Hacking What do I need to get started for homebrew?

[I Go To Costco]

I've been searching for a good 20-25 minutes on youtube, google and GBAtemp, and while I think I know what I need, but I wanna make sure. All the homebrew/emulation stuff is confusing. The main reason I stumbled upon the forum is I was youtubing a fix for my ONE stuck pixel on the touchscreen. It blends in on white and other color screens but on a dark or black screen it glows orange. Yeah, its only one but its so damn annoying and the warranty period is long over. Plus I'm looking more into this homebrew stuff.

so the R4 chip is outdated supposedly? and the CycloDS software is the new hotness or what? Where can I buy it? I checked amazon but they're sold out, and I found one on dealextreme for $46 with the USB dongle included. Is this what I'm looking for? Then I have to go onto CyclopsDS.com and download the software, install on my computer and setup the cyclods card, etc. right? or is there a better/cheaper method out there?

I don't wanna get into something deeper than I expect, my friend jailbroke my 3GS for me and it sounded kinda easy to do, actually. Hell if anyone has a fix for a stuck pixel, I've searched for that too but I think I'd be happy just with that.

and it's a DS Lite

 

[Krestent]

Ummm....There are other carts as good as the Cyclo, while not being nearly as expensive; 47 dollars is considered expensive for a flashcart. You can order an Acekard 2i with the trick described on this thread:http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=200944

 

[connor_walsh]

just a note dealextreme is good but be prepred 2 wait for your order it can take a while to ship but its really cheap there

 

[I Go To Costco]

Wow you guys are fast! awesome, thanks a lot. Seriously this one stuck pixel is driving me insane, and what a deal....

Yeah I've ordered from DX before, great website. At least its free.... the long wait just makes you appreciate it more once it finally gets there, heh. I ordered it already! wake me up when 2011 comes around

 

[dan80315]

Once you get your homebrew up and running, try this to fix your obnoxious pixel.

http://filetrip.net/f763-DiagnoSe.html

 

[Prime_Zero]

I like the R4 but it does seem to be outdated now... stay away from the R4i gold for sure.