Table of Contents
Nintendo DS
includes Lite and DSi (ARM9 MHz 2x)
Nintendo's smash success handheld console, first released on November 21st, 2004 in the United States. It's dual-screen (bottom one touch) gimmick, combined with the smart “DS Lite” redesign in 2006 resulted in astronomical sales figures, breaking records for the most successful handheld console of all time. By adding a touch screen to the bottom, the Nintendo DS essentially created an entire market of “simple/casual touch games” that was promptly seized by smartphones in the late 2000s. Specifications-wise, the DS is a bit weak compared to it's primary competitor in Sony's PlayStation Portable. The DS contains only 4 MB of RAM (expandable through the GBA slot), 656 KB of VRAM, two ARM processors (one primary at 67MHz, the other secondary at 33MHz), and 256×192 pixels on both screens individually. Of course, as we all know, these specifications were not a problem for the DS, as it's success spawned multiple “upgrade” models, redesigns, and eventually a successor in the Nintendo 3DS.
Operating Systems (ARM946E-S, ARM7TDMI)
Bricks-OS
Hardware OpenGL implementation (NDS, PS2)
This version of Bricks-OS appears to be the absolute best version, containing the most features and support (at least, according to the old webpage). Hardware OpenGL included.
https://github.com/rickgaiser/bricks-os
https://sourceforge.net/projects/bricks-os/
https://code.google.com/archive/p/bricks-os/
https://forum.gbadev.org/viewtopic.php?t=16166
https://web.archive.org/web/20090222060403/http://bricks-os.org/
Classic Mac OS 1.1-7.5.5 (in Mini vMac)
Once you have the ROM and disks images prepared, choose your build for the Mini vMac
Supports the GBA memory expansion cart, quite like DSLinux. It’s recommended to use System 6.0.8 for efficiency, but everything up to 7.5.5 works.
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/Mini_vMac_DS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHosDqlPulk (not the newest version)
https://emulationrealm.net/downloads/file/517-mini-vmac-ds
https://gbatemp.net/threads/memory-expansion-for-emulation-and-homebrew.572575/
Console emulation (potential)
Whether these emulators support operating systems for these consoles is unknown; it must be looked into further. Consoles without meaningful OSes are not included.
Atari 2600 – StellaDS Phoenix Edition
Bandai WonderSwan - DualSwan, NitroSwan
Coleco ColecoVision – ColecoDS Phoenix Edition, S8DS (requires BIOS)
Megazeux GCS – Megazeux git (has CHIP-8!) + alt. link
NEC TurboGrafx-16 – NitroGrafx + alt. link
Nintendo Entertainment System – Midori, NesDS 1.3a + alt. link, NesterDS+ 0.3.9, RetroBoxDS
Super Nintendo Entertainment System – BAG SFC - dsTwo only, CAT SFC - dsTwo only + alt. link, lolSnes, SnEmulDS 0.6a + alt. link, SnesDS 12-13, SnezziDS 0.28a
Nintendo Game Boy (Color) – DS Boy 0.75, DS_GBC 0.1, Lameboy 0.12 + alt. link, Gameyob 0.5.2 + alt. link
Nintendo Game Boy Advance – GBARunner (a hypervisor) + alt. link, thru Slot 2, Gbaemu4DS + compatibility
Nintendo Pokémon Mini – PokeMini DS + alt. link
Sega Genesis – jEnesisDS 0.7.4, PicoDriveDS 0.1.7 + alt. link
Sega Master System – Apprentice MinusDS 0.2.6, DSMasterplus 1.3a, DSMS 0.2 + alt. link, S8DS 0.7 + alt. link
DarkSO
An operating system with applications.
Some sort of an OS, with various functions and hardware functionality.
Dphone
a content organizer that regroups the video, music, calendar, etc.
An organizer/PDA sort of thing that’s made to look like an iPhone.
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/DPhone
https://web.archive.org/web/20100415143413/http://dphone.palib.info/
https://web.archive.org/web/20161120160517/https://www.hillbilly-palib.blogspot.com/
DSBlue
This is more of a learning tool than a real project
A shell/operating system style thing with poor shoutcast support, remote desktop and light apps.
DSLinux (based off of uClinux)
the DLDI Build will now detect and enable the GBA RAM automatically on most Slot-2 cards
Well integrated, with almost all hardware (except the mic) supported. RAM expansion supported and almost required thru Slot2. Very limited graphical support, but an alpha port of PIXIL desktop + graphical Links are out there. Best to use this on a DS Lite. Of the possible cards available for Slot2 (GBA) RAM expansion, there are several options. For the best expansion size of 32 MB, there are several; according to old information, the Supercard (series of typical GBA carts; unknown which ones have 32MB), M3 Perfect (typical GBA cart), M3 DS Real (came with an extra GBA memory cart), G6 Lite (typical GBA cart), DStwo (may have had a GBA cart at some point?), EZ-V 3-in-1 (16MB!), and web browser memory cart (8MB!) all can offer RAM expansion.
