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Try listening to music being played down a GSM phone. That's just bizarre.

Only because the phone runs the GSM Full Rate codec at too low a bitrate. Crank the bitrate up to 30 kbps, and music starts to sound decent. For example, I took a Smile.dk song, encoded it, decoded it, and got this. In fact, a popular homebrew application for Game Boy Advance uses GSM audio at 30 kbps.

If you got stoned and played Tetris, would it look like this?

147 NES games on my flashcart [...] and better yet you can listen to your mp3cd player ... AND HAVE 200$ in your pocket!!!

Or try GSM Player for GBA. It's nowhere near CD quality (18 kHz, 30 kbps), but it'll do better than an MP3 CD player for jogging.

The only problem I see, is that the 512 mb of internal flash memory is too small for downloadable content.

If it's 512 Mb (megabits), then by some estimations it'd be too small. On the other hand, 512 MB (megabytes) is quite a lot. Remember that all of The Sims for Game Boy Advance fits into 16 MB (Urbz is 32 MB), Feel the Magic for Nintendo DS is 32 MB, and a semi-polished Tetris clone for GBA fits into 160 KB. And if you're willing to think back to NES-caliber games, none of the 8-bit Final Fantasy games was larger than 256 KB.

So tell me, how many MIPS boxes does Java run on, exactly? Or, for that matter, all the other CPU's which make up the vast majority of systems in the world.

A lot of cell phones run J2ME.

I'm talking embedded here, not servers and clients.

I feel that my skills (as on my resume) are a good match for embedded development. Problem is that if you're a recent grad still dependent on a family, it's hard to find an embedded job unless you happen to have been raised in Silicon Valley or something.

If you want to play something like The New Tetris with a twist, try TOD for PC and Game Boy Advance. Or did you mean the Mickey Mouse version?

I've played at least the original Tetris, Tetris Attack, and Tetris Worlds. And there are good reasons why I think Tetris Worlds blows. I was so frustrated with Tetris Worlds for GBA that I decided to make a better tetramino game for GBA.

You can just download it. Why make a big deal about shipping it?

Some people feel good about having a high-quality stamped CD, a printed manual, and a support contract.

Others just want to get a buzz :-)

You'd send a plain text resume to someone? Good luck with that. Not to say it's impossible to get a job like that, but I wouldn't say you have good odds.

I'd guess that the keyword scanners seem to process ISO Latin 1 plain text files more quickly and more reliably than Microsoft's under-.documented format. But then I can't get a job no matter how I submit my resume, be it txt, sxw, html, rtf, doc, or pdf. The purpose of a resume is to get interviews, and I do get interviews, but then I get "Sorry, we went with another candidate" even for a cashier job at a home improvement chain.

A lot of times opening MS Powerpoint and Word documents [in OOo] also results in (sometimes really bad) formatting errors.

They're often not much worse than the formatting errors you get when you take a document from one version of Microsoft Office to another, from one version of Microsoft Windows to another or to or from Mac OS X, or from geographic region to another. Different geographic regions often have different paper sizes (US Letter vs. A4); different operating systems and versions thereof often have slightly different fonts with slightly different metrics that throw off formatting. If you want to preserve line and page breaks, PDF is most reliable.

Already have a Linux PDA :-)

And I already have a GBA flash cart, which is 2/5 of the $250 cost of this Linux hack. How did you manage to get a decent job? All I can get, even with this resume, is "Sorry, we went with another candidate".

Unless he's changed it since you posting that and me reading it, it looks like a short, concise resume to me.

I'd just use Safari to browse to TOD and try my own "acid" test in VisualBoyAdvance for Mac OS X.

There's also Tetanus on Drugs, for PC and Game Boy Advance, written by former classmate of mine

I am the author of TOD, a GPL'd tetramino game that simulates the effects of hallucinogens. Unlike Spew, which has two effects (roto and zoom), TOD has eight effects (roto, zoom, fuzz, roto3d, constant, linear, quadratic, and cubic) to throw off your perception of the tetramino field, all powered by Mode 7 (or in the PC version's case, a high-level emulation thereof).

If you missed the link to the GBA version of TOD, which I consider more polished than the Allegro version (for PC), you might want to look here. If you don't have a GBA flash card, I recommend running it in VisualBoyAdvance.

he was already crazy when he wrote it, but it'll send any sane person over the edge.

I'm only as crazy as my Asperger syndrome lets me be. It's the neurotypicals who are crazy ;-)

You could try out Tetanus On Drugs. It simulates playing while high, twisting, turning, distorting and flipping the image, all while playing wonderful MIDI music.

It gets insanely hard after a short while.

