Fires Tech And Games

Nintendo Wii Update - Official Patch Notes - Sept 14 2009

2009-09-15T09:16:00.003-06:00

Nintendo has an update for the Wii, nothing really exciting...

The Nintendo Channel was updated with several new features:

See other users' recommendations in the "Everyone's Recommendations" feature.
Make recommendations for your favorite Nintendo DS games.
Watch videos in "High" or "Normal" quality to better suit your Internet connection speed.
Bookmark your favorite games.
View records of the Wii software you've played as well as records of the software you've recommended with the "Records" feature.

Information about Nintendo Wii updates are available here.

Nintendo Wii Update - Official Patch Notes - Sept 1 2009

2009-09-01T15:03:00.002-06:00

Nintendo has been busy today... besides the announcement to give the Internet Channel away for free, Nintendo has also updated the Wii today.

The Internet Channel has been updated to work with Flash 8.

Not as exciting as the free Internet Channel, but it works!

Information about Nintendo Wii updates are available here.

Wii Internet Channel is now Free!

2009-09-01T14:55:00.005-06:00

From the Official Nintendo Wii Internet Channel Site...

The Internet Channel is available to download from the Wii Shop Channel today, for 0 Wii Points™. So, if you missed the free launch event in 2006, and didn't pay the 500 points, you can now pick it up for free!

For those who spent the 500 points... don't fret!

Important Announcement

If you have previously used 500 Wii Points to download the Internet Channel, at the end of October we will be offering you the opportunity to download, at no cost, one NES game of your choice (valued at 500 Wii Points) from the Virtual Console catalog. Details of this download offer will be provided via the Wii Message Board and on Nintendo.com soon.

Free Wii surfing for all!

Source Code of Several Atari 7800 Games Released!

2009-07-19T11:48:00.003-06:00

Atari Museum has released the code of a few Atari 7800 video games. They also included the tools, and other information to compile the source code.

The source code for these games are available:

Robotron 2084
Asteroids
Xevious
Dig Dug
Centipede
Joust
Ms. Pac Man
Commando
Crossbow
Food Fight
Galaga
Hat Trick
Sphinx/Nile Flyer/Desert Falcon

More information is available here.

World of Warcraft Trick Jumping - Un'goro Crater to Sholazar Basin

2009-05-05T00:48:00.010-06:00

So, I put this video together...

It shows you how to Trick Jump from Marshall's Refuge in Un'Goro Crater to The Sholazar Basin Portal...

You will need a fast mount to be able to do this.

Music: Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield Main Theme
Music Composed By: Bill Brown

This is a pretty easy trick, enjoy....

Video is available here.

HD Version is available here.

World of Warcraft Engineers.. and Northrend Skiing

2009-04-25T00:25:00.005-06:00

So, I just added a post to the suggestion forums...

This was the content.

Northrend has a ton of snow, and great mountains waiting to be tamed by.....

Skiers!

So, how about we let Engineers make Ski's and Ski Poles.

These would be usable only on snow or ice surfaces. Maybe restricted to Ice Crown, Storm Peaks, Grizzly Hills, and Sholazar Basin, and Northern Howling Fjord.

1 schematics would be available to both Gnomish and Goblin Engineers...

Gnomish Engineers
-----------------------

If Engineer uses launch may be higher...

( 4 x Froststeel Tube, 4 x Borean Leather, 2 x Walnut Stock, 2 x Handful of Cobalt Bolts)

Goblin Engineers
--------------------

If Engineer, speed is slightly faster....

( 2 x Volatile Blasting Trigger, 1 Handful of Cobalt Bolts, 2 x Overcharged Capacitor, 4 x Cobalt Bars)

These would be sell, and give engineers another way to generate gold.

Morgh (Deathwing) - Grand Master Engineer in Training.

If you think this a great idea, lets get some posts going!

The post is available here.

Rubik's TouchCube

2009-04-14T21:10:00.004-06:00

This is a great upgrade to the original Rubik's Cube.

The Rubik's TouchCube, it's sides are touchscreen's that are touch sensitive, so all you need to do is swipe and it moves the panels.

If you made a mistake, you can make it to go back or undo a few moves. It also has the ability to help you if you are stumped. You can also re-scramble the cube by hitting a button. It can teach you how to play, or solve itself while you watch!

The Rubik's TouchCube will hit shelves this fall for $149.99. A lot more expensive then the original Rubik's Cube, but it does have a lot more functionality!

It was featured on Discovery Channel's Daily Planet on April 14th 2009. Video is available here.

You can see a video on the official site here.

