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Nintendo President Talks Wii/DS Hookup

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the playing-together dept.

GameDaily has a look at comments by Nintendo's President Iwata about connectivity between the DS and the Wii. He also touches on the Virtual Console, and Nintendo's place in the marketplace. From the article: "Let's say your Wii is connected to the Internet in a mode that allows activation on a 24-hour basis. This would allow Nintendo to send monthly promotional demos for the DS, during the night, to the Wii consoles in each household. Users would wake up each morning, find the LED lamp on their Wii flashing, and know that Nintendo has sent them something ..."

121 comments

  1. Do I get a say in the matter? by PIPBoy3000 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I wouldn't mind choosing a demo to download, but I wouldn't want it pushed to me automatically. Bandwidth isn't free, you know.

    1. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by gaminRey · · Score: 2, Insightful

      you actually pay per byte to download? You need a better ISP. The impression I got was that it downloaded during idle time (ie. while you are sleeping)

      --
      j.goforth
    2. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you have broadband, odds are that you're paying for more bandwidth than you'll ever need or use. Unless Nintendo decides to push a couple hundred megs all at once, I doubt you'd even notice.

    3. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by kinzillah · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Except it practically is, in that you probably weren't going to use all of it, and you're not paying anything extra for the additional transfer.

      --
      Douglas P. Price
    4. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by Zouden · · Score: 1

      In Australia nearly all ISPs have a limited download quota, with penalties for going above the quota. The reason is that ISPs have to pay for the data to be pulled across the undersea cables.

      --
      "A week in the lab saves an hour in the library"
    5. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by Dorceon · · Score: 1

      Do you have a quota on data that had to be pulled over the cable, or all data? If Nintendo hosted the demos from Australia for users there (and paid extra for their own bandwidth to move it to a local mirror), there shouldn't be a reason for the ISPs to charge for it. (Except of course that they're greedy SOBs.) But I expect there's some customizability in what it will and won't download, since there's only 512M of flash to store these demos on anyways.

      --
      What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.
    6. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by DrHac · · Score: 1

      Important questions: How large will is a DS demo? How often will they be released via WiiConnect24?

      For the first question (and I haven't researched this) I would be inclined to think that the largest part of any game is the content and media (music, sprites etc.) and that the engine is fairly small, so a demo is probably also fairly small.

      For the second question, well they can only release one demo per game right? Even if they succeed in a greater variety of smaller but still entertaining games (their bowls of rice), that's still only one per game.

    7. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by justchris · · Score: 1

      For question one: At their absolute largest, DS games are 1Gb (=128MB) in size. A demo is not the full game, does not have all the same assets, so will generally, at most, be about 1/4 that size (this is a guess on my part) so I'd say probably 32MB on average. For your second question: In the interview, Iwata said demos would be a monthly thing. However, game udpates and things like that (such as Animal Crossing Presents) might happen more often.

      --
      just some guy
    8. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by DrHac · · Score: 1

      Animal Crossing can't be that intensive, but I suppose other games might be. I guess the important thing is that Nintendo is aware that some of their customer base might appreciate the option at this stage.

    9. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by Agret · · Score: 1

      I'm with Optus at the moment. I get a 1.5mbps/256kbps connection with 20gb onpeak and 40gb offpeak for $75/month. After going over limit get capped to 64k.

      It's one of the better deals around at the moment as I can't afford the $150/month for unlimited data usage.

      --
      Have you metaroderated recently?
    10. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is wrong a demo for the DS can't be higher then 4MB at max. That is how much memory the DS has. So unless Nintendo releases a flash card to store the demos that would be the max amount of data the DS can work with at once. Once you turn off the DS the demo is cleared.

    11. Re:Do I get a say in the matter? by KDR_11k · · Score: 2, Informative

      The demos are held in the DS's RAM, which is 4MB. The DS demos I have on my computer average around 1.5 MB.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  2. Enough already! by Durinthal · · Score: 3, Funny

    Fine, I'll have to get a DS.

  3. Hmm.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Touch my Wii!

  4. Wii/DS Hookup aint right by lightyear4 · · Score: 3, Funny

    ....isn't that incest?

    1. Re:Wii/DS Hookup aint right by Soul-Burn666 · · Score: 1

      By definition, incest is fun for the whole family! Just like the Wii :)

      --
      ^_^
    2. Re:Wii/DS Hookup aint right by Chosen+Reject · · Score: 1

      I think you are referring to inbreeding, as incest is a very bad thing. Not that I am giving inbreeding the green light, but they refer to two very different things, and incest is by far the worse.

      --
      Stop Global Warming!
      Just say no to irreversible processes!
    3. Re:Wii/DS Hookup aint right by lightyear4 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Actually, it would be impossible to accurately determine whether such a situation would best be considered inbreeding or incest. To do so, one would be required to know both the geneology and religion of the DS and wii. In some cultures, both are considered entirely permissible, but to examine such cases would require an anthropological discussion regarding exogamy and endogamy. Given that we're talking about two electronic devices of uncertain lineage and beliefs, perhaps we would best consider it jest and move on with our day.

  5. Or, in the traditional FUD mode, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Users would wake up each morning, find the LED lamp on their Wii flashing, and know that Nintendo has banned them and fried their mod chips ... "

  6. Nintendo to encourage indie devs? by bunions · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Nintendo president also talked a bit about developers creating original games for the Virtual Console on Wii, much like Xbox Live Arcade. "When creating a packaged game to be priced at 5,000 yen, developers tend to feel the need to create a rich game. Yet it is possible to create a reasonably entertaining game in 2 months with a team of three. Offering such games for 500 yen over a network could lead to a reasonable number of people purchasing it. By offering an environment that allows this, we hope to encourage more developers to pursue basic yet enjoyable gameplay," he said"

    hell yeah. Hope it turns out the way he makes it sound.

    --
    there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
    1. Re:Nintendo to encourage indie devs? by falcon5768 · · Score: 1

      well this is basically the philosophy behind shareware, and as a Mac user I can tell you there are a TON of decent fun but not graphically superior games out there made in 2-3 months time. and given the Dev kit is cheap (2-5 thousand) I see no reason people wouldnt pick it up to make a game.

      --

      "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

  7. Corporate Aikido by jthill · · Score: 4, Interesting
    You'll want a simple bowl of rice and soup every now and then.
    Who knows how long ago theysaw the opportunity? But they've got a big chunk of the market all to themselves, and everything Nintendo says earns them fans. MS and Sony are hurtling off down the high-inertia major-loss-leader path while Nintendo picks up their rice bowl and has a nice lunch.
    --
    As always, all IMO. Insert "I think" everywhere grammatically possible.
    1. Re:Corporate Aikido by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's funny is XBOX Live! arcade ALREADY DOES THIS.

