Internet Channel

One Thing Right, One Thing Wrong: Nintendo Edition

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This week I’m going to introduce a new segment on vl. Called “One Thing Right, One Thing Wrong,” I’m going to talk about about two things, one good, one bad, that a respective console maker has going for with their current generation console. And to start it all off, I decided to go with fanboy heaven, Nintendo and its Wii system.
Wii: next-gen home for Channel surfing.

First, the good news. In keeping with this whole “non-gamer” kick that Nintendo’s been on, they’ve implemented the now-famous Channel system with the Wii. Essentially, you have upwards of 48 “channels” that can be viewed on the Wii’s main menu, be it specialty programs like the “Everybody Votes” channel, or full-fledged games from the Virtual Console service. And with the ability to add new channels when they are released, the Wii is poised to give consumers new ways to have fun with their console. →  Read the rest

Wii Have Internet. (Update 1)

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Nintendo is on a roll with these Wii updates. Hot on the heels of the Weather Channel release, the Big N has seen it fit to give their fans another reason to patiently wait while Mario collects coins on the bottom of the screen. Yes, that means the Internet Channel has been set free.

Although it’s only a trial version, it gets the job done in an admirable fashion. You’ll be surfing the net in no time, all in the confines of your dark, dank dungeon of sinful pleasure. But (there’s always a “but” with Nintendo nowadays) it’s definitely far from perfect.

First, there’s no javascript or quicktime, so forget about watching movie trailers on Apple’s site. We do get Flash, though, which means Youtube is a go, but there are reports that EU users are having problems with the site. →  Read the rest

The Wii’s “horsepower”

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While rummaging through the ol’ Interweb tonight, I somehow got onto Wii’s official site and came across a whole slew of new videos that were posted yesterday. Most of them show people trying out the Wii for the first time, and they actually look like they’re having fun. Never mind the fact that they get paid to play with something we’re all dying for.

But what really interested me were some new videos for the Wii Channels. I’ll detail a few of them here:

The Internet Channel was finally unveiled, and I have to say it’s looking pretty snazzy. They pulled up Google and searched in a couple shots, and the browser, which is based on Opera by the way, ran fairly smoothly. They were using a widescreen TV, but the browser was formatted to a 4:3 ratio. →  Read the rest