After months of Retroid Pocket Mini buyers reporting issues with the appearance of games when using shaders, Retroid has opened a new return window for people seeking a refund. But there are limitations. Per a screenshot shared by Retro Game Corps, the China-based company said in a Discord message that the return window will be open only from March 8 to March 14, only 200 overseas returns will be accepted and customers will have to pay for shipping. As consolation, the company is offering all owners a $10 stackable coupon for the upcoming Retroid Flip2 and Retroid Classic.
Retroid released a statement about the RP Mini screen issue:- March 8-14 return window for those affected- Returns capped to 200 units to limit a flood of returns for unrelated reasons- Asking customer to pay return shipping- $10 stackable coupon for all RP Mini customers pic.twitter.com/UpLN9rPL3a Retro Game Corps (@RetroGameCorps) March 8, 2025
Retroid Pocket Mini owners have been trying to get to the bottom of the issue since shortly after the devices release last fall. As RetroHandhelds explains, The shader issue is mostly only noticeable when specific CRT shaders are applied to older games. Users can expect to see misplaced scanlines, uneven pixels, or a slightly distorted image in such cases. After much back and forth, the company recently said the issue cant be fixed, linking it to the screen driver, Discord screenshots shared by RetroHandhelds show.
Prior to the latest update from Retroid, some buyers said their return requests were denied. In the Discord message this weekend, the company said, Please note that this is a large and costly endeavor for our team, and we expect a lot of return requests outside of screen-related issues. Further down, it added, For users who do not heavily rely on CRT shaders or pixel grid effects, we encourage you to reserve this opportunity for those who genuinely need it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/retroid-says-it-will-accept-limited-pocket-mini-returns-due-to-screen-scaling-issue-183143391.html?src=rss
It may be a while still before we see the smart home hub Apple is rumored to be working on. According to Bloombergs Mark Gurman, the company has postponed the announcement of the upcoming product due to the issues its run into developing its smarter Siri. Gurman reported last month that the release of Apples upgraded Siri may be delayed, and Apple confirmed as much in a statement to Daring Fireball last week, saying it expects to roll out Siris more personalized features in the coming year. The smart home hub, according to Gurman, to an extent, relies on the delayed Siri capabilities.
Gurman previously reported that the first version of the smart home display could be revealed as soon as March. It would be a competitor to Amazons Echo line of devices and Googles Nest Hub. While a March release is looking unlikely, Gurman reports that Apple is now allowing some employees to test it at home.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/apples-rumored-smart-home-hub-has-reportedly-been-delayed-151515192.html?src=rss
Mario Day, otherwise called Mar10 Day or just March 10, is nearly here. This is a yearly celebration to commemorate Nintendos iconic plumber. Its not his birthday or anything, but rather a totally random day that sort of looks like his name when spelled a specific way. Its just like how Star Wars Day falls on May 4.
The main feature of Mar10 Day is deals, on both Nintendo consoles and Mario-themed games. Walmart is selling a Nintendo Switch OLED bundle for $349 that comes with a digital download code for the fantastic Super Mario Bros. Wonder and a three-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online. Thats a savings of nearly $70.
GameStop is also selling just about every notable Mario game for $20 off, making them $40. This even includes the recently-released Luigis Mansion 2 HD, which is a great port of a 3DS classic.
Gamers can pick up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario 3D World Plus Bowser's Fury, Super Mario Odyssey and Princess Peach: Showtime, all for $40. The remake of the very first Mario Vs. Donkey Kong is down to just $30.
Theres one last little goodie here for Nintendo fans. The companys famous (or infamous) alarm clock, Alarmo, is now available for purchase from both Walmart and Target, in addition to pre-existing availability on the Nintendo online store.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/mario-day-deals-include-a-switch-oled-that-comes-with-super-mario-bros-wonder-for-349-130030476.html?src=rss
Nintendo added an absolute gem to its Switch Online library of classic titles this week: the 1994 Game Boy game, Donkey Kong. The beloved game arrives alongside the 1995 puzzle game, Marios Picross. Both are available now for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, right in time for Mario Day (March 10).