    2. Re:Corporate Aikido by cgenman · · Score: 1

      Who knows how long ago theysaw the opportunity? But they've got a big chunk of the market all to themselves, and everything Nintendo says earns them fans. MS and Sony are hurtling off down the high-inertia major-loss-leader path while Nintendo picks up their rice bowl and has a nice lunch.

      You realize he's talking about Xbox Live Arcade, right?

      --
      The ______ Agenda
    3. Re:Corporate Aikido by jthill · · Score: 1

      TFA's context for rice bowl etc. was for the games, true. That's why I spent so many words on the machines themselves: I really was taking the words out of context. I liked the imagery so much I got a little sloppy, I can see that now. oh, well. Just a Wii little mistake.

      --
      As always, all IMO. Insert "I think" everywhere grammatically possible.
    4. Re:Corporate Aikido by cgenman · · Score: 1

      No problem. Wii understand.

      --
      The ______ Agenda
  8. Hey! by aftk2 · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Let's say your Wii is connected to the Internet in a mode that allows activation on a 24-hour basis"

    Hey, I like suicidegirls.com as much as the next person, but isn't it a bit excessive for one's wii to be "activated" by the internet for more than 24 hours?!

    Oh wait. You were talking about something else entirely. Sorry.

    --
    concrete5: a cms made for marketing, but strong enough for geeks.
    1. Re:Hey! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, I like suicidegirls.com as much as the next person...

      I hope that means you'd rather put a hammer to your cock than inflict their variety of fat, pierced, goth skanks on your retinas, but I suspect that this is simply an expression of your general lack of taste in porn.

      Blech. I keep seeing Suicide Girls crap on TOR's APE and typically only vote it up if bukkake's the alternate pic.

    2. Re:Hey! by LordVader717 · · Score: 1

      Great to know this was modded informative.

  9. Re:Bandwidth: It's infinite and free at night, rig by scarpa · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What the kind of ISP do you people have that you're worried about half a dozen computers downloading a few megs of data each night?

  10. The Whole Interview by grammar+fascist · · Score: 5, Informative
    The entire interview is here:

    http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20060 525/117498/?P=1

    GameDaily summarized (or copied) what they found most interesting. I find this moreso:

    Q: Why does your controller have a speaker?

    Iwata: This feature was absent from the prototype a year ago - we introduced it fairly recently. We discussed what type of feedback the games should provide the user with. Households sporting 5.1 channel speakers will certainly be able to enjoy realistic sound, yet not all homes have such audio equipment. Adding a speaker to the controller will enable us, for example, to have it emit sound effects when hitting the ball in ping-pong, tennis or golf games.


    Not only that, but 5.1 can't produce a sound exactly where you are no matter where you are in the room.

    Yet another instance of Nintendo anticipating their customer's needs rather than (or in addition to) listening to their gripes. What customer would have said "speaker in the controller!" rather than "more 5.1 support?"
    --
    I got my Linux laptop at System76.
    1. Re:The Whole Interview by mahonri5 · · Score: 1

      Just to note on the 5.1, a number of Gamecube games have 5.1 audio. Wind Waker, Metal Gear Solid, and the two Metriod Prime games all take advantage of it (some better than others). Metal Gear Solid is especially nice with a 5.1 system.

    2. Re:The Whole Interview by radish · · Score: 1

      Actually, I'd like them to provide any 5.1 support. Last time I looked it was Pro Logic only - and that isn't 5.1. I mean I can kind of understand them holding back on HD support, but surround sound is completely commodity these days - there's no excuse.

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

    3. Re:The Whole Interview by AnyoneEB · · Score: 1

      Dolby Pro Logic II is 5.1, although it is not the same as having an optical or coaxial output on the console. I do not have a surround system, but everyone I know that has used a GameCube with a surround setup says they cannot tell the difference between Dolby Pro Logic II and Dolby Digital from a DVD. Of course, they would be busy playing the game, not listening closely to the sound.

      --
      Centralization breaks the internet.
    4. Re:The Whole Interview by hords · · Score: 1

      I'm just surprised there isn't a microphone in their controller since they seem big on that lately.

    5. Re:The Whole Interview by radish · · Score: 1

      Actually if you read that article carefully you'll see the difference. DPL has two modes. One ("music") attempts to generate a 5.1 signal from a stereo source. This is an entirely arbitrary process which usually sounds pretty good to my ears but it's no use at all for things like position cues, which is why you want surround sound video games in the first place. The second mode ("movie") only works with SPL encoded audio, regular stereo audio with certain cues embedded in it which the decoder uses to reconstruct a facsimile of the original 5.1 signal. Quote from the article (emphasis mine) "...sound field that simulates 5.1 channel surround sound...". The channels aren't discreet, and there are significant restrictions in the bandwidth of the surround channels.

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

    6. Re:The Whole Interview by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The current rumor floating around is that Wii-Connect.com or WiiConnect.com (both registered by Nintendo) is going to be home to the "Always On" functions, and that the controller does also have a built in microphone. Since Nintendo wants each person in the home to have their own controller (the Wii changes it's settings based on the controller being used) each person could also have their own phonebook and other information. Therefore using the Wii Controller, and your broadband connection... as a phone.

    7. Re:The Whole Interview by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not all of the secrets of the Wii have been revealed. A microphone in the direct pointing device would interfere with gameplay. Wait until the Tokyo Game Show, where Nintendo will lay all their cards on the table. See you in September....

    8. Re:The Whole Interview by AnyoneEB · · Score: 1

      Okay. Several GameCube games support the latter mode. Of course it will not be as good as a real full 5.1 signal, but it is good enough. Personally, I only know three people with surround sound set-ups. Most people just have stereo.

      --
      Centralization breaks the internet.
  11. Re:Bandwidth: It's infinite and free at night, rig by Dance_Dance_Karnov · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How big do you people think DS demos are? And ms doesn't release updates everyday.

  12. 3 GB per month Caps in .nz and .au by tepples · · Score: 5, Informative

    you actually pay per byte to download? You need a better ISP.

    Try a better country. The oligopoly situation in e.g. Australia and New Zealand, combined with the limited bandwidth on and off the continent, has allowed residential "broadband" providers to get away with billing per megabyte over the first 3000 in a month.

    1. Re:3 GB per month Caps in .nz and .au by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

      you actually pay per byte to download? You need a better ISP.