Earth Hour - Saturday March 28, 2009 - 8:30pm

2009-03-27T11:30:00.006-06:00

FireTech is a supporter of new technology, and technology does use a lot of electricity. So, let's try to help out and shut down your lights for 1 hour on this Saturday. I will be helping out and shutting down my lights and unnecessary electronics for the hour.

Earth Hour 2009 - Sign up for Earth Hour!

Gaming Themes for iGoogle

2009-03-26T00:51:00.003-06:00

Google has added a fair amount of gaming themes for iGoogle.

From Google....

Introducing gaming themes for iGoogle

Now you can get themes from your favorite games like Super Mario, Street Fighter, and Spore on your personalized Google homepage. Then add your choice of news, email, weather, and more for a page that's as useful as it is fun.

More information and themes available here.

Nintendo Wii Update - Official Patch Notes - March 25 2009

2009-03-25T12:52:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the lag in posts, RL was catching up and keeping me busy.
I've got a ton of posts to keep going for at least the rest of the year ;)

So let the posting begin!

Our good friends at Nintendo have updated to Wii. Menu 4.0 was released today! The biggest upgrade, the Wii can use SDHC Cards now!!

Wii Menu 4.0 includes the following:

The Wii console can now use SDHC (SD High Capacity) Cards with a maximum of 32GB of storage.
The SD Card Menu, which allows you to launch titles directly from an SD or SDHC Card, is added to the Wii menu (more info).
The Wii Shop Channel will now allow you to download titles directly to an SD or SDHC Card.
The Wii console's Data Management menu has been enhanced to make it easier to copy and move stored items on an SD Card or the Wii console's system memory.
The Wii User Agreement, which includes the Wii Privacy Policy, has been updated. Because the updated agreement applies to you and your use of the Wii Network Service, you should view the updated version by clicking on the Wii icon located on the lower-left portion of the Wii Channel menu, selecting Wii Settings, accessing the Internet setting, and selecting User Agreements.
There are other behind-the-scenes enhancements to the Wii console system menu included with Wii Menu 4.0

Information about Nintendo Wii updates are available here.

World of Warcraft - Character Re-Customization

2008-12-10T21:17:00.003-07:00

Hmm.. interesting. My wife was entering her game card into the account management when she came across a new feature!!!!

Character Re-Customization

This is what she found....

Welcome to the Character Re-Customization page. This service lets you customize your character's appearance, and includes an optional name change. Please note that each customization costs $15.00 USD per character customized. If you plan on changing the character's name during the customization, please familiarize yourself with the World of Warcraft Naming Policy.

According to the Blizzard FAQ...

Character Re-Customization is a paid service that lets you change an existing character's gender, face, skin color, and other cosmetic features determined by his or her race and gender combination. When you perform a Character Re-Customization, you may also change the character's hair color and hair style (similar to the in-game barbershop) and select a new name, if desired.

So, it looks like the feature that was only a rumor during beta, has actually become official.

You can check out the new feature here.

Linux GPS Software

2008-11-03T09:31:00.002-07:00

After a two week trip out to the east coast, I had time to try out some linux gps software on my EeePC. I used a Dell Branded GlobalSat BT-309 linked to my EeePC via Bluetooth.

Core System Software

GPSD - A GPS Service Daemon - this software was the core GPS monitor and was used by all of the other software that I tested. You need to have this installed and working. Witht GPSD running you can hook in multiple applications and let them all share the same GPS unit. The Linux man pages, gspd(1), let you get access to all the information from your GPS Receiver via Telnet.

GPS Applications

List of GPS Software is available here.

I tried out and tested NavIT and GPSDrive and GPSD-Clients.

NavIT was the easiest to use and setup. It hooks into GPSD cleanly. And, you can import maps from OpenStreetMap (OSM) without any issues.
I used NavIT regularly when I was driving around trying to find places.

GPSDrive is nice for watching satellite information and tracking your speed. Setting up the maps is not as easy as NavIT. The interface is also a bit tricky on the smaller laptop screen.

GPSD-Clients is a a set of tools for testing GPSD and making sure the GPS receiver is working. It shows the same information as GPSDrive, but in a simplier interface. The tools include XGPS (GUI) and CGPS (Command Line).

Duplicate File Killer - DoubleKiller

2008-10-06T11:37:00.002-06:00

If you've ever had a mass amount of files to go through and find the duplicates, this would be the application to use.

DoubleKiller searches single or multiple directories for duplicate files by comparing any combination of file name, size, modification date and content.

Features:

Scans directories, complete drives or computers in your Network Neighborhood for duplicate files
Freely combinable comparison criteria (file name, size, date and content)
You can exclude files based on their name, file type, attributes or size
Presents a list of all identical files so you can decide which ones to remove
Deletes the files you chose or moves them to another directory
Allows to export the result list to a text file

More information about DoubleKiller can be found here.

