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DS Web Browsing Looks Refreshingly Good

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the mario-on-mario dept.

ElFozzie writes "Browsing the web on a handheld console or mobile phone has never been the most pleasant experience. The new Opera browser for the DS looks like it might change all that. On the eve of the Japanese launch, a story at Pocketgamer outlines the features and links to a video of the new browser in action." From the article: "The video illustrates the browsing technique, which sees the lower touch screen used for scanning zoomed-out pages and interaction via the stylus, whilst the top screen displays the zoomed-in detail. It also shows both text entry and handwriting recognition systems for rapid entry of URLs, as well as a host of standard browser features including bookmarks."

108 comments

  1. on opera's site by joe+155 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I went on Opera's site last night and was looking at the stuff they have on the DS browser, it seems really interesting, like the handwritting tool and the ability to auto-complete ".com" endings. Whilst these might not seem huge they are far better than I was expecting. I just hope that they will have a speedy UK release and that they will put the price at about £10, I'd definately get one then, if it was £20 (which would make it the same proce as brain training) then I might be a bit more reserved... But here's hoping that they do good with it

    --
    *''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
    1. Re:on opera's site by joe+155 · · Score: 3, Informative

      meh, might as well reply to my ow post and avoid karma whoring (I don't really need it anyway) here's the link to the opera product page that has more detail about it... http://www.opera.com/products/devices/nintendo/

      --
      *''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
    2. Re:on opera's site by assassingod · · Score: 3, Informative

      Nintendo recently announced their release schedule for Europe, and DS Browser will get a 6th Oct release (Apparently). No word on pricing, but it costs 3800Yen, which is roughly £20.

    3. Re:on opera's site by leland242 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm always amazed at how much you Brits get screwed on game prices. Brain Age is $19.99 here in the States, or less than £11. (http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?amt=19. 99&from=USD&to=GBP&submit=Convert)

      How in the world do they justify that?

    4. Re:on opera's site by joe+155 · · Score: 1

      we just always pay more for everything, still, minimum wage is over £5 an hour (which I think is fairly high in world terms) and a house will set you back at least £200,000 (although often over £400,000) pretty much anywhere south of the wash... so we get screwed for everything : )

      --
      *''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
    5. Re:on opera's site by NanoGator · · Score: 0, Troll

      "How in the world do they justify that?"

      Lots of people willingly paying for it.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    6. Re:on opera's site by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      Wow,

      Post 1 Karma 4
      Post 2 Karma 5

      You have failed to avoid Karma whoring.

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    7. Re:on opera's site by antime · · Score: 1

      And here in Finland it costs 35 euros, or 24GBP, 44.5USD. The Brits should stop whining.

    8. Re:on opera's site by joe+155 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      mine is already excellent, so any I get just goes gets written off and it makes no difference to me, I have said previously that a diminishing rate of karma over time would be better, but alas no one has taken up the idea, so for the time being it makes nop difference

      --
      *''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
  2. Very nice, but... by The+Real+Toad+King · · Score: 1

    How much of Oprea will the DS be able to use? (Javascript, , fonts, etc.)

    1. Re:Very nice, but... by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 1

      Since TFA is on a gaming site, it's blocked here at work (and they also finally got around to blocking coral caches recently), so pardon me if this is addressed in the article. Anyways, I'm curious to know if the cartridge will have enough flash memory to allow for updates to the browser. New versions, new features, bug fixes, all that good stuff. I will definitely be buying it if it does.

      --
      This guy's the limit!
    2. Re:Very nice, but... by revlayle · · Score: 5, Informative

      The DS browser comes with a GBA-looking cart (an expansion module) that will come with extra RAM for the browsing experience. They have DS and DS-Lite version of the browser (the main software is the same, but the physical size of the expansion cart is different, so it will match the physical profile of the DS Lite so thart doesn't "stick out" while in use).

      Also it is based on Opera 8, should have full Javascript and CSS capabilities (of course no Java or Flash). Opera devs have confirmed that it should be to run any AJAX-enabled site (like GMail for example). Also, because of limited space, no tabbed browsing.