There's also Tetanus on Drugs, for PC and Game Boy Advance, written by former classmate of mine...he was already crazy when he wrote it, but it'll send any sane person over the edge.

When it came down to the choice between getting a DS or a PSP now, the choice became the PSP. Granted, I'll get a DS later for other games that I'm interested in and the rumored Palm Pilot module - but it was the usefulness of the PSP *now* that interested me.

A lot of people underestimate the usefulness of the GBA and Nintendo DS now. Like the PSP, the GBA or Nintendo DS supports its own proprietary memory card format. A GBA memory card such as the Flash2Advance or the EFA-Linker greatly expands the capabilities of a GBA or Nintendo DS system:

• Like the PSP, the GBA can play music, through the GBA GSM Player.
• Unlike the PSP, which can't run games for any previous Sony platform, the GBA can run most NES games, many Game Boy monochrome games, and even some PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) games, in emulation.
• Unlike the PSP, the GBA does not use digital signatures for programs stored on memory cards. Developers have created several homebrew games and made available to the public. I am one of those developers.

The only thing you're lacking is video, but there's another peripheral for that.

When it came down to the choice between getting a DS or a PSP now, the choice became the PSP. Granted, I'll get a DS later for other games that I'm interested in and the rumored Palm Pilot module - but it was the usefulness of the PSP *now* that interested me.

A lot of people underestimate the usefulness of the GBA and Nintendo DS now. Like the PSP, the GBA or Nintendo DS supports its own proprietary memory card format. A GBA memory card such as the Flash2Advance or the EFA-Linker greatly expands the capabilities of a GBA or Nintendo DS system:

• Like the PSP, the GBA can play music, through the GBA GSM Player.
• Unlike the PSP, which can't run games for any previous Sony platform, the GBA can run most NES games, many Game Boy monochrome games, and even some PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) games, in emulation.
• Unlike the PSP, the GBA does not use digital signatures for programs stored on memory cards. Developers have created several homebrew games and made available to the public. I am one of those developers.

The only thing you're lacking is video, but there's another peripheral for that.

GBA pirates, Dreamcast hacks, NES/GB/Sega Genesis home brewed games are all examples.

There also exist GBA homebrew games such as mine. I hope you didn't intend a subtle slam against the gbadev community.

The media industry is the only industry which doesn't have generic products or any significant competetition.

Not exactly. Americans can buy generic Beethoven CDs or generic kids' music CDs because musical works published pre-1923 are not subject to U.S. copyright.

Guess why? Even the medical industry, with its tens of thousands of patents, has generics and hot competition.

Pharm has vibrant competition because patents expire well within a human lifetime. Copyrights, on the other hand, do not.

My GBA was a horrible disappointment - I pretty much ended up sticking to Mario Kart and Monkey Ball Jr. because of the weak library.

Weak? Then you haven't tried TOD. True, it's a time-wasting puzzler, but it has a gimmick that will bend your mind.

Or play Halo 2 on your GBA ;-)

As compared to the open format on the DS? Or the GBA?

Officially, the Nintendo Playan adapter for GBA lets you play MPEG-1 layer 3 audio and MPEG-4 video stored on common SD memory cards. However, because it has an onboard decoder that draws a significant amount of current, it's recommended for use only in those GBA devices that have a rechargeable battery (GBA SP and Nintendo DS).

Unofficially, GBA has been busted wide open with third-party flash memory devices such as the EFA-Linker and the SuperCard. You can play music on them with the GBA GSM Player, or you can play video with the Meteo codec. Work continues on making the Nintendo DS homebrew-friendly.

They should be looking for the next tetris.

I tried The Next Tetris for PlayStation and The New Tetris for N64. I liked The New Tetris better. They have since been bundled as part of the horrid Tetris Worlds. But if you really want good Tetris, try a homebrew version.

True, I was confused about your use of the terms "mechanics" and "material".

Game material is story content. That's what the monopoly junior example was about - it's the monopoly story content, the titles, the text, the character, the branding. That is copyrightable

"Color" like that is easily replaceable while preserving the mechanics.

Game mechanics are patentable.

Unlike copyrights and trademarks, patents expire. How long has the tile crossword game been around?

Using a slashdot user's rule of thumb to identify appropriate grammar is like using Michael Jackson to watch your kids after school.

For one thing, I have checked this rule of thumb against other authorities on the English language. Notably, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law disagree with you, preferring copyrighted (not *copywritten).

As the Chicago Manual of Style, Strunk and White and Fowler's Modern English all clearly agree, the past tense of the verb "to copyright" is "copywritten."

Are those three references online where I can search them and view their full text? I even registered at CMOS's web site, but its searchable index displays only paragraph numbers, not full text. The latest public domain edition of The Elements of Style does not seem to list a section giving the principal parts of "to copyright". I am not in a position to purchase books before I reply to your comment.

