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StyleTap brings PalmOS apps to Windows Mobile
StyleTap's Palm OS emulator for Windows Mobile has been kicking around in beta and preview versions for well over a year now, but the Toronto-based company has finally put all the pieces together and given its eponomously-titled software the big 1.0 release. From the looks of it, the emulator's come a long way since its earliest incarnations, now able to run apps written for any version of Palm OS -- including the ARM-based version -- as well as making use of your device's WiFi, Bluetooth, IR, and USB connections. It's also not a Boot Camp situation where you'll be switching back and forth between operating systems, with Palm OS apps instead simply showing up as native Windows Mobile applications on your device. If you're skeptical, you can grab a 14-day trial version from StyleTap's site before forking over the fifty bucks for the complete package. Not ones to rest on their laurels, StyleTap says this edition is only the first in a family of products, with versions for Symbian and Windows Mobile for Smartphones coming next.[Via Reg Hardware]
PS1 catalogue on PS3 not yet playable
Speaking with 1UP, Sony's Phil Harrison detailed plans to make most of the PlayStation (PS1) catalogue available for download on PlayStation 3 -- in addition to PSP. Harrison confirmed that a few titles will be available at launch, including Twisted Metal and Syphon Filter. The catch is you'll have to play them on your PSP, since PS3 currently lacks PS1 emulation software.Once the patch is distributed though -- Harrison hopes by year's end -- each PS1 download will be playable on both PS3 and PSP, allowing us to enjoy treasured classics and rarities on-the-go and on the big screen. Just be warned, PS1 games will not be enhanced for your 1080p display.Note: Actual PS1 discs will be playable at launch.
Gemei X-900 gamer-centric PMP
It's not like we haven't seen plenty of PMPs already that sport a modicum of gaming controls and enough pep to manage a NES or SNES emulator, but the new Gemei X-900 sure goes the extra mile. The 4.3-inch screened device is really quite svelte, at a mere 0.6-inches thick, but you can bulk up with some dedicated controls to spice things up, which include dual analog sticks along with the usual compliment of buttons. Otherwise, it's pretty standard fare -- though the PMP does manage a small built-in camera. The screen sports a 480 x 272 resolution, there's 1GB of built-in flash memory along with an SD expansion slot, and the codec support includes FLAC, MP3, WMA for audio, along with AVI and MPEG-4 for video. Battery life isn't too shabby, at 25 hours for audio and 6 hours for video, and the usual FM tuner and voice recording are present as well. Unfortunately, CNET sez those gaming controls aren't quite as great as they look, but we suppose they really couldn't hurt. No word on price or availability, but we're probably not going to see this thing around these parts anytime soon.[Thanks, Gooly]
Ainol rolls out NES-playing V1000 portable media player
Emulation-packed PMPs are becoming a dime a dozen these days, but Ainol's V1000 manages to add a few impressive touches to the media-playing side of this two-faced device. The landscape oriented unit sports a sleek, silver enclosure with a simple five button control layout, and boasts a 2.5-inch QVGA display, 400MHz ADI Blackfin processor, and the ability to give every retro gamer his / her fill of NES emulation. Aside from the obvious Mario love, it supports AVI / MP4 video playback at 30 frames per second, and plays nice with MP3, WMA, and FLAC audio formats on the musical side. Handling all those audiophile-approved lossless files is the 512MB / 1GB of internal storage, while the addition of an SD slot ensures room for that bulging ROM collection. Although details concerning battery life, availability, connectivity, and price aren't yet available, we're sure these handy all-in-ones will be popping up in China's gadget shops real soon.[Via The MP3 Players]
Rumor: VirtualPSP lets you play PSP games on you PC
The homebrew scene never fails to amaze me. The most noteworthy project on the scene, next to the virtual touch screen, has to be "VirtualPSP" a PSP emulator for the PC. S!ms, the programmer, posted a few pictures over at DCEmu, but as you know, in the homebrew world, pictures usually mean nothing. Here's an excerpt from the post he wrote:I am working on a PSP Emulator for the PC (32bit currently), called VirtualPSP. It is a fully working PSP, but now on your PC... As you see it is working, but it runs very slow. Maybe it is my PC (1.3Ghz/256MB RAM), but i'll try to fix this and let some people try. Online play (infrastructure) will be available too, all connecting Peer to Peer. (My server will function as a main host). I need some time to get this fully working though. I can connect to my LAN pc's, but it freezes when the game's loading. I'll try to fix this anyway. Maybe i can add Ad-hoc function through the internet? (Like KAI) And no, i'm not gonna release this *yet*.We'll see where this goes. While we don't support piracy here at the Fanboy, it's always interesting to see how far fans can push their technical skills. Stay tuned for more.