    3. Re:Very nice, but... by Jakhel · · Score: 1

      From http://www.vgescape.com/features/82/nintendo-ds-sp ecs DS Specs: CPU: - Main processor is an ARM 9 (running at 67 mHz) - Cache: 8 KB Instruction Cache, 4 KB Data Cache - Other processor is an ARM 7 (running at 33 MHz) Memory/RAM: - Main memory is 4 MB - ARM 9 and ARM 7 each have 16 KB - The internal RAM is 64 KB and the VRAM (Video RAM) is 656 KB. I'm not sure how much java it wil be able to handle with such a small amount of RAM (my cell phone has more than that). It will be interesting to see this though. I know personally I will be buying one, but whether or not it will be worth the money (how much is it by the way?) is another story.

    4. Re:Very nice, but... by JonXP · · Score: 2, Informative

      The browser comes with a ram expansion pack to allow for this.

      --
      Still IMing in the stone age?
    5. Re:Very nice, but... by Valthan · · Score: 1

      but the GBA cart that comes with it has extra RAM in it for utilization.

      --
      --Valthan
    6. Re:Very nice, but... by revlayle · · Score: 1

      Also, i don't think a Java VM will be provided at all, at least with DS version (the Wii version is still mostly a mystery)

    7. Re:Very nice, but... by thatguywhoiam · · Score: 1
      Also it is based on Opera 8, should have full Javascript and CSS capabilities (of course no Java or Flash). Opera devs have confirmed that it should be to run any AJAX-enabled site (like GMail for example). Also, because of limited space, no tabbed browsing.

      Darn. That's a shame about the Flash (and tabs).

      I have a PSP, the browser is quite functional. I've been looking at the DS Lite as I'm not convinced I want to keep it, but... a handheld with Flash functionality and WiFi is a brilliant platform, and that's a big draw for me. Right now its only Flash Lite on PSP, but I believe the 'full' Flash is coming in an update. This would allow me to effectively create (limited) applications for the unit. I hope they add this to the Opera DS browser, as it opens up a lot of possibilities.

      --
      If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
    8. Re:Very nice, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doesn't no Flash mean it won't work on pretty much every single Nintendo website?

      Smart move.

    9. Re:Very nice, but... by Lehk228 · · Score: 1

      i found the PSP browser to be about as useful as a hole in my head and as fun as rusty nails through my scrotum.

      typing anything into it took forever, and it would run out of memory and fail to load pages quite often

      --
      Snowden and Manning are heroes.
    10. Re:Very nice, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would have been nice to play Flash or Java web-based games on my DS (or create my own). *sob*

    11. Re:Very nice, but... by Lord+Omlette · · Score: 1

      If it is based on Opera 8, then it's ability to run AJAX applications as simple as gmail will be close to 0. :(

      Luckily, gmail has a basic HTML version, but still...

      --
      [o]_O
    12. Re:Very nice, but... by Valthan · · Score: 1

      I think gmail also has a mobile version.

      --
      --Valthan
    13. Re:Very nice, but... by Kamineko · · Score: 1

      Does it need the expansion port? I know of one goomba (One of my cousins' friends: not me!) whose managed to mank up and gunk up his GBA port beyond repair. (Not that he'd ever have the patience for browsing)

  3. And there's the news I've been waiting for: by Silent+sound · · Score: 3, Informative
    From the article:
    a US and European release shouldn't be far behind. Indeed Opera are promising an update on global rollout next week and we'll convey it just as rapidly as we can.

    Awesome.
  4. Slashdot DS by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 4, Funny
    It also shows both text entry and handwriting recognition systems for rapid entry of URLs
    That's a relief. I was worried they'd go with voice recognition for URLs, which would have made entering "http://slashdot.org" a total nightmare.
    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    1. Re:Slashdot DS by ScaryFroMan · · Score: 4, Funny

      Still easier than "Blue.com"

      --
      In Soviet Russia, backwards is everything.
    2. Re:Slashdot DS by fbjon · · Score: 1
      Oh my, I just realized one could say 'double-dot' instead of 'colon', for maximum effect:

      H-T-T-P-double-dot-slash-slash-slash-dot-dot-org -slash-search-dot-P-L

      Now say it three times quickly.

      --
      True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
    3. Re:Slashdot DS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      double dot???

      where did you go to school?

    4. Re:Slashdot DS by GweeDo · · Score: 1

      Isn't that bah-luu-e?

      --
      Unstable Apps: Our Android Apps Don't Suck
    5. Re:Slashdot DS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or zombo.com - I mean, you've got to pronounce it as "zombocom". How do you enter the inaudible dot? =)

    6. Re:Slashdot DS by meringuoid · · Score: 1
      Still easier than "Blue.com"

      Heh heh. I got my DS when the Lite came out in .uk. I had a wonderful time with the voice recognition on the damn thing.

