Hardware keyboard support, send to a Wii friend are key features of new
release

Oslo, Norway and Tokyo, Japan - October 10, 2007

Opera today announced
Nintendo has started distributing the much-anticipated new version of the
Internet Channel for Nintendo Wii. The Internet Channel now features
new ways to share, communicate and enjoy the Internet Channel by adding
support for a USB keyboard and enhanced ways to communicate with your Wii
friends.

Hardware support for any USB keyboard makes typing both easier and faster.
Simply plug any standard USB keyboard into one of the two USB ports on
your Nintendo Wii and you are ready to write email, compose blog posts,
comment in forums and much more. Also making text input more comfortable
are several new keyboard-specific shortcuts to be used with the existing
soft keyboard, such as using the “B” button on the Wii remote as a “Shift”
button.

“We believe this new version of the Internet Channel is even more engaging
and delightful for the users around the world than its predecessor,” says
Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera. “Nintendo has always brought a new
perspective, fresh ideas and unwavering enthusiasm to our partnership. And
today, our combined efforts have given users more reasons to be excited.”

Send to a friend enables you to send links to your favorite Web sites - or
the one you are currently browsing - to your Wii friends whom you have
added in your Wii. You can also add a message to send along with the link.
When your Wii friend opens the message, they can immediately visit the
page in the Internet Channel.

The new Internet Channel for Nintendo Wii carries additional usability
improvements. Users can now copy information from a Web page and paste it
directly into the search field. Users may also store nine more favorites,
bringing the total to 56. Visit the Wii Shop Channel to download the new
Internet Channel today.

For Web Developers

The Nintendo Wii also embraces Web content and applications in a
revolutionary new way with the debut of Widget View Mode in the Internet
Channel. By surfing to widgets.opera.com users can browse Opera’s
collection of community-built, Opera-tested Web applications immediately
ready to run on the Nintendo Wii Internet Channel.

Widgets available now include calendars, news readers, Internet radios and
other fun applications. Users of Opera’s desktop browser will immediately
recognize their favorite widgets on this new platform. Web developers can
publish widgets on Opera’s website to make them available to Wii users.
For more information on creating widgets, please visit widgets.opera.com

Availability

The Opera powered “Internet Channel” is available as a free upgrade for
existing Internet Channel subscribers. For people wishing to subscribe,
the Internet Channel can be purchased from the Wii Shop Channel menu for
500 Wii points.

A scan from the May issue of Game Informer With info about the upcoming Wii Keyboard ?

More About: Wii Keyboard

Mario from Quasimondo.com has found a method to get the Flash-plugin to detect the Wiimote buttons.

Now how does this work? Since all direct Javascript to Flash communication is either impossible or too slow I’m using an indirect method: I use the Stage.onResize event of one Flash file as a trigger and communication device. When a keypress is received by the Opera browser I scale the layer which contains a sender swf to a width that is equal to the detected key code. This triggers a resize event inside the sender swf which reads out its new width and sends that number via LocalConnection to the main swf. There it is processed by a Wiimote class which can then be similary used like a Key object.

Some things to be noted:
- in order to get the full 800 x 500 size for the main Flash file I put the sender swf and the receiver swf into two absolute positioned layers. Unfortunately the Opera browser uses the Wiimote’s navigation keys also for navigating inside the html page and thus interferes with the flash file by highlighting the object with the keyboard focus with a black outline. And it looks like the browser does not respect the z-index of the layers here so the outline of the supposedly hidden sender swf gets visible. I have not yet found a way how to at least tint the outline in a less visible color or hide it completely via CSS - maybe someone else finds a solution for that.

- The Wii browser includes a very nasty feature: Flash files that are not inside the visible screen area or are on a hidden layer do not work at all - they get deactivated. Which means it’s not possible to simply put the sender swf on an invisible layer.

- When you point the Wiimote to the screen and the mouse pointer gets visible the behaviour of the page changes: keypresses are not registered anymore and only the “A” button gets directed to the flash file, but in a very slow and unpredictable way. So if you want reliable control do not point the mouse to the screen. In games it would probably be a good idea to trigger a pause when the mouse appears.

- I don’t know if that is a problem with the LocalConnection or with the browser’s internal key detection, but it looks like sometimes some key events get lost which means that a keyDown event is detected, but the keyUp for the same key doesn’t fire. Of course that’s not ideal.

Full Article

Now you can use your Nintendo Wii Remote (Wiimote) to control PC games (or emulated games)! Also new in this version is support for TrackIR, FakeSpace Pinch Gloves, and Concept 2 Rowing machines. And it still supports the full range of other input devices added in the last couple of versions.

Control Games with Gestures, Speech, and Other Input Devices!
With GlovePIE you can now play any game, or control any software or MIDI devices, using whatever controls you want. This includes joysticks, gamepads, mice, keyboards, MIDI input devices, HMDs, Wiimotes, trackers, and of course, Virtual Reality gloves!
NEW! Wiimote Support!
Now you can use your Nintendo Wii Remote (Wiimote) to control PC games (or emulated games)! Also new in this version is support for TrackIR, FakeSpace Pinch Gloves, and Concept 2 Rowing machines. And it still supports the full range of other input devices added in the last couple of versions.
About GlovePIE

GlovePIE stands for Glove Programmable Input Emulator. It doesn’t have to be used with VR Gloves, but it was originally started as a system for emulating Joystick and Keyboard Input using the Essential Reality P5 Glove. Now it supports emulating all kinds of input, using all kinds of devices, including Polhemus, Intersense, Ascension, WorldViz, 5DT, and eMagin products. It can also control MIDI or OSC output.

GlovePIE

More About: Nintendo, Wii, Wiimote, PC games

This is an excerpt from the Review of the wii game Call Of Duty 3 by Advance Media Network

Call of Duty 3 - Call of Duty 3, while at times falling short of its sibling versions on other platforms, provides a compelling gameplay experience on the Wii. The controls are not perfect, but they do prove that a nearly pixel-perfect “mouse-and-keyboard” configuration can work on the Wii. After readjusting to the small amount of movement really required, players will be able to move capably through the game and often will be able to accomplish actions more quickly and accurately than a traditional gamepad could ever allow. Aside from the controls, the game itself is a worthy successor in a franchise cherished by many gamers. The presentation is as well done as ever, really throwing gamers into the heart of the war, and the musical score is first class. While the lack of multiplayer, surround sound and a “boot camp” extended training mode are sorely missed, Call of Duty 3 on the Wii should not be missed by any gamer that enjoys shooters and does not own a competing next-gen system.

Full Review

More About: wii game, Call Of Duty 3