Do you ever miss the suspense of blowing into a cartridge to get your games to work? Nintendo’s upcoming NX console may bring back the hassle nostalgia.
Screen Critics noticed that Nintendo is ordering a whole lot of new memory chips from Macronix , its Chinese partner for ROM silicon, which is normally used for 3DS cartidges.
Macronix’s earnings showed Nintendo ordered more memory than needed for typical 3DS sales alone, suggesting cartridges could be making a comeback for the NX – which is slated for a March 2017 release . And while Nintendo could be using these inside the NX console itself, the storage capacity of the chips appear to exceed what would be needed for internal components.
The NX is rumored to be a hybrid of a mobile and home console – if it has any chance at being portable, traditional discs will simply be too large. Besides, Nintendo has always used cartridges for its mobile consoles.
Further fanning the flame, Nintendo has already filed a patent for a console with no disc drive but which does include a slot for reading memory cards.
Of course, digital purchases are the future and continue to catch up to physical sales, but chances are there will always be people who prefer to buy physical copies, even if only for resale value.
Let’s just hope you don’t have to exhaust your lung output to get the next ‘Legend of Zelda’ to work.
Via IGN
Transform your Mac keyboard into a universe of emoji, because why not?
We all love emoji, right? Well the genius’ behind this new Kickstarter project have the perfect thing for the emoji obsessive in your life.
This silicone keyboard cover for your MacBook, paired with a special piece of software, puts emoji right where you need them: on your keyboard itself. This thing is ridiculous and amazing, all at the same time.
With the companion software, the emoji printed on the keys are more than just good looking; they actually work! The keyboard cover and software replaces the Caps Lock key with Emoji-Lock which lets you quickly access the indicated emoji.
The team behind the Kickstarter project is Disk Cactus, a studio in California that had previously founded an Instagram printing service called Printstagram .
For just $20, the team says it can deliver your very own emoji keyboard in April. It has already built a bunch of prototypes, which it’s stress-testing before going into mass production. The goal is to raise $20,000 for a minimum run of 1,000 keyboard covers.
The emoji keyboard will fit any Macbook Pro or Air released from 2010 onwards, as well as the Apple Wireless Keyboard. The team is leveraging Social Print Studio to help fulfill its orders and manage customer support.
If you’re an emoji obsessive or want to take your emoji game to the next level, this is the keyboard cover for you.
➤ Emoji Keyboard [Kickstarter] via Cindy Wu
Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 adverts emphasize display and new form-factor
The hype crescendo for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 shows no sign of stopping. That’s hardly a surprise because holy crap , this is an amazing phone, and it can’t come soon enough.
To whet your S8 whistle, Samsung has dropped three new made-for-TV adverts on YouTube, each demonstrating a feature of the South Korean giant’s new flagship.
First, there’s this Korean spot, which emphasizes the device’s ludicrously good display:
https://www.youtubeom/watch?v=ivFuYmTXYk0
While ‘Breaking Out’ demonstrates the new form-factor of the device, which offers minimizes bezels to a point not previously seen in a smartphone.
Finally, there’s a slightly naff one called ‘The New Normal’, which demonstrates how the features found in Samsung’s newest handset will eventually become… you guessed it… the new normal.
It’s a bit twee, but I did enjoy the Rufus Wainwright cover of The Beatles’ Across The Universe.
Samsung has really ramped up the advertising for its new phone. Last month, it quite literally covered Times Square with advertising for the S8 and S8 Plus. No doubt this didn’t come cheap.
It’s not hard to understand why. The S8 lands at a time when competition is fierce. LG, HTC, and Apple all boast their own compelling offerings, and none of those companies are burdened with an exploding phone scandal .
Perhaps Samsung hopes that by dangling carrots in front of consumers – namely, a gorgeous display, and a new form-factor – they’ll forget about last year’s Note 7 debacle. Either way, it’s clear what it thinks punters will get most excited about.
As Samsung brings the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus to market, you can expect to see the barrage of advertising to intensify.