      "Red. Yellow. Black. Red. Red. Yellow. Black. Blue. Blue. Blue. Blue. Blue. BLUE! BLUE! BLUUUUUE! BUH LUH OOH! BLUE! BLUE! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU AND FUCK DOCTOR FUCKING KAWASHIMA! Huh? Oh! Yellow. Red. Yellow..."

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  5. Excuse my skepticism... by digitrev · · Score: 1

    But when would this actually be useful?

    --
    Cynical Idealist
    1. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by Valthan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A lot of Downtown centres are wireless now (think Toronto and SanFran to name 2), instead of walking around with a laptop in one hand, I can now walk around surfing on my DS

      --
      --Valthan
    2. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by elzurawka · · Score: 1

      Toronto? There are hotspots at places like Union Station, and around some coffee shops, but that is FAR from the entire downtown core. There is no 1 network covering the whole area so u can walk around surfing, not that i have ever seen. I used to lug around my Laptop as a mp3 player, and i would pull it out sometimes durring lunch, or waiting for bus/train(i work downtown) and see what i can catch. I dont think i ever connected to anything.
      The ones that u can see at union and the coffee shops are all Payed services, and on a a summer students salary, i can hardly afford the rediculous rates the are charging.
      Now i could see this being useful for Places that have widepread wifi for free, but who wants to pay that much money, to browse the web on a couple inch wide screen?

      --
      -EL
    3. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by Valthan · · Score: 1

      Lately they have been making it with access points downtown, (Young/bay/york) and you can walk around... I was doing it near the Eaton centre... its free for now, but might be pay later they are saying...

      --
      --Valthan
    4. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Could be the reason for being web-based office suites were looking for. Not that I want to work with spreadsheets on my DS, but I can imagine wanting to have access to a souped up WordPad.

    5. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by elzurawka · · Score: 1

      interesting. Do you know who is offering this? What kind of connection Speed? Is it all offered by 1 place. or are u just jumping networks?

      --
      -EL
    6. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by satoshi1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm going to Illinois Tech in exactly one month. Their entire campus is Wi-Fi enabled, but I don't have a laptop. With Opera DS, I can still check my e-mail, check up on forums, read some webcomics, and even post to my website while in class or outside or what have you. It's perfect. I'll will be getting a copy as soon as it comes out.

      Now someone just needs to make an SSH client for the DS that doesn't require any modding or hacking, and I'll be happy.

    7. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by Valthan · · Score: 1

      As far as I can remember, it is the City that is offering it and when walking around I was just hopping APs (the same as if I was walking the halls of my University, hopping from AP to AP) and I do believe it was either a b or a g connection.

      --
      --Valthan
    8. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      You won't any be doing any browsing in San Francisco. At least not for a while. They've only started signing the contracts - the ritual burning of the taxpayer's money on yet another "only in San Francsico" project starts *next* year. Right before the universal (unfunded) healthcare for all residents.

      If you aren't next to a coffee house with free WiFi, the only free browsing that's available here is in the shopping district.

    9. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by elzurawka · · Score: 1

      Thanx for the info, ill defiantly check it out next time im around there. Could it be something comming out of CIty hall? It is close by? Or perhapse a Unencrypted office network? Ive never read anything about this, and i would have thought it would make the news.

      Either way, ill be checking it out

      --
      -EL
    10. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by elzurawka · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I agree, SSH would be incredible on something like this. Its cheaper then buying a PDA(is there ssh for PDA's?) or something like a laptop. Only problem would be slow input, altho with a touch screen, you could tap characters relativly quickly.

      Something like this would be good for a System Admin on the run(As opposed to?) who does not want to lug around a laptop. You could keep it connected at all times, and even just run a system monitor, so u can keep an eye on what happening, and if u need to make any changes you could do it from wherever you are.

      --
      -EL
    11. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I seem to remember it being mentioned on Slashdot a while back, and saw it briefly covered on The National that same day.

      I think I remember it's being "encouraged" by the city (possibly with some funding, but I think mostly just promotional support), but is actually being handled by Toronto Hydro. They were talking about putting access points in street lamps (not necessarily every one, but enough to blanket the downtown core). I seem to remember coverage plans being something like Bloor down to Front, though I don't remember the East and West boundaries (though Bathurst would seem like a bare minimum to the West). I also believe they were talking about doing a six-month free pilot project, and then charging "a reasonable fee" at a later date. Based on the location, I could see it being pretty sweet for U of T students.

