Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Adam Betts · Dec 22, 2006, 08:55 AM

Originally Posted by starman

posting from my wii

Ditto. Not a bad experience. I especially enjoyed watching YouTube videos on TV.

zerostar · Dec 22, 2006, 09:42 AM

3....more.....days....

Dakar² · Dec 22, 2006, 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by starman

posting from my wii

No wonder your post looks like a 12 year-old girl made it.

Millennium · Dec 22, 2006, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by starman

posting from my wii

I've got to say; I'm not too impressed with the Internet Channel. It gets the job done, but table-based layouts simply fall apart at 480i: the browser scales the whole table to fit the screen, and it shrinks the text along with it. The result is unreadable. CSS-based layouts probably fare better, but I haven't had the chance to put the browser through its paces there yet. I'm told it passes Acid2, though, which is a pleasant surprise.

Also, this thing really needs support for a real keyboard. I just plain type better with both of my hands on the keyboard: typing with my Wii is too much of a hunt-and-peck affair.

starman · Dec 22, 2006, 10:23 AM

Have you tried a USB keyboard yet? I've been too lazy.

ajprice · Dec 22, 2006, 11:20 AM

I like the internet channel, been playing a few flash games and watching some youtube and google video. I'd agree about the complicated table/css layouts getting messed up, it would be handy to have a usable TV guide website bookmarked, but I couldn't find one that didn't mess up the layout completely (for British TV services, not American). Oh and MacNN looked fine

.

Hawkeye_a · Dec 22, 2006, 12:26 PM

I just couldnt resist

icruise · Dec 22, 2006, 12:28 PM

I tried a USB keyboard a while ago on the Wii and it didn't work, so unless they secretly enabled it with one of the updates, it won't work.

Dakar² · Dec 22, 2006, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

I just couldnt resist

That's pretty funny. Wonder if they're 'full' or store displays.

Dark Helmet · Dec 22, 2006, 12:49 PM

Ok I have been very patient with my Wii after 2 defect ones but I am about to snap at unit #3.

When i launch the Wii browser the system seems to switch resolutions at the splash screen on its own and the whole screen becomes distorted and scrambled.

Switching the Wii menu to 480i gets around it.

This happened also a couple times during cut scenes with Zelda.

I'm gonna try to narrow the problem down some more and hook up the Wii directly to the TV avoiding the receiver. If that doesn't cut it things are going to get ugly!

starman · Dec 22, 2006, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

That's pretty funny. Wonder if they're 'full' or store displays.

They're empty. Full boxes couldn't balance like that.

Good try, Hawk. Maybe later I'll post a pic of my Wii browsing the Playstation page

Dakar² · Dec 22, 2006, 12:55 PM

Hehehe

Calimus · Dec 22, 2006, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by starman

They're empty. Full boxes couldn't balance like that.

Good try, Hawk. Maybe later I'll post a pic of my Wii browsing the Playstation page

I'm pretty sure they are real. They are the 20 gig models. Woot.com sold them all today, they said the profits will go to buy each employee a Wii.

goMac · Dec 22, 2006, 03:04 PM

Originally Posted by Millennium

I've got to say; I'm not too impressed with the Internet Channel. It gets the job done, but table-based layouts simply fall apart at 480i: the browser scales the whole table to fit the screen, and it shrinks the text along with it. The result is unreadable. CSS-based layouts probably fare better, but I haven't had the chance to put the browser through its paces there yet. I'm told it passes Acid2, though, which is a pleasant surprise.

Also, this thing really needs support for a real keyboard. I just plain type better with both of my hands on the keyboard: typing with my Wii is too much of a hunt-and-peck affair.

From what I've heard, the web browser is still in beta, and the Javascript/CSS code is still a mess due to security stuff, whatever that's about.

starman · Dec 22, 2006, 03:11 PM

Irrelevant. The Wii has now become a crappy WebTV. I worked with WebTV from the development side, and it CANNOT handle the kind of messy HTML/CSS onscreen and translate it into 480i/p cleanly.