Much of the old information about all of this is confusing, and the team has tried to document the information about these mysterious 32 MB GBA carts the best we can. However, the age of the information excludes several potential cards released after 2010 or so. The EverDrive GBA mini will not add any memory, but the EZ-Flash Omega DE will, although only 8MB of it! Because of this, it appears necessary to purchase one of the old 32MB listed flashcarts to get the full ability out of Linux/homebrew, unless newer GBA flashcarts exist which offer a full 32MB expansion mode.
https://github.com/ipwndev/DSLinux
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/DSLinux
https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/G6_(Lite)
http://www.dslinux.org/wiki/MainPage.html
https://gbatemp.net/threads/memory-expansion-for-emulation-and-homebrew.572575/
https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/v8o84g/if_you_thought_running_linux_on_a_3ds_or_ps2/
https://www.reddit.com/r/flashcarts/comments/np3k5c/ultimate_guide_for_m3_perfect_gba_flashcards/
DS-Me
this optimized to use the minimum resources
Some sort of basic developer demo OS, requiring DLDI. Not sure what this does.
DSOperators
Slightly different feature set compared to a typical homebrew OS.
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/DSOperators
https://web.archive.org/web/20110902225347/http://wolfspidersdev.blog.com/
DSOrganize
is not planned to become an operating system
This isn’t exactly an Operating System, but it is somewhat similar to a PDA in how it works. Has IRC, homebrew database, calculator, file browser, and some other moderately functional concepts. Benefits from a RAM expansion, like DSLinux.
https://dragonminded.com/ndsdev/dsorganize/
https://gbatemp.net/threads/memory-expansion-for-emulation-and-homebrew.572575/
DsOS
browse the files of of card, view JPEG, PNG, BMP
A psuedo-OS filebrowser that also comes with a zipper, calculator, and MP3 player.
DSuite
an application suite (much like DS Organize) which gives emphasis to presentation
Yet another apps suite/PDA style thing. This one has a reasonably concise tool selection.
DSTWO Linux
This is a port of a 2009 Linux kernel for the Dingoo's 320×240 screen forced into the DS's 256×192 screen
This is an alternative port of Linux intended for the DSTWO flashcart. Feedback in the thread implies that it works pretty well, and is capable of running a variety of graphical programs.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/dstwo-linux-beta1-0-release.339028/
https://gbatemp.net/threads/dstwo-linux-beta1-0-release.339028/page-11
DS Vista
DS Vista (French)
A shell attempting to clone the appearance of Windows Vista, including some applications.
DSx86(Cfg) for 4DOS and Windows 1, 2, and 3.0
does not have an inbuilt command interpreter (or shell)
Dependent on 4DOS 7.50 to work, with Windows 1-3 able to run on top of it. Windows 3.1 does not work, however.
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/DSx86Cfg
https://dsx86.patrickaalto.com/DSblog.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOBXdE7sc_M
http://dsx86compatibility.pbworks.com/w/page/26738915/Compatibility%20List
https://gbatemp.net/threads/run-windows-3-0-on-nintendo-ds-dsi-2ds-3ds-easy.558868/
Emulation Nest
This device runs an operating system which is known to emulate various devices with EOPs. See the Classic Mac OS, DOS, and MSX pages.
FeOS
allows multiple especially-designed programs to concurrently run
Appears to be as feature-rich as Inferno, with a GUI, Wi-Fi, 3D, Sound, enhancements on DSi, and much more. No screenshots?
HWOS2 (flashcards)
operating system for flashcards that boots homebrew
This barely qualifies, but it does include a media player + wiki/rss viewer.
Inferno OS
to use the distributed nature of Inferno with the variety of input methods
A native port to the DS, with SPI devices, both LCDs, audio, and SD cards supported.
https://github.com/mjl-/inferno-ds
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/Inferno_DS
http://doc.cat-v.org/inferno/ports/inferno_ds.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20111204033512/http://code.google.com/p/inferno-ds/
ManuSO
as well as several games
This has both English and Spanish versions, but it’s not certain on if the most recent one has English. Offers various games and applications on the classic formula.
MasterSO
A shell featuring a moderate amount of applications and utilities. English and Spanish support.
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/MasterSO
https://web.archive.org/web/20141229035328/http://www.nintendomax.com/viewtopic.php?t=12412&f=19
MENUdo (flashcards)
designed to work on any flashcard
A more fully featured OS for flashcards, with many integrations, applications, modes, etc.
MOSDS
mosds manager witch can inport and export files and have direct acces to our board
Like many other listings, this is quite similar to a basic PDA, and it seems to be relatively capable of actually saving documents and performing some tasks.