      I'm glad this story reminded me about this. I didn't pay much attention when it first came out, since I live (and used to work) uptown. Now that I'm working downtown, I'll have to check if it's up and running yet.

    12. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by eggsome · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The DS screen is only 240 pixels wide, not enough to display 80 columns for a full size terminal session.
      Most basic command line stuff would work, but just think about the multitude of stuff that would not (imagine trying to run top for instance).

      --
      If they made a movie of your life, would anybody buy a ticket?
    13. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by cyniCalsOCK · · Score: 1

      I see this as usefull when my girlfriend decides to use my computer and i dont feel like turning another one on just to check the weather or the news or something like that. Instead i can simply hold the lightweight DS and sit my arse down on the couch.

    14. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by satoshi1 · · Score: 1

      Meh, I only need to ssh into a machine to access naim running in screen. Get rid of the buddylist display and naim runs fine at widths less than 80 columns. The naim console cuts off characters, but the actual conversation between people is word-wrapped. I'd be able to live =P

    15. Re:Excuse my skepticism... by Pope · · Score: 1

      Toronto Hydro is rolling out a $free wireless network downtown: http://www.thtelecom.ca/zone-qa.html

      --
      It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
  6. Sorry if this has been asked... by GundamFan · · Score: 1

    Is this a cart or does it live in memory on the DS?

    --
    I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
    Mark Twain
    1. Re:Sorry if this has been asked... by digitrev · · Score: 1

      It would be a DS cart, with a GBA RAM cart.

      --
      Cynical Idealist
    2. Re:Sorry if this has been asked... by Valthan · · Score: 4, Informative

      It is indeed 2 carts... see here for pictures of it.

      --
      --Valthan
    3. Re:Sorry if this has been asked... by Bob_Geldof · · Score: 1

      I think Opera lives on a DS sized card, like any normal DS game, and then a memory card (8MB?) gets plugged in to the front where you can plug in old GBA cartridges.

      --
      887321 = 337*2633
    4. Re:Sorry if this has been asked... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Wow, a moron and a Gundam fan. Coincidence? I think not.

  7. Has anyone tried the handwriting rec? by thatguywhoiam · · Score: 1
    Love to know how well it works. I'm a bit skeptical, as the HW on my dad's tablet was a big letdown... and that had a huge screen/fast proc/RAM to play with....

    "eat up martha"

    --
    If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
    1. Re:Has anyone tried the handwriting rec? by Valthan · · Score: 1

      If it is anything like Brain Ages we should be fine... I am very impressed with that recognition, I have horrendous writing and it still gets it right 90% of the time.

      --
      --Valthan
    2. Re:Has anyone tried the handwriting rec? by manux · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If it works like the handwriting recognition within Brain Age, it should be off to a good start. My sloppy 5's and 9's were easily detected by the system without problems. It was only when I became exceedingly lazy in my number formation that the system had problems correctly interpreting what I had written. While this obviously will be more complex than simply recognizing 0 through 9, the current handwriting recognition that is out there leads me to an optimistic viewpoint.

  8. Sweet! by rk · · Score: 1

    All I need is an ssh client for it and I may never need a laptop again...Not that I'd want to do heads down work on it, but just flipping open my DS, logging on and tapping out a couple emergency commands would be very handy.

    1. Re:Sweet! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, you could try dslinux.

    2. Re:Sweet! by megli · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Or if you have your own server you could write your own online SSH client using javascript and your server side scripting language of choice. (Insert some buzzwords here to make this idea sound more impressive.)

      --
      ===== will post for karma
    3. Re:Sweet! by superlaughtive · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure why the other post pointing to DSlinux is (0), but there is at least one ssh client for DSlinux - Dropbear. I haven't tried it yet. Of course you'd need a flash cart or (mini/micro/normal)-SD adapter such as the M3.

  9. Ad blocking? by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 1

    Will it have some sort of ad blocking? I notice Opera doesn't have much in that respect, except it does allow you to block pages and domains, it would seem.

    I can't stand browsing with anything other than Firefox now because of the deluge of ads everywhere. Every time I use another browser I am surprised to see ads on pages that I never recalled carrying ads back when I used to use IE. Way back.

