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Domain: collectingsmiles.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to collectingsmiles.com.

Comments · 13

  1. An anecdote of one by PIPBoy3000 · · Score: 1 · on UK Courts Rule Nintendo DS R4 Cards Illegal

    Actually, I bought an R4 for homebrew. There are a lot of simple games and applications like Colors! that easily make the cost worthwhile.

  2. Colours for the DS by Spatial · · Score: 2, Informative · on Creating a New Yorker Cover On the iPhone

    The DS has a homebrew drawing program called 'Colours'. Check out the drawings people have made with it. Unlike the iPhone the DS supports pressure sensitivity, although it's not used in official programs (if I remember correctly it's due to per-unit variance and being forbidden by the official guidelines).

    A PSP-sized device with that kind of capability would be a pretty great portable drawing device. The DS is a bit too small for me.

  3. Not pirated games, just homebrew by gknoy · · Score: 5, Insightful · on Disassembling the US Nintendo DSi

    There are a number of DS homebrew games I'd love to use, if I ever have the disposable income to spare on the adapters and cards. There's a painting app ( http://colors.collectingsmiles.com/about.php ) which looks neat, especially if you are traveling and want to sketch something, or just like to doodle. There are also some PDA-like programs which might be handy, though I don't know how I'd find them useful.

    ScummVM ( http://scummvm.drunkencoders.com/ ) is a homebrew app to let you play old LucasArts games, as well as newer (free) games made for the Scumm interpreter. (Yes, one could pirate the old LucasArts games. The morality of playing a no longer published game on a newer platform is not something I wish to discuss. I don't plan to pirate it, if that's any consolation to you.) There are some free games, such as several from Revolution Software, that have been re-released from Amiga to Nintendo DS.

    There are even e-book and comic reader homebrew apps for the DS... though I've not used them. (I prefer paper books.)

    I'd get a lot more geek cred if I were part of the nintendo DS demo scene, but I'm not. (: However, I hope I have adequately debunked your claim that all we'd want to do is use it to run pirated games.

  4. Lockout chip by tepples · · Score: 1 · on The Age of Touch Computing

    Oh, and as for the DS, we're talking about something that is not used for content creation

    Only because of the lockout chip. If it weren't an issue, we'd have more things like Colors!.

  5. Homebrew is wonderful by PIPBoy3000 · · Score: 4, Interesting · on Nintendo Battles Makers of the R4

    I decided to get an R4 chip for our Nintendo DS. The kids love it, as I loaded it up with things like Colors!, which is a touch sensitive drawing program. It also nicely plays music and home videos. My kids were both mesmerized by family movies I took of them from a couple years ago.

    There is a long list of homebrew software out there. And yes, you can even get your DS running Linux.

  6. Re: ... because it's a terrible interface by Taleron · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Why Did Touch Take 4 Decades to Catch On?

    I own a DS, but no games for it - the one purpose it serves is as a small, handy digital sketchbook when using Colors! for quick little sketches during the day. A ton smaller than lugging around any laptop with a Wacom tablet or even a regular sketchbook, and the DS Lite's screen is really quite nice for working on - bright, accurate, and responsive.

  7. Indie games by tepples · · Score: 1 · on Unreal Creator Proclaims PCs are Not For Gaming

    Yes, consoles do have lockouts all over the place, but you know what: PC games have those, as well. Think about the horrible Starforce copy protection scheme. That thing could even break your entire PC, if you were unlucky enough. So choose games other than those that use Starforce. Instead, install games that are free software, freeware, or reputable shareware. The difference between PCs and consoles is that it's much easier to install such games on a PC.

    What else would you wanna do on a console, anyway? For one thing, play games self-published by smaller developers. Or on a handheld such as the DS, use Colors! or DSOrganize or MoonShell.

