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Updates: August 2000
iMAME: MAME for iPAQ - new version!
[ Tuesday, August 29 ]
Newly updated with a new name, snazzy new logo and a brand new site to host it, check out the iMAME Home Page for version 3 of iMAME, the iPAQ MAMECE port, which now supports five games.
4 new Pocket PC games on the way!
[ Tuesday, August 29 ]
What's the link between a war strategy game, a space-based board game, a memory game and a Star Trek trivia game? Answer: They're all being developed for the Pocket PC by Johnathon Harbour's Pick Pocket Games (no website available), as revealed in the Pocket PC newsgroup. You can read the contents of the post in this thread on the PocketGames forum.
Games e-group created
[ Tuesday, August 29 ]
Johnathon Harbour has created a Pocket PC games e-group which, although its main purpose will be to discuss game development and programming, will welcome general games-related discussion. Anyone can become a member, and discussion will not be moderated.
Pocket PC Pipe Puzzler
[ Monday, August 28 ]
New on Scott's CE Applications page is a Pocket PC version of Puzzle of Pipes, "a cross between the classic game Pipe Dreams and those sliding picture puzzle games".
Pocketnow.com reviews MazeCraze
[ Sunday, August 27 ]
Pocketnow.com have a fairly brief but (in my view) accurate review of MazeCraze, the Pac-Man clone from Field Software.
Want an RPG?
[ Saturday, August 26 ]
A developer is considering writing an adventure/RPG game for the Pocket PC and is looking to gauge the level of interest in such a project. You can submit your vote, and let him know your thoughts at the voting page.
EM-500 review
[ Thursday, August 24 ]
Dale Coffing's Pocket PC Page has a review by Brandon Nelson of Casio's EM-500, which could well be the new gamer's Pocket PC of choice, offering a 65K colour screen, built-in joypad (with no button problems noticed as yet!), 150 MHz processor, replaceable battery and relatively small size.
Downsides include the lack of a CF (Compact Flash) slot, and the fact that the screen is not as easy to read outside as that of the iPAQ. Another small issue is that currently Jimmy Software's games are reported not to work with the EM-500, although this issue will presumably be resolved soon. Fun Pack owners should download the GAPI update from the Developer Downloads page to be able to run Pac-Man on the EM-500.
Game Boy Advance info!
[ Thursday, August 24 ]
Nintendo have disclosed information on their latest portable gaming machine, the Game Boy Advance. With a 20-hour battery life, 65K colour screen, backwards compatibility with older Game Boy cartridges and its small size, the Game Boy Advance should be another best-seller in the Game Boy line. Only problem is, it's not coming out until 2001!
For more information on the Game Boy Advance as well as the games to come, take a look at this news page at GameSpot. Kudos to Ieraseu who spotted this link, and posted it in this thread at Brighthand.
iPAQ overclocking details
[ Thursday, August 24 ]
Jimmy Software have put up a new page providing information on their method of overclocking the iPAQ. The main points to note are that it is not a one-time operation (i.e. overclocking will only occur when a piece of software issues the necessary instruction; at all other times, the iPAQ will run at its default 206 MHz speed), and that whilst the chip speed is overclocked, power drain increases by about 8%.
New Pocket PC Tetris game!
[ Thursday, August 24 ]
Resco Software have just released a new Tetris clone, Resco Retris, for the Pocket PC.
Space Treker Pocket PC beta
[ Thursday, August 24 ]
The Pocket PC version of Space Treker is approaching completion (to be released August at a price of US$20), and my thanks go to Seth Bilodeau for pointing out that a beta version is now available to download.
iPAQ has Specs in its sights!
[ Wednesday, 23 August ]
Although iPAQ owners can run the HPC/Pro ARM version of Palmtop Software's Spectrum Emulator, it currently won't accept any input, so it's a case of look but don't touch! However, as gazcart reveals in this thread at Brighthand, an iPAQ-compatible version is in the works!
A new gem from Jimmy Software!
[ Wednesday, 23 August ]
New from Jimmy Software is JS Fun Pack 4, a collection of puzzle/arcade-style titles for the Pocket PC with a very definite emphasis on crystals!
New ICBM launched!
[ Wednesday, 23 August ]
There's a new release of the popular (and excellent!) freeware Missile Command Clone, ICBM, which in addition to various enhancements, now offers Pocket PC-specific versions.
WiredGuy.com reviews Fun2Link & Bubble Blaster
[ Wednesday, 23 August ]
WiredGuy.com has recently added a couple of interesting reviews (albeit brief ones) looking at ZIO Interactive's Fun2Link and BubbleBlaster.
Trailers to go!
[ Wednesday, 23 August ]
A new site, PocketMovies.net, is now up and running, offering a good-sized selection of movie trailers which you can watch on your Pocket PC using PocketTV.
Lots more Gigabar skins!
[ Wednesday, 23 August ]
Thanks to Joseph Burchfield for letting me know about Neil's Gigabar skins and wallpapers site which, as its name suggests, offers lots of skins and wallpapers for Gigabar. The vast majority follow a Sci-Fi theme, and all are of excellent quality.
