A new update for WiiEarth has been released by homebrew coder Paul Wagener. This Wiibrew app allows you to use your Wiimote to navigate the Earth using Google Maps and similar services. The new update adds widescreen support and some more bug fixes.


Download: WiiEarth v2.2

Google Earth, one of the more pointless but eternally fun applications out there, has just been given the Wii treatment. WiiEarth is a new program from PaulWagener and, like Google Earth, puts the world in the palm of your hands. In a Wiimote, no less.

Download: WiiEarth v2.0

 

With the release version of Opera for the Wii out, Games-Digest wanted to do a side-by-side between that and the PS3's built-in web browser. The short version of their findings is that when it comes to surfing the Web 2.0 hallmarks, the Wii does have a slight edge compared to the PS3 in some cases (it is Opera, after all), but things can, after all, change with an update.

The more concrete results:

• Games-Digest found that Google Maps and Bloglines, for example, "didn't work at all on the PS3 browser." On the other hand, a comment to that article charged that is is possible to do Bloglines ("hold down the X button on a news link and the RSS feed will open in a new window").
• The PS3 browser does have some issues formatting certain sites, or that browsing on some sites is less smooth or incomplete (e.g., Digg, Last.fm, MySpace). Both browsers also have browsing hitches with other certain sites (del.icio.us and Vox being examples, as well as Gmail).
• The PS3 seems to hold the advantage in uploading photos "and (possibly) video" vs. the Wii (Flickr).
• Both browsers performed equally well on other sites (Twitter, YouTube, eBay and Amazon).

The survey's writer also mentioned that the sites themselves could be redesigned in the future to have PS3 or Wii-specific mirrors that the browser will be redirected to. It is also quite possible, from where we sit, that firmware updates to either console could improve the browsing experience on either with a few tweaks and updates.

Besides, this is just one comparison. People will need repeated tests to get definite results.

 

After having recently announced his community-driven MMO, Dave Perry, the former Shiny Entertainment boss, has announced that he has another project for the developer community. Develop Magazine reports that over at the Game Developers Conference 2007 Dave Perry has invited everyone in the games industry to submit markers to the Google Maps powered Gameindustrymap.com.

Just so you aren't left clueless, Game Industry Map is a wiki-style Map of  of the videogame industry. The map is set to include studios, colleges, outsourcing companies, freelancers, publishers, and even the gaming press. Perry calls this self-funded project a "gift to the industry." Perry had this to say about the community-powered endeavor:

This site picks up on two fast-growing trends – community and user generated content – the videogame industry is still relatively young and we already have a great community spirit which we hope to nurture for the benefit of industry as a whole. Plus we get to show the rest of the world just how widespread we are, employing creative talent all over the planet.

The result is that it immediately becomes the most accurate information available in the world, it will grow daily, and it’s shared to all. We expect to see everyone using it, job hunters, press, gamers, college students, investors, even agencies that would like to see just how prolific this industry is.

...As the Internet has proved, businesses grow when you connect people, and my goal is to simply help drive that growth. I’m not looking for any donations, not looking for any sponsorship, I am looking for teams (especially new ones) to just put themselves on the map.

The project currently has a team that has put up the first 1,000 markers. It is expected that the community itself will eventually fill in the blanks.

Ah, if only the user-generated, homebrew-ed world of those entrenched in web 2.0 could spread to the rest of the world. If only.

Anyhow, feel free to fill Perry's map in yourself if you wish. Our read-link below should lead to the the map. It's important to note that the thing is free and it's still in beta.

This is fantastic! You can add your Wii friend code, and then it pins you on the map. It's easy to find friends in your area - and it's easy to look for friends far away (if you're looking for exotic foreign Miis to visit you).

Reasons why we like it:

• It's visual proof that all the world is your Wii friend.
• It's really easy to use.
• It's actually useful. We're putting it here on QJ to help spread the word. If more people find out about this, then it'll be even easier to get more Wii friends.
  

It's also just fun to use and navigate. In the same way that Google Earth has a lot of appeal (when you're bored you can "explore" your neighborhood), this is a nice tool to just check out where Wii owners are - or at least where the Wii owners who have heard of this site are.

Right now there are more Americans than anything else, but we see somebody being slick in Greece, not being chicken in Turkey... and is that somebody being cool in Chile?

Just a few short hours ago, we reported that the PS3seeker site has configured Google Map to display out all retails stores that will be carrying the PS3 on launch day, at least according to their database. We've just visited their site again, and found a new addition to their PS3 search system - they now have a sister site up that'll allow visitors to look for retails stores that will be carrying the Nintendo Wii.

Much like the PS3 link, the Wiiseeker site requires you to punch in the area's zip code, and from there it'll display a google map of the area in question. We tested out the site with the zip code 90210 just for fun, and got the result you see on top. There's an option of just a satellite image, a pre-rendered map, or both. The site will show the locations on their recently acquired Target shipment data, and will be updated if any other news comes up.

Given how hectic it's gonna turn out for the launch days, we hope you fans out there put this info to good use, and plan your console camp-outs accordingly. Good luck. Below are the magnified images of the map above - if you're curious about the map's accuracy.