Try looking at a page in 640x480 on a Mac 7600 running OS 8.1 and tell me how good it looks because that's about the operational equivalent of this.

OB1 · Dec 22, 2006, 03:37 PM

It's a shame that youtube video doesn't work on Wii Opera... Although some are reporting that it was working earlier in the day. Does anyone know more about this?

torsoboy · Dec 22, 2006, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

Ok I have been very patient with my Wii after 2 defect ones but I am about to snap at unit #3.

When i launch the Wii browser the system seems to switch resolutions at the splash screen on its own and the whole screen becomes distorted and scrambled.

Switching the Wii menu to 480i gets around it.

This happened also a couple times during cut scenes with Zelda.

I'm gonna try to narrow the problem down some more and hook up the Wii directly to the TV avoiding the receiver. If that doesn't cut it things are going to get ugly!

Just throw in the towel and leave it alone. Obviously the Wii hates you because you've been such an a** about it since about a year before it launched.

goMac · Dec 22, 2006, 04:02 PM

Originally Posted by OB1

It's a shame that youtube video doesn't work on Wii Opera... Although some are reporting that it was working earlier in the day. Does anyone know more about this?

Youtube works for me here. It's glitchy though, I can't get full screen working.

Gamoe · Dec 22, 2006, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by Millennium

Cool, perhaps, but I'm not sure how good it really is, to be honest. The big problem with tying in-game events to real-world conditions is just that: suddenly parts of the game are determined by things you can't control, and which tend to last for hours or even days.

I agree. It's interesting to see experiments like Animal Crossing change depending on real conditions (in AC's case, the real time) in the world outside, but one of the things I've always liked about games is how they are a contained world within with no direct connection to the outside world but the player and his actions. I like it like that.

The game world is a fictional world where you can escape and do as you wish with no real-world consequences. I liked the dynamic weather conditions in Shenmue, but they were in-game and not related to real-world conditions, so they did not adversely affect the game in any way. This is how I think this type of thing should be approached.

Originally Posted by Millennium

I've got to say; I'm not too impressed with the Internet Channel.

Count me as not impressed as well. I have no problem with using the Wii-mote to input URLs, but the display is underwhelming. I've got my Mac mini hooked up to my TV (via VGA) and the differences are stunning. Now, I didn't expect it to display as well as a full-blown personal computer, but the resolution is just too low to view properly or fully and I've found no normal page that is completely readable without zooming in. Ugh.

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

Ok I have been very patient with my Wii after 2 defect ones but I am about to snap at unit #3.

Perhaps there is a compatibility issue with your receiver. In any case, your luck with the Wii has been very odd and very bad, curiously echoing your initial and continuing attitude towards the device.

jokell82 · Dec 22, 2006, 06:23 PM

Originally Posted by starman

Irrelevant. The Wii has now become a crappy WebTV. I worked with WebTV from the development side, and it CANNOT handle the kind of messy HTML/CSS onscreen and translate it into 480i/p cleanly.

Try looking at a page in 640x480 on a Mac 7600 running OS 8.1 and tell me how good it looks because that's about the operational equivalent of this.

Actually the operational equivalent would be a late model mac running the latest version of Opera. The Wii browser passes Acid2.

The only limitation is that the resolution is 640x480.

Hawkeye_a · Dec 22, 2006, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by starman

Good try, Hawk. Maybe later I'll post a pic of my Wii browsing the Playstation page

You do that, and have yourself a ball. here's 50c, go buy yourself a sence of humor.

Originally Posted by torsoboy

Just throw in the towel and leave it alone. Obviously the Wii hates you because you've been such an a** about it since about a year before it launched.

I agree.... it's just karma in this case i reckon.

Also.. Internet channel get a big "Meh" from me.

Cheers

starman · Dec 22, 2006, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

You do that, and have yourself a ball. here's 50c, go buy yourself a sence of humor.