Jimmy Software: Major iPAQ News!
[ Tuesday, 22 August ]
The iPAQ's button problem is impossible to solve through software alone, according to Jimmy Software, who provide all the details on this page. It's not all bad news, however, as they also reveal that they have found a way to "overclock" the iPAQ to run it at 236 MHz. What's more, they proudly declare that their "next generation games will be a new milestone for the industry!!!". Interesting times ahead, it seems...
MAMECE on iPAQ... sort of!
[ Tuesday, 22 August ]
Gandalf recently announced the porting of an early version of MAMECE to the iPAQ. Despite only currently supporting two games, it's still worth the download, which you can find at this site.
400 MHz iPAQ soon?
[ Tuesday, 22 August ]
As if the iPAQ wasn't fast enough at 206 MHz (or 236!), Kenneth Yu recently posted an interesting link on the Pocket PC newsgroup to an article on a new 400 MHz StrongARM processor which could well find its way into the next generation iPAQ.
PocketDOS now iPAQ compatible
[ Monday, 21 August ]
The DOS emulator, PocketDOS is now compatible with the iPAQ. PocketDOS opens up the possibility of playing old DOS games, although they must either be able to run in text-only mode or be compatible with the CGA (Colour Graphics Adaptor) graphics mode; newer games which only use EGA, VGA or SVGA modes will not be compatible. For an idea of what games should run (and there are quite a few!), a good site to consult is The Fun! Factory, a site dedicated to games which run on the now discontinued DOS-based HP 95/100/200 LX palmtops (which is more or less what PocketDOS actually emulates - indeed, the LX's custom display modes are catered for). Although currently static, the site should hopefully be under new management soon and provides a useful reference, albeit with only a limited number of downloads.
DOS is not just good for games, of course. There are literally thousands (probably millions) of useful, and often free, DOS programs out there, a large selection of which can be found at S.U.P.E.R. (standing for "Simply Unbeatable Palmtop Essentials Repository" which, if your palmtop happens to be a 95/100/200 LX, is no idle boast).
MAMECE update hits snag
[ Monday, 21 August ]
Techmaster's unofficial MAMECE port has been delayed by a bug, as detailed in this post on the MAMECE messageboard.
Games Index: Pricing information added
[ Sunday, 20 August ]
The Games Index pages have been revamped, with the most notable change being the addition of pricing information for each game. For more information, see this note in the PocketGames forum.
PocketLinux
[ Sunday, 20 August ]
An interesting link was spotted by Paul Borowicz on the Pocket PC newsgroup, namely that of Transvirtual's PocketLinux information page. As the name implies, PocketLinux is a PDA-optimised version of Linux, which Transvirtual are demonstrating running on an iPAQ.
C64 emulator for iPAQ soon!
[ Sunday, 20 August ]
Domenico Dato, the author of the Windows CE port of Come Back 64, the Commodore 64 emulator, recently posted a message on the Come Back 64 messageboard that he had recently succeeded in winning an eBay auction for an iPAQ and would start coding the iPAQ version of CB64 as soon as he received the device.
Jumble shuffles into view!
[ Sunday, 20 August ]
How does a free classic puzzle game for your Pocket PC sound? Don't miss the release of Jumble, a freeware sliding tiles game from TangCode. For those who installed the pre-release version, it is recommended that you upgrade to the release version.
No Doom or Turjah for the iPAQ... yet
[ Saturday, 19 August ]
Two questions that seem to be on every iPAQ owner's lips... One, where's Doom? Two, where's Turjah? The answer to both, as detailed in this thread by Jimmy, is that Jimmy Software are currently focusing all their efforts on solving the now-infamous button problem which would render the two games virtually unplayable on the iPAQ.
Banners that are out of this world!
[ Friday, 18 August ]
Thanks to Fred Block for telling me about his space-related Today banners site, well worth a visit for the many beautiful images on offer.
Jimmy Software updates
[ Friday, 18 August ]
Jimmy Software have updated many of their offerings; check to see what's changed by consulting the table on the front page.
Cyber Man CE 2.0
[ Friday, 18 August ]
Hardcover Entertainment Software have released Cyber Man CE 2.0 for the palm-sized PC, featuring "3D rendered color graphics" and "all new intro soundtrack and sound effects". Unfortunately, despite looking a great game, what isn't clear is just what devices it will actually run on. I can confirm that it wouldn't run on my iPAQ, despite a seemingly successful installation. For more detailed information, check out the press release (as mailed to me).
Fun Pack: Update from MS
[ Saturday, 12 August ]
The following message regarding Microsoft's Fun Pack for the Pocket PC was recently posted in the Pocket PC newsgroup:
The Fun Pac team (OK OK it's just one guy..) asked me to post this message
Fun Pack shipping will be delayed until August 21st in order to update Pac Man to work with the new all Casio Pocket PCs (current E115 plus new models coming soon). If you have already received a Fun Pack to use with a Casio Pocket PC, please visit on August 21 and look for the Fun Pack/Casio update.