Donkey Kong built upon the arcade game that came before it, and features roughly 100 stages. The story should feel pretty familiar even to those who dont have a nostalgic connection to it Donkey Kong has kidnapped a beautiful woman (Pauline) and Mario is in hot pursuit to rescue her. While the Super Game Boy brought some enhancements for the original game, those havent been carried over for Nintendo Switch. But it should still be a treat to revisit as is. Marios Picross offers a totally different experience, presenting the player with a couple hundred puzzles to solve by chiseling away at boxes and uncovering the secret image below.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/you-can-now-play-donkey-kong-94-through-nintendo-switch-online-225857703.html?src=rss
Employees of the General Services Administration, which manages government real estate and certain IT efforts, have been given a custom chatbot from Elon Musks DOGE to help automate tasks, according to a new report from Wired, with an internal memo telling workers it can be used to draft emails, create talking points, summarize text, write code. The chatbot, GSAi, gives users a choice of three models Claude Haiku 3.5 (the default), Claude Sonnet 3.5 v2 and Meta Llama 3.2 and is ultimately meant to be used to analyze contract and procurement data, Wired reports.
The GSA is one of the many agencies that have been affected by the federal governments mass job cuts, and has so far let go upwards of 1,000 workers, sources told NPR in a report published this week. That includes roughly 90 people from its tech branch, according to Wired. In memos about the new chatbot seen by Wired, workers were told not to input federal nonpublic information, personally identifiable information or controlled unclassified information. It was reportedly tested among a smaller group last month before rolling out to the roughly 1,500 workers who now have access, with plans to expand down the line.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/doge-has-reportedly-started-rolling-out-a-custom-chatbot-to-automate-some-government-tasks-211616079.html?src=rss
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has tapped Fast & Furious director Justin Lin to direct its upcoming movie adaptation of BRZRKR, the popular comic by Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt about an immortal warrior. Netflix first announced plans to create both a live-action movie and an anime based on BRZRKR back in 2021, with Reeves starring in the former and returning to voice his character in the animated show. But, weve heard little about the projects since. In the meantime, Reeves and author China Miéville dove back into the BRZRKR lore with The Book of Elsewhere, which was released last year.
There are still no details on when the Netflix adaptations will air, but we can safely expect both to bring violence and plenty of action. BRZRKR follows a half-mortal, half-god man known as B who has fought his way through 80,000 years of life. By the time he accepts a job killing for the US government, hes very much over his immortality and looking for a way out. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Terminator Zero showrunner Mattson Tomlin is writing the script for the movie and the anime.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-netflix-film-adaptation-of-keanu-reeves-brzrkr-now-has-its-director-184902694.html?src=rss
These are the new releases that belong on your reading list. This week, we've got a haunting novel from Charlotte McConaghy that blends mystery with environmental thriller, and a comic mini-series about the legendary Jersey Devil.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-fiction-wild-dark-shore-mystery-dark-horse-comics-let-this-one-be-a-devil-171026492.html?src=rss
Google will have to break up its business, the Justice Department said in a filing, upholding the previous administration's proposal after a federal judge ruled last year that the company illegally abused a monopoly over the search industry. As The Washington Post and The New York Times have reported, the Justice Department reiterated in a new filing that Google will have to sell the Chrome browser. When the DOJ argued for its sale last year, it said that selling Chrome "will permanently stop Googles control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet."
The Justice Department also kept a Biden-era proposal that seeks to ban Google from paying companies like Apple, other smartphone manufacturers and Mozilla to make its search engine the default on their phones and browsers. It did remove a previous proposal that would compel Google to sell its stakes in AI startups, however, after Anthropic told the government that it needs the company's money to continue operating. Instead of banning AI investments altogether, the government wants to require the company to notify federal and state officials before making investments in artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, the Financial Times reported that Google was investing another billion dollars in Anthropic.
Google is expected to file its own proposal for its final set of alternative remedies. In the earlier one it filed in December, the company said that the Justice Department's original remedies went "overboard" and that they reflected an "interventionist agenda" that "goes far beyond what the Court's decision is actually about [its] agreements with partners to distribute search." Google suggested allowing it continue paying partners like Apple and Mozilla to offer Google Search, but also to allow them to form agreements with other partners across different platforms. Apple could, for instance, offer different default search engines for iPhones and iPads. Meanwhile, browser companies could change default search engines every 12 months.
