Chopper

So, will WiiConnect24 mean that Nintendo could "deliver" a new character, costume or weapon to your Wii on special occasions? I'm thinking, birthdays, Christmas, Nintendo-related anniversaries etc... Or could you buy special edition characters from Wii online hub, so you can expand a library of characters, costumes or stages? Cos that would be pretty sweet...

So, are the graphics superior on the Wii version, or what? The conference demo seemed to show off superior visuals. I dunno...

30Gb iPod Photo. It's a thing of beauty. ALL my CD's in my pocket/car! Amazing. I am a shameless iPod devotee though. Anything else looks/feels inferior, as far as I'm concerned.

These comparison screenshots make me pine for a Lite though. Look at the difference! http://www.4colorrebellion.com/archives/2006/02/28/ds-lite-vs-ds-original/

Worry not Brother Boo. I said Hunters too. If I got my hands on Twilight Princess now, I might as well kiss my dissertation goodbye. It's due in in 3 weeks! I can't wait for Hunters, but it won't eat my life up like Zelda will. So right now, Hunters. The Revolution stuff would be awesome. But it'd be no fun if I was the only person to know about it.

You got personal experience installing one? Or know someone who has? Cos a personal recommendation would be great. I'm just very cautious about taking my precious NES apart...!

It's a great idea. But it's sort of already been done. The Nintendo Database can be found here. It already features in-depth info on every game developed or published by Nintendo ever. Including the cancelled ones! As well as easter eggs, cameos, secrets etc. Of course, there's no reason you can't expand on the project, if you have the time and money to invest into creating a veritable "IMDB" of ALL the games ever available on any Nintendo console. And if you do, the Nintendo Database is as good a place as any to start referencing. Anyway, good luck...!

My sister, quite briliantly, bought me an old NES from Gamestation for Christmas. I've bought a few games for it since, but sometimes have problems starting up some of them. For instance, my copy of Zelda rarely starts up first time, requiring much cartridge "blowing" before it will play. I read somewhere on the Internet that glitchy start-ups are rarely a hardware problem, and can be solved by cleaning the contact points in the console itself. This process, I understand can be quite tricky, and involves taking the thing apart (scary!). I understand that this is probably a regular problem, seeing as the hardware's about 20 years old, but I wondered if anyone has successfully solved the issue by cleaning the insides of the console, cos I really want to be able to play my games without the hassle? Any feedback would be great...

Obviously, all the Zelda endings are a bit special. But one no-one's mentioned is Link's Awakening on the Game Boy. I remember thinking, when I first completed it....ooooh, about 9 years ago(?!) that the ending was great. Surely one of the only instances where a Game Boy game oozed real emotion. That Wind Fish song was awesome...

Cos you're either bothered about the health implications, or you're not.

Well, obviously I know where you're coming from. I just don't see it as a big problem, like you do. It's something I've never considered. Pubs have always been smoky. It's a typical characteristic. I've been going to bars and clubs for about 6 years now. When I first started, it might have crossed my mind. But probably not. Cos I've always lived in a pub. I never thought of it as a problem. I'm not concerned about the dangers of passive smoke, because as an average punter, soemone having a fag next to me is not gonna harm me in the long run. I just don't care. I never have. The smell of cigarettes has never offended me, even before I started smoking. And I don't know anyone, apparently apart from yourself and Faz, who has a problem with it. I just couldn't care less about smoke, when I'm out on the razz with my mates. It doesn't matter to me. I'm more concerned with how full my pint is, how funny my mates are and who I'm gonna try and pull that night. Now this ban's gonna come into play, and it's gonna change everything. In that I can't sit in my regular, and have a fag with my drink. That, to me, is ridiculous. Especially considering neither I, nor my local landlord, had any say in the matter.

Clearly. And a community that has better things to worry about. This ban has come as a shock, and will shake up the way alot of people think about going it. It's gonna be weird...

Well you have to argue in context. I mean, obviously I wouldn't smoke in someone's house. Smokers aren't fucking junkies. But I can guarentee your smoking mates aren't particuarly happy about it...! And whilst, I'm not happy about the new law, purely for selfish reasons, it's not that I'm "whining" about. It's the mindless chastising of smokers that's taken place, as a result of the ban. By people who've never given it a second thought in the past. i.e. alot of the people on this forum. Evidently not including you. Read my previous posts, and you might just get it...

Or, it's because my friends have got better things to worry about than smoke when you're out, having a good time. Not ONCE has the smokiness of a pub ever been an issue. It just doesn't cross anyone's mind.