      Try a better country. The oligopoly situation in e.g. Australia and New Zealand, combined with the limited bandwidth on and off the continent, has allowed residential "broadband" providers to get away with billing per megabyte over the first 3000 in a month.

      Man, next thing you know, you'll tell us you have to pay per minute for local phone calls ...

      --
      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    2. Re:3 GB per month Caps in .nz and .au by Agret · · Score: 1

      "The oligopoly situation in e.g. Australia and New Zealand, combined with the limited bandwidth on and off the continent, has allowed residential "broadband" providers to get away with billing per megabyte over the first 3000 in a month."
      Don't forgot Dodo Internet what with their awesome 200mb/month plan and I was reading a magazine and saw a 50mb/plan from some random ISP. You'll end up paying tons for those plans if you get sucked into buying them. I think the 50mb/month one was $5 for each excess 100mb or something stupid like that. I can't believe it's legal :(

      --
      Have you metaroderated recently?
    3. Re:3 GB per month Caps in .nz and .au by StormUP · · Score: 1

      That sucks...I have snmp monitoring on on this PC and on a day where I do essentially nothing, background services and various other things polling the web take up 100 Megabytes a day. I see one day in January where I only used 22 Megabytes of bandwidth, but thats rather an anomaly. From May 1st to June 2nd only 5 days are under 100 Megabytes with the lowest day being 53 Megabytes on May 4th. This is of course only my usage from this PC and does not include the other 3 pc's in this household. Over the past week I have 2.13 GB Friday, 208 MB Saturday, 1.25 GB Sunday, 163 MB Monday, 211 MB Tuesday, 148 MB Wednesday, 148 MB Thursday, and 141 MB for today, another Friday with 3 hours left to go. One of those days over a GB is a day where I rented a movie from movielink.com using some free money I got off a cereal box...the other, I forget what I was doing. Updating a bunch of software I think so those are a bit anomalous off the high end, but I usually have a gigabyte+ day once every two weeks or so with two 4.5 and 4.6 GB single day whoppers this year, one Feb 5., one March 8th... I can't imagine having to pay for using over 3GB per month.

    4. Re:3 GB per month Caps in .nz and .au by Agret · · Score: 1

      Yea I don't know why people go on those shit plans either, as I said in a diff post I get 20gb onpeak and 40gb offpeak so that's 60gb provided I don't hit the onpeak therefore voiding my offpeak. How did you go about setting up the snmp monitoring?

      --
      Have you metaroderated recently?
    5. Re:3 GB per month Caps in .nz and .au by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, we just have to pay a flagfall (25c, as far as I can remember). We do have to pay line rental, which typically goes up every year. I believe Telstra are currently charging phone providers $30, which means the line rental is more like $40 per month.

    6. Re:3 GB per month Caps in .nz and .au by StormUP · · Score: 1

      My router/switch supports snmp so it was just a matter of setting up a tool to grab the data from the router and graph it. Something such as MRTG for linux or PRTG for windows. So I'm actually monitoring the switchport this computer is plugged into, not the computer itself, although you can install SNMP software directly on both Windows and Linux workstations to do the monitoring if you're network hardware doesn't support it. Installing the SNMP agent on Windows is fairly straightforward, although I've never had to use it. http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/w indows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/sag_snmptopnode.mspx? mfr=true

    7. Re:3 GB per month Caps in .nz and .au by Agret · · Score: 1

      Alright thanks for the info, I've always wanted a way to track my usage without tracking my LAN usage too. Hopefully I can work this out.

      --
      Have you metaroderated recently?
  13. does 1MB == 1,000,000 bytes for those ISPs? by norminator · · Score: 1

    The oligopoly situation in e.g. Australia and New Zealand, combined with the limited bandwidth on and off the continent, has allowed residential "broadband" providers to get away with billing per megabyte over the first 3000 in a month.

    Just a question, because I honestly don't know... in countries like those you mentioned, do the ISP's measure 1MB as 1,000,000 bytes?

    1. Re:does 1MB == 1,000,000 bytes for those ISPs? by Sparr0 · · Score: 0

      of course, because thats what M and mega- mean, 1000000 of something.

    2. Re:does 1MB == 1,000,000 bytes for those ISPs? by masterzora · · Score: 1

      Well, some people use M or mega when they mean m or mibi, so it's really ambiguous these days.

      --
      Remember, open source is free as in speech, not free as in bear.
    3. Re:does 1MB == 1,000,000 bytes for those ISPs? by NonSequor · · Score: 1

      If you ask me, for something like this using the decimal units is the only way to go. The decimal units are more easily human readable. Using the binary units, most users would not be sure how many more bytes they have until they reach the cap. Even people familiar with the binary units would have to do a little mental calculation to figure out exactly how much they have left.

      While the binary measurements can be more convenient for a programmer they really only hinder common users. The computer should be designed to accomodate the users rather than forcing the users to accomodate the computer.

      --
      My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
    4. Re:does 1MB == 1,000,000 bytes for those ISPs? by LordVader717 · · Score: 1

      See this for why it is not always uniform for binary data.

    5. Re:does 1MB == 1,000,000 bytes for those ISPs? by Headcase88 · · Score: 1

      I doubt they'd give a full 1024 KB. This is the same world where companies can measure the "size" of monitors by measuring the diagonal from the one corner to the opposite corner.

      --
      "When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
    6. Re:does 1MB == 1,000,000 bytes for those ISPs? by aichpvee · · Score: 1

      Worst case scenario there they'd under estimate how much bandwidth they have. The only reason to count in thousands of bytes is to screw the customer, which is why the ambiguity was introduced where before it was known that sizes were in binary multiples.

      I do like the IEEE 1541 names better though, but that's probably just because they're newer and shinier.

      --
      The Farewell Tour II
    7. Re:does 1MB == 1,000,000 bytes for those ISPs? by Sparr0 · · Score: 1

      I say "tomato", you say it wrong.

  14. Please, No by aafiske · · Score: 1

    When I had cable for a while, there was a 'feature' where the cable company could send my cable box little ads in a kind of faux-email. It was just annoying. They came so fast that the damn little light was always on. I don't need more LEDs shining in my apartment, and I don't need a kind of answering machine that is guaranteed to only get crap I don't care about.

    I would have had to logged on daily to have cleaned out all the garbage. And let's face it, you don't want screenshots, demos or movies of every game that is coming out for a system. I don't care how much you play, there are dozens of games that you just aren't interested in. Fake-email-video-game-ads are not a good idea, especially to your console where the interface is often kludgy or slow.

  15. Not all that jazzed about this... by AudioEfex · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is the one thing I'm not all jazzed up about regarding the Wii. I'm a big supporter of what they are trying to do in general (see my /. history), but this 24/7 thing just makes me wince a bit.

