Rapid News on the Wii Console

A hack has just been announced that takes advantage of a game state save feature found in Zelda Twilight Princess that allows for the execution of "arbitrary code" - this is a jackpot security vulnerability in any computer system or application.

Since this exploit has been discovered, a USB-stick distribution of Linux is now circulating around on the net that can be fired up using the Twilight Princess update -- this is a major leap in the Wii on Linux movement which has been gaining ground as a new hobbiest community (and akin to groups in the past that have brought linux to the other major gaming consoles in the months-and-years past).

In addition to this "poc" linux distribution, an mp3-player application and a myriad of emulators for various Nintendo consoles are also working on the Wii (namely, Snes9x).

Also just released, is a firmware update for the Wii from Nintendo!  While the details of this firmware have not yet been fully disclosed (or analyzed by the hobbiest community to see what the implications of these exploits are on this firmware update), it reportedly does not interfere with these new-found exploits.  It does beaconing users to perform the upgrade by illuminating the optical disc slot lit with its blue glow.