    1. Re:Ad blocking? by eddy · · Score: 1

      > I notice Opera doesn't have much in that respect

      Except the "Block Content" feature you mean? <sigh> (right click on page, select "Block Content". Select the content you want blocked. Press button marked "Done". Done.

      --
      Belief is the currency of delusion.
    2. Re:Ad blocking? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Opera's content block system is more useable and about as successful as the Adblock Plugin for FF. Except that it also actually works for flash...

  10. WPA? by BenClueless · · Score: 1

    If the DS worked with WPA, I'd be all over this. It's such a pain to reset my wireless router to WEP every time I wanna kick some foreign kid's ass in mario kart. I can't even buy their USB wifi thing because it's XP-IE only. Boy will I be blue if the Wii is held back in the same way.

    1. Re:WPA? by Throtex · · Score: 3, Informative

      Get a second wireless router and set it to WEP encryption. Place the WEP-encrypted router directly behind your cable modem/DSL/tin can. Place your original router, with a more secure configuration, behind the WEP-encrypted router. Thanks to the magic of NAT, computers behind your original router will be able to see out to the machines connected over the WEP-encrypted router, but the machines connected to the WEP-encrypted router will only be able to see the ports you would have had open to the general Internet anyway.

      Network isolation, courtesy of NAT. The kind of security through crapscurity required by Nintendo.

    2. Re:WPA? by pembo13 · · Score: 1

      You could just get a simple wifi router, these things tend to be very cheap.

      --
      "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
    3. Re:WPA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you totally missed the point.

    4. Re:WPA? by d0hboy · · Score: 1

      This is a really cool solution, which I never thought about. Since the cost of the router is almost comparable to the cost of the DS USB access point, it makes sense to have that extra chunk of functionality. Are there any disadvantages to this setup? Would you still be able to port forward or port trigger to the inner (more secure) router?

    5. Re:WPA? by Sexy+Commando · · Score: 1

      I solved it by using my neighbor's open WiFi.

    6. Re:WPA? by dalmiroy2k · · Score: 1

      Linksys WRT54G with DD-WRT v24 firmware supports multiple ssid's with different encryption methods on each interface
      More info:

      http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/index.php

    7. Re:WPA? by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      This sounds like a totally reasonable solution for playing Mario Kart online once and a while.

    8. Re:WPA? by Throtex · · Score: 1

      I know you're being sarcastic, but I agree -- thus my jabs at Nintendo's lack of support for modern security standards. However, I'm paranoid about running wireless networks anyway, and held off until getting the DS (my "inside" network is a hard-wired NAT router, not a second wireless router). I saw two alternatives, and the one I described is the one I picked -- if you get into my network, you're not going to be able to see my other computers no matter what you do.

      The other alternative was to configure the wireless router as a simple WAP and plug into the wired network using the router's switch. I could then cycle power to the wireless router whenever I'm not using the wireless connection for added security without affecting the rest of the network. That's also a perfectly cromulent solution, and I think both are better than having to use the Nintendo dongle, regardless of how much it makes me giggle to say "dongle".

  11. Handwriting "Recognition" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The browser looks pretty good and all, but if the OCR is anything like Brain Training's it's going to suck, hard.

  12. Price by TheOrangeMan · · Score: 1

    At the end of the video (on the blog) I think it says it will be 3800 yen... Wich would make it about 32USD (37CAN).

    --
    My left arm is all scars and I consider that a valid excuse...
    1. Re:Price by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      What you need to keep in mind is that games are more expensive in Japan than the US so that conversion isn't what it'll end up costing.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  13. This bodes well for the Wii by dorbabil · · Score: 2, Funny

    The fact that they are willing to put this kind of effort into a secondary feature is great. Most console/handheld internet browsers aren't that great, mostly because of the resolution and/or screen size. Just imagine what they will be able to do with the Wii. Obviously, with the Wii, the pointer will work to control the cursor on screen. A lapboard could be sold that would plug into the Wiimote as a means to enter text. What I hope they do to get around the resolution limitations is use the tilt functionality of the wiimote to allow easy panning and zooming. Although, on the other hand, imagine some kid seeing porn for the first time on the system, zooming in and out... He'll sit there with a wii in both hands, using the same motion to manipulate one as he does the other.

  14. i want it! by radarsat1 · · Score: 1

    any news on when it might be available in NA? i've been wanting a handheld game machine and have been trying to decide which to get, and i keep stalling because i want something more useful than just for gaming... this almost decides it for me!

