Slashdot Mirror
Gameboy Advance Frontlight Success
skirch writes: "Remember Portablemonopoly.com? Well, Adam finally has a great working prototype (with some great pics) that he was able to hack together for about $30. Not that $30 is bad, but he mentions a possible group order, and I'm sure that would bring the price down quite a bit. He estimates that it will only diminish the GBA's battery life by 25-30%. Original Slashdot post."
I thought that was Windows CE? Have I been misinformed?
Not only did he go off and build something instead of just whining, but I also was amused by the part from the mini-FAQ in which he responds to people who whine and complain and tell him he has it all wrong: "Enough already! I don't care whether or not you think what I am going is a waste of time. If you think this site is pointless or retarded, dear God save me the bandwidth and take your ass elsewhere."
It's really unfortunate this wasn't implemented with the actual GBA. Engineered correctly (and maybe centered :-) this would solve many of the current GBA playability woes...and I'm certain Nitnendo could have made it more battery conservitive.
:-)
Honestly, one is forces to use a plug-in light in almost all occasions--especialy with dark games like Circle of the Moon--so I can't think that a smaller interal light would havedrained more battery life that a Worm Lamp or Light Shield.
And, if you think about it... Worm Lamp's and the life are only 10 bucks as standalone units, with plugins, plastic casing, and shipping materials. I can't imagine this would have raised the production cost of the GBA itself by more than 5 bucks.
I would have gladly paid 5 bucks to make my GBA playable more than 10% of the time I feel like playing it. The screen has been the biggest deterrant for me finishing CotM and buying more than 2 games...
But, of course... Nintendo really doesn't have to worry about another handheld coming along and being competitive.
-Jayde
What's a sig?
The amazing thing is that no matter where I use my GBA it's too dark...
...except at work.
The lighting conditions are just perfect in my work-cell and it seems that's the only place I'm able to get any quality GBA time in.
"...but boss! I just can't see the screen at home or in the break room!"
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
I love that new commercial where the kid is playing with his GBA while at church (never mind all the class inferred by that... marketing weasels...). That is just absolute bullshit. I can barely play Tony Hawk 2 in my kitchen much less a room with low amounts of ambient lighting. They had to be filming that commercial looking at each other like... "Hey, it's not my lawsuit".
Adam is a deity. Nintendo owes every damn one of us an apology.
He (Adam) says it best when he comments that the glass covering the Worlds Most Useless Display is more like a mirror then anything else. So all the lame "Shark Lights, Wiggie Lights, PokoLights, Very Happy Joy Fun Lights" or whatever does nothing more then throw glare over the entire screen.
I'd pay thirty bucks to take something useless and render it otherwise.
is that you can't play it in bed without having the light on, making your girlfriend mad.
This hack has the potential to restore my relationship to pre-GBA goodness!
I gots ta ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long
Hmm.. check this out!
According to this page, Nintendo is planning a japanese release of a new GBA WITH backlit screen in december!
__ elacin