    There is just no need. Whatever little present in Animal Crossing, or whatever little "neato" thing they are going to download is going to only take a few seconds at most; could probably be done while the thing is booting up and we wouldn't even notice.

    My Wii won't be connected 24/7, because I refuse to leave my Internet on that much. I flip the switch on the cable modem at night to cut it off, and turn it on in the AM. There is just no reason for it to run 24/7 if no one is using it, IMO, so I don't even take the chance.

    My Wii won't even use wi-fi if I can avoid it. Ninty hasn't said anything for awhile about it, but at one point did say an optional accessory would allow you to add it to a wired network. I know wireless is all the rage among certain people, but why do wireless when I already have ethernet cable available in every room? Wired is better than wireless if you have access to it (and mine is wired just like most ppl's cable is, in sockets). Wireless just opens up a whole new can of security worries. If all fails, I do have the Nintendo USB wifi connector, but I hope I don't have to use it just to use my Wii.

    AE

    1. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by radish · · Score: 1, Informative

      My Wii won't be connected 24/7, because I refuse to leave my Internet on that much. I flip the switch on the cable modem at night to cut it off, and turn it on in the AM. There is just no reason for it to run 24/7 if no one is using it, IMO, so I don't even take the chance.

      Damn You!!! I wondered why my late night downloads keep stopping, it's because of you SWITCHING OFF THA INTARWEBS!! Please leave it on so the rest of the world is able to keep working - kthx.

      More seriously - what do you hope to achieve by switching off your modem? Stopping evil h4xorz taking over your toaster? You might want to look into this little thing called a firewall.

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

    2. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by AudioEfex · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No need to talk down to me, LOL. I have a firewall, thanks very much. I knew some smart alec would question me...

      I don't hope to achieve anything in particular, it's simply, why have it on if no one is going to be using it? I can bring it back up in a split second when I start my day.

      What's the point of a firewall? To lock a doorway. But if you are worried about locking it up, why not just close it off absolutely if it's possible? Often times I leave my PC on all night to crunch video or other CPU-intensive things, and there simply is no reason for my machine to access the internet while it's doing so.

      I don't do anything I wish to hide on the internet, to do so is simply retarded. However, I do have a cable modem which is notoriously insecure anyway, and why leave it on if a) it's not in use and shouldn't be, and b) only takes the flick of one finger for it to instantly return? Why rely on a firewall when I can just make absolute certain nothing errant will happen, when it has absolutely no adverse affect at all?

      AE

    3. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by headkase · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...I don't do anything I wish to hide on the internet, to do so is simply retarded. However, I do have a cable modem which is notoriously insecure anyway, and why leave it on if a) it's not in use and shouldn't be, and b) only takes the flick of one finger for it to instantly return? Why rely on a firewall when I can just make absolute certain nothing errant will happen, when it has absolutely no adverse affect at all? ...

      You probably keep a bucket of water next to your PC just in case it suddenly becomes malevolently intelligent too...

      --
      Shh.
    4. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by Dorceon · · Score: 1

      Presumably the wi-fi only is targetted at 1) people who already have home wireless, and 2) people who have one computer connected to the internet and it's not in their living room. Plugging a USB wireless extender into your PC and having it let DSen and Wiix onto your network without having to worry about locking out your neighbours or wardrivers seems like a nice solution for the latter group, which is the mass market they're targetting with the system in the first place.

      --
      What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.
    5. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by BiggyP · · Score: 1

      What would be very nice is if the Wii could connect to a WPA router and then act as bridge and WEP access point for the DS, having to leave the router using WEP purely for the sake of a DS is rather annoying.

      --
      Software Freedom Day!.
    6. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Other way around bro...the wifi is built in...an ethernet usb adapter is optional.

    7. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by cgenman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There is just no need. Whatever little present in Animal Crossing, or whatever little "neato" thing they are going to download is going to only take a few seconds at most; could probably be done while the thing is booting up and we wouldn't even notice.

      My Wii won't be connected 24/7, because I refuse to leave my Internet on that much. I flip the switch on the cable modem at night to cut it off, and turn it on in the AM.... I know wireless is all the rage among certain people, but why do wireless when I already have ethernet cable available in every room?

      I'm not saying you're wrong. But I would guess you're in the minority. Most people leave their always-on internet connections... on. There is really no reason to turn them off. Your cable modem hasn't been a bastion of worms and security holes in a while, and the cable / DSL company knows the instant any of the firmware changes, and can change it back. Don't believe me? Try uncapping it, and see how long your hack goes unnoticed. Now try uncapping it or hacking it through the provider's network. Basically impossible.

      Most people also don't have ethernet in every room, and the prevalance of ethernet seems on the wane. There is a reason every laptop ships with wireless as a standard feature. Now explain to someone that they need to run 50' of cat 5 from a compatible router (not switch or hub) inserted between their modem and PC, out to their living room, and you'll see why WiFi is catching on. Security settings will need to be finessed from a software side, but even then it shouldn't be too bad. And wireless security these days is great, with WPA. Even WEP wasn't bad, as a good WEP key takes about 20 hours of sniffing around high-traffic areas to crack. A home WEP network with moderate traffic takes weeks or months. And on a modern router cracking into the wireless portion gets you... internet surfing, posing little risk to the internal network if you have anything but the default administrator password. And even if you get that, you still need to get by that computer's firewalls and virus scanners.

      A DS Demo size is capped at 4MB (the primary RAM), so you'll probably see 2MB demos in practice... Maybe a minute if the connection is dirty. But it would also probably not be the sort of thing you'd want to sit around for. It just makes sense to do it when the player isn't doing anything else. And maybe they want to upload a free play of Sonic 3 that evening. Yeah, you don't need it, but if you want to try it's already downloaded, saving you time, or it's automatically deleted, costing you nothing. As long as they're not abnoxious about it, this would be a nice little bonus. The only bad thing about Xbox Live Arcade is the actual tedious download of demos, and this seems to alleviate that.

      And if you can figure out a way to make it download games while still booting the OS, by all means go right ahead. I'd love to see that code.

      --
      The ______ Agenda
    8. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by AudioEfex · · Score: 1

      You don't seem to understand what I am talking about.

      Nintendo has already released a USB Wireless adapter that you hook to your PC so you don't have to use a wireless router to use Nintendo's WiFi service. I own one, and I use it when I wish to go online with my DS.

      Yes, WiFi is built in to both the Wii and the DS, the adapter is for your PC, not the unit.

