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Walyou

Nintendo Fans Create Customized Amiibo Figures
3 Billion People in the World Use the Internet
The Laser Firing Watch James Bond Would Love to Have
Nintendo Patent Could Bring Game Boy Emulator to Smartphones

Nintendo Fans Create Customized Amiibo Figures

Posted: 01 Dec 2014 08:00 AM PST

The first batch of Nintendo’s figures have inspired a range of awesome personalized creations.

Dreweyes (Metal Mario)

I'm sure in the near future Nintendo will roll out a diverse roster of Amiibo figures that would delight any collector, but in the meanwhile handy dandy do-it-yourself-ers have taking upon themselves to invent as many unique figures from within the Nintendo universe.

Project Upgrade (Light Suit Samus)

cbd31963 (Blue Yoshi)

Yes taking a page out of "doing what Nintendon't", fans have been either repainting several figures – such as the "Metal Mario", "Light Suit" Samus, Dark Link, and blue-colored Yoshi examples you see here – or make-shifting and inserting items to transform the friendly Villager of Animal Crossing into his not-so-friendly-super-creepy form.

chibisilverwings (Dark Link and Villager)

Hmm, I’m not so sure if that last one will ever make it to the product line, but as for creativity? It’s absolutely great. I’m sure we will see more custom Amiibos as the time goes on. With a little ingenuity, a glue gun, and paint, the number of different custom Amiibos could be endless.

Source: Tiny Cartridge

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3 Billion People in the World Use the Internet

Posted: 01 Dec 2014 06:00 AM PST

As more devices than ever can be connected to the Internet, the global online population hits 3 billion people.

Aside from cat videos and hilarious memes, the Internet can actually be an incredibly valuable technology tool. Not only does it provide us with tons of information (it is the ‘information super highway after all) but it provides us with new opportunities too.

With the Internet we can find out about important local news or even take part (social media helped several countries stage democratic uprisings recently), we can gain access to information about better healthcare and find out things that can actively improve our lives. A fair few people even use the Internet to find work.

So the reveal today that three billion people use the Internet is fantastic. But, with over 7 billion of us living on the planet, there’s still plenty to do until everyone in the world is online.

Broken down by the UN’s International Telecommunication’s Union (ITU) in their latest “Measuring the Information Society” report, Internet usage is growing. The global average for growth is 6.6%, which is made up of 8.7% in developed countries (the United States, Canada, France and other countries like these) and 3.3% of growth in those that are developing.

But, while those growth points are good, the largest chunk of people not online are in developing countries. ITU says that of the 4.3 billion people not yet online, approximately 90% of them live in the developing world.

So how is ITU going to change that, and make it so that it’s not just richer countries that are benefitting from the web? As part of their “Connect 2020 Agenda for Global Telecommunication/ICT Development” ITU hopes to bring a further 1.5 billion people into the online fray by 2020.

They want to open up the wireless spectrum that’s used for TV broadcasts to make Internet access cheaper, but this may still be a struggle for those who already have little money to part with. However as ITU secretary-general Dr Hamadoun I Touré says that technology and the Internet can make the world a “much better place, in particular for those who are the poorest and the most disenfranchised, including women, youth, and those with disabilities,” they seem incredibly committed to the cause at least.

Source: ZDNet

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The Laser Firing Watch James Bond Would Love to Have

Posted: 01 Dec 2014 04:00 AM PST

Looking completely like something Q will give James Bond before he goes off for another mission, we now have a watch that first lasers thanks to inventor Patrick Priebe (who runs a company called laser gadgets).

Priebe is also responsible for the a-la Spider-man Webshooter and other fun stuff like the Iron Man laser gauntlet. His video for the new Laser Watch has already picked up over 700,000 views on Youtube.

According to Priebe, the watch is made out of leftovers:

I found a piece of leftover tubing, and I put it on my wrist and I realized it looked like a watch already. All I had to do was file down the edges to make the time module fit and cut something out for the laser module on the side, and it fit right away. It's just my style, putting things together without a plan.

The James Bond ‘Goldeneye’ video game from 1995 provided the inspiration to making this gadget, which is shown blowing up baloons in the introduction video.

Priebe has made it clear the watch isn’t for sale: There are some limits. I always say I don't make weapons. I just make toys.

Hat Tip

For some more laser stuff, check out this xtra safe GPS system for cyclists and this gingerbread house built using CAD and lasers.

Nintendo Patent Could Bring Game Boy Emulator to Smartphones

Posted: 30 Nov 2014 12:55 PM PST

Android and iOS devices already are major productivity killers, but that didn’t stop Nintendo from filing a patent for a smartphone Game Boy emulator.

Smartphones evolve with each passing day, and games that match their capabilities are launched on a regular basis. Despite all that, some of us enjoy going back to the classic titles from 20 or 25 years ago. When people are struck by gaming nostalgia, nothing can stop them from playing their Game Boy favorites on their handheld console. Things can only get better when running such games on a modern-day smartphone, in order to take advantage of all the processing power that’s hidden under the case. An official Nintendo emulator for Game Boy titles may be on its way to our smartphones, or at least that’s what a recent patent application of the Japanese company suggests.

SNES, NES and Game Boy classics have already found a new home on the Wii, Wii U and 3DS, so emulation isn’t a new thing for Nintendo. However, this piece of intellectual property would increase the number of devices capable of running Game Boy apps, and smartphones will surely be among them. A lot of people have been pushing the Japanese behemoth to create emulators for smartphones, especially since its hardware sales are not going that well, with Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One taking the first spots. Spin-off games from the Pokémon series have made an appearence on iPhone and iPad, but full ports are still a long way.

There’s a good reason why emulators on iOS generally get shut down right after the Apple review team becomes aware of their existence, but it should be noted that none of these is made by Nintendo. An official emulator would probably change how things work, but even this patent application doesn’t guarantee that. Nintendo has been securing patents for similar purposes in the past, so this might be nothing more than a strategy to make sure that no one else is thinking of emulating classic games on smartphones. It remains to be seen whether Game Boy titles will make an appearance on our mobile devices any time soon. How would you fancy to play Super Mario Land, Tetris or Tennis on a Samsung Note 4?

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