PC emulation (potential)
Whether these emulators support operating systems for these computers is unknown; it must be looked into further. DSx86 and Mini vMac are not included, as they are known to run OSes. Computers without meaningful OSes are not included.
https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/Emulators_on_DS
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/List_of_DS_homebrew_emulators
Amstrad CPCs – AmeDS 4.0, CrocoDS 2.0
Apple IIs – A2DS 2008, PomDS 0.2
Atari 8-bits – PokeyDS 1.1, PenkoDS, Atari800, XEGS-DS
Atari STs – StyxDS 0.2a
CC-800 Pocket Dictionary – Sim800
https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-sim800-an-cc800-emulator.386027/
CHIP-8 – Chip-84 DS (plus SuperCHIP), Chip8me
Commodore 64 – FrodoDS Complete
Dragon 32/64 – XRoar 0.24fp3
MSXs - fmsxDS 0.09, MSX DS 0.94, PenkoDS 0.2a
Oric brand (1/Atmos) – Dsoric 1.0
Sinclair ZX Spectrum – DSpec Final, SpeccyDS 0.3, SpectrumDS 20Apr, ZXDS 1.0.0
XY-MINI – Xyds 0.2
Stock OS (DS, DS Lite)
Mostly noteworthy for it’s inclusion of PictoChat and Download Play.
Stock OS (DSi)
Adds a lot more, including the eShop, a camera & music player, a preinstalled browser, and more.
SunOS
The plugins/libraries system is working.
Appeared to be a highly ambitious one-man project, with little known as to how much was actually accomplished of these goals.
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/SunOS
https://code.google.com/archive/p/sundevos/
https://gbatemp.net/threads/sunos-pre-pre-alpha-sundev-recruits.188072/
https://web.archive.org/web/20201023155609/https://sites.google.com/site/sundevds/sunos
Wii4DS
This homebrew does not work well with R4 flashcards, since said flashcard does not support FAT
A Spanish-only clone of the Wii menu, offering a few channels serving basic functions.
WinDS/NDS WinS
It simulates Windows in our nds. The application includes several programs
This appears to be an extremely faithful Windows clone, featuring some applications, demos, and more interestingly, a seamless two screen integration. It’s closely related to the GBA WinS API, which serves a purpose of creating libraries for graphical front ends. WinDS appears to be the direct port, while NDS WinS is something coded on top of these libraries.
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/WinDS
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/NDS_WinS
https://sourceforge.net/projects/gbawins/files/
https://web.archive.org/web/20070830153803/http://z3.invisionfree.com/GBAWinS/index.php?act=site
Winex DS
a music player although with poor sound quality
Yet another basic shell featuring some usual apps, which also appears to be Spanish only. Apparently, it can play audio from YouTube?
WintenDoS
version 3.0 and other previous versions are in french where only Version 2.05 was in English
Again, another Windows-inspired shell, featuring some apps. This is bilingual, but it depends on the version for some reason.
WiXP
listen to music, watch animated gifs and play various games
They never end, do they? This is the same concept as the previous shells, featuring some apps whilst being somewhat faithful to Windows XP.
http://nds.scenebeta.com/noticia/wixp
Woopsi
a full suite of UI components, including text boxes, scrolling lists, buttons, windows, etc.
An AmigaOS inspired library for creating GUIs, window managers, and much more. A demo exists to demonstrate these OS-like functions.
https://github.com/ant512/Woopsi
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/Woopsi
https://web.archive.org/web/20150810201158/http://woopsi.org/
X-Soft (Plus)
an interchangeable skins environment, tester buttons, games, etc.
Another bilingual Windows inspired shell, with some apps and some games.
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/X-Soft
https://web.archive.org/web/20110912221948/http://off-topic-world.forosactivos.com/f17-x-soft
Internet
Built-in browser of DSOrganizer
It’s rudimentary, and not much else is said.
Bunjalloo
display simple pages, follow links and view images
This is the 2nd best browser, and the best if you want to avoid the PC server thing.
DsHoBro 0.4
Run the Server.exe application on your PC
A homebrew internet browser; who knows if it’s better or worse than the cart. Requires a PC to send compressed versions of the pages to the DS, which is a poor limitation.
https://gamebrew.org/wiki/DSHobro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL2VMBf1aR8 (older version)
DSi Browser
Comes preinstalled on XLs and newer DSis, and it can be installed onto older ones. Better than the cart one, somewhat.
