Mike Cohen

Mii Transfer 0.1a fixes PowerPC compatibility

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I just released Mii Transfer 0.1a to fix the launch problem on PowerPC Macs. There are no code changes, I simply linked it with a universal build of WiiRemote framework. Intel Mac users don’t need to update.

I also added a troubleshooting section to the readme file. The major problem on G4 Macs (which is actually an issue with WiiRemote framework) is pairing problems if the remote is also added in Bluetooth settings. Make sure the Wiimote is NOT connected in Bluetooth preferences (it will appear as a device named “Nintendo RVL-CNT-01”). If it does appear, disconnect and delete it. Make sure the Bluetooth setup window is CLOSED before you attempt to connect. If the connection fails, quit and relaunch.

Just Say No to HD Photo

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Microsoft introduced a new image format to potentially replace JPEG. Despite JPEG’s flaws, it’s an open standard. There’s also PNG, which is superior to JPEG in some ways. Even though Microsoft plans to license HD Photo, they still own the patents on it and anyone who uses it will be held hostage to Microsoft. On a whim they can decide to prevent it from being used on a particular platform or use it against a particular software developer they consider a threat.

It's Mii!

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After I created my Mii, I wanted to get it on my Mac so I can use it as an avatar in other forums. I found that there are several Mii copy & edit utilities for Windows but none for Mac OS X, so I decided to hack Mii support into WiiRemote Framework. For anyone unfamiliar with the Wii, the only way to currently obtain the Mii is by saving it to the remote and extracting it from the remote.

The Wii Remote is actually a smart Bluetooth device, so it can be used with any computer than supports Bluetooth. It isn’t simply a controller; it has an onboard processor and memory. Lots of information is available at WiiBrew Wiki.

It turns out that Mii data isn’t actually stored as a graphic. Instead it’s a 74 byte structure describing all of the features & attributes of the Mii (hair color, facial features, etc). There are sites like Mii Plaza which lets you upoad & share binary Mii files, so I’ll just be saving it in a compatible format rather than displaying & editing the Mii.

Like most Bluetooth HID devices, rather than reading the data directly from the Wii remote, you send a data request, and the data is returned in a L2CAP channel message. Since it can only send a maximum of 16 bytes in a message, the Mii data is sent in several messages, which I need to assemble. Since the L2CAP channel is used for other data as well, we need to look at the memory offset to determine that we’re receiving Mii data.

Right now I just hacked an extra button into DarwiinRemote to obtain the first Mii. I plan to make a more flexible stand-alone Mii utility.

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