1 | The Game That Lets You Interact With The Plumber With A Conscience
[Warning: video contains possible the biggest flowchart ever constructed]
If you’re a fan of gaming it’s highly likely you’ll have played one of the 200 video games to feature an overweight, Italian plumber who looks ever so slightly like Bob Hoskins.
This week, German designers have caused a furor by efficiently creating the first ‘self-aware’ version of Super Mario. This means that not only will Mario perform all the usual tricks (jumping on Goombas, collecting worthless coins), he’ll also be psychologically affected by what he goes through and can even become depressed, changing your gameplay experience.
It’s all an experiment at present, but isn’t that exactly how all A.I dystopias begin?
2 | The 12-Incher From HP
http://i.imgur.com/zb8OKIJ.jpg
It’s official: we’re now in the grip of a rush to make every screen as big as possible. We’ve already mentioned the rise of the ‘laplet’ (wash your mouth out after saying that) and clued you in on Sharp’s Ultra HD 80 inch TV.
Now, HP have announced they’re getting in on the act with their Pro Slate family tablets, which come at 7.9 inches and 12.3 inches. There’s no word as of yet on a UK release date, but the 2048x1536 resolution of the smaller tablet would be perfect for the return of Game Of Thrones this April.
3 | Apple's Bid To Discover Exactly What You’re Listening To
http://i.imgur.com/cVyUmvx.jpg
Is Apple about to launch its own music streaming service? Let’s look at the evidence: first they bought Beats (making Dr Dre very happy) and now they’re expanding their audio credentials by purchasing song analytics service Musicmetric for a rumoured $50m.
With the power to analyse online play counts, illegal downloads and social media buzz around each song, Apple will gain a direct insight into the real time music tastes of its customers, meaning they’ll be able to tell you exactly what you want before you’ve even heard it when the re-jigged Beats Music eventually launches in the UK.
4 | The Supercharged Coffee Shop
http://i.imgur.com/1KISe3k.jpg
You can pretend it’s “against your morals” and that you prefer “artisan coffee” but we all know if you were in desperate need of a caffeine hit you’d be ducking into the nearest Starbucks before we could say “skinny soy latte”.
Presumably, Starbucks know this too and they’re keen to keep it that way, which is why they’ve introduced free wireless charging spots at ten of their London branches. The system works via Powermat technology, with customers connecting a magnetic charging ring to their phones (borrow one or get your own for £10) and placing it on the mat, charging your device while you wait for that tuna Panini to finally heat up.
5 | The Windows Revolution
There’s been a big Windows 10 announcement this week, which has been sumarised in the lethargy-inducing video above. The jist of it, though is that all devices currently running on Windows 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 during the first year the operating system is out.
The video's claims that this will “move the world’s computing experience forward” remain to be seen, but the video shows the start menu has returned, so we'll take that for now.
Which are you excited about?
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