There have also been reports of blank CF Cards in Fun Packs. If you have this problem, please run the CF Restore process from the How To section of the Fun Pack CD. If you still have questions, please call Microsoft at 800-816-8774
Thanks,
Derek
Microsoft
Watch this!
[ Thursday, 10 August ]
PDAfrance.com recently showcased a few interesting graphical-related items. The first was a story that Sony had teamed up with Iconixx to provide movie trailers on PDA's, and recently demonstrated the trailer from the recently-released Hollow Man on the E-115.
Next new partnership to get a mention were new buddies Warner Bros. and PacketVideo, who plan to offer original cartoon content along with trailers and promos to PDA owners. There's plenty more, all of which you can read about in the press release.
And finally, how about a 3D browser for your Pocket PC? That's what ParallelGraphics are promising with this press release announcing "Cortona CE, the first ever 3D VRML browser for Windows CE based devices".
Read this!
[ Wednesday, 9 August ]
You'll probably be aware by now that Reader on the Pocket PC might need patching shortly to work with future commercially available titles. In the meantime, however, there's plenty of free ebooks available, including a new offering, the University of Virginia's ebook Library, who are converting 1200 titles into the .lit format. (Thanks to mmd for pointing this one out in this post at Brighthand). Another site well worth a visit is the Reader eBooks Directory at CEWindows.NET, currently offering over 350 titles.
Sleeveless in Seattle
[ Tuesday, 8 August ]
While many iPAQ owners are still waiting patiently (or otherwise!) for their Compact Flash and/or PC Card sleeve to show up, Compaq Germany are proudly showing off a whole host of sleeve concepts. Simply click the "Jackets" button and be sure to have that German dictionary handy!
EM-500 out?
[ Tuesday, 8 August ]
There's an interesting post at Brighthand hinting that Casio's EM-500 is now available to buy. Should someone from Casio be reading, I will of course be only too happy to review a sample device... ;-)
Crosswords on your Pocket PC!
[ Monday, 7 August ]
Crosswords fans can take heart in the fact that two new Crosswords programs have recently been released for the Pocket PC. The first is Mystery Crosswords PPC, a self-contained $15 offering from Puzzle Express. The second is a freeware title, CrossWord, which allows you to "play crossword puzzles from the N.Y. Times and other web sites".
ZIOGolf: $10 off!
[ Monday, 7 August ]
If you're thinking of purchasing ZIOGolf, now might be as good a time as any because ZIO Interactive are currently offering customers a $10 mail-in rebate (PDF format). The only snag is that the offer is only valid in the US and Canada; I'm sure I've heard that somewhere before...
Sprechen Sie Spiele?
[ Monday, 7 August ]
There's a new Pocket PC games site on the map, PocketPC-Spiele.de, with the slight twist being that it's in German so, wenn Sie Deutsch sprechen (I hope that's right!), be sure to take a look! Thanks to its author, Michael Heinz, for telling me of its creation.
Play Music!
[ Monday, 7 August ]
Thanks to Wynn Rujiraviriyapinyo for letting me know that Flux have now made a demo version of their unique title, Palm Music Box, available to download. Unfortunately, as with their other offering, Power Grip, there's no iPAQ-friendly StrongARM version as yet.
More new PocketPop skins!
[ Sunday, 6 August ]
PocketPop, the colourful (and not to mention popular!) puzzler by the folks at PocketFun.co.uk, have some more user-submitted skins on offer to liven up your game.
MAME for iPAQ? Yes, yes!
[ Sunday, 6 August ]
There seems to be double the chance of iPAQ owners seeing the MAME emulator, MAMECE, on their device, following the purchase of an iPAQ by Techmaster, who has made available his own unofficial version (which, like the official version, currently does not support the iPAQ's StrongARM processor).
In related news, check out this post on the MAMECE messageboard by Larry Bank, the author of the Pac Man game found in Microsoft's Fun Pack, which seems to imply that plenty more will be seen of his own MAME emulator, HiveCE.
Jimmy: Talk amongst yourselves!
[ Sunday, 6 August ]
Jimmy Software have opened a new discussion forum, which includes the following areas:
JimmyARK2: upgraded & iPAQ-ready!
[ Wednesday, 2 August ]
Jimmy Software have released version 2.3 of their Breakout clone, JimmyARK2, supporting the Cassioepeia and iPAQ. As well as fixing sound bugs associated with the German E-115, it now offers stylus control and 101 levels.
Current owners of JimmyARK2 owners are eligible for a free upgrade and should e-mail Jimmy to find out the password (which has had to be changed due to a heavy piracy problem, unfortunately).
Incidentally, apologies for the lack of recent updates (and slow replies to e-mails) but I'm away from my regular computer at the moment and, due to a slight technical hitch with my notebook PC, currently have very limited Internet access. Regular service will be resumed from the start of next week.
Flux bowled over!
[ Wednesday, 2 August ]
Thanks to Adam Cheong for pointing out that the demo version of Power Grip, a ten-pin bowling game from Flux for palm-sized PC's and Pocket PC's (although there is currently no version compiled for the iPAQ's StrongARM processor), is now available to download.
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