Rum & Dal

The R4 looks like a simple piece of plastic. It is just a couple of centimeters square, a few millimeters thick and unbelievably easy to use. For Nintendo it is the Christmas stocking filler from hell.  In the hands of the 35 million DS users around the world the R4 chip has the potential to deal a heavy financial blow to Nintendo and to the dozens of software developers that make games for the machine

Nintendo is Japan’s third most valuable listed company with a stock market value of more than $85 billion (£41 billion) and revenues of $7.8 billion in 2006. The R4’s function is simple: it is a direct conduit for illegal game downloads and other unofficial software. Built to fit into the DS’s existing game cartridge slot, the R4 will transfer on to the console anything saved on a removable flash memory chip.

Most DS games appear on the internet and are ready for downloading within a few days of the legitimate version going on sale. Video’s on youtube.com offer first-time users of the R4 an easy-to-follow tutorial in making the device work. Salesmen even quietly suggest visiting youtube.com rather than attempting to decipher its Chinese instructions.  Just search for R4 tutorial.  Learn more about the R4 Chip

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Well this will be our final New Year in the UK for a while. We’ve had loads of fun while we have been here and hope to make it up to you all when you come to visit us.

Thanks to Beena (the hostess with the mostest) for the Stevenage party, it was a blast for those of us that made the effort. Unfortunately Johnson kept being dealt the lowest card and continued to neck shots all night, he was out for the count before we knew it. Camera lady, Dee, got plenty of pics and video footage which we will be adding to the website soon.  Glad Mandy made it and really let her hair down.  There was so much alcohol that there was enough for a baaraat and Mukhtar was having two cans at a time!  Good to see you all again.

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Thanks to Facebook I have been able to get in touch with some school friends that I have not seen or heard from in about ten years.  I even managed to hook up with a couple while we were in the UK.  Vicki and Rav, it was really good to see you both and to catch up.

Vicki, I am very hopeful that you will be a neighbour of mine very soon.  More so just to play Guitar Hero with you and Ben, who I haven’t even met yet.  Speaking of GH, I got the family hooked on it before I left :)  Bring on Rock Band.  Seriously speaking though, get that application completed as soon as possible.

Rav, sorry the time we had was so short but it was good to see you so full of confidence.  It’s not how I remembered you from school but good to see.  Hopefully see you in Oz on your hols again and you can teach me how to Surf.

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