  15. kb by StarKruzr · · Score: 1

    Do you put GBA-type carts in the bottom of the DS or the top? Because if it's the bottom it would be pretty nifty if they put a keyboard sticking out the back of the cartridge. Yes, it would make the cartridge much bigger, but who cares? Keyboard! Room for storage, too.

    --

    +++ATH0
    1. Re:kb by admdrew · · Score: 1

      GBA carts stick out of the bottom of the DS (both lite and regular). I agree that would be kinda cool... maybe homebrew of some sort? Come on modders, get to work!

      --
      LegendMUD
    2. Re:kb by pecko666 · · Score: 1

      What do you need ANOTHER keyboard for ? It is DS !! Are you aware of the fact that DS has touchscreen?

  16. one screen only by kisrael · · Score: 1

    It's too bad that only one of the 2 screens is touch sensative; I'm sure there are cost or technical considerations, but it's an odd assymetry that I dislike.

    Overall I think the touch screen is great, but the dual screens are kind of gimmicky... and I really wish it had some kind of nubbish analog control.

    --
    SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
    1. Re:one screen only by DoctaWatson · · Score: 1

      Why would you need two touch screens if you're only going to be able to use one at a time?

    2. Re:one screen only by kisrael · · Score: 1

      Why would you need two touch screens if you're only going to be able to use one at a time?

      Why have a crosspad if you can only press one direction at once?

      But seriously... it would be nice to have the option to have the 2 browser screens treated as a single virtual screen, and allow clicking anywhere...

      --
      SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
    3. Re:one screen only by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure if you consider up and left 1 direction. I haven't used too many analog sticks that let me point left and right at the same time.

  17. Decuma by Rydia · · Score: 1

    I said it before, I'll say it again: DS browsing will be better than most other pocket experiences, because Decuma is light years ahead of everyone else. I'm just angry that Windows Mobile 2003 broke support for my mobile.

  18. IP/MAC by Magnj · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'll be attempting to use this at college where we are only allowed to register one IP/MAC per user name. Will it have a function to change IP/MAC so I can pick up campus wireless?

    1. Re:IP/MAC by LDoggg_ · · Score: 1

      That IP/MAC should belong to the WAN side of your WRT54GL with dd-wrt linux firware which is running in client mode and NAT using the ethernet ports. Put another another wireless AP off of one of those ports.

      --

      "If they have both, tell them we use Linux. And if they have that, tell them the computers are down." -Dave Chapelle
    2. Re:IP/MAC by PeelBoy · · Score: 1

      How about using the USB wifi adapter so that your DS uses the internet connection off our PC.

    3. Re:IP/MAC by PeelBoy · · Score: 1

      I mean your not our.

    4. Re:IP/MAC by Lehk228 · · Score: 1

      do you use wireless on a laptop? it would be easier to register the MAC for your DS and clone it on your laptop or router

      --
      Snowden and Manning are heroes.
    5. Re:IP/MAC by WWWWolf · · Score: 1

      Not sure if Opera uses the same settings thingy as Metroid Prime Hunters does for Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, but if it does, that thing only seems to have MAC/NWiFiC ID transfer to another DS system, and no hand-tuning of the MAC. (Probably just to make cheating and identity spoofing a bit trickier...)

      Like others said, it's probably infinitely easier to just route the access through a laptop. =/

      And, of course, remember to raise a question why your city doesn't have an open WLAN yet. Mine does. =) (Too bad it won't extend to my apartment yet...)

    6. Re:IP/MAC by Magnj · · Score: 1

      Unfortunatly I use a desktop in my dorm and have no laptop. I was hoping I could just bring the DS to class and use it to game and surf instead of learning but I guess that might be asking a bit much (the surfing not the gaming of course). What if I originally register the DS as my primary computer and then just change my MAC.IP on my router for when I'm in my room?

    7. Re:IP/MAC by WWWWolf · · Score: 1
      What if I originally register the DS as my primary computer and then just change my MAC.IP on my router for when I'm in my room?

      I suppose that should work too. Darn, never thought of that sort of obvious solution =) DS should be able to show what MAC it has...

  19. WPA by CaseM · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Pretty please?

  20. Direct link to the video that's being discussed by Andy_R · · Score: 1

    If you don't want to read the article to find the link from there to the blog to see the video look here it's in Japanese, but you get the gist of how it works well enough.