The patent [on falling tetramino games] is Russian, and was covered under international patent law.

Even if there is Russian patent, I thought that a patent enforceable in the United States had to have a counterpart with a U.S. patent number, unlike copyrights. For instance, the German patent on MP3 encoding has a U.S. counterpart, namely U.S. Patent 5,579,430. Where does 35 USC state that a United States citizen residing in the United States and operating a web site from the United States can be sued for violating a patent granted in the Soviet Union (and presumably still enforceable in its former republics)? My understanding of the applicable patent treaties is that 1. filing a patent application in one country establishes priority of invention under the Paris Convention, giving an inventor 12 months to file counterpart applications in other countries, and 2. the Patent Cooperation Treaty has standardized the patent application process, letting an inventor file in more than one country with one application.

If you would research this in good faith

Would you please help me come up with appropriate Google keywords?

The US Patent and Trade Office doesn't maintain foreign trademarks.

But it does maintain trademarks registered internationally through the Madrid System, as you allude. "TETRIS" is in fact registered in the States, but Elorg/TTC's competitors can merely change their products' name to get around that.

Billboards could work if the camera isn't freely movable, and if it uses a lot of different sprites for different angles.

Billboards worked for the karts in Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, and Mario Kart Super Circuit.

especially if the graphics chips in the DS have the same sprite memory limitations as the GBA does (which it probably doesn't).

GBA has 96 KB of VRAM. Nintendo DS has roughly 650 KB of VRAM. Besides, a lot of GBA games routinely swap sprite cels into VRAM in real time; see my white paper on the technique.

They could use a combination of methods.

Play Super Smash Bros. for N64 to see a prime example of combining methods.

It is worth noting that the Gamecube most likely has the LEAST amount of piracy

Only for those who refuse to count the modchip that is Game Boy Player. With that and an accessory called "EFA Linker", you can play homebrew GBA games, but you can also play almost any pirated Game Boy Advance game.

And that's why they'll keep releasing tetris for such high end game systems.

But do the new versions of TETRIS® take advantage of the capabilities of the new systems? This one does.

I would guess it has something to do with personal information about him being illegally obtained by the RIAA which led directly to him losing thousands of dollars. Would you not complain? Guilt or innocence is moot when the police kick in your door without a warrant. Then again, I RTFA. I guess that's too much to expect of some folks though.

Calling downloading "civil disobedience" is an insult to those

Oh look, it's the thief who steals from the public domain. He's crying a river of crocodile tears... Copyright infringement can't be civil disobedience? What do you call this:

• Exhibit A
• Exhibit B

Emacs Tetris players should upgrade to Tetanus On Drugs.

Does a Windows application infringe Microsoft's copyright just because it can only be used with Windows?

No. Microsoft has licensed the Win32 import libraries for public use and redistribution as part of compiled programs. On the other hand, Microsoft has not done so for, say, the XDK.

How about a binary *patch* to Windows (say, a security enhancement)?

Under at least DJB's interpretation, this would possibly fall under 17 USC 117, a narrow provision that applies only to computer programs and not to audiovisual works. Video games such as Privateer are often registered with the U.S. Copyright Office as audiovisual works instead of or in addition to registration as a computer program. In fact, even installing a PC game other than as directed by the EULA might violate copyright, as the backup exemption of 17 USC 117 doesn't apply to audiovisual works.

Bad example. Making a Pinocchio DVD involves actually copying the work.

This example only referred to the decision by EA to keep Privateer out of print, as making a new CD of Privateer involves actually copying the work. EA keeps its old titles such as Privateer out of print for the same reason Disney keeps its old titles out of print.

A better example would be, for instance, a tape-deck adapter for a CD-player which allows you to use a copyrighted work in a context where it was not designed to be used.

A tape-deck adapter for a CD player works entirely in the analog streaming domain, with no reproduction in a tangible medium (unlike copies to hard drives). It's a technicality, but the law is an ass.

I would be thrilled with the prospect of 'write once, revenue forever'

So I take it you supported the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, right?

a cooler hack would let me play mp3's on my old gameboy.

For the old Game Boy systems, there is an MP3 player called SongPro. For the GBA and GBA SP, there is the GSM Player, which uses GBA flash carts.

'split' is not recognized as an internal or external command...

You need to install some free software to get that command to work. Send me an e-mail through the form at my web site and I'll send you a copy.

Look in front of you. Fingerdance pad is between the Ctrl key and the 0/Ins key.

Another advantage of StepMania is you get to play songs that would never show up on the console versions.

No one is stopping you from enjoying public domain movies/music/books.