      AE

    9. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by AudioEfex · · Score: 1
      You probably keep a bucket of water next to your PC just in case it suddenly becomes malevolently intelligent too..

      Ah, gotta love /.

      Only here would some pithy post like that be scored "funny".

      Yes, I'm a raving lunatic because I flick my finger on a switch twice a day to turn my internet on and off. There simply is no need for it to be on, so why leave it on? I'm not so feeble that the finger stroke is going to harm me.

      Again, only here on /. would someone take think something like that is so outrageous...I completely value being connected, but I also know when it's unnecessary. When my PC is crunching video all night, it doesn't need the internet. I could lock down my firewall to deny all access, but that would take three key strokes/mouse moves, when I can just flip the switch next to my PC once.

      AE

    10. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by Cathbadh · · Score: 1

      Y'know, Wii/DS inter-connectivity was one of the things I was really waiting for, but never got at E3. However, this announcement hardly excites me at all. I would rather see this used for games that operate across the two platforms rather than mere content delivery. At least we know that the games are possible. //Really loved Zelda Four Swords

    11. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by shadow+demon · · Score: 1
      I personally always have my bittorrent uploading (and occasionally downloading) random stuff, so I always have my computer connected to the net. It's a laptop, and I like to take from room to room, so it's always using wifi. I'm used to this, so if I ever get a Wii, I probably won't mind keeping it on, since it'll just use a small fraction of the download bandwidth that I don't use (plus my ISP has no transfer caps).

      One thing I can't really understand is: wha will they use all that connetedness for when it only comes with about half a gig of flash memory to store the stuff on. I could fill that in about an hour on my connection, and it most definitely isn't the fastest out there.

      On the other hand, of the reasons I want to get a PS3 instead of a Wii or a 360 is that it will (hopefully) run (a non shittified version of) Linux. This should allow me to do many things, including setting up bittorrent for it, so then I will have the PS3 uploading 24/7 (and maybe doing some folding@home too) while my laptop is off or doing something more productive. Plus it will allo me to continue uploading when I and my laptop are not at home and have limited access to the net.

    12. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      what do you hope to achieve by switching off your modem?

      Conserve power?

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    13. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by DDLKermit007 · · Score: 1

      Yes...you'll conserve sooooo much power since the model draws a whole 20watts of power at the maximum. Your PC & Monitor draw more than that when they are off.

    14. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cable modems aren't instant-on for anyone else. I don't know where you got yours, but all the ones I've used take a good minute or two to start working.

      As well, what does it matter if the modem is insecure? What the hell damage can be done if it's stopped by a firewall? Geez man, you really are paranoid.

      You're wasting time, energy and thought doing this every day and every night, every week, every month, every year. I would think it adds up. My time's more valuable than that.

      As for not knowing if your machine will access the Internet without your knowledge in the middle of the night, well, you must be running Windows.

    15. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      It does add up. The modern household has many devices that go into standby by default, turning them all off (use a switchable socket if you don't trust the device's off switch) can save you quite some money. It's not like you're getting any drawbacks from powering stuff down when not in use.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    16. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by 7Prime · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, for me, WiFi is much more practical, since I do have a wireless hub (802.11g), on a DSL line, where the only internet in the house is 2 rooms away from the tele. I dunno how people these days make a "wired house", but isn't that a pain in the ass to do, with wires running everywhere? It took me a couple of hours just to figure out how to run an eithernet cable from the office (where the DSL line is) to my bedroom, and that includes a messy, external eithernet cable that runs up around door frames and along the edge of the floor. I think the convenience of WiFi greatly outweighs it's inconveniences. Unfortunately, the other problem is, I can't imagine that the adoption rate of WiFi hubs is very high. I'm a techy, and I only got one because back in college, I had multipul computers in my dorm room, and I needed a multi-port switch to be able to run them online. How many households, upon spending the few hundred dollars to innitially get broadband access, go out and spend another $70 on a wireless router, then $30-$60 on a wireless card or wireless dongle? Probably many laptop users have a wireless router, with wireless built-in, but I'm guessing the amount of households with laptops is still only around 20% at the highest. So maybe 15% of households have wireless. Wii is aimed at EVERYONE (on all other accounts, they've done a damn good job doing this), and WiFi seems like the most convienent way to go, but how many people will be able to take advantage of it?

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    17. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by Muchacho_Gasolino · · Score: 1

      You do wireless if you haven't wired your entire house with ethernet.

    18. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know I'm late to the discussion, and I'm going go in a few directions, but bear with me.

      "This is the one thing I'm not all jazzed up about regarding the Wii. I'm a big supporter of what they are trying to do in general (see my /. history), but this 24/7 thing just makes me wince a bit."

      I don't think WC24 will be a requirement. You should be able to disable it. (After all, it would be wasted in households where there is no permanent internet connection.)

      "There is just no need. Whatever little present in Animal Crossing, or whatever little "neato" thing they are going to download is going to only take a few seconds at most; could probably be done while the thing is booting up and we wouldn't even notice."

      That depends on the nature of the download and the internet connection present, and WC24 definitely isn't only about DS files.

      "My Wii won't be connected 24/7, because I refuse to leave my Internet on that much. I flip the switch on the cable modem at night to cut it off, and turn it on in the AM. There is just no reason for it to run 24/7 if no one is using it, IMO, so I don't even take the chance."

      Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. All the oppostion you've gotten from this is inexplicable. ON TOP OF USING A FIREWALL (as you've said you do), this is an excellent security practice. Security-wise, it's the akin to locking your car doors even when it's parked safely inside your garage....it's not necessarily required, but it sure doesn't hurt much. Power-wise, its like turning off your digital cable/satellite box in addition to your TV when you're done watching TV, which makes even more sense. Are there many people who leave their cable box or DVD player on all the time? I doubt it, and thse things have pretty much zero security concerns.

      I leave my internet connection on 24/7, but that's because of a combo of laziness, trust in my other security measures, and a desire for scheduled network activity (that I've scheduled myself) to take place without supervision or potential interruption.

      "My Wii won't even use wi-fi if I can avoid it. Ninty hasn't said anything for awhile about it, but at one point did say an optional accessory would allow you to add it to a wired network. I know wireless is all the rage among certain people, but why do wireless when I already have ethernet cable available in every room? Wired is better than wireless if you have access to it (and mine is wired just like most ppl's cable is, in sockets). Wireless just opens up a whole new can of security worries. If all fails, I do have the Nintendo USB wifi connector, but I hope I don't have to use it just to use my Wii."

