Shigeru Miyamoto will co-produce a ‘Mario’ animated movie

Nintendo’s third big announcement of the evening comes right back to its main star, Mario, and the news that he will star in an animated movie. Confirming earlier rumors, Shigeru Miyamoto is listed as co-producer along with Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Minions, Ice Age) head Chris Meledandri, but the announcement didn’t mention other details like a title or release date. The press release notes that Universal Pictures is co-financing the project and will handle worldwide distribution, and it seems ripe for a tie-in with theme park plans both companies are working on.

The big question now is if it will live up/down (depending on how you feel about it) to the reputation of 1993’s Super Mario Bros. movie.

Developing…

Nintendo and Illumination are partnering on a movie starring Mario, co-produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri! pic.twitter.com/wVRPLIzcGJ

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 1, 2018

Source: Nintendo

DirecTV Now’s Revamped Interface and Cloud DVR Features to Debut This Spring

During its fourth quarter earnings report this afternoon, AT&T shared release details (via Engadget) for its next-generation DirecTV Now video streaming platform, which will be a major revamp of the existing service.

When the update rolls out this spring, DirecTV Now subscribers will gain access to a new cloud DVR feature, allowing them to record and access their shows from anywhere.

DirecTV Now will also be gaining an entirely new interface to provide a “consistent look and feel” across all of the company’s consumer video services, and subscribers will be able to stream to one additional device concurrently.

DirecTV Now subscribers have had access to the cloud DVR features in a beta capacity since late 2017, but it will be launching officially in the spring.

AT&T said in December that additional features are planned for DirecTV Now, including support for 4K video, individual profiles, and more on-demand titles.

According to AT&T, DirecTV Now has a total of 1.2 million subscribers, with the company gaining 368,000 new subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2017.

Tags: AT&T, DirecTV Now
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Nintendo Working on ‘Mario Kart Tour’ Game for Mobile Devices

Nintendo this evening announced that a new mobile game is in the works, and this time the company is planning to bring a major fan favorite series to iOS devices — Mario Kart.

According to Nintendo, a new Mario Kart game called “Mario Kart Tour” is in development. Little is known about the game at this time, but Nintendo says it will be released by March 2019.

The checkered flag has been raised and the finish line is near. A new mobile application is now in development: Mario Kart Tour! #MarioKartTour Releasing in the fiscal year ending in March 2019. pic.twitter.com/8GIyR7ZM4z

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 1, 2018

Mario Kart is on of Nintendo’s most popular titles, and a Mario Kart mobile game would follow successful mobile versions of games in the Super Mario, Animal Crossing, and Fire Emblem franchises.

Nintendo’s other mobile games include Super Mario Run, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and Fire Emblem Heroes. The company’s first game on iOS devices was Miitomo, which was released in March of 2016. Nintendo this week announced that it plans to shut down Miitomo on May 9, 2018.

Though Miitomo was not a successful venture for the company given its imminent termination, Nintendo’s other games have done better. Nintendo’s smartphone profits reached 11.2 billion yen this fiscal quarter, seeing growth thanks to the recent launch of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. The game has generated an estimated $17 million globally.

Nintendo also said back in October that Fire Emblem Heroes is on track to meet its business and profit objectives. Unfortunately, Super Mario Run, Nintendo’s one game that is a paid app rather than free-to-play, had not reached an “acceptable profit point” as of late 2017.

Nintendo says it has “learned a lot” about game development and deployment from Super Mario Run, however, and it is too early to tell whether the new Mario Kart game will be free-to-play or another game with an upfront purchase.

With more than a year to go before Mario Kart Tour launches, we’ll likely learn more about it over the course of the next several months. Given the current example of mobile versions of Nintendo games, it’s unlikely to be a full Mario Kart title, but fans of the series will undoubtedly be looking forward to the debut of a Mario Kart smartphone game.

Tag: Nintendo
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Measuring sound waves could offer real-time early warning system for tsunamis

Tsunamis can be incredibly destructive, none more so than the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the deadliest on record, which claimed nearly 230,000 lives across 15 countries. While we don’t yet have a way to stop tsunamis from happening, mathematicians at the U.K.’s Cardiff University have come up with a new method for using sound waves to calculate the size and potential destructive force of a tsunami in advance. The results could open up the possibility of developing a live early warning system capable of saving lives.