Bullcrap.

but [unlike Free games] at least [proprietary commercial game sequels and rip-offs are] well-produced, polished ripoff versions of commercial software.

Now are you claiming that things like StepMania aren't polished? And compare the polish level of something like Pin Eight's Tetanus On Drugs to that of THQ's Tetris Worlds for GBA.

I love playing DDR (actually StepMania) for hours at a time though.

Have you tried the so-called East Germany simfile collection?

Metal Gear Acid: Best Played While Tripping.

GBA beat PSP to it. Try Tetanus On Drugs.

I heard it was Tetris.

I wonder if it was Tetanus On Drugs.

Once I wrote a passable Tetris clone in TI BASIC to waste my spare time in class. Then I ported it to QBasic, and it started running at acceptable speeds even on an old-ass 8088. Then I turned it into C and made it run inside a graphical environment; this formed part of freepuzzlearena. Years later, I added a hallucinogen-simulating graphic distortion layer, first for the PC and then for the Game Boy Advance, resulting in TOD.

Once I wrote a passable Tetris clone in TI BASIC to waste my spare time in class. Then I ported it to QBasic, and it started running at acceptable speeds even on an old-ass 8088. Then I turned it into C and made it run inside a graphical environment; this formed part of freepuzzlearena. Years later, I added a hallucinogen-simulating graphic distortion layer, first for the PC and then for the Game Boy Advance, resulting in TOD.

I am a 24-year-old man. I play the four-panel dance game in the arcade and on my PS1. I even make my own simfiles for the the open-source PC version. I am not sexually attracted to other men. How is this possible?

Dance Dance Revolution Extreme had "The legend of MAX". Donkey Konga had "The legend of ZELDA".

Sources have leaked one song and its background from the co-branded DDR for GCN.
Download the song | View the background

Dance Dance Revolution Extreme had "The legend of MAX". Donkey Konga had "The legend of ZELDA".

Sources have leaked one song and its background from the co-branded DDR for GCN.
Download the song | View the background

As much as I like free - I haven't seen any of them produce quality games like Half-Life 2, etc et al.

I prefer to keep my non-game computing and my commercial video games in separate cubes, thank you very much. I would play a commercial game on a Treacherous Computing platform provided it could run side-by-side with a non-Treacherous platform, either in separate memory spaces or in separate machines. Besides, have you even played some of the better Free games, such as StepMania or TOD?

And, at least for the near future, MS Office is the industry standard

Well it's a good thing only the most expensive version of Microsoft Office supports digital restrictions management of .doc files. This means that companies won't be distributing information in DRM .doc format to the public, many of whom use the Works Suite edition of Word or the student edition of Office, and OpenOffice.org will still open files in non-DRM .doc format even more reliably than other versions of Microsoft Word do.

If you want to practice civil disobedience against current copyright law, you should copy some tracks (like Happy Birthday) that you believe you have a moral right to own and you should alert the authorities and the media.

I've done step 1; now how do I involve the media, which has a financial interest in keeping this hush-hush?

I used Cool Edit Pro with the settings described in this document.

Remember Little Nemo?

Thank God somebody associates "Nemo" with the character from Winsor McCay's comic strip (and Capcom's mediocre NES game based thereon) rather than with that idiotic clownfish owned by Disney.

This device connects to the GBA cart slot, not the DS cart slot, and the DS sees it as a GBA game and doesn't let it use the extra DS features. As for the GBA, homebrew developers such as myself already have Extreme Flash Advance.

If you want to do this for real though get a Flash2Advance card, then you can do all KINDS of neat GBA tricks.

I agree, and I've written a couple tricks myself. But don't get the F2A if you have a Nintendo DS, as writing to the F2A requires using the link port on a GBA or GBA SP, which the DS lacks. Get the EFA Extreme Flash Advance (kicktrading.ca sells it) instead, as it is written through a connector on the cart itself.

It shouldn't be that difficult to write a gba rom that wraps gb(c) roms.

There is such an emulator for Game Boy mono ROMs, but it doesn't support GBC-only (transparent plastic) titles.

(Like an mp3 player NDS cartridge that uses GBA cartridges as disks.)

If you just want to play music from a flash cart on your Nintendo DS, you don't need to go into DS mode. Get GSM Player, which works on anything that can play GBA flash carts, and fit 150 minutes of music on one 256 Mbit cart (or less if you have games on the same cart).

I have a Game Boy Player accessory on my GameCube console. I can use it to boot original Game Boy Advance Game Paks, or I can use it to boot homebrew GBA games that I've developed on my flash card, or I can (rarely) use it to boot copied GBA games on my flash card. So my GameCube already boots copied games, albeit not copied GameCube-native games.