Source:
1up.com
Quote:<b>Forecast Channel Arrives, Internet Coming Friday</b>
<i>Browsing is free for now, costs 500 points next year.</i>
by Patrick Klepek, 12/19/2006
68 of 68 users recommend this story.
Both the Forecast Channel and Internet Channel were expected to be day-and-date features with Wii's launch, but Nintendo failed to deliver and has been a awkward and coy about confirming release dates for either. But the mystery is over, as today the Forecast Channel was launched as a free download and Internet Channel, complete with an Opera-based browser, hits on Friday.
Internet Channel, however, is only free until June. The ensuing months will be a beta test for the browsing software, and while the full version arrives in March, Nintendo apparently won't be asking for 500 Wii Points ($5.00 USD) until June. Will people bite?
So we get to try it for 6 months, then decide if we want to pay for it. Really, we're getting in on the beta, as it says. This wasn't supposed to LAUNCH until June, was my understanding.
Well, two days away, who will be the 1st to post at TC from their Wii??
Quote:Well, two days away, who will be the 1st to post at TC from their Wii??
I'm going to stay up until midnight so that I can be the first!
By the way, Forecast Channel launched yesterday.
Yeah, the article is <i>from</i> yesterday :D.
Woo! Low resolution extremely awkward web browsing for all!
Now you can browse the internet just like ABF!
He's using a wireless remote on his PC? But no, it's not that bad at all, he's using like TWICE the resomalutions :D. Though, from what I understand the main issue is he's got some sort of micro monitor. As I used to have a gigantic 14 inch screen some time ago, I can say that with something that small using mere 800x600 is fully understandable. The main issue is, like the rest of that machine, he's due for an upgrade. No matter though, if it works for his needs.
Here's an article on what we can expect:
http://www.skepticalgaming.com/2006/12/2...to-expect/
I can only add this. I got that weather update last night, and after noticing that the north pole is GONE, I also noticed I had to DOWNLOAD the update. Nintendo pushed a note saying it existed onto my machine while I was away, but they didn't do the obvious and get that download going while I was away. Now, I can understand letting us decide if we want to upgrade, but perhaps the best thing to do is basically pre-download it but don't actually apply it until we pick a "confirm" option when we get back? That'd work just like with the PSP. I could even just leave the patch as a selectable application in the saved data until I wanted to "run" it and upgrade. That way, if Nintendo gets into the same "homebrew blocking war" Sony is stuck in, I can keep the old just to run cheap arse Wii apps.
Quote:He's using a wireless remote on his PC? But no, it's not that bad at all, he's using like TWICE the resomalutions . Though, from what I understand the main issue is he's got some sort of micro monitor. As I used to have a gigantic 14 inch screen some time ago, I can say that with something that small using mere 800x600 is fully understandable. The main issue is, like the rest of that machine, he's due for an upgrade. No matter though, if it works for his needs.
Nope, I have a 17" CRT.
Quote:Woo! Low resolution extremely awkward web browsing for all!
With SDTV this is true, but not with HDTV I'd imagine... normal TVs are horribly fuzzy and low-resolution (making the display look worse than a PC monitor at the same resolution by far), but HDTVs are different... doesn't make up for the lack of a keyboard, though. And the fact that since you're probably much farther from the screen you'd need some pretty large fonts compared to what webpages are used to displaying/look best with...
It's not going to BE high res though ABF :D. That's the thing. At most, "ED", with clarity. The pages will still be way too "big" to surf very well.
As for the keyboard, the Wii does have USB slots, but unfortunately as of yet Nintendo has not added keyboard and mouse support. These may be added with the browser.
I'll be browsing in glorious 480p thanks to my widescreen HDTV and Wii component cables.
Aaaand so basically you'll be browsing in less resolution, lower frame rate, and less image clarity than on your PC, and it won't be as readily accessible as well? Me toooo! Haven't had this much fun since the DREAMCAST!
Now I can look at two websites AT THE SAME TIME.
You couldn't do that before? I know I can. It's called "window resizing" :D.
Quote:It's not going to BE high res though ABF . That's the thing. At most, "ED", with clarity. The pages will still be way too "big" to surf very well.
That was my point -- HDTV screens are actually clear, like PC monitors and quite unlike SDTVs...
Quote:Aaaand so basically you'll be browsing in less resolution, lower frame rate, and less image clarity than on your PC, and it won't be as readily accessible as well? Me toooo! Haven't had this much fun since the DREAMCAST!
Except this time, you get a pointer-controlled onscreen keyboard! Yay!
Well the pointer is GREAT as a substitute for a mouse, but not for the keyboard. That said, the Dreamcast had a keyboard accessory.
Your mom has a keyboard accessory.
I'm posting with my Wii right now blatent reference to my penis, and, i'm not kidding, the lube makes the space bar more interesting. I am not making a joke, I am stating a fact.