    --
    A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
  21. off topic: on doubles by kn0tw0rk · · Score: 1

    Maybe the place where people learn to say..
    George double-ewe Bush

    But that brings bad images to mind :-)

    --
    See my art -> http://herbevore.deviantart.com
  22. Looks good by pentapenguin · · Score: 1

    Opera on the DS sure looks good and looks like it will be significantly better than the built-in browser on the PSP. The PSP's browser isn't too terribly bad all things considered, but it's almost impossible to really use for anything other than reading news with its retarded text entry system. If Opera can use the DS's touch screen for text entry, then the DS could really be useful for full-featured web browsing (minus the Flash and Java -- but who can't go without them a bit anyways?) and email where ever you are. The poor man's laptop. :-)

    --
    -pentapenguin
  23. The browser's not the good news about this. by justchris · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Who cares about a browser for the DS? The reason I'll be picking this up is the RAM expansion pack that comes with it. With the new passthroughs that plug in through the DS cart port, that thing will be great for homebrew and emulation. Can't wait to see what I can pull off with that.

    --
    just some guy
    1. Re:The browser's not the good news about this. by WWWWolf · · Score: 1

      Gee, and here I was hoping that the homebrew developers would be forced to think a bit like the commercial game developers: "How do I fit all this stuff in such limited memory? If Metroid Prime Hunters runs nicely as hell, why can't I get Quake to run?" (The answer to latter: Yes, Quake seems to run, just scale down the textures a bit, no one's going to notice you use smaller textures. And that's apparently what DSQuake porters are doing. =)

      The reason I hold the people who do awesome homebrew games in very high regard, as opposed to mere freeware game developers (who do good stuff too, by the way), is that they have to deal with the limited hardware and PC folks can always throw more iron at the problem without optimising it too much.

      But don't think of this as a flame - I'm sure the memory expansion will make homebrews extremely interesting. I just hope it's not used as a crutch when it's not strictly needed.

    2. Re:The browser's not the good news about this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, DS flash carts plug into the gba slot. The pass throughs that use the DS slot don't contain the actual flash.

      Perhaps the new ninja mod can change this, but all the major flashcarts use the gba slot.

  24. OT: mod explanation by rk · · Score: 1

    The other post is from someone not logged in ("Anonymous Coward") and those always start out at zero, and will stay there until some moderator moves it.

  25. Make that a poor man's sub-laptop by Yvan256 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The poor man's laptop. :-)

    Considering I've been wanting a really small sub-laptop for quite some time (and even those are too big), and the price at which those sub-laptops go for (1000-2000$US for those Sony), I'd consider a Nintendo DS Lite with Opera "a poor man's sub-laptop".

    In fact I'd be really impressed if any company would be able to come out with a sub-200$ micro-laptop with touch screen that can run Opera. At that price you can barely buy anything but a basic Palm which can't even do Wi-Fi.

    The fact that Opera DS can't run Flash, Java or even animated GIFs are bonuses for me since those are almost always used for annoying moving ads.
  26. Re:FPDS by Vorondil28 · · Score: 1

    While this is an obvious troll, there is some truth to it. I've not had a present experience using Firefox on embedded systems, namely my Sharp Zaurus SL-6000. People complain about Firefox's memory footprint on desktops; just wait until you run it on a 400MHz XScale with 64MB of RAM. The next best thing is Minimo (a small Mozilla-ish browser), but it's still pretty green. Don't get me wrong, Firefox is a rockin' browser, and I use it daily, but when it comes to handhelds, Opera is definitely the way to go right now.

    --
    This sig rocks the casbah.
  27. Kinda wish.. by MrCopilot · · Score: 1
    I kind of wish the SSR mode was landscape.

    But a portable web browser on any device is a good thing.

    --
    OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
  28. Restrict by MAC address and don't broadcast SSID. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Every single router I've ever heard of, no matter how cheap, offers these simple solutions.

  29. Take a lesson from paperback books by serutan · · Score: 1

    I admit this is a nifty approach to cramming a usable browser onto a tiny device. Using one screen as a selector and the other as a magnifier is really clever, but it reminds me of accessibility tools for the visually impaired. There's a reason why paperback books are the size they are, instead of the size of postage stamps. You could print books that small, but people would need a compelling reason to read them, such as being forced to live in a coffin. Tiny devices are fine for looking at tiny blocks of information, like buddy lists, but not for web pages that are increasingly aimed at 1024x768 and larger monitors. The web is just too damn big for this thing.