About a week ago, Mr. Spiv released the GUI he has been working on. Thanks to your feedback, we’ve been making improvements to it. Just now, I added a newer build to the downloads page. Go check it out. I hope it addresses any problems you may have had with the previous release. If not, or if you have something else to add, please leave a comment. If you don’t speak up, we may never know there’s a problem.

In other news, you may have seen that the purchase page lists the Neo Linkmasta and Neo Pocket Flashmasta as sold out. I’m working on getting a bunch of new bundles ready. My goal is to have at least 20 full bundles all ready to go when they go back up for sale. The experimental bare and uncut options were interesting for me to know what people want, but most people just wanted the full bundle. Not only have I have been refining my process and getting some help from people like Xian Xi, Mr. Spiv, Gerry, etc., but, thanks to the orders I’ve received up to this point, I have been able to make some more bulk purchases of parts.

In my opinion, things are progressing quite well, and I am very pleased with the project as a whole. When the product is once again ready for orders, I hope to feel ahead of the game and better prepared to serve the community. I might need some help, though. If you know anybody or any forums/websites/communities that should know about this project, please let them know. If you want to wait until sales re-open, that’s understandable. I just think it’s you guys that will help grow this whole thing. The Neo Geo Pocket has a lot of owners, but most of them don’t know about the Neo Linkmasta and Neo Pocket Flashmasta. Maybe you can help change that.

Units Available: If you didn’t notice, there are bundles available on the Purchase Page. I put them up as I make them, but my next push (after this set) may be different. Soon, I am hoping to have a whole bunch ready. They are still being hand made and hand cut, but I ordered more parts this time. I also have been refining my process, and I hope to be able to have a larger group ready all at once instead of just a few here and there like in the past.

Video: I think I currently have 35 LIKEs on my video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTkt11HlMa0 I still need more. If you have a Google/Gmail/YouTube account, I think you can hit the Thumbs-Up LIKE button. If you didn’t realize, I’m trying to win a competition.

Artwork: Thanks to Scaramouche over at Consolas Portatiles, I think that the Linkmasta and Flashmasta are going to have accompanying artwork. The plan is to have labels made for those two items and boxes made for packaging. Scaramouche is overseeing the entire project, and the Argentinian comic artist, Federico Mazza, is being commissioned for the drawings. Check samples of his work at http://mazzartproductions.com/. I have no idea when this will come to fruition, but I am very excited about the development.

Reviews: I’m compiling a list of reviews/posts from people that have received a Linkmasta/Flashmasta. If you got a bundle from me, and you posted something about it, leave a comment. I’ll add it to the list. At some point, I will probably make a separate “reviews” page with quotes and such.

• Freaktmp’s Linkmasta/Flashmasta forum topic (in Greek)
• Shou’s forum post after he received his Linkmasta/Flashmasta
• Ponrev’s blog posts about Linkmasta/Flashmasta and other Neo Geo Pocket stuff (in Japanese)
• ayasuke’s blog post about the Linkmasta/Flashmasta bundle he got (in Japanese)

SaveMasta: I finally got around to adding a NeoSaveMasta socket to one of the Neo Linkmasta units for testing. If you don’t know, the Neo Geo MVS and AES can use a memory card for saving scores and such. NeoTurfMasta currently sells these NeoSaveMasta V2 on his website. If you didn’t notice, that’s where I got my naming scheme from. The Linkmasta can read and write these memory cards, but there hasn’t been much work on this feature yet. Essentially, it can backup/dump them and restore a backup. In the future, I envision some sort of online score database that gamers can interface using the Linkmasta and their SaveMasta. Oh, and let me make this clear. The unit shown in the picture is just a prototype. It’s not how they come when you get a Linkmasta. Maybe someday that may be an option, but not now. Also note that the Linkmasta has another expansion port on it. If you’re curious about that, check the Linkmasta expansion port pinout.

That’s it for today. As always, leave a comment. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Oh, and do you think we need a forum for any reason, or is the comment section good enough?

Alrighty! It seems like things are picking up. More people are getting interested in the project, and that’s great. Some people are wondering when there will be new bundles available. Some are wondering if they can get part of the bundle without the other parts. Some people want to know how they can help. All of these are positive, and I really appreciate the enthusiasm.

One guy that has already been helping is Mr. Spiv. You may know him from the old days of NGPC, GP32, GP2X, etc. Spiv has been helping with some of the software portability, and today he has sent me a Mac binary for those of you that use OSX. I believe that a Linux version may be close at hand, also. Check out the Download area if you have a Mac and a Linkmasta. Try it out and leave a comment about how it works. Spiv also said that he wouldn’t mind if I mentioned that, “an eyecandy GUI is on the way!” Thanks, Spiv!

Some people have asked if it would be possible to get the Flashmasta/Linkmasta bundle without me cutting the plastic case. Of course, I promptly went to my room and cried my eyes out. How could they not want my hand cut case? Each one is uniquely crafted with love for you. Okay, enough with the fake story. I’m losing no tears or sweat over this request. I would like to gauge interest on this one, and I already have 3 bundles that are entirely ready (with 7-8 ready in the next few days). I’m listing them on the Purchase Page with some new options. I will offer a full bundle and a bare bundle, and both will be available “uncut”. With only 3 currently available, I probably won’t see a “trend”, but I think that this is the best way to see which options people prefer.

Keep the feedback coming. I’ve already seen people posting impressions and reviews elsewhere. If you have written anything, please leave a comment and link to it. Maybe I’ll get a page of those sorts of links made up at some point.