Lik-Sang Back Online

Alexander Burke writes "Lik-Sang appears to be back online (until we slashdot them). However, their selection of PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and Xbox "backup and import" (pronounced modchip) items seem somewhat lacking. Coincidence? Surely not..." This previous posting should provide some good background reading if you've not been following this episode.

Comments

dupe..

[kennyv]

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/15/155821 5

Re:dupe..

[packeteer]

The funniest thing about this being a dupe is that the poster listed antoher slashdot article on the topic. This makes me wonder how they searched slashdot's history and found the past story but not the dupe?

Re:dupe..

[gl4ss]

not only that, but it's been already a week or two(maybe three)..

maybe they're just duping this because they want more links to places that still sell modchips.

Re:dupe..

[packeteer]

If it was that insidious than the article would have been wrote differantly.

gamegizmo.com

[Anonymous Coward]

this site gamegizmo.com has a lot of stuff if you miss lik sang (or however it's spelled).

Unofficial GBA dev tools

[Jouni]

It's unfortunate that the unofficial Game Boy Advance tools are no longer sold through them either. There is a big community of budding game developers out there, but with the prices Nintendo asks for the official development kits, the unofficial tools are their only way of getting started.

Of course, tools like that will always find their way. Unfortunately also the site of the company that makes them is either hacked or taken down. Anyone know which?

Jouni

What the?

[HaggiZ]

Back online? isn't this the same story as posted on the 16th here? Seems they've been back for a few weeks, despite the attempts at slashdotting them previously

Re:What the?

[drinkypoo]

I think you're on to something. Those turncoats running slashdot are being paid by Microsoft to post lik-sang news here so that we will go slashdot them.

Slashdot, the world's best-disguised DDOS mechanism.

Eh

[NetJunkie]

For the XBox go buy a Matrix chip from EasyBuy2000. They are shipping them faster now and they don't require any soldering. Easy to install.

There are some good homebrew apps coming out too. The XBox Media Player is very nice. You can stream VCD/SVCD/DIVX/MPEG to your TV. It works VERY well.

Re:Eh

[theLOUDroom]

Actually if you look at www.xboxmediaplayer.de you'll note that they claim that their beta includes no GPL'ed code.
Care to prove otherwise?
Everyone should keep in mind that these accusations are being made by "the project from hell"

Lik Sang still has MBV2; Game Gizmo has GBA flash

[yerricde]

In the GBA Develop and Backup category, Lik Sang still has the MBV2 cable.

If you want flash memory cartridges and writers for GBA, CDworld and Game Gizmo still have them.

Handheld?

[yerricde]

If you want to run Linux on an Xbox, build a $200 PC and you get better.

Do I get NTSC TV output for that price? A 25" TV is cheap; a 25" computer display is way out of my price range.

And what if I want to write software to run on a $70 handheld device? No Palm device has the graphics power or battery life of a Game Boy Advance system.

Re:Handheld?

[photon317]

A 25" TV sucks compared to even a 17" monitor. Your 25" TV gets 320x240 resolution only (unless you've got some high res digital screen, and the xbox as well as linux/xfree86 support the resolution).

The borg at work

[peterdaly]

On a somewhat related note, I was in Best Try (or Buy if you like the place) today and saw a 24" RCA television with the label "XBox Ready" slapped on the plastic. We are not talking about a sticker, but the text is actually printed on the face next to the control buttons so it is a perminent fixture on the front of the unit.

The borg's marketing machine is in motion. (Like that should be news to anyone.)

What TV can you purchase now adays which is not "XBox Ready"? I wonder how much cash MS pushed their way to get that label. I would not even consider buying the unit just due to that.

The TV was on and endcap no less.

-Pete

Re:The borg at work

[cscx]

I took a tour of Thomson (or "RCA," if you prefer) a few months ago. They showed us this -- basically it's a port on the front of the TV which a special cable can connect the XBox directly to the TV with one connector.

Since Thomson/RCA (NOT Microsoft - they just provide the $$ and advertising) is actually the one that designed and manufactures the XBox, this is perfectly fine IMHO. A good selling point for their TVs for less-than-educated people that want to hook up an XBox.

Lik Sang is still viable

[chickenmonger]

Just because they stopped distributing mod chips doesn't make them a dead company. I look on their website and I see many things that I might like to buy...if only I had any money left from college tuition...

Xbox incompatibility

[yerricde]

What TV can you purchase now adays which is not "XBox Ready"?

How about a TV that pukes when it sees the 524-line (as opposed to 525-line) image that many consoles output?

How about a TV that reacts poorly to Macrovision encoded signal?

How about a TV with only RF input as opposed to composite video input (yeah, I still see those)?

How about a TV that cuts too much off the sides and corners of the image?

Any of those four might introduce a compatibility problem between a game console and a television set.

Sigh...

[Anonymous Coward]

You people do realize that it was primary Sony and Nintendo, NOT MICROSOFT, that causes the shut down of the site, right?

Microsoft send a letter of support, and was one of the official plantiffs, but did not originally bring the case.

Yet Slashdot still picks the MS-Borg icon for the story. How transparently bias.

Re:Wow

[Niahak]

Obviously, they only just recovered from the Oct. 15 slashdotting.