PSP's PlayStation emulator released, not by Sony
The homebrew community has beaten Sony to the punch, releasing the first PlayStation (1) emulator for PSP, called PSX-P. But, as this is simply the first public beta version, the emulator suffers from speed issues, among other defects. Riiiiidge Racer is reported to clock in at a paltry 10 fps.PSX-P is compatible with PSP firmware v1.00–2.71 (an eLoader is necessary beyond firmware v1.50).
Homebrew PlayStation emulator reaches beta
PS1 emulation is one of the most anticipated features for the PSP at the moment. You'll be able to download Riiiiidge Racer, and other PS1 classics to your PSP and play them on the go. Sony has been taking their time, and we've been waiting for any new information on things like price, available games, and interface. It appears that the homebrew community is sick of waiting-- it has just released its own emulator. Yoshihiro's PSX-P emulator will let you play bootleg PS1 games on the go, although the code is somewhat rough at the moment. To run it, you'll need an eLoader, which now supports firmware as high as 2.71.While we don't support downloading illegal games, hopefully this new revelation will make Sony wake up and get the PS1 emulation to us now. I really want to get my hands on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night some time soon, damn it![Via DCemu]
X-Arcade launches Tankstick, tanks call comparison "a little much"
X-Arcade has launched its long-in-development controller, which combines its Trackball Mouse and Dual Joystick. This peanut-butter-in-chocolate match makes it suited to all kinds of emulated games, from Golden Tee and Marble Madness to Pac-Man and Street Fighter. The name of this controller? The Tankstick.We were with you, but "Tankstick?" Shouldn't that be reserved for a controller modeled after, say, a tank? "Tankstick" makes us think of that scene where Indiana Jones hangs perilously from the tank's side-turret, while the maniacal driver steers with exaggerated, stair-climber arm movements. That's a tank-stick, fit for toning arms while crushing the leading archeologist. At least we coud use the Tankstick to play that Indy game where you whip open the kids' cages and ride the mine carts to sweet freedom.But we digress.At $200 -- or $10/pound -- you'll have to play a lot of MAME or GameTap to justify buying the Tankstick. But, like the other X-Arcade controllers, you can get adapters ($20 each) to plug into nearly any console. Alternatively, tell your parents/spouse/children that you need to buy 15 pounds of cheese at once, and later claim it melted on the drive home.
