Visual Pinball

Came across this interesting project while looking at forums dedicted to the front end I'm using for the Mame arcade project. Visual Pinball's goal is to electronically recreate the mechanical experience of pinball on a PC. It's very realistic! It also works quite well with the flipper buttons built into the X-Arcade console I'm using.

I've also decided to add a bezel to cover the TV, and I'm planning on adding laserdisk games like "Dragon's Lair" once I receive the DVD. Looks for these posts soon!

Canon Digital SLR Rebel XT

I recently bit the bullet and upgraded from a Canon Powershot 2.1 megapixel camera to a high end digital SLR. One of the deciding factors was owning a Canon EOS 630 film camera and already having several nice EF lens. All my existing lenses are now usable on this new camera! I can't say enough about the focusing, color, white balance, and printing capability between an 8 megapixel and 2 megapixel camera!

Hiding Windows At Boot Up

This weekend I switched the front end menu system I've been using on my new Mame cabinet from Meedio Essentials to GameEx (excellent program!). While searching the GameEx site I also came across an article which details a process for removing all the typical stuff that is displayed during a normal Windows XP boot process. Following the article I now have an arcade cabinet that boots directly into GameEx (as a shell replacement).

The link is:

http://www.tomspeirs.com/gameex/Shell.htm

Revenge of the Sith

Enough said...

Game EX

Came accross this site on www.htpcnews.com last night and it looks like an excellent arcade cabinet front end application for managing ROM selections. I'm currently using a combination of the "My Games" ROM manager application and "Meedio Essentials" as a front end.

I may have to check this app out as well!

The link is:

http://tomspeirs.com/gameex/

Mame Arcade Project - Accessory

I added cup holders last summer to the home theater chairs that I have in the theater area and thought they might work well on the arcade cabinet. I added on to each side. These fold up when not in use :)

Mame Arcade Project - Finished

The Mame cabinet is now finished! I decided against a full bezel since the TV itself fit the entire cabinet length. I added a 1.5" board on the front of the TV shelf in order to tilt the TV at the same angle as the cabinet sides which now gives it a finshed look.

I also decided to mount the X-Arcade console to the base so that it didn't move during game play.

The kids really enjoy it!

Kalahari Resort

If you're looking for a great indoor water park I highly recommend The Kalahari Resort at Wisconsin Dells. Fun for kids and adults!

The website is:

www.kalahariresorts.com

Mame Arcade Project - Continued

The Mame project is now working :) It's basically complete unless I want to add a bezel in front of the TV. Since the TV itself is black it's not a requirement.