Here's your 50c back, buy a dictionary.

icruise · Dec 22, 2006, 07:11 PM

I just downloaded the Internet Channel and it's actually better than I expected, although my first attempt at loading a page (this one on Macnn) unceremoniously kicked me back to the startup page every time. Content loads quite quickly, and you can zoom in and out easily. The main problem is the resolution.

Well, actually, the main problem is that people don't really need to browse the web on their video game consoles. The PS3's browser is quite a bit better, and since it runs in HD, you can have a couple of full-sized pages on screen at once. But there's still no reason for me to want to use it. Who do these people think their audience is? Is there *anyone* who has a wireless network but doesn't have a computer available to surf on? I guess it could be used as a sort of secondary computer for someone else in the family to use if the main one is occupied or something, but I really don't see many people using these functions.

By the way, did you guys know that you can rearrange the channels on the Wii menu by "grabbing" them with the A and B buttons? It doesn't work for all of them (like the Disc and Mii Channels) but most of them can be moved. I put all of my Virtual Console games on the second page.

Dark Helmet · Dec 22, 2006, 07:12 PM

[QUOTE=Perhaps there is a compatibility issue with your receiver. In any case, your luck with the Wii has been very odd and very bad, curiously echoing your initial and continuing attitude towards the device.[/QUOTE]

Funny, I can't remember my ever complaining about the hardware quality or software bugs regarding the Wii or Nintendo BEFORE I got it.

If me thinking it should support High-Def was some sort of karma to buggy hardware and software... well whatever excuse you guys need to make it my fault go nuts.

At any rate I saw someone else with the same problem so it seems that shitty software bug testing is the problem here.

zerostar · Dec 22, 2006, 08:21 PM

I saw someone with that problem as well, I will have mine hooked up straight into my TV so I will see if I get the same problems later on...

Good luck man!

goMac · Dec 22, 2006, 09:38 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

Funny, I can't remember my ever complaining about the hardware quality or software bugs regarding the Wii or Nintendo BEFORE I got it.

I think the idea is it's funny and ironic that for all the bad things you said about the Wii you keep getting the bad units. Maybe someone at Nintendo is watching you.

Kevin · Dec 22, 2006, 10:07 PM

Nintendo is homophobic.

jokell82 · Dec 22, 2006, 10:24 PM

Originally Posted by jokell82

Actually the operational equivalent would be a late model mac running the latest version of Opera. The Wii browser passes Acid2.

The only limitation is that the resolution is 640x480.

I take that back. Apparently the resolution is 1024x500 (source).

Hawkeye_a · Dec 23, 2006, 01:34 AM

Originally Posted by starman

Here's your 50c back, buy a dictionary.

Your not worth the time, effort or 50c for me to check my spellings.

Chuckit · Dec 23, 2006, 02:33 AM

Posting this from my Wii. I cannot imagine why somebody would prefer this to a proper computer. Are there, like, people who have a Wii and wireless Internet but no computer?

By the way, Youtube works great here. Better than on my Powerbook!

Hawkeye_a · Dec 23, 2006, 02:57 AM

In all honesty, im not going to use the "internet channel", "the weather channel", etc..... im just going to dedicate the Wii to gaming and then aybe get an iTV for all the multimedia stuff.

torsoboy · Dec 23, 2006, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by jokell82

I take that back. Apparently the resolution is 1024x500 (source).

Although he says it is 1024 wide it sure doesn't seem it... he has to scroll just to see the full youtube page width.

zro · Dec 23, 2006, 01:10 PM

I dig the Forecast channel. Though the "current" conditions need to update more frequently.

The browser needs a ton of interface and usability work. Has a few bugs, too.

Calimus · Dec 23, 2006, 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by torsoboy

Although he says it is 1024 wide it sure doesn't seem it... he has to scroll just to see the full youtube page width.

