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PlayOn for Wii beta to be announced tomorrow
We know that some of you streaming media fanatics have been indulging in this one for the better part of a month already, but just in case: tomorrow the kids at MediaMall officially announce the beta release of PlayOn for Wii. The software license runs $39.99, but there is a 14-day free trial -- so you can see for yourself whether or not it makes sense to tie up your console with re-runs of CSI: Miami when you could be better off shakin' your groove thing to Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party. Hit the read link and decide for yourself. [Via New York Times]
PlayOn media server now serving Wii customers (in beta, anyway)
We knew good and well that the fine folks over at MediaMall were toiling away in an attempt to bring internet TV content from YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, CBS, CNN and a host of other sources to Nintendo's white-hot Wii, but there's just nothing like hearing that intentions have become reality. Based on an email from MediaMall support to a particularly curious user, the "latest version of PlayOn includes a beta version of Wii functionality in it." Naturally, the company's doing its darnedest to keep this under wraps for now, but we're eager to get legions of Wii users testing it out and reporting back with performance evaluations. The note does mention that quality will be lower than on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 due to the inherit hardware limitations on Nintendo's baby, but hey, you knew that going in, right? Hop on past the break for the letter in its entirety, which includes instructions on getting this going on your console.[Thanks, Anonymous]
Nintendo mysteriously updates Everybody Votes, Opera throws the browser a keyboard bone
It was a big day for Nintendo fans. Not only did we get some great announcements out of a surprise conference in Japan, but we were greeted by the friendly blue glow when we were able to tear ourselves away from said news and actually look at our beloved consoles. While exciting on the face, though, today's update ends up being less than thrilling. Much-needed keyboard functionality came to the Opera browser, but it's still limited, and the Wii remote must be used to navigate through text boxes. Take the average search form as an example; at the computer, most of the time, you can type in your search terms and hit enter -- or at the most, tab to the search button and then hit enter. No such luck with the Wii's browser. It's more like this: Navigate to text box with Wii remote Enter text on keyboard Navigate to enter/search button with Wii remote Profit. Very slow and awkward profit, but better than a poke in the eye with ye olde sharp stick.
Symantec demonstrates the Internet channel 'hack'
We were a little worried that nobody would consider the Internet Channel a fully-featured Web browser unless it crashed all the time. Some jerks on YouTube are working right now to make that happen! Symantec has posted an explanation of the recent Wii security issue, which, as far as security goes, is a non-issue. You can also see it in "action" after the break! Basically, people can post hacked YouTube videos that freeze browsers. This affects any system that can run Flash, the Wii included. An exploit that takes advantage of this hack has already been devised for Windows, but other Flash-capable systems are safe right now. Yes, this means no homebrew code yet, but it also means that some dude isn't ... uh, stealing your Miis? What would someone even do to a Wii?[Thanks, Almadi!]
Cartoon Network targets consoles via the internet
Why make retail games for consoles when you can make Flash games that also happen to work with consoles? That's the attitude Cartoon Network seems to be taking with their recently-announced MEGA series game service developed by AFI's Digital Content Lab. The MEGA series will feature games based on as-yet unannounced Cartoon Network and Adult Swim shows, and it's going to be fully compatible with the Wii browser (oh, and the PS3 also).
Save your website from Wiitis
If you have a website, you may have wondered just what you might need to do to make it Wii-friendly. Luckily, there's a great guide on Opera for the Wii available at the Opera Development Community that goes into all the ins and outs of just what the Wii's browser can do, and plenty of tips to make browsing from the sofa a little easier. The in-depth guide even looks at the smallest of details, such as what is and isn't available in the onscreen keyboard, and what kind of addresses and forms are workable on the console. For anyone looking to make the web a little more Wii-friendly, this is the place to go.
Final Wii Internet Channel ready for update
Your little glowing Wii is trying to tell you something: there's a new system update waiting in the ether packing plenty of Internet Channel goodness. The update brings parental controls to your Wii and an updated version of the Opera browser which can downloaded free from the Shop Channel. So besides giving you control over the kiddies surf habits, Nintendo has tossed in plenty of new/improved features including several navigation enhancements and built-in Yahoo! and Google search. Now, you'd best get on with gettin' on, because the browser will cost you 500 points to download after June 30th.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
New videos and updates for the Internet Channel
We spent the morning crying into our pillows and refusing to come out of our rooms after we heard about the final version of Opera's Wii browser being delayed. Nintendo eventually called to console us though, directing our puffy eyes to an interview with the company's Internet Channel development team at its Japanese site. We had a really good talk.There are several videos and screenshots scattered around the Japanese transcript, demonstrating the changes with the Wii browser's final build. It's clear that Nintendo and Opera Software addressed a lot of common complaints users had with the trial version, making sure to implement variable zooming, improved starting times, and faster scrolling. Here's a list of all the other things we spotted on the page, mixed in with Nintendo's announced updates:
