nintendo wii posts

It's hardly news now, but it hasn't been a great year so far for the Nintendo Wii. For two years it completely blew its over-priced competitors out of the water -- but it seems the tide has finally changed. 2009 hasn't been good to the Wii (though it is doing very well in the run-up to Christmas.) Basically, without getting all geeky, the problem is this: there's a lack of good games. Many of us own a Wii, but few of us actually turn it on -- because there's nothing to play.

It's a shame and a waste to just leave that happy, little white box there on the floor gathering dust, so... you should do as I've done and turn your Wiimote ('Wii Remote'?) into a mouse! We're not just talking the pointy-noisy-vibratey part of the Wii Remote either (I'm sure there's a technical name for it) -- this app includes support for the nunchuck too! If, for some reason, you want to control your computer with your Wii controller, this is your chance. All you need is a Bluetooth dongle and a powered sensor bar (if you're feeling risky, try out the hilarious 'sensor bar wireless hack' over on Engadget, from way back in 2006).

You might think it's a little pointless... and you're right. But let's face it, there isn't a whole lot you can do with your Wii until the next Zelda title or Super Mario Galaxy 2 is released in 2010.

If you have a Wii and a penchant for pointing, download Wii Remote Mouse now! (Windows only, alas.)

Nintendo's affable Wii gaming console hasn't really been positioned as a home media hub, but it makes a great alternative to Apple TV just the same. But before you can start using your Wii as a media streaming station, you'll need to convert your movies (and pictures) into a format the Wii can deal with.

Enter Riverfold Software with their Mac-based Wii Transfer utility. This app does the video and audio conversion necessary to experience movies, photos, and music on your Wii, streamed from your Mac. Wii Transfer will also make your Firefox and Safari bookmarks browseable on the Wii, and copy a virtually unlimited number of Wii save-game files to your Mac for backup.

Google has quietly released a version of Google Reader that is optimized for viewing on a Nintendo Wii and navigating with a Wiimote.

Because most standard television screens have lower resolutions than computer monitors, the interface features larger fonts and no sidebar with subscription listings. You bring up your list by pressing one and navigate your feeds with the up and down buttons.

Here's the list of commands:

• Up and down scrolls up and down
  
• Right and left take you to the next and previous items
• The 1 button shows your subscription list in a transparent menu
• The 2 button show links to your Home, all items, starred items and shared items

[via ZDNet]

It turns out one of the most popular things to do with a Nintendo Wii isn't playing video games. It's creating little avatars that you can use in various games that are designed to look like you. They're called Miis, and the fun isn't confined to the Wii anymore.

Mii Editor is a website that mirrors the experience of creating a Mii on the console. You can choose your face shape, eye and hair color and styles, the size of your eyebrows, pretty much everything you need to customize your Mii to your hearts content. In other words, if you thought you could stop playing with your Wii when you left home and went to work, you are no longer safe.

You can use a program like Mii Transfer to download Mii data from your Wiimote in order to upload it to Mii Editor for further editing and sharing with the world.

[via WebWare]

The thing about using a Nintendo Wii to browse the web is that you've got to use a remote control and a pretty basic web browser by Opera. Sure, it can show full screen and zoomed-in versions of web pages, but what about tabbed browsing?

Well, the folks at Warp Pipe Technologies pick up where Opera's developers left off, and have developed Wiiminder -- a tabbed browsing interface. There's no software to install, all you have to do is direct your Wii Opera browser to Wiiminder.com. If you visit the site with a non-Wii browser, you'll see a promotional video, which we have after the jump.

[via Wiifanboy]