentions that it'll require a little soldering of wires in order to get the little box that clips on the back into a working state. Most people won't find that fun, but then again most people wouldn't find the idea of accidentally injecting code that kills their Wii fun either. We're left thinking that this one's strictly for the intermediate or pro hacker, so stay away if your coding and soldering isn't up to scratch. Us mere mortals will wait for something a little more dumb-consumer friendly, thank you very much.[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
Datel tries its hand at Wii mods
Nevermind the product's name -- Datel's Wii Drive Doctor isn't a tool meant for diagnosing and remedying your console's ailments. There should be laws regulating these misleading medical monikers. How many have suffered the embarrassment of consulting Dr. Dre about their disorders, only to find that the gangsta rapper prescribes phat beats, and not actual medicine? The Drive Doctor is pitched as a "straightforward way for amateur programmers and techie tinkerers to get inside the game." With the mod in place, users can hook their Wii to a PC with a USB cable, allowing them to monitor the system's status and add data to running software. Homebrew applications and games are also playable through the $34.95 device.Datel's homebrew and cheat tools usually boast low barriers to entry, making them accessible to even the most inexperienced users, but installing the Drive Doctor will require soldering. We've never been too keen on voiding our consoles' warranties, so hearing that requirement was enough to scare us away. Until something cheap and hassle-free comes along, we're going to live a boring, risk-free life with our unmodded Wiis.