WoW Authenticator Available In Canada ... Shipping Fixed

2008-09-24T18:11:00.003-06:00

Looks like Blizzard has fixed the shipping problem.

I just picked up 2 Authenticators for $23.56 this includes shipping.

They originally had the shipping posted at $58.13, but the shipping is now $10.00

This is an update to this post.

WoW Authenticator Available In Canada... Sorta

2008-09-16T23:35:00.004-06:00

An update to this story:

A shipping system change did occur!

Check out the update here.

So, after the announcement that the World Of Warcraft Authenticator was back in stock, I decided to go take a look.

As a Canadian, I assumed that the Authenticator was not going to be available because it was not allowed to be shipped outside of the US. My assumption was completely wrong, there sitting in front of me was a new product Blizzard Authenticator (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America).

Lets try to order this, and find out how much shipping was going to cost.

So, for 2 (One for myself, one for my wife) here is the break down:

2 x Authenticators @ $6.50
Subtotal: $13.00
Sales Tax: $0.00
Shipping & Handling: $58.13
Grand Total: $71.13

Hmm... $71.13 for 2 Authenticators, this has got to be wrong?

So, I phoned Blizzard.

No, according to customer service, it is not wrong.

The reason the shipping is $71.13, is because that is what it costs to ship 2 Authenticators with UPS. UPS is the only delivery service that Blizzard is using for "international" shipping.

Also, according to the customer service, it is shipped in a small envelope.

I think it is time for Blizzard to find a new shipping service.

Price comparisons using the closest the blizzard address (Doubt this is actually where it will be shipped from)... to my home.

Blizzard Entertainment
P.O. Box 18979
Irvine, CA 92623

Using Online Calculators
UPS: 40.89 USD
Fed-ex: 39.01 USD
USPS (International): 23.95(3-5 Days)
USPS (International): 9.95 USD (6-10 days)

Blizzard, I really.. really.. really.. don't need my Authenticator tomorrow. I'm willing to wait a week for it. I've been waiting months, a week does not matter.

2 x Authenticators @ $6.50
Subtotal: $13.00
Sales Tax: $0.00
Shipping & Handling: $9.95
Grand Total: $22.95

Hey, Blizzard... Could you guys please, give us a different option for shipping the Authenticators?

World Of Warcraft WotLK - November 13 2008

2008-09-15T11:52:00.003-06:00

World of Warcraft - Wrath of the Lich King will be in stores November 13th, 2008.

More information is available here.

The Collector's Edition will come in a special box that contains many exclusive extras to enhance your adventure into Northrend, including:

World of Warcraft: The Wrath of the Lich King on DVD-ROM.
The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, a 208-page book featuring never-before-seen images from the game.
An exclusive in-game pet: Frosty, the baby frost wyrm.
A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, the Wrath of the Lich King intro cinematic with director’s commentary, and more.
The official soundtrack CD, containing 21 epic tracks from the game, along with exclusive bonus tracks.
A mouse pad featuring a map of the newly opened continent of Northrend.
Two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game March of the Legion starter decks, along with two exclusive cards available only in the Collector’s Edition.

More collectors edition information is available here.

Hack A Day has returned.

2008-09-12T10:25:00.004-06:00

Well, Hack A Day has returned.

It is now available at http://hackaday.com, if it's not available at http://www.hackaday.com you may need to flush the old records.

So, flush those DNS records, and get your hack a day fix once again!

More info is available here.

World Of Warcraft - PVE to PVP Transfers Now Open

2008-09-11T12:45:00.002-06:00

Something that Blizzard said they had no reason to allow, they have allowed.

Blizzard has opened paid transfers from PVE to PVP realms.

"Providing a smooth and enjoyable experience for all players is always a priority for us, and we are continually re-evaluating our policies and programs to do so. As the state of the game has matured substantially since the inception of Paid Character Transfers, we will now be allowing PvE-to-PvP transfers on a full-time basis to provide players with more mobility and freedom to easily play with their friends.

Keep in mind that all of the other standard cooldowns and restrictions will continue to apply; we're just opening the option to transfer characters on Normal realms to Player-vs.-Player realms. Please review the Paid Character Transfer FAQ if you have any questions on how this service works."

More information is available here.

Update 2 - Hack A Day Down... Long term.. Let's hope not

2008-09-09T12:54:00.006-06:00

Hack A Day was doing some site maintenance.

But now, it seems to have disappeared. For the last 2 days, there has been no DNS IP resolution. The domain still exists, but it is not pointed anywhere.

Will Hack A Day return? I don't know, but I'm really hoping that it returns!

