The Wii Elite!

So what does it do? Well, it's a menu. And just like the menu in a restaurant, the Wii Menu represents a list of everything available to you on your console. Think of each of those rectangles as a different delightful meal! You can choose any one of them you want, you can try one or have them all.

Ok, so maybe this is getting confusing - it's like an operating system AND a restaurant card? That's what's known as a mixture of metaphors. Ok, the thing to remember is that the first thing you see when you switch on your Wii is the Wii Menu and that the menu looks like a grid of 12 rectangles. Each of those rectangles can hold a Wii Channel. So, if the rectangle has a picture of any kind in it - then it's got a Channel. If it hasn't got a picture in it then it's empty. You can add and delete Channels and you can reorder and organize them any which way you like. The only Channel which always stays in the same place is the Disc Channel' and that can always be found in the top left rectangle on your screen. You'll recognize it because it has a picture of a disc in it.

The great thing is you are not restricted to only 12 rectangles. If you look at the row on the very right of the screen where they seem to run off the edge of the screen you will see an arrow in one of them which is pointing to the right. If you point your Wii-mote at this arrow you can go to another page of 12 rectangles just like the first one. In fact there are 4 pages of these which means you have 48 possible Channels. I hear that might be extended soon too, and with Nintendo promising all sorts of new Channels and services those 48 might fill up pretty soon.

So what are these Channels all about? The Channels are like the programs on your computer - yes, that's right, we're going back to the computer metaphor. Each Channel represents a different program or service or activity you can do with your Wii. If you open the Disc Channel you go straight to whichever game disc you have sitting in your disc drive - and you will also find any other games you have stored on your hard drive such as those you might have bought on the Virtual Console. Also available to you are the News Channel, the Forecast Channel, the Internet Channel, the Photo Channel, the Shop Channel, the Mii Channel, the Message Board and a bunch of other Channels and Services all accessible through the Wii Menu.

It's a simple as that - that was simple, right?