      My house is completely wired, too. Every room on two floors except for a few obvious omissions has CAT5e running through the walls to a jack. But I maintain a wireless router as an AP for playing my DS online. Guess what? When I'm not playing my DS online or using it for anything else, I turn the wireless router off. Oooooh, let's see the naysayers whine about that one. :)

      My main point about that is that it seems like you are already securing yourself pretty well on your wired network, and you even go through the additionl step of closing off your internet connectivity when not in use. Wireless is similar - there are ways to secure it (especially easy and not as critical if used in conjunction with ethernet), and it can be turned off when not in use.

      Can you tell that I'm not anxious about Wii's OPTIONAL network connectivity requirements at all? :)

    19. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by DDLKermit007 · · Score: 1

      That it does indeed, but I HIGHLY doubt you go around unplugging & plugging your TV, PC and other various appliances. I for one wish there were hard switches on most devices and even go as far to put hard-switches on those devices. Something like the Wii? I'd have to let that ride since it'd be doing something.

    20. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by AudioEfex · · Score: 1
      Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. All the oppostion you've gotten from this is inexplicable. ON TOP OF USING A FIREWALL (as you've said you do), this is an excellent security practice. Security-wise, it's the akin to locking your car doors even when it's parked safely inside your garage....it's not necessarily required, but it sure doesn't hurt much. Power-wise, its like turning off your digital cable/satellite box in addition to your TV when you're done watching TV, which makes even more sense. Are there many people who leave their cable box or DVD player on all the time? I doubt it, and thse things have pretty much zero security concerns.

      Thanks very much for saying that. It's nice to know someone understands - the analogy of locking your car in your closed garage is exactly right. It doesn't hurt anyone, it can only help. Is it really that difficult to press the button on your key (or cable modem) to unlock it when you are ready to use it?

      As to the WiFi issue, I've been resisting for years. I just don't like feeling like I don't have to take extra security precautions. All the crap I've gotten for putting my modem in standby is funny, because I'm the one who doesn't do much else besides the firewall; I think much of security is over-rated if you use the right software (or, more accurately, don't use the wrong software). I never have any problems, and I want to keep it that way. To be honest, I just don't need those extra 6 flashing LED's going all night long, LOL.

      When the DS connectivity came around, I picked up the USB Wi-Fi connector from Nintendo, and supposedly it will work with the Wii. However, if I'm able, I would much rather just hard-wire it via ethernet, since I can. The reason I posted in the first place was simply because "on 24/7" just isn't an automatic plus in my eyes; it's not an automatic negative either, I just have to understand why, and see the benefits of it. Nintendo is making it sound like a big deal, but I just don't think the types of things they are going to be sending are going to take more than a second or three (emails in Animal Crossing, a new avatar for an RPG).

      Now the DS demos are going to be a tiny bit larger (might take 30-60 seconds), but I don't think those are going to just appear - the limited internal flash memory of the Wii (which will be shared between virtual console games, game saves, and these downloads) makes me think we'll have to actually request them, or they'll just bypass the memory altogether (i.e., use your Wii as the conduit to get it to your DS but don't actually save it there). (And yes, before some flamer joins in, I know it will have external mem cards as well...)

      Then again, there could be good reasons, and if there are I'll reconsider. But if it's just to make tiny downloads and for the "suprise" of seeing them appear, I can live without it. It is a minor PITA to use the USB connector for the DS, but I don't use it that often so it's not a huge deal. I've yet to see that killer game that makes me feel the need to go to the next level (Metriod Prime Hunters would have, if I didn't dislike the control scheme so much) and go WiFi.

      Anyway, thanks for your reply. I don't know it all, and it's great to have a rational discussion without people violently telling me I'm wrong and making a dozen posts over one innocuous line that was really besides the point.

      AE

    21. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      As I said, switchable power socket. Flip a switch and the PC and all connected devices get power, flip another switch and your TV and the consoles get power (but TVs have easily accessible power buttons that send them into off instead of standby so that's probably unnecessary). No need to pull plugs and they can include the surge protector already. I've attached a switchable only to the PC since that's too many devices to switch off manually (including the network switch that ironically doesn't have a switch) and the monitor doesn't seem to lose power completely.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    22. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by cr0sh · · Score: 1
      I dunno how people these days make a "wired house", but isn't that a pain in the ass to do, with wires running everywhere?

      Not if you run the wires in the wall, as the parent poster seems to have done. On modern, new-built houses it can be more of a pain, since most walls have horizontal "firewall" joists between the verticals in the walls - which means a lot of fishing and drilling, possibly some drywall work, too.

      In my house, built in the early 1970's (block construction, too), the interior walls are simple - top and bottom plate, vertical joists, no firewall horizontals (these are put in today to slow a fire down from reaching the attic space) - so, just drill a hole in the top plate, and drop the line. Takes a lot of attic work, but once again, worth it.

      None of this is easy, and since I am in Phoenix, I only work in the attic in the winter when I have to - the attic is dusty, hot, and ugly to work in. But, ultimately, I feel it is worth it. There isn't wires running everywhere, everything is socketed in wallplates, and I run cat5e carefully so at some point, I could (in theory) run GigE over it (too expensive still for me right now). I do have plans, though, of adding some wireless in the future - mainly for a 802.11x connected robot I have been planning on building...

      --
      Reason is the Path to God - Anon
    23. Re:Not all that jazzed about this... by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 1

      It's not like you're getting any drawbacks from powering stuff down when not in use.

      Unless the devices have passive use in addition to active use, and powering it down negates the passive use. Like leaving your cable modem powered-up overnight so you can finish downloading a large file while you sleep. Or letting a laser printer go into standby after you print instead of pulling the power cord out of the wall, to allow it to cool down properly and not ruin the fuser.

  16. Oh, and we forgot to mention.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That new demo we pushed to you also updated the firmware. Tough luck about your homebrew no longer working - you were probably just pirating games anyways.

    -Nintendo

    1. Re:Oh, and we forgot to mention.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That new demo was actually my data corrupting virus. Hope you didn't have any demos before now!

  17. Shit, dude... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sorry man, that joke died just yesterday! Well, maybe not.

  18. Re:Bandwidth: It's infinite and free at night, rig by radish · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sounds like you might wanna upgrade from that 28.8k modem...

    --

    ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

  19. M when they mean m? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I certainly hope nobody would confuse mega- with milli- !

  20. I can see it already... by Trevin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wii spam.

    At first it may just be Nintendo spam. But they may open it up to let 3rd party game publishers send spam of their own. And how long do you think it will be before someone figures ot how to upload data to the Wii from anywhere?

    1. Re:I can see it already... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think that will be an issue. Has anyone yet figured out how to emulate one of those DS download stations?

  21. Already taken care of. by jthill · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There's a physical button right there on the box that tells it not to download things while you're not using it.

    --
    As always, all IMO. Insert "I think" everywhere grammatically possible.
  22. I welcome the idea of DS demo downloads... by wilgibson · · Score: 1

    I think letting us download demos for the DS is a great idea... Bring on the flashing led, I'll try anything over my morning cup of coffee.

  23. he's right and he's funny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    your behavior is downright bizarre

    1. Re:he's right and he's funny by AudioEfex · · Score: 1

      I have a feeling, Mr. Anonymous Coward, that you and he are one and the same...

      It's laughable that people call me names because I put my cable modem in standby when I'm shutting down for the night.

      Just typical ./ trolls, I'm guessing...otherwise, the level of myopic viewpoints has just exploded. There is absolutely no reason to leave it on, so I don't. Period.

      Asking me if I unplug my TV and DVD player is ridiculous...about as much so as me asking "Do you leave your car headlights on all night?" If you guys aren't intelligent enough to see the difference, then you are beyond help.

      I'm amazed at the responses here...absolutely amazed.

      AE

    2. Re:he's right and he's funny by headkase · · Score: 1

      ... I have a feeling, Mr. Anonymous Coward, that you and he are one and the same ...

      You're tripping buddy. Take off the tinfoil.

      I really think that you seem to lack faith in the technology you use. If your firewall is active and properly configured, you're not giving yourself "extra" protection by shutting it of when you're away from your computer. You come across as having a smug sense of satisfaction that you're "better" than the average online person.

      ... Asking me if I unplug my TV and DVD player is ridiculous...about as much so as me asking "Do you leave your car headlights on all night?" If you guys aren't intelligent enough to see the difference, then you are beyond help. ...

      I don't agree with your logical outcome to your argument. Obviously leaving your car headlights on is a stupid analogy for leaving your cable modem on. Now the jump you made from that example to the conclusion that the people questioning you are "beyond help" is where connecting your analogy and conclusion really shows your character.

      Piss off.

      --
      Shh.
    3. Re:he's right and he's funny by AudioEfex · · Score: 1

      You made my point exactly - yes, asking if you leave your car headlights on WAS a stupid analogy to compare to putting my cable modem in standby. Just as asking me if I unplug my TV and DVD player are, which is why I made the comparison - unplugging a TV is has about as much to do with putting my cable modem in standby as does leaving your car headlights on; i.e., nothing alike at all and why I said (as you quoted) that it was about as relevant as me asking it.

      I don't lack faith in anything, I just know "absolute" from "pretty reliable". It's so simple : firewalls are NOT 100% effective, even if properly configured. Flipping a switch and putting my cable modem in stand-by is 100%, absolute. No question. I see no reason to leave the device on 24 hours a day. Since it takes 1/2 a second to press the button, I think it's worth it. You don't. What I don't see is why the hell people felt the need to jump on me for it.

      The reason my attitude is that the people arguing with me are beyond help is because I can't believe the shit people have tried to give me for flipping a fucking switch. A switch that the manufacturer put there for a reason. It's right on top, easy to reach, and says "standby". So yes, I do think I'm better than some asshole tech-know-it-alls who insult me for saying I use the standby button the manufacturer gave me because I know for a fact that firewalls (especially software firewalls, which most home users use) are never 100% reliable and I simply don't see the need to leave an electronic device on when I'm not going to be using it for at least 8 hours while I'm asleep.

      So piss off right back at you, and I'll raise you a fuck you. I simply shared that I wasn't going to leave my Wii online 24/7, and why - there was no reason for people to start insulting me for it. Why the hell you or anyone who replied care what I do with my cable modem I'll never know; probably as much as a mystery as to why I bothered replying to blinded-by-believing-their-own-BS-smacktards who replied to insult me for something so innocuous.

      AE

    4. Re:he's right and he's funny by headkase · · Score: 1

      First paragraph: wtf?

      Second paragraph: there is some small statistical amount of protection coming from turning your cable modem off at night but that still won't protect you when you go on the Internet the next day. Especially if you use a common browser.

      Third paragraph: you're being ridiculed because what your doing is futile.

      Fourth paragraph:
      ttfn.

      --
      Shh.
    5. Re:he's right and he's funny by AudioEfex · · Score: 1

      No, it's not futile, but arging with idiots like you is.

      Any rational person can understand the concept of "almost 100%" and "100%", and it seems you do not fit into that category.

      AE

    6. Re:he's right and he's funny by AudioEfex · · Score: 1
      there is some small statistical amount of protection coming from turning your cable modem off at night but that still won't protect you when you go on the Internet the next day. Especially if you use a common browser.

      BTW, can you point out where I said putting the modem in standby had anything to do with using the internet the next day, or that I used a "common" browser? That's what the firewall is for, you can't have 100% when you are accessing the internet. But you CAN when you aren't.

      You have a real problem with comprehension, don't you? You are making up points I never made.

      AE

    7. Re:he's right and he's funny by headkase · · Score: 1

      Sticks and stones may break my bones but you're still the idiot.

      At a point in time 100% and almost 100% are different but as you apparently do use the Internet across time the difference disappears. If the zero-day exploit doesn't get you right away it will when you eventually wake up your cable modem.
      8^p

      --
      Shh.
    8. Re:he's right and he's funny by headkase · · Score: 1

      Bit defensive? poke
      poke ... Poke, poke!
      I'm a nice guy so I'll just leave it at that...
      Poke! Dammit that last one just slipped through....

      --
      Shh.
    9. Re:he's right and he's funny by AudioEfex · · Score: 1

      What is defensive about pointing out the fact that you assigned arguments to me that I never made?

      Can you answer the question? When did I ever say putting my modem in standby had anything to do with securing the internet when I am online "the next day" as you put it? When did I say anything about using a "common browser"? Or anything about a "zero-day" anything?

      Answer is : you can't, because I didn't. And now you are posturing to cover that up. When you make irrelevant comments and don't reply to the actual content but instead make what you think are witty comments (but actually come across as desperate), it really shows what little you have to stand on.

      I never said it protected me from those things; you made that up, or, more likely, you read some of the replies that other smacktards like yourself made and never actually read my original post.

      Besides, you admit I am right. It's an "almost always" versus "absolute". You don't think absolute means anything more, and I'm not arguing that it makes me exponentially safer, simply that it leaves ZERO chance. I like that, it makes me feel better. And yes, you are an idiot for arguing with me otherwise. I never told you that you should do it, nor do I give a shit if you do. Why do you care what I do, except to get your flamer rocks off, even if it's "futile" for me to do so, as you say?

      Happy trolling.

