Game Boy Pocket fitted with backlit screen, one man’s life now complete

“Looks like the authors of Engadget are getting a little too young. They don’t know this was a common place in the days of the GB. I remember buying a kit on eBay and retrofitting my own GB around the time the backlight version cam out.”

(via Game Boy Pocket fitted with backlit screen, one man’s life now complete)

You know what they say — if you can’t buy it, mod it. Michael “Bibin” Moffitt’s backlighting job on this Game Boy Pocket is a case in point. Unwilling to shell out the dough for a Game Boy Light on eBay (but more than willing to destroy two old LCDs in pursuit of his mad dream), this guy removed the reflective layer and adhesive behind the handheld’s display (”almost as hard as reasoning with a rabid PlayStation 3 fan,” he writes) and built a backlight out of an LED, some perspex, and a diffusive layer. That’s it — now our man is playing Donkey Kong, in the dark, in all its monochromatic glory, and with no noticeable change in battery life. Hit the read link for plenty of naked GBP pics.

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Game Boy Pocket fitted with backlit screen, one man’s life now complete originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Reader API is Coming Soon

Strange thing is I’m using the Google Reader API right now with Byline for the iPhone. This note is being written inside Byline and all other standard functions and features are accesible to me from this app. I’m just surprised more devs aren’t making use of it or the other heavily documented RSS APIs google has. Maybe making an official release is what they need.

(via Google Reader API is Coming Soon)

Google confirms a Reader API is perhaps only a month away from a public release. Web technologist and blogger Niall Kennedy, recently posted on his site several details surrou…

SitePoint » Top Ruby Frameworks Rails and Merb Join Forces

The Christmas spirit is spreading…

(via SitePoint » Top Ruby Frameworks Rails and Merb Join Forces)

The much-hyped Rails framework has enjoyed a ton of time in the spotlight over the past 4 years and powers some of the web’s most used sites and applications, including Twitter, YellowPages.com, Kongregate, A List Apart, Scribd, and Xing. But Rails certainly isn’t for everyone. Many people love the way it does things, but dislike the way it endeavors to have an answer for everything. Rails is a full-stack framework that would rather you use the built in pieces to get things done — i.e., Prototype for AJAX, Active Record for ORM, or test/unit for testing.

Merb, on the other hand, is a Rails-inspired framework that endeavors to focus on the core functionality and rely on plugins for everything else. That makes Merb more agnostic when it comes to what technologies you want to use to build your application. Rails developers have always been able to use other frameworks for development — jQuery for JavaScript, or rSpec for testing, for example — but it is generally considered kind of messy. You can’t easily strip out the pieces you don’t like, so you have to pile on the stuff you want to use and rely on plugins to make it all work.

Now, the core teams from Rails and Merb are merging in an effort to bring the two frameworks together for Rails 3, slated for beta release at RailsConf in Las Vegas in May. “We all realized that working together for a common good would be much more productive than duplicating things on each side of the fence,” wrote Rails originator David Heinemeier Hansson in a blog post about today’s merger. “Merb and Rails already share so much in terms of design and sensibility that joining forces seemed like the obvious way to go. All we needed was to sit down for a chat and hash it out, so we did just that.”

Konami to bring Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Dance Dance Revolution to iPhone

Wow, with these releases the iPhone is- becoming a real gaming platform.

Metal Gear should be excellent.

(via Konami to bring Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Dance Dance Revolution to iPhone)

A few hours ago we brought news that, based on a product scan that appeared in Famitsu Weekly, it seemed Metal Gear would be heading to the iPhone.

This morning we found solid confirmation of that. From Konami themselves.

Konami has just issued a news release indicating that they will soon be bringing four new titles to the iPhone platform.

Metal Gear Solid Touch

Metal Gear Solid Touch is an original game in the series that will bring the world and characters of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots to the iPhone. The game is of the “touch shooting” genre and will use the iPhone’s touchscreen for targetting as well as zoom mode control. The initial release will feature eight stages, with more to come in future updates. Progress in the game will be rewarded by unlocked images and wallpaper from the Metal Gear series.

Metal Gear Solid Touch will be released in Japan, North America and Europe in Spring 2009.

Dance Dance Revolution S Lite

Dance Dance Revolution S Lite is an iPhone adaptation of the highly popular rhythm and dance game Dance Dance Revolution that is considered one of the most original video game releases of tall time, and the inspiration of many, later musical rhythm games. “Tap the arrow icons that appear at the bottom of the screen in time with music.”

DDR S Lite will be released in Japan and North America later this month.

Silent Hill: The Escape

Silent Hill: The Escape is an iPhone adaptaiton of the popular survival horror series, Silent Hill, which brought a game-inspired motion picture release in 2006. It’s a first-person 3D shooter that utilizes both the iPhone’s touchscreen and accelerometer for gameplay control.

Silent Hill for the iPhone will be released in Japan, North America, and Europe later this month.

Frogger

It’s true. Frogger is already in the App Store [link] in some areas. Konami indicates that this classic arcade jumper will see a full Japan, North American and European release later this month. We noted that the original North American release would function only on the iPhone, not the iPod touch. Konami indicated that this would be addressed in the future, and now may be the time.

Konami has just setup touch.konami.net, a site through which more information (in Japanese) can be found regarding the company’s iPhone game offerings.

The arrival of these titles is huge news for iPhone gaming and goes a long way to lend validity to the iPhone as a truly serious gaming platform. Stay tuned for more information on all of these titles as it becomes available.

Apple announces final MacWorld, Steve Jobs won’t deliver keynote

Wow, if I could I’d head on up there for the expo. I’ve never been but I’ve thought of it as a major tech, like a superbowl or something.

(via Apple announces final MacWorld, Steve Jobs won’t deliver keynote)

Watch this space folks — it’s the end of an era. Apple has just issued a press release stating that this coming MacWorld in January will be its last, and Steve Jobs won’t be on hand to say goodbye. Instead, Phil Schiller will be heading up the proceedings, thus marking a quiet end to a conference that’s been the launching point of some of the most important pieces of consumer tech in recent memory. In Apple’s words:

Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.

Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

[Thanks, JBCornelius]

Apple announces final MacWorld, Steve Jobs won’t deliver keynote originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Visual Guide to the Financial Crisis:The Bailout

900 Billion in one year!? Wow, at that rate we would be able to get rid of the national debt in no time.

I’d probably spend 50 million just to manage the money, since we can’t manage that 700 billion being doled out already.

(via A Visual Guide to the Financial Crisis:The Bailout)

What do you do if you don’t have the money to pay a debt? If you are like most of us, you borrow. The US Government is no different. In order to pay for the $700 billion bailout, it will have to borrow more money, increasing the national debt. But who will pay for this massive bailout? If you are a US taxpayer, you will.

Here is a visual guide to understanding how the bailout is funded and a couple of financial experts’ take on how it could be funded.

Source:10 Ways to Bail Out Wall Street (and Main Street) Without Soaking Taxpayers in Debt

For more personal finance visualizations see: WallStats.com