This Week in Geek: Hacking Your Wii, New AMD Chips

14.02.2010
While the biggest buzz this week was about, well, Google Buzz, here are few hardware stories that might have been buried under the wave of social networking stories. Enjoy!

Looking to do more with your Wii? The Channel provides a thriving community of developers and users looking to bring some amazing new features to the aging Wii console, including emulation, DVD and game playback from other regions, and the ability to run Linux. Mike Keller provides instructions for installing Homebrew on your Wii, which is easier than ever thanks to the mature Homebrew scene. !

Code-named Llano, the new quad-core AMD Fusion processor running at speeds in excess of 3.0 GHz is due for release in 2011. A hybrid chip that combines a graphics processor and a CPU on a single piece of silicon, Fusion's integrated graphics processor will natively support DirectX 11, allowing users to view Blu-ray movies or play 3D games. While the heat output from all four cores on a Fusion chip could be 100 watts, AMD's new power management capabilities allow more efficient control of the chip's energy draw, ensuring a cool processing and gaming experience.