“We have derived an analytical solution for the propagation of sound waves from slender faults being displaced upwards, then applied an inverse approach to calculate the main properties of the fault and its movement — such as location, length, width, orientation, duration, speed, and time of eruption,” Dr. Usama Kadri, from Cardiff University’s School of Mathematics, told Digital Trends. “Practically, the solution allows us to analyze hydrophone [underwater microphone] recordings and calculate the main properties of the fault in near-real time.”

At present, tsunami early warning systems involve floating devices that measure pressure changes in the ocean. This isn’t a perfect solution, since the large number of flotation devices makes it extremely costly. Because it relies on physical contact with the tsunami in order to register a possible wave, it’s also not useful if the device is located too close to shore — since it would provide only a few extra minutes or seconds of warning.

The Cardiff University system, on the other hand, analyzes naturally occurring acoustic gravity waves (AGWs) generated in the deep ocean following a tsunami trigger event such as an underwater earthquake. Because these AGWs travel more than 10 times the speed of a tsunami wave, they can be far more effective in offering a useful alert.

“We’re currently analyzing other main properties under actual scenarios, and developing an efficient tsunami model that can run in parallel to the inverse solution, to maximize efficiency and warning time,” Kadri said. He noted that the team would consider commercializing the technology, although this would only be done “if it will not act as a barrier, at whatever level, in front of the main objective of our work: to create an efficient tsunami warning system to protect lives globally and invariably.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

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Gaze upon 2018’s super blue blood moon with these spectacular photos

Stargazers the world over must be in heaven right now. Last year saw a number of gorgeous celestial events, and 2018 has started out strong on the cosmic front. On January 31, a “super blue blood moon” graced the skies. If that name seems like a mouthful, there’s a reason, as it is essentially three events happening all at once. Super blue blood moon is also a bit easier for most people to say than the more scientific term — “perigee syzygy.”

First, it was a supermoon, meaning the moon is closer to the Earth than it normally is, making the moon loom larger and shine brighter. When the moon is at the closest point in its orbit to Earth, it is known as “perigee.”

Secondly, it was a blue moon, which is the term for when a second full moon occurs in the same calendar month, which occurs every couple years or so (hence the phrase “once in a blue moon”).

Finally, the moon on January 31 was also a blood moon, which is what happens during a total lunar eclipse. In a lunar eclipse, the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, making it appear a deep red. Three celestial bodies aligning is known as “syzygy,” which is a word that will make anyone regret playing Scrabble with you.

The super blue blood moon arrived less than two months after the supermoon in December 2017, and watchers in North America may have to wait a while until the next one. According to NASA, the next combination of a lunar eclipse and supermoon — visible from North America — will occur January 21, 2019.

For those who managed to catch a glimpse of the super blue blood moon, the sight was spectacular; for everyone else, there are pictures. Although a photo might not have the same imposing presence as the real thing, there are gorgeous shots from around the world, and we’ve compiled some of the best.

Photo: NASA

Can’t afford a yacht? Get yourself a crazy tiny Rapid Whale Mini Boat instead

Are you in the market for a yacht, but find yourself in the unfortunate position of not being a tech billionaire or Saudi prince with the disposable cash to buy one? No problem: Bay Area maker Josh Tulberg has a budget solution (in both size and cost) for anyone willing to do a bit of work. He has created a tiny electric mini boat that he is selling as a do-it-yourself kit.

“Mini boats are like fancy kayaks, but with way more dock appeal,” Tulberg told Digital Trends. “They are generally slow and 100 percent electric, built for cruising and showing off. I imagine the first mini boats stemmed from the concept of doing more with less.”

Tulberg’s boat is primarily made using three sheets of plywood and stands out from the rest of the mini boat pack in a few key ways. For starters, it’s only 6 feet in length, which makes it far more compact than some of the other options on the market, which are at least a couple feet longer. (He assures us that it’s still stable and comfortable to sit in, however.) It’s also created with a laser cutter, which is unusual for a kit boat, since they are typically made using CNC routers. Finally, it is incredibly easy to construct with what Tulberg describes as a “stitch-and-glue” technique.