      AE

    10. Re:he's right and he's funny by headkase · · Score: 1

      ...What's the point of a firewall? To lock a doorway. But if you are worried about locking it up, why not just close it off absolutely if it's possible? Often times I leave my PC on all night to crunch video or other CPU-intensive things, and there simply is no reason for my machine to access the internet while it's doing so....

      You did seem to imply security as the reason for putting your modem into standby.

      --
      Shh.
    11. Re:he's right and he's funny by AudioEfex · · Score: 1

      It *IS*.

      Can you make a relevant comment?

      When I am not using the Internet, it is safer to have it off. I often leave my PC unattended doing non-internet activities for long periods of time, and instead of relying simply on a software firewall I take 1/2 second and press the standby button the manufacturer put on the device. Why the fuck is this so offensive to you?

      You said that I felt it made me safer when I was using the internet "the next day", and brought up things about common browsers and zero-day exploits that I never said it protected me from. Again, that's why I use a firewall, and I don't use a "common" browser. You seem to have invented this argument that I never made that somehow this was the be-all-end-all answer; it's not, just a tiny step that I do that was one sentence fragment in my original reply that you and a couple of other trolls decided mortally offended you enough to start bashing me.

      Why can you just not accept the fact that, as I said, it makes me feel better to have that 100% assurance that nothing errant can happen when my computer is unattended and there is no need for the Internet to be active? Would it improve your life if I left it on? If you can convince me that is true, I'll do it just for you - out of pitty, because I can't imagine why something like this meant so much to you that days after I posted you felt the need to jump in and start insulting me because I take a precaution that costs nothing to do.

      AE

  24. Re:Bandwidth: It's infinite and free at night, rig by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Less then 4MB at max, sense that is the amount of memory in the DS unless Nintendo releases a flash card to store demos for the DS.

  25. Nintendo penis enlargers? by SpaghettiPattern · · Score: 0, Troll

    I like Nintendo but this sounds like "Nintendo penis enlargers". Or how about a penis like a flame torch? Or a hammer? Or a tongue like Joshi?

    The list is endless.

    OTOH, knowing Nintendo the adds will probably be non-intrusive.

    --

    I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
  26. Not the point by Namarrgon · · Score: 1

    Local mirrors can be free - but that's beside the point. If I want to keep the line clear (for gaming or VoIP or just because), then I'd rather not be forced to unplug the Wii every time because it thinks it knows better than I do.

    --
    Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
    1. Re:Not the point by Jace+of+Fuse! · · Score: 1

      I think we can safely assume that the feature will be optional.

      Nintendo's attitude towards online services has been pretty conservative which tells me they're not doing anything without thinking it through.

      I also firmly beleive Nintendo may very well consider the online abilities of the Wii second to it's main features. I would also expect to see Virtual Console collections for sell at retail simply because Nintendo knows not all of thier fans have broadband.

      This is all spectulation of course.

      --

      "Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"

      Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
  27. Not enough by Namarrgon · · Score: 1

    Nintendo have already boasted that the Wii will continue to download stuff even when you turn it off. You'd have to physically pull the plug (power or network).

    --
    Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
    1. Re:Not enough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why wouldn't there be an account option in your profile that says "Recieve Promotional Demos and Info". Allowing the user to turn it on or off. Seems that everyone is getting worked up because the demos are forced on them when no one has seen the interface.

    2. Re:Not enough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What I've read is that there will be (at least) 3 modes. On, Connect24 = "off" but can download stuff, and fully off.

    3. Re:Not enough by Babbster · · Score: 1

      Nintendo have already boasted that the Wii will continue to download stuff even when you turn it off. You'd have to physically pull the plug (power or network).

      And yet it says right in the summary that this feature is active only if your Wii is in a particular mode.

      Don't people even read the summary anymore?

    4. Re:Not enough by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      I already have to do that with my 70k model PS2 so it wouldn't be a new approach.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  28. Lack of taste?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They're all Mac users at SuicideGirls*; my guess is they're more fully steeped in the finer points of aesthetics in their sleep than you'd be wide awake in your corporate khakis and polo shirt. Go drown in beige, fratboy.

    (* Macs are for those with good taste. SuicideGirls taste good. QED.)

    1. Re:Lack of taste?!? by BrainInAJar · · Score: 1

      Ever thought that "goth" is a uniform in the same way corporate khakis are?

      You're not unique if you look like your friends, even if you annoy grandmothers

  29. Monthly by Gabesword · · Score: 2, Insightful

    TFA says that these are monthly promotional demos. We aren't talking about daily spam here. It's similar to a gaming magazine except you don't have to pay for it. Game mag you pay $7, Wii monthly promotion you use some bandwidth. Game mag says upcoming high profile game is editors choice, Wii says try this demo and see what you think. I'm looking forward to this feature.

  30. But you ARE a loon by __aailob1448 · · Score: 1

    Turning off your cablemodem because you're not using it? This is a first...

    What else do you do? Do you unplug your DVD player and TV at night instead of leaving them in standby?
    You crazy loon, you!

  31. 3 GB Caps? Bollocks! by cafeman · · Score: 1

    Try a better country. The oligopoly situation in e.g. Australia and New Zealand, combined with the limited bandwidth on and off the continent, has allowed residential "broadband" providers to get away with billing per megabyte over the first 3000 in a month.

    I don't know what the situation is in NZ, but that's definitely not the situation in Australia any more. Maybe three years ago. There's plenty of choice now, and I'm not even sure if any ISP still charges you for going over the limit.

    We still don't have true unlimited plans, but I'm on a 1.5mb plan for $70 AUD a month and I can download 60 gig before I get slowed down. I could drop that down to $50 if I were willing to drop to 21 gig a month. I'm really not worried about the Wii eating up all my bandwidth, and I can't believe anyone I know will be.

    As with everywhere, bad plans do exist. Plans with high prices and low features. However, the people who are signed up to them have only got themselves to blame. If you buy a car from the first car yard you go into, you deserve to get screwed. Same with pretty much everything else. It's not like there's only one ISP in town, and it's not like the resources don't exist to browse almost every plan in Australia in one place.

    --
    This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.
  32. As a wise man once said: by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

    You noncomformists are all alike!

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  33. Get a room you two by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Y'all sound like an old married couple.

    AC wants the last word.

  34. Auto-Download is going to be optional by LKM · · Score: 1

    Ever played Animal Crossing? Nintendo sends you little presents now and then, but only if you actually turn that option on (go to your room and use the telephone to "call" Nintendo and they'll ask you whether you want stuff like that).

    Do you seriously think that this is not going to be an optional feature in the Wii?