Nintendo Wii Updates Are A Secret

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UPDATE (11/12/2007): A reader going by "mark" left a comment below providing a link to a Nintendo page that provides update information on patches: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wii/en_na/systemMenuFeatures.jsp Thanks for the info mark!
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I love my Wii. I think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I think it will eventually be better than sliced bread once they develop BreadSlicer for the Wii.

I have an issue though. I would like to know what the patches are modifying in the system that I bought. Since the Nintendo website is rather sparse when it comes to useful information, I filled out the request for information form on the site.

Is there a web site that I go to where I can view what each of the updates for the Wii does?
I'd like to see a specific list of features modified by each patch.

Thanks in advance

Approximately 5 days later I get the following automated response with no useful information and a reminder not to kill anybody with the wiimote.

Hello and thank you for contacting Nintendo,

Normally, we would be able to provide a specific answer for you. However, the overwhelming response to our new console has been such that doing so would mean waiting several days to hear back from us.

Having said that, I am confident that the answer to your question can be found on our Wii-dedicated website (http://wii.nintendo.com), which contains all of our official information and announcements regarding the system.

You will also find a wealth of information regarding Wii set-up, troubleshooting, and how-to's on our new Wii Support Website (http://support.nintendo.com). If you have visited both of these websites, I encourage you to keep checking back as we are regularly updating them with new information.

If you are still unable to find an answer to your question, you're welcome to reply to this message. We will try to get you a more specific response in a timely fashion although--as I alluded to above--it may take a while. If you do reply to this message, please be sure to include your original request and this response.

One more thing, please check out our important safety information for playing Wii on the following web page:

http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/wiiplay.jsp

On behalf of Nintendo, I appreciate your patience and understanding.

Thank you for your e-mail.

Nintendo of America Inc.
Nintendo Employee's Name

Nintendo's home page: http://www.nintendo.com/
Power Line (Automated Product Info): (425) 885-7529

I follow up that reply stating that the response was useless and 17 days later I get the following message:

Hello,

At this time no such list is available to the public.

Sincerely,
Nintendo of America Inc.
Another Nintendo Employee's Name

Nintendo's home page: http://www.nintendo.com/
Power Line (Automated Product Info): (425) 885-7529

I guess maybe they're right... I just don't deserve to know what they're doing to my $250 toy.

I've always been a supporter of the big N. I hope they make this information public soon.

P.S. If any Nintendo people are reading this... how about some MegaMan love for the Virtual Console.

Common Corrections

MB != Mb != mb


MB = Mega Byte = 1,048,576 Bytes = 8,388,608 bits

Mb = Mega Bit = 1,000,000 bits = 125,000 Bytes

mb = Milli Bit = Nonsensible. You can't have fractions of of a binary digit.



They're != Their != There


They're = They are (They're here.)

Their = Implies Ownwership (Their car is blue.)

There = Location (Tom is there.)



It's != Its


It's = It is (It's cold outside.)

Its = Implies Ownership (The tiger belongs in its cage.)

New Years Updates

It's the start of a new year and that means a time of introspection and planning.

Most people use this time to review what they've done and how they've been treated and make adjustments to get to where they've like to be. I'm no better than anybody else, so I'll do the same.

My first realization is that this sort of activity should be done more than once a year... maybe monthly or quarterly. Maybe some random interval not tied to the rotation of the Earth around the Sun.

I've been exceedingly lazy this past year, yet somehow I've managed to obtain a good paying job at a good company with good co-workers. Now it's time to excel at my job and earn the recognition that I deserve. That sounds very conceited, but it needs to. If I don't think highly of myself then nobody else will either.

Now that I've obtained a good job, it's time to put more time and effort into all those things that I've neglected in the past. All those things that I said I needed to get a good paying stable job to start working on.

I spent all of high school weighing 145lbs (65.7kg). At college I jumped to 165lbs (74.8). Now I have become a fat man. Well, much fatter that I've ever been, 224lbs (101.6 kg). This situation needs to be remedied. I've begun a mild diet of simply cutting out calories and I've lost 5lbs so far. Not bad, but progress has slowed, partly due to the holidays and partly due to my laziness.

Mild exercise alone will not get me into the shape I want to be in. I need to begin exercising. As a matter of fact, I want to join a gym where I can lift weights. I've decided that I want to get jacked. I have the weight needed to build muscle, weight I've never had before, now I just need to start building it.

I am a smart man. er... I used to be a smart man. I have done very little programming in the past year. This situation needs to be rectified. Part of the problem, well part of my excuse, is that I'm not very creative when it comes to developing ideas for new programs. Now, I have tons of ideas and it's time to act.

In this area, I really have to credit Lord Omlette for being a huge inspiration. In addition to randomly opening my eyes to new things that can be helpful and new ideas and programming languages (Haskell for instance), his work and tales of woe in PhD land are also inspiration.

There are also alot of activities I'd like to start doing outside the computer world. I'd like to start camping again... going on day hikes... canoeing. Get back into snowboarding some more. Give my scuba diving license some use! Maybe even find some new things to do.

I'd also like to do some travelling. I've been to a few places, but not as much as I'd like. And not necessarily out of the country, but that could be fun too. I have to get my passport first though. I'd just like to go around and gain some new life experiences. I think that's really the allure of travel for most people.

With all these new things I'd like to do it doesn't seem like I'll have much leisure time, but gaming is something that's definately on my to-do-more list. It's not really a time killer for me. I wouldn't play a game if I didn't feel that I wanted to. Games are more of an escape for me. A chance to do things I don't normally do and to have new experiences. Most of the games I play are online games and give me a chance to interact with different people all over the world. That's exciting and fun to me.

My job is good, the money I make is good. Now to make more. Does that sound a bit greedy? I guess it does. I've got bills to pay and most of my money goes to paying bills with some left for wasting and eating food. I wouldn't mind a bit of extra cash to help fund the other things I want to do.

I can make webpages, I can do some programming and general computer stuff. If you want stuff done please contact me. :)

Over the past year I've spent most of my time selfishly. I haven't been around for my friends as much as I should be. Whether I've been home or at Rutgers or elsewhere, I've focused much of my time on myself. In effect, I feel that I've neglected most everybody important in my life and for that I am sorry. I have some of the greatest friends in the world and they deserve much better. Friends... Family... and even The Greek. That last one might sound suprising to alot of people... even myself, but I feel that I haven't been all that I should be.

My last acknowledgment is to be happy with myself. Alot could be said about this, but I'll just leave it at that. I recommend this be on everybody's to-do-more list.