Re:Oh no

[WeaponOfChoice]

now you can't run illegally copied games, boo hoo.

From one point of view yes. From another point of view I must now seek out a supplier to provide me with equipment to play games I have legitimately purchased overseas. In Australia this practice enjoys legal protection and is a way to curb corporations natural instinct to try and charge as much for a product as any particular market will bear.
Providing themselves with protection against piracy is a legitimate cause for a software company, I just dislike the way the cause can also be used to render useless certain 'inconvenient' liberties that get in the way of maximising profits...

Why under Microsoft

[i_luv_linux]

I remember this story very well, because first it is reported as if the company closed its site due to Microsoft's efforts. Then when they opened it again, the news changed the story and said that actually Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo forced the company to close its door.

I can understand Microsoft bashing, but this is pure lie. Next time, maybe it will turn out to be only Sony. The story changes every time.

Success has them as well

[yerricde]

After a bit more searching, I found a GBA compatible 64 Mbit flash cartridge with a linker for only $50 + S&H at Success Compu.

Re:Um, they've been back online for a while now...

[messiertom]

No, if it was a slow posting day, they would have accepted the "messiertom Takes over the World" story I submitted.

Something I should have added

[alexburke]

I feel like a dipshit for not including this little gem in my submission.

Oh well, here it is...

Illegal games?

[yerricde]

Stealing the devkit to make your own games is illegal too.

So why should making your own devkit be illegal?

Of course, there are other ways to deem a game illegal.

I know of only a few, such as using somebody else's copyrighted cartoon character, using somebody else's copyrighted music, using somebody else's copyrighted story, etc.

TOO easy

[Felinoid]

X BOX READY...
If that's common enough any enterprising consol maker can FUD "Our games run on ALLTVs. Even the ones that are X Box ready"
Leave an image of "If you want to use X Box you gotta buy a brand new tv or use ours on your exsisting perficly good 50 inch wide screen"

Re:Console-style multiplayer on PC?

[Anonvmous Coward]

"What inexpensive video card do you recommend as an upgrade from an NVIDIA TNT2?"

Are you asking because you want a better card, or is that in relation to my comment about VGA to NTSC? You got a price range? $150 got me a Geforce 4MX with dual monitor outs. I don't remember if it does SVideo out or not. Is that what you're looking for?

Re:All Hail the Great M$

[Rayonic]

Well, from what I've read, government officials are more easily bribe-able than the ones over here (if such a thing can be believed).

Re:All Hail the Great M$

[GweeDo]

This wasn't just MS. Sony and Nintendo where in on this as well. You will note they are rid of all mod chips and all backup utilities for the GBA (good thing I got my flash cart before this happened). So when you include two other companies that are next door you get some more weight being thrown around.

Catch 22?

[yerricde]

If you're REALLY serious about devloping on a GBA, or any other console, you NEED to get licensed to do it, or join a company who already is.

Under the no-homebrew-allowed-not-even-non-commercially scenario that some posters in this discussion have postulated, I have to be with a licensed publisher to get GBA experience, but even with a B.S. in computer science (due in May 2003), I apparently need experience to get a job with a licensed publisher. Where do I start?

Dupe - Not

[malfunct]

I have read prolly 30 posts stateing this story is a dupe. Granted Lik-Sang has been back for a while but it was only very recently that they had mod-chips posted on thier site. The post on /. did a poor job of explaining this so maybe it should be pointed out.

Re:Console-style multiplayer on PC?

[Inoshiro]

Ah..
But does that video card also include a DVD drive, component out, digital 5.1 out?

Can I play Xbox games on it?

Re:Console-style multiplayer on PC?

[Anonvmous Coward]

"But does that video card also include a DVD drive, component out, digital 5.1 out?"

"Can I play Xbox games on it?"

Heh. And why do you need to hack an XBOX to do all that?

Re:News for Felons. Stuff that's illegal.

[ebbomega]

No DMCA in Canada. So no, I won't obey it, and no, I won't report dick all. In fact, there's a fair number of laws I'd be more than happy to break/not report.

Why? Because I think rather than blindly obey.

Damn

[cscx]

Wow, foot in my mouth. But... I could have sworn!

I knew RCA and MS were "like this" [makes appropriate finger motion] but looks like I was wrong. Hmmph.

You're avoiding my question..

[Inoshiro]

While you can buy a video card that adds TV out to a computer, I'm making the point that you still can't buy a complete computer with DVD ROM, optical out, and component out for 200$ USD.

Unless you can answer that, you don't really have a point, because the Xbox does provide all that for that price.

Re:You're avoiding my question..

[Anonvmous Coward]

It provides a sub-optimal computer (you're already using a better computer to debate this point with me right now). At best it's a $200 toy.

And what a toy it is!

[Inoshiro]

With many great features! Although the GameCube's beating it out right now, price/performance and library wise..

Re:And what a toy it is!

[Anonvmous Coward]

heh Pretty much agree with that. I've found Star Fox to be quite enjoyable.

Re:It's piracy.. that's why.. Explanation.......

[Aexia]

Nice work, trollboy.

Yeah, the Dreamcast died because of the homebrew community. [rollseyes]

And the GBA could potentially fail due to, at most, a few thousand people out of millions not buying games for it.