The boat’s power comes from a 12-volt sealed lead acid battery, which is reportedly enough to transport a single occupant of less than 6 feet, 2 inches, and 200 pounds at a speed of 3.5 knots. Add to that the fact that you can carry it in the back of your car, and you’ve got a pint-sized James Bond-esque vehicle that will make you the envy of other folks at your nearest lake/beach/large body of water.

“I offer kits on a made-to-order basis, and I also offer plans [in the form of] cut profiles for anyone who is interested in cutting their own, either with conventional power-tools or with a CNC laser or router,” Tulberg continued. Kits cost $950, although you need to shell out around $500-$1,000 more to get various off-the-shelf components to complete it.

If you’re wondering about how much work is involved with the built process, you can check out the entire process online at Instructables. Happy yachting!

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A cut above the rest: Here are the 5 best robotic lawn mowers

It’s no real secret at this point — in the future many of our least favorite jobs will be automated. While the pessimists routinely tout automation as the inevitable downfall of our entire economic structure, the optimists see the other side of this same coin. With no need to toil with mundane chores and archaic work, mankind will be left with a life of leisure and more abstract endeavor.

The average American spends nearly 70 hours a year dealing with lawn care. Couldn’t this time be more fruitfully spent? Why toil in static drudgery when we could master a new hobby, and sit back and enjoy the scent of robotically clipped blades of grass from afar? The machines are coming for our jobs, so we might as well let our future robo-overlords manicure our lawns before they inevitably send us out to pasture. Without further ado, here are five of our favorite robotic lawnmowers greenbacks can buy.

Honda Miimo 3000 ($2,800)

It’s really no surprise that Honda — the company that brought us the bona fide robo-biped, Asimo — was one of the pioneering robotic lawn-care manufacturers. Overall, the Miimo 3000 is one of our favorite offerings on the market.

While many robotic lawnmowers are limited to smaller yards, this model can mow up to an acre with ease. The Miimo 3000 can also handle angles up to 25 degrees, making this device ideal for yards with a few semi-steep slopes.

One of the real standout features with the Miimo series is the paired app. This allows you to adjust cutting height, start or stop the unit, and also manage a calendar, all from your smartphone.

Miimo uses a “continuous cutting system,” meaning the machine trims your lawn about by 1 inch multiple times a week. A fan on the underbelly sucks grass toward the blades for consistency and efficiency. This lawnmower is also one of the more intuitive models out there. Miimo will adjust cuts as grass growth increases or decreases seasonally, and also “detects” denser patches of grass.

Three panoramic sensors allows the unit to detect and avoid obstacles around the yard. If any of these sensors pinpoints a hindrance, the Miimo will immediately stop and then pivot in a different direction.

Buy now from:
Honda

Worx Landroid ($910)

The Worx Landroid is one of the more reasonably priced models on the market, making it one of the first devices that those new to automated mowing should consider. While you could certainly buy a top-of-the-line riding lawnmower for that price, the Landroid handles the entire chore for you. Emblazoned in the traditional Worx orange-and-black color scheme, the Landroid is appealing to the eye in a field brimming with exceedingly utilitarian competitors.

This robotic lawnmower uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to maneuver through narrow areas, and the same intelligence also allows the Landroid to mow in a seemingly haphazard pattern with minimal unnecessary overlap. A series of sensors helps the machine to avoid and mow around obstacles, so your onlooking yard gnomes should be just fine. The robotic lawnmower doesn’t like inclement weather, but if the Landroid detects rain, the unit will automatically disengage and return to its docking station to recharge until the weather has cleared.

In terms of security, this robotic lawnmower requires a security pin number, and there’s also a smartphone alert if the Landroid has left the designated perimeter, just in case the unit decides to make an escape — or someone attempts to snatch your ‘droid.

On the downside, the Landroid can only handle up to a quarter of an acre, meaning those looking to mow larger yards will need to consider another option.