Now that's how you dominate someone in the middle of an online game. Tell them after the pawnage that the last move was performed with an artful use of genitalia. It's like metaphysically raping them, but... only in your own mind, as the other person won't really care.
Considering the fact that the Wii has USB ports on the back, I see USB Keyboards coming out for it soon.
Well it doesn't need to have it's own special keyboards. Any will do, so long as a firmware update comes out adding support.
Not so great, but still better than some recent VGCats comics...
Quote:Not so great
Are you kidding me? That was hilarious!
The artist has improved, in fact the comic looks frickin' awesome (though I think those "wispy" looking comics like the one about the GBA SP looked great too) but still can't get a cable to look right. That white line looks airbrushed in... Well, I'm sure that'll improve with time too.
Where's the NORTH POLE?! Did Santa have to move south, or set up an underwater base? Why didn't anyone tell me it was just GONE?
Quote:Are you kidding me? That was hilarious!
But the "story" of the comic is so stupid...
Story? The guy thinks he's playing a game and is mentally breaking down because he just can't figure it out. That's the story. What, literally driving someone insane isn't funny to you? Prude...
A Black Falcon Wrote:But the "story" of the comic is so stupid...
The story is hilarious...
It's standard PA stuff. That is, so stupid that it's not funny... I mean, Forecast Channel: The Game? ... why...
It's not ACTUALLY a game, he LIED to trick the guy into trying to "play" it! Now do you get it?
You see frame one sets up the premise, that you can "use it to destroy a life". So, character 1 tells character 2 it's an awesome game (when clearly it isn't). Character 2 then tries to "play" it but is losing his grip on reality because he doesn't understand how anything he does (spin the planet around and change the way the weather stats are viewed) affects anything. "Why do the numbers change?", and then to really drive him off the deep end, panel 3 has character 1 asking how he is "doing", and he responds that it's raining somewhere, and pretending that he must have "done something" to make it happen, he's like "that's bad" and character 2 is losing his mind trying to figure out what he did and how to fix it.
THAT is what is funny. It's not ACTUALLY a game even in the comic.
Of course I know that, but why would that make it funny? "Oh yay, this guy is so dumb he doesn't know weather from games! Ha ha, let's laugh at him!"
As I've said many times, stupid humor is the worst kind of humor.
What's wrong with stupid humor? Shows like Family Guy, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sea Lab 2021, Harvey Birdman, and Space Ghost are hilarious.
Not really ABF. It's more of a self deception. He's CONVINCING himself it's a game. He is refusing to even humor the idea that he may have been deceived. He... MUST... find out how to play it. It IS a game, it MUST be, but how do you play it? The missing panel is him locked in a room, "bedazzled" with formulas and strange broken logic, in a vain attempt to stitch together a method for playing it. The 5th is him somehow actually succeeding and driving the OTHER character mad with wonder as he becomes a WEATHER GOD, affecting reality. It's not "stupid humor" so much as "insanity humor", and I love that kind.
Look before you leap, but he who hesitates is lost!
I guess part of it requires you to know the characters in Penny Arcade. Tycho (in blue) takes pleasure in tormenting and destroying the souls of those around him, especially Gabe (in yellow). Gabe is, by all accounts, not too bright, and much of the comics humor draws from Tycho taking full advantage of this. This comic is a prime example. Stupid humor is the backbone of society and if you're not amused by it then I'm shocked at how long you've chosen to stay here at TC :D.
Then let me ask you this: what sort of humor DO you like, ABF? You hate everything. Smart humor like The Office? Subtle humor like Arrested Development? Direct humor like stand-up shows? Satire like The Onion? What makes you laugh? DO you laugh??
Some people collect stamps. I erode the human soul.
Quote:What's wrong with stupid humor? Shows like Family Guy, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sea Lab 2021, Harvey Birdman, and Space Ghost are hilarious.
Family Guy is a painfully, painfully horrible show way too often... Sealab was funny though, and Harvey Birdman and Aqua Teen (sometimes in each case... no show is always funny, but they were good enough anyway)...
Quote:Not really ABF. It's more of a self deception. He's CONVINCING himself it's a game. He is refusing to even humor the idea that he may have been deceived. He... MUST... find out how to play it. It IS a game, it MUST be, but how do you play it? The missing panel is him locked in a room, "bedazzled" with formulas and strange broken logic, in a vain attempt to stitch together a method for playing it. The 5th is him somehow actually succeeding and driving the OTHER character mad with wonder as he becomes a WEATHER GOD, affecting reality. It's not "stupid humor" so much as "insanity humor", and I love that kind.
That description makes it sound even stupider... :)
Quote:Then let me ask you this: what sort of humor DO you like, ABF? You hate everything. Smart humor like The Office? Subtle humor like Arrested Development? Direct humor like stand-up shows? Satire like The Onion? What makes you laugh? DO you laugh??