For those who don't know what Hack A Day is, this site showcases hardware and software hacks. Anything that could be old school hacked / tweaked was featured on this site.

Update - 09/10/08

It seems that they are migrating their site to a new host provider. And, they have been plagued with DDOS attacks on their new provider.

More information about the downtime is available here.

Update - 09/12/08

They are back up and running... You can get your hack-a-day fixes now.

http://hackaday.com

World of Warcraft Bug Found!

2008-09-04T22:16:00.009-06:00

So.. I was helping out a guildy in Winterspring. She has a 55 hunter, and I'm a 70 rogue.

Just for fun, I thought I'd try using Scroll of Stamina V (Requires Level 60) on her. The buff succeeded, and as a lvl 55 she got a lvl 60 buff of +20 stamina.

This is a major twink bug, have a level 70 buff you with 20 Stamina.

I have not tried this with other scrolls, and I will probably try it later on tonight.

I currently have a gm ticket open, and will keep you up to date on what happens.

UPDATE - 30 minutes later

That has got to be the fastest GM reply I have ever received.....

[09/04/08]

22:30 [Lygyryne]: Greetings, *****, this is Game Master Lygyryne. I just received your petition, how are you doing?

22:30 [*****]: Hey.. doing alright.. that was a fast response

22:31 [*****]: Scroll of Stamina V can be used on lvl 55's... if you are grouped and lvl 70

22:31 [*****]: There may be other ways to use it

22:31 [*****]: And other scrolls can be effected

22:31 [*****]: *may be effected

22:31 [*****]: ***** in my group still has the buff

22:31 [*****]: (7 mins left on it)

22:33 [Lygyryne]: Hmm, give me a moment to check something, ok?

22:33 [*****]: Ok

22:35 [Lygyryne]: OK, well I do want to thank you very much for bringing this to my attention, *****.

22:35 [*****]: Ok.. so it is a bug?

22:35 [Lygyryne]: I've never heard of it before, so I'm goign to have it looked into and see if it is.

22:36 [*****]: Interesting....

22:36 [*****]: Yeah.. it sorta shocked me...

22:36 [*****]: Oh.. and I tried it twice

22:36 [*****]: So it's not just a one time.. server glitch type thing

22:37 [Lygyryne]: Cool, thanks again. Did you have anything else I should look into as well?

22:38 [*****]: Yeah.. can you get me [Schematic: Lil' Smoky] ? I've been trying to get that darn thing for the past 2 months..

22:38 [*****]: ;)

22:38 [Lygyryne]: If I could I would. ;)

22:38 [*****]: LOL.. Figured.. oh well. had to try

22:38 [*****]: heh

22:39 [*****]: Nope.. nothing else then

22:40 [*****]: If you guys need to get hold of me for anything... you can use my registered email address.. i'd be happy to help

22:40 [Lygyryne]: Thanks for playing WoW and happy hunting! Feel free to submit your feedback of our conversation by sending an email to wowgmfeedback-us@blizzard.com.

22:40 [*****]: Sounds good.. :)

22:40 [Lygyryne]: Sure thing, thanks again for your assistance.

22:40 [*****]: Not a prob

Flintlocke vs The Horde

2008-09-03T10:57:00.003-06:00

Flintlocke, the World of Warcraft comic, has returned.

The new comic is called "Flintlocke vs. The Horde".

You can check it out here.

Darkfall Online Beta and Gameplay Trailer

2008-08-29T15:14:00.002-06:00

I've been following Darkfall Online MMO development for a while, it looks incredible.

A compiled list of features is available here and here.

They are allowing for beta signup today, and they released six gameplay trailers.

Beta Signup is available here.

Gameplay Trailers are available here.

More information about Darkfall Online is available here.

Lets hope that I get in, I would love to post more about this game!

Sawed Off USB Key

2008-08-27T16:49:00.004-06:00

What happened to this USB cable?

Nothing, it's a USB flash drive!

With these instructions, you can make your USB flash drive look like a cable that was involved in a tragic accident.

Instructions are available here.

Did you lose your Windows CD Key?

2008-08-18T11:39:00.003-06:00

Have you ever lost your CD key, but you have Windows installed?

Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder is a freeware open source utility that retrieves your Product Key.

It works on Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003, Server 2008, Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007 family of products.

There are also community additions that allow for you to retrieve keys from other products.

More information about the Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder is available here.

World Of Warcraft - Flintlocke is returning September 1st 2008!

2008-08-12T12:31:00.004-06:00

If you remember, in April 2007, I added a post that said "Flintlocke" has been cancelled.

So, it seems that the lovable World of Warcraft comic "Flintlocke" is returning!

New comic will be available here as of September 1st 2008!