    Besides, on a console there's no Low-End or High-End, but only one spec to optimize your games for. Yes there is. Low-end is Pocket PC and DS; mid-end is PSP, PS2, Wii, notebook PCs, and desktop PCs with integrated graphics or an AGP video card; high-end is Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, and desktop PCs with a PCIe video card. The article is just a whine that Epic doesn't know how to target anything but the high end. Does Epic Games just want to get bought by Sony like the other Epic?
  8. Colors.ds is #1 with my 4 and 8 year olds!!! by whiterat · · Score: 1 · on DS Games for Pre-readers?
    I know that this is probably outside the scope of what you were planning on doing, however, the homebrew application Colors is incredibly popular with my 4 and 8 year old children. You need some sort of homebrew cart to play it, which you may or may not use for pirating software, but I can't recommend it enough. Check it out here. This little program simply lets you draw pictures, color them in, save, load, and even replay the your whole drawing process. It seems that the two children can't get enough of it (or Ninendogs for that matter). Most people won't go the homebrew route, and I'm not sure why commercial vendors haven't released a simple coloring, or coloring book type application for the DS. They fit together so well.

    I would also recommend the Interactive Story Book series. These are specifically directed at pre-readers. I personally use a CycloDS Evolution for my homebrew endeavours and have been very satisfied with it.

  9. Colors! by tepples · · Score: 4, Interesting · on DS Games for Pre-readers?

    Get the R4 adapter and a microSD card, and put Colors! on it. Look what others have made.

  10. How easiest and cheapest to get Colors!? by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1 · on Animal Crossing MMOG / DS Flash Card Rumored

    After finding it in a Slashdot comment, I really want to play with the Colors! painting program. What's the quickest way to get that up and running, assuming that I know absolutely nothing about DS homebrew?

  11. Re:Pocket PC by tepples · · Score: 1 · on Nintendo Cracks Down on Copying Devices

    [DS advantage:] Two screens. DS screen: 256x472 with an 88px gap across the middle, touch-sensitive in only the bottom 192px. Pocket PC screen: up to 320x480, touch-sensitive in the whole screen.

    [DS advantage:] Look at this http://www.collectingsmiles.com/colors/ and the gallery here: http://colors.brombra.net/ please tell me if I can do this with Windows Mobile, I will be delighted. In fact, I have submitted this picture to the Colors! gallery. The only reason that you can't port Colors! to Windows Mobile is that Colors! does not come with source code.

    [DS disadvantage:] You need a expensive cartridge, total cost are much much less than a Windows movile. And it will become even more expensive once Nintendo cracks down on R4 and the rest. Nintendo has succeeded once: it was impossible to find new Game Boy Color flash cards during the last year of Game Boy Color's life (which coincided with the first year of Game Boy Advance's life).
  12. Re:Pocket PC by lastskypainter · · Score: 1 · on Nintendo Cracks Down on Copying Devices

    Well

    I used to think the way you do, I never had a Windows Movile though, too expensive for a hobbyist like me. So I will be pleased if you(anyone?) share your experience, here is mine with the DS:

    Pros:
    • 3D on your device.
    • Two screens.
    • If it works in your device works in millions of others without modification.
    • Two CPUs for only one program(it doesnt hava an OS, this is bad and good).
    • Very good support from the GameBoy Advance community.
    • Look at this http://www.collectingsmiles.com/colors/ and the gallery here: http://colors.brombra.net/ please tell me if I can do this with Windows Mobile, I will be delighted.
    • Cheap, from mass production and Nintendo losing money with every device (they get money from the games, like printers fron cartridges).
    • Cheap programming, the develop enviroment cost 0 EUR
    BAD:
    • You need a expensive cartridge, total cost are much much less than a Windows movile.
    • Platform is closed(difficult to debug).
    If I can get this in an open platform, I would be sold, so I'm waiting for OLPC and OpenMoko, Asus eee.
  13. Colors! by tepples · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Nintendo Cracks Down on Copying Devices

    I'd bet a lot of money that use of these devices for the purpose of personal backups pales in comparison to their use for playing copied games. Some people on the gbadev.org forums have stated that they bought a DS and a homebrew card just to use Colors!. So I have only one thing to say about your assertion: Citation needed.