Ooh. Lock up your daughters...! You've got your priorities all wrong when you go out. You think about smoking that much?! It's about having fun with your mates. It doesn't matter who the hell smokes and who doesn't. As long as you wake up with a hangover, you've done alright. Is your group of mates not a mix of smokers/non-smokers? Would you chastize one of your friends for sparking up in the pub near you? Cos that not cool...

Fair enough. I've never known anyone like you. At the weekend, the thought of someone saying "I don't fancy going out tonight. The smoke irritates me!" is about as alien a concept as any to me.

That's very clever. It's like coming back with the same insult, cos you're not clever enough to contribute to the argument, cos I'm right. "You're a tosser" "Yeah... Well, your'e a.....tosser too" Brilliant.

Fair point. But I refuse to believe that anyone actually complains about sore eyes and smelly clothes. Particularly not the sort of demographic who'll contribute to this forum. Old people. Delicate people. Yeah. But if you're in the pub long enough for smoke to be a problem, you're only gonna go home, hammered, and take your "smelly" clothes off immediately anyway. Have you honestly ALWAYS disliked bars because they're smoky? Or, actually, has it never really crossed your mind, until now...

That's ridiculous. The non-smoker has the choice of not being so uptight and not to worry about it. Unless you work or live in a smoky environment, it doesn't matter. If you go out at night, you spend 5 hours in a pub. Max. When you leave, are you really concerned about how much passive smoke you've breathed in?! Or are you arguing because there's a thread on the topic of a smoking-ban, and it's given you the opportunity to get on your high horse, and bang on about how awful smoking is. When actually, you're not that fussed...?!

Nah. I refuse to believe that smoking in pubs offends anyone below the age of 35. I simply cannot imagine anyone leaving a bar, because there's people smoking in it. I've simply never seen it happen. If you go out, with the intention of having a good time, because people have always smoked in pubs, it doesn't even cross your mind. Unless you're totally precious and lame.

I'm aware that there are dangers of passive smoking, but they are blown wildly out of proportion. Unless you work in a pub, a non-smoker will rarely be in a situation where the passive smoke around them is dangerous. And by jumping on the band-wagon, I was referring to the kids who know little or nothing about smoking, and will only now speak up and say the ban is a good thing, cos they can. The sort of people who know nothing about passive smoke and who the past-time of smoking never occurred to them. They are the people who have no business arguing for the smoking ban. They're idiots. You seem alright. You at least agree that drinking and smoking are linked. And have been for about 400 years! Granted the opportunity arose to review things. That's fine. That's what happens. But I'm pissed cos my nights out and stuff are now gonna be a lot more stressful! And it's a bunch of blokes in London who made that decision. Not my local pub. Not my parents. I couldn't possibly protest. That fucks me off.

Well, no. My point was clearly about pubs. I don't smoke in hairdressers or shopping centres, because I don't want to. I'm never in either location long enough to want a cigarette. Plus, it would offend other people. Smoking whilst drinking is commonplace. The two are related through pubs and bars. It's normal. Hence people can't complain about smoke in pubs. That's my point.

Well, yeah. Our pub lets kids in. But they can't argue about the drawbacks of passive smoking. And if their parents want them in a pub, then that's up to them. But even then, say a couple bring their kids to the pub once a week, for Sunday lunch, the passive smoke is going to have no effect on their health, is it. It's all blown out of proportion. My old man is a non-smoker, and he's exposed to cigarette smoke all day, every day. However, he's totally against the ban. Granted, he has alterior motives, but he's not even slightly fazed by passive cigarette smoke. And he's perfectly healthy, after 40 years of being behind a bar. Do the people who are concerned about passive smoke also avoid walking around the bustling, pollution-packed streets of London during the day? Or do you reckon they get hammered every weekend, and raise a bit of hell at the tax-payers' expense? There are bigger concerns than some bloke having a fag next to you at the bar...

By walking into a pub, you are consenting to being exposed to cigarette smoke. So I'm not going to feel bad about smoking around consenting adults. Pregnant women, toddlers and old people with altzeimers, yes. But not actual, grown-up, mature adults of a sound mind. Banning smoking in pubs will only encourage smoking at home anyway. You don't get kids in pubs...

No. I'm saying that a whole bunch of people can now find it very easy to jump on their high horses for the sake of it, and criticise smokers and smoking, when they have no business doing so. That's not cool...