As The Post notes, the Justice Department's filing could be an indicator of how the Trump administration will handle antitrust cases involving tech companies. It could be strict on big tech like the Biden administration was despite tech leaders supporting the new President and his policies. Google donated to the Trump campaign when he ran last year and just recently halted efforts to hire employees from diverse backgrounds. It said that it was "no longer set hiring targets to improve representation in its workforce." The House also recently subpoenaed Alphabet and its CEO Sundar Pichai for communications between the company and the Biden administration regarding COVID-19.
Judge Amit Mehta, the original judge who ruled that Google was a monopolist and had "acted as one to maintain its monopoly," will hear both the government's and the company's remedies and will decide on the final solutions for the case in April. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-will-still-have-to-break-up-its-business-the-justice-department-said-150000739.html?src=rss
Games Done Quick's next weeklong charity speedrunning shindig kicks off this weekend. Frost Fatales, one of GDQ's two events celebrating women and femmes, runs from March 9 to 16, raising money for the nonprofit National Women's Law Center.
Frost Fatales is the winter installment of the pair of events organized by GDQ's Frame Fatales speedrunning community. (Its summer counterpart is Flame Fatales.) Last year's Frost Fatales raised $155,000 for the same nonprofit, which fights for gender justice in issues central to the lives of women and girls. Since the first Frame Fatales event in 2019, the biannual speedruns have raised over $1 million for charity.
Studio MDHR
This year's festivities dive right into the deep end with a run of the charmingly punishing Cuphead at 1PM ET on Sunday, followed by Super Mario Odyssey a mere hour later. Anyone who can beat Cuphead in that time deserves a Medal of Honor.
Other notable runs from the week include the OG Legend of Zelda on Sunday, the Wii reboot of Punch-Out!! on Monday, a "girl squad" three-way race in Final Fantasy X-2 on Wednesday and a race to defeat Ganon (again) in Breath of the Wild on Saturday. The week wraps up with a one-handed (say what?) speedrun of the indie platforming classic Celeste later that night.
You can check out GDQ's schedule for the full lineup of games. The weeklong event streams exclusively on the GDQ Twitch channel (also embedded below), starting with that must-see Cuphead run at 1PM ET on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/how-to-watch-games-done-quicks-frost-fatales-speedrunning-event-from-march-9-220017343.html?src=rss
You can stream the first episode of Win or Lose, Pixar's first original TV series, for free on YouTube. It follows a co-ed middle school softball team (the Pickles), with each episode focusing on a different character's perspective including animated personifications of their insecurities and defense mechanisms.
The first episode hones in on the "coach's kid," Laurie, the Pickles' right fielder. She's rubbish at softball, thanks in no small part to her insecurities, illustrated as a sentient perspiration blob (the aptly named Sweaty).
If Win or Lose floats your boat, you'll need to hop over to Disney+ subscription in tow to watch the remaining seven episodes (the last two of which premiere on March 12). Should you go that route, you can currently save some money on the ad-supported tier of a Disney+ and Hulu bundle.
Pre-release controversy
Disney+
Win or Lose stood at the center of a controversy months before its February 19 debut. The show was initially slated to include an openly transgender character, Kai. While the part, played by trans actress Chanel Stewart, is still included in the series, Disney cut several lines of dialog referencing her gender identity.
A pair of overshadowing circumstances compounded the online backlash over the decision: The news came on the heels of Donald Trump's election victory, and the show has an openly Christian character (Laurie) who prays aloud to "Heavenly Father" before heading to the plate. The combination led many to assume the moves were an appeasement to the president-elect, right as business leaders were routinely seen visiting Mar-a-Lago and currying favor by cutting DEI programs and trans-inclusive features.
However, Disney framed its decision as being about parental freedom regarding LGBTQ+ storylines. "When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline," a company spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter in December. An off-record source "close to" the project told the publication that the studio chose to cut the lines several months before, which (if true) would have placed it at a point when political forecasters saw the election's outcome as either a coin flip or slightly favoring former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Regardless, you can check out the first episode below if it sounds like your cup of tea.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/you-can-stream-the-first-episode-of-pixars-win-or-lose-on-youtube-211938945.html?src=rss