Creator of GBA emulator speaks out
Many of you seem very interested in homebrew lately. With the release of a super-easy way to downgrade firmware, it seems like many of you are ready to experiment with homebrew. While I prefer to support original endeavors, it's pretty obvious that the greatest lure for homebrew is piracy emulation. Exophase is a relatively new coder to the PSP homebrew scene, but he's already come out with a full speed Game Boy Advance emulator for the system. In an interview with DCEmu, he reveales some interesting info about his work.DCEmu: The release of this emulator has been compared to the shock of Ultrahle and Bleem, emulators that werent thought possible until they were released, are you proud that your the first to get a decentplayable GBA Emulator out there ? Exophase: Heh, well, I'm just glad that at least some people can play some games well. I know it was nice being able to play Castlevania: Circle of the Moon for a while when I had nothing else to do.You can check out the rest of the interview at DCEmu.See also:More interviews with more homebrewersCommodore64 emulator for PSPWonderswan emulator for PSP
Mega Man X & X2 ... at the same time
TASvideos has posted a clip of Mega Man X and Mega Man X2 being played simultaneously (using one controller). But there's a catch...The TAS community -- that's "Tool-Assisted Speedruns" -- is not about showing off, but rather, creating "movies that are beautiful to watch." Know that this clip was recorded using a controller wired into two SNES emulators and that the player used features like slow-motion and savestates to cast the illusion of a seamless playthrough in real time. So while it's not proof that an 'unassisted' gamer could play two different games with one controller, by exploiting emulation tools, the creator does show that two games can be played successfully using one set of button inputs, and without modifying the games.Do you find these sorts of projects fascinating? Is this games avant-garde movement? Or just a "silly idea"?[Via Digg]
Homebrew sans the flash cart [Update]
The average DS owner is quite pleased with the games available on their dual-screened wonder. As a result, the need and desire for emulation software is a bit less than...ahem...some other portable systems out there. To even begin loading homebrew apps on a DS, one has to have a bit of technical knowledge, a rather expensive flash cart, and some unwieldy hardware/software setups. Till now.A site called Winsunx is getting ready to release a device suitably named the "Ninjapass". As opposed to previous flash cart setups, this wonderous piece of hardware is quite literally a DS cartridge, functioning normally and independently in your regular DS slot. It comes with a USB 2.0 adapter for easy access to your computer, a convenient way to save game files (previously quite troublesome), and a multi-game menu built right in. It's currently slated as a pricey $51.99, but that may be a bargain for the kinds of illicit pleasures that may come.[Thanks, Mike Lacks!][Update: Fixed a typo. Good eye Mike!]
Convincing PSone emulator interface pics surface
PSP Updates received some snapshots alleged to be depicting the PSP's forthcoming PSone emulator interface. The pictures suggest a simple process in which users select a PlayStation game from an alphabetized list and then, are given details about the title and an option to purchase and download the game. Pictured above, the Gran Turismo 2 detail shows a $15 price and 2–6-player Wi-Fi (infrastructure) multiplayer support. Elsewhere, another image reveals this list of "new" available games (quite a launch lineup): Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror Doom Doom 2: Hell on Earth Duke Nukem: Time to Kill Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes Final Fantasy VII Gran Turismo 2 Grand Theft Auto 2 Metal Gear Solid Twisted Metal 2 Quake 2
Emulate Windows with Q
I just downloaded and installed Q on my iMac Core Duo. I tried importing my Windows 2000 Virtual PC 7 image from an old backup disk, and it imported, but keeps crashing at startup. However, this discussion over at Accelerate Your Macintosh has me hopeful that Q just may be the future of free Windows emulation on the Mac. According to the Q site, "Run Windows, Linux and a lot more Systems on your Mac. Q is a feature packed cocoa port of QEMU: Switch fast between guest PCs. Save and restart guest PCs at any stage. Easily exchange Files between Host and Guest. Q makes use of OS X most advanced technologies like openGL and coreaudio to accelerate your experience with your guest PC."This program is still in development, but they have a Universal Binary. Later on today, when I have some free hours (ha!), I think I'll try to build an image from scratch and install XP. I'll report back after the weekend with my findings.
The Newton OS on non-Apple hardware
The big news out of the Worldwide Newton Conference this weekend is that Paul Guyot has successfully gotten the Newton OS up and running on a Sharp Zaurus. This emulation project is called "Einstein," and a beta is available for download today. If you have a Linux-based PDA with X11 support, you can run the Newton OS! You can view the slides from Paul's presentation online [link:PDF]As Steve said, the soul of the Macintosh is not the hardware used to run it, but in the software. The same is true of the Newt. The project is still very much a beta, so don't expect your Sharp to function just as your 2100 does. Still, this is quite a feat. Well done, Paul![Via Tow.com]
A treasure trove of classic Mac games
This weekend I was reading Mr. Barrett's site (a Mac tech who has helped me out of more than a couple of jams) when I saw his link to this fantastic collection of classic Mac games. I wasted a good deal of the early 1990's playing SimCity, The Fool's Errand and of course, Maelstrom. This was back when System 7.6 was all the rage and everyone was in awe of the one SE/30 we had at work.So, go and dust off that 4400 you have in the basement (or pick up an emulator, as Mr. Barrett suggests) and have some old school fun.[Via Mr. Barrett]