It's not 1024 wide, at least if it's 480p. I can't remember the exact horizontal resolution at the moment, but the "widescreen" 480p res is something between 7-800 pixels wide.

jokell82 · Dec 23, 2006, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by Calimus

It's not 1024 wide, at least if it's 480p. I can't remember the exact horizontal resolution at the moment, but the "widescreen" 480p res is something between 7-800 pixels wide.

You forget that it's zoomed out, and that you have to zoom in on the page to get to the native resolution...

icruise · Dec 23, 2006, 05:29 PM

Someone at the Cheap Ass Gamer forums was kind enough to send me one of those $9.99 hardcover Zelda game guides for his cost + shipping and I must say, this thing is beautiful. By far the most impressive guide I've ever seen. I don't normally buy game guides, but I made an exception in this case.

Hawkeye_a · Dec 23, 2006, 06:20 PM

What is this guide i keep hearing about ? can someone post pictures or something ?

Cheers

MindFad · Dec 23, 2006, 08:23 PM

Posting from my Wii! Wiiiiiii!

icruise · Dec 23, 2006, 09:30 PM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

What is this guide i keep hearing about ? can someone post pictures or something ?

Cheers

MindFad · Dec 23, 2006, 10:51 PM

Holy crap, awesome.

Speaking of cool Zelda gear, my grandma got me an awesome 1/6th scale metal replica of the Hylian Shield and Master Sword for my birthday. It's really neat.

MattJeff · Dec 24, 2006, 12:11 AM

what games are out for the wii?

Hawkeye_a · Dec 24, 2006, 02:21 AM

Originally Posted by icruise

issss naaaaiiiceeeee !!!!! how much ???

icruise · Dec 24, 2006, 07:13 AM

$9.99 at Best Buy if you can find it. $19.79 at Amazon. $29.99 retail.

Tomchu · Dec 24, 2006, 07:23 AM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

Ok I have been very patient with my Wii after 2 defect ones but I am about to snap at unit #3.

When i launch the Wii browser the system seems to switch resolutions at the splash screen on its own and the whole screen becomes distorted and scrambled.

Switching the Wii menu to 480i gets around it.

This happened also a couple times during cut scenes with Zelda.

I'm gonna try to narrow the problem down some more and hook up the Wii directly to the TV avoiding the receiver. If that doesn't cut it things are going to get ugly!

Yeah, my first thought would have been the receiver, especially after discovering that the problem still existed with the second unit.

I have my Wii hooked up to a 50" Samsung plasma display via the HD component cables, with the Wii menu set to 480p, and I have yet to experience such a problem.

ajprice · Dec 24, 2006, 10:57 AM

My wiimote has lost its sync a couple of times, both when loading up Wii Sports. The pointer works fine in the menu, selecting Sports and pressing Start. After that it loses its connection so that any button pressed just makes the lights flash on the wiimote as if the Wii is turned off. It comes back after aiming at the sensor bar and pressing the sync buttons a few times (the first time was a mad drunken blur of pressing anything to see if it worked). I think the sequence is to press both sync buttons with the wiimote aimed at the sensor bar, let the wiimote lights flash and when they stop flashing it has re-synced. Thats the only trouble I've had with mine so far.

Question: Does the web browser look any better, sharper or easier to read when not zoomed in on a 480p setting HD display with the component cables?

JHromadka · Dec 25, 2006, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by MindFad

Holy crap, awesome.

Speaking of cool Zelda gear, my grandma got me an awesome 1/6th scale metal replica of the Hylian Shield and Master Sword for my birthday. It's really neat.

Wow where can you get that?

Finished Zelda TP on Saturday. Such a great game.

icruise · Dec 25, 2006, 09:54 PM

They're exclusive to Target. If your store still has any, they should be on clearance.

starman · Dec 25, 2006, 10:02 PM

Wii had a wriststrap break. My brother in law was playing tennis and SNAP, right into the Christmas tree.

TETENAL · Dec 25, 2006, 10:15 PM

Old or new wrist strap?

starman · Dec 25, 2006, 10:17 PM

Old