Sure some things are funny... and yes, sometimes "stupid humor" can be funny -- but then I think of how incredibly stupid whatever is happening is, and the "stupid is funny" thing goes away.
Humor... eh, I don't know... sitcoms fit in that 'painfully bad, even if you laugh sometimes it's so dumb that I can't say I like them' category... never seen The Office or a whole episode of Arrested Development. Don't read The Onion often, but it has sometimes been funny.
Monkey Island? That's a good choice. :) Game of course. I do like drama more though, I think, but humor certainly has its place too...
*thinks about webcomics I read regularly* Continuing stories are good. One-shot stuff is less interesting; the ones I read the most frequently are all continuing stories (often drama, but almost always with humor components as well). Stuff like that often requires context to understand though so they don't work as well for a "read this comic, isn't it funny?" thing...
You like 8 bit theater though... that's the SAME comedy, "stupid" humor. That joke wasn't even that stupid! It wasn't an anatomy joke, it was actually pretty clever. I mean you call all that stupid but it really isn't. I mean yeesh, Monkey Island is pretty much nothing but cheap gags.
I'm a posting from my Wii! It is the aweful, yay! I'm wasting good memory!
I'm gonna throw this out there, if you dont want it you can send it back and i'll willingly take it, but ABF hides down the hallway and takes peeks at his mom getting out of the shower and then abuses himself for the guilt afterwards. Total theory, but it's the direction i've chosen.
Quote:You like 8 bit theater though... that's the SAME comedy, "stupid" humor. That joke wasn't even that stupid! It wasn't an anatomy joke, it was actually pretty clever. I mean you call all that stupid but it really isn't. I mean yeesh, Monkey Island is pretty much nothing but cheap gags.
I don't read it as often as I used to (but when I do I usually read all the ones I've missed), but yeah, 8-bit Theater is good. It's usually funny and tells a continuing story... a very funny one, most of the time. :D
It's often pretty cruel, but oh well... oh, and I don't know if I'd call that "stupid humor". I mean that to me means "to find it funny your intelligence has to be somewhat insulted"... 8-bit doesn't really fit that, for the most part. ... true, it does do "wow aren't the characters stupid" jokes constantly, but they're actually almost always funny ones, and are frequently clever, whether or not the characters are stupid or not (when they believe things that are so, so obviously false, etc..)
... you know, this is called "over-analyzing humor", and that always makes it sound not funny... :(
Hmm... can I just say "I like webcomics to tell a continuing story" and call that one of PA's problems, in my opinion? :) (but yes, a similar joke in 8-bit theater would probably be funnier)
![[Image: 061221.png]](http://www.nuklearpower.com/comics/061221.png)
Now that, that is funny, and got me to laugh. :)
How is that not an example of stupid humor posted by someone who is USING HIS WII TO BROWSE THE INTERNET??!! WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
I think my eyes are broken, but I'm posting from my Wii! And I think PA can be pretty funny sometimes. I chuckled at that comic when I first read it.
Sorry, ABF, but that definitely fits into the “stupid humor” category, and know this because I AM POSTING FROM MY WII!!! BOJACKSOME!!!!111one
I did it firsts.... YAY! And now I never will again... :D It'll go about as unused as my PSP web browser, and only "about" because at least the controller makes selecting things bearable. Further, who's idea was it to use that "press this one over and over again until you get the right letter and then press this button over and over again" method of "typing" on the PSP? That's retarded! The best letter selection mode has ALWAYS been just sticking the entire alphabet right up there! Nintendo sticks with that classic method. I mean cell phones only use that stupid method because they are FORCED to, not because it's better!
I text message quite a bit on my phone, so I'm fairly used to the system it uses. A keyboard is obviously superior, but when using the pointer, I actually prefer the dialpad setup for entering information. The keyboard buttons on the Wii are too small and I end up pressing the wrong key more often than not.
To each his own, I suppose.
Well at least Nintendo gives us the option. The PSP doesn't do that. I just find the whole keypad thing retarded and it just takes far too long to "scroll" to the letter I need, and it is very annoying if I "overshoot" it.
That said, you text message? May I ask why? Is not a VOICE message inherently superior in all possible situations in perpetuity throughout the cosmos?
<img src="http://dresdencodak.com/cartoons/a_moonpalace.jpg">
Now THAT is a smart idea!
<img src="http://dresdencodak.com/cartoons/a_heisenberg.jpg">
I love this comic now!
Anyway, it seems to me that ABF's preferred comedy comes in the form of continuity. Me? I can take it or leave it.
So that said, ABF, do you find Metalocalypse or 12 Ounce Mouse hilarious? That's got continuity coming out the place where that stuff comes out of.
Quote:![[Image: a_heisenberg.jpg]](http://dresdencodak.com/cartoons/a_heisenberg.jpg)
This one is the funniest of those three... :)
![[Image: 20061220.jpg]](http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2006/20061220.jpg)