Internet Browser Cart + RAM (DS, DS Lite)
Difficult to get working now, due to router issues. However, it still can browse pages, poorly. Homebrew patches exist which allow the browser to access more RAM, as long as one has a larger RAM expansion cart in Slot 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SazIPX9MxrE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HspaG44_EG8
https://gbatemp.net/threads/memory-expansion-for-emulation-and-homebrew.572575/
Other
DScraft
The mapGen program is used to generate new worlds. Simply execute it and follow the steps
A homebrew clone of the ever-so-popular game Minecraft. Quite successfully creates a playable “creative mode” only experience.
KORG DS-10 Synthesizer (includes Plus)
doubles the number of synth and drum machines when played on DSi/3DS system
An absolutely excellent cartridge which fully emulates a large range of KORG's synthesizers off the DS. A plus version exists which improves various features and doubles the amount of synthesizers available if played on a DSi or 3DS - get this one!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KORG_DS-10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFfTQewtwCo
https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/04/07/korg-ds-10-plus-review
RangerDS
Essentially it’s a full featured GPS (like your standard dash style)
A peculiar addon which provided GPS capabilities to the Nintendo DS. Unsurprisingly, homebrew developers took advantage of this addon to develop their own mapping software for the Nintendo DS, which is linked.
https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/RangerDS
https://techcrunch.com/2009/04/16/ranger-gps-unit-for-your-nintendo-ds/
Version & Revision Guide
For general information, see the Game Console Revisions Overview.
Versions
There are four versions of this console, arranged chronologically.
Nintendo DS (2004-2006)
The “Classic” Nintendo DS, easily identified by it's “bulky” design with ridges on the outer shell, rectangular start/select/power buttons, and speakers with many dots. Being Nintendo's first crack at the DS, and the only DS model to release somewhat in the 6th generation (complete with GBA slot), this model has a few small weaknesses compared to it's followup, the Lite. However, these weaknesses are minor - a shorter stylus, slightly lower battery life, and slightly darker screens. Otherwise, the original DS is a perfectly serviceable system that can hold it's place as a worthwhile device.
Nintendo DS Lite (2006-2011?)
RECOMMENDED OVERALL (for EOP coverage); LOWEST PRICE
Despite being the 2nd version of the DS, the Lite is what most will think of when they recall the “Nintendo DS”. Wildly popular in sales figures, the DS Lite is a very common system. Improved on the original DS by making the case sleeker, lengthening the stylus, increasing battery life, and making the screens brighter and more vibrant. Easily identified by it's circular start and select buttons, presence of a GBA slot, it's sleeker “perfectly rectangular” design without shell ridges (only a logo), speakers with less holes, and a power slider on the system's side. It is also important to note that the DS Lite has an understated feature - a pressure-sensitive touch screen. It's unclear if all DS Lites have it or not, but even if a DS Lite does have pressure sensitive screens, only a few pieces of software actually use it (mostly homebrew), making it a simple curiosity at best.
The main reason the DS Lite is “Recommended Overall” for EOP coverage is simple. Certain DS EOPs, such as Linux, require a DS console with a GBA slot, usually for memory expansion. The DSis don't have this, and thus, cannot run certain pieces of software dependent on it. Ideally, the best way to experience EOPs on the DS is through owning both of the recommended systems, as certain EOPs are in fact, exclusive to the DSi consoles. Furthermore, using the DS pressure sensitivity could also be something one wants, which is also unavailable on the DSis.
Nintendo DSi (2008-2012?)
A major update to the DS line. Easily identified by it's triple power/charge/internet LEDs, a camera, an SD card slot, and a size closer to the DS Lite. Changes arriving with the DSi were significant, as the DSi introduces an entire operating system to the DS, downloadable software unique to the DSi line, a camera and microphone, the possibility to softmod and emulate systems directly on the device, a faster CPU and more RAM, internal storage + SD card slot, and generally superior screens with better viewing angles. However, the DSi does have one good feature removed - the GBA slot. Essentially, the DSi is what pushed the Nintendo DS line into “matching” Nintendo's then-flagship console, the Wii, in “non-gaming” capability.
Nintendo DSi XL (2008-2012?)
RECOMMENDED OVERALL (for playing experience)
Very similar to the DSi, for obvious reasons. At it's core, the DSi XL is simply a larger version of the DSi - that's it. However, certain improvements over the original DSi make the XL a better system in several aspects. Most importantly, both of the screens on any DSi XL are guaranteed to be IPS screens, or in other words, guaranteed to have superior viewing angles, superior color reproduction, and superior brightness. Furthermore, the XL has slightly better hinges (can lock at a 120 degree angle), generally longer battery life (a few more hours over the DSi), and louder speakers with better enclosures. Thus, the DSi XL is easily the superior DS for playing DS games, enjoying DS software, experiencing non-GBA required DS EOPs, and experiencing the wealth of EOPs available specifically for the DSi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DSi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS_Lite
https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=61686
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/why-dont-more-games-use-the-pressure-sensitivity-on-the-ds.385163