Buy now from:
Amazon

Husqvarna Automower 450X ($3500)

Though there are cheaper robotic lawnmowers on the market, the 450X can cover the most turf — up to 1.25 acres. While others models on this list incorporate softer lines and warmer, matte color schemes, the Automower 450X has more of a glossy, RoboCop 2 build. This model looks downright menacing plowing over your patch of the planet, and we absolutely love it.

Like the other models, you’ll need to “fence” off the perimeter of your yard as well as garden patches before you can set this bad boy loose. That said, you can also adjust the map of your yard via the app to mark additional zones to avoid. This is necessary for ditches or more rugged areas where the mower might struggle for adequate traction.

You can schedule the mow times over the course of a given month, allowing the model to trim as regularly or minimally as desired. The more regular mowings will minimize clippings for a cleaner-looking yard.

One major upside to this model is how quiet it runs. Graded at just 58 decibels, this lawnmower is about as loud as an air conditioning unit, or a “conversation in a restaurant,” meaning the 450X could even go for a moonlit mow without waking the neighbors.

Buy now from:
Husqvarna

Study: Vanilla, cinnamon, and butter e-cig flavors are more harmful than others

The jury is still out on what the exact health impact of smoking e-cigarettes might be. However, a new study led by researchers the University of Rochester Medical Center suggests that one of the big negatives of vaping may not be related directly to the e-cigs themselves, but rather to some of the commonly used chemicals and liquids used to add flavoring. Specifically, they found that cinnamon, vanilla, and butter e-cig flavors rank among the worst in terms of toxicity, and that mixing multiple e-cigarette flavors has a much worse effect than exposure to only one.

The use of e-cigarettes has dramatically increased over the past decade, with almost 8,000 uniquely flavored “e-juices” currently available to consumers. When these liquids are heated and inhaled, the flavoring chemicals enter the lungs. In the University of Rochester’s study, researchers compared the health effects of vaping nicotine-free flavored e-liquids with smoking regular cigarettes. They concluded that these flavoring chemicals affect immune cells in the body, specifically a type of white blood cell called monocytes.

The study’s author Dr. Thivanka Muthumalage suggests that, although such flavorings are considered safe for ingesting, they can prove damaging when inhaled. “Cinnamon, vanilla, and butter flavoring chemicals were the most toxic, but our research showed that mixing flavors of e-liquids caused by far the most toxicity to white blood cells,” Muthumalage said in a press release.

Since this is still a new area of research, more investigation needs to be carried out. The researchers next plan to do experiments to simulate the effects of live, and call for a long-term human study to investigate the health effects. For now, though, they suggest that e-cigarette flavors should be regulated and e-juice bottles made by law to include a descriptive listing of all the ingredients they contain. This is particularly important when the flavorings are ones which are named to attract younger vapers, such as candy, cake, cinnamon roll and mystery mix.

A study describing the work, “Inflammatory and Oxidative Responses Induced by Exposure to Commonly Used e-Cigarette Flavoring Chemicals and Flavored e-Liquids without Nicotine,” was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology.

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Color correct and protect the DJI Mavic Air with new accessories from PolarPro

Drone giant DJI has shrunk the backpack-sized Mavic Pro down even further with the Mavic Air — and soon owners of the new drone can have a small set of accessories to match. On Tuesday, January 30, PolarPro launched pre-orders for a new line of accessories designed for the DJI Mavic Air, including filters, cases, and platforms for handheld shooting.

Continuing on its earlier line of drone filters, the PolarPro Mavic Air lens filters are designed to fit the camera on the smaller drone. The set includes the most commonly used filters for digital cameras, including polarizing filters to enhance color quality. Neutral density filters give aerial videographers and photographers more control over their shutter speed while the UV filters cut back on haze and glare, PolarPro says.

Weight is always a consideration since adding gear onto a drone will reduce the flight time, but the PolarPro lenses for the Mavic Air weigh in at 0.59 grams, thanks in part to the aluminum frame. The manufacturer also says that the filters won’t hinder the performance of the Mavic Air’s three-axis gimbal. The filters sell as sets beginning at $80.

While DJI has designed the Mavic Air to fit inside a coat pocket, PolarPro is offering options for pilots that don’t want to tuