Filed under: Gaming

We’ve already spotted a couple of TVs get taken down by flying Wiimotes due to either overzealous gameplay or a pretty weak-sauce wrist strap, although we’re leaning toward the latter. Over the last few days we’ve seen household collateral damage due to the strap either breaking entirely or slipping off those wearers who haven’t opted for some special gloves. Our latest updates include two busted straps, one of which took out reader Rafael M.’s iPAQ hx4700 (pictured) that had sat docked adjacent to the TV, but is now obviously not more. The second strap, captured on video by residents of Cambrian House in Calgary (and now immortalized on YouTube, check it out on the next page), shows that beyond the woven exterior appears to be an easily-broken, tiny cable (similar to a fishing line) that connects to the Wiimote itself. Further, a third gamer, Elliot G., told us that his Wiimote came tearing off of his wrist while playing and took out a nearby beer glass (fortunately the can of Boddingtons appears to have been spared, as shown after the jump). So guys: until Nintendo gets this problem fixed, or you come up with a way to reinforce that strap, please make sure your gameplay area is clear of anything valuable and breakable, such as your television.

Read - Rafael Montano

Continue reading More Wiimote-related damage, just in time for the holidays

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

We suppose it’s a bit of a stretch to call Nintendo’s DS Lite hinge problem — which according to Nintendo affects 0.02 percent of shipped units — much of a defect, but the big N has heard the cries of its users, and will now fix the problem for free. Multiple Lite-o-holics have reported a small crack on the left side of the hinge that holds the two screens together, and even our pals over at Joystiq have encountered the problem. Up until now Nintendo was charging $50 to repair the incidental damage, as it was considered outside of warranty, but now they’re changing their tune with free repairs for all. This keeps up with their track record of consumer love, which they established with the “single dead pixel” policy on the original DS. Thanks Nintendo, we love you too.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Portable Audio

If you're an owner of the late, ill-fated Olympus m:robe 500i, we're pleased to inform you that one rather obsessed fan known only as mrobe.fan has successfully cracked the firmware of your dear late device, so as to, um, re-skin the player. Yeah, that's it. Anyone wanting to add codec support, turn this thing into a portable video player, or basically do something -- anything-- to make into something useful (no offense intended to the four who were really into "remixing" photos and music) will have to continue their silent vigil over the device as the hackers continue to have their way with it. Perhaps some day soon the m:robe will actually live up to its potential, though we're sorry we can't report that being today.

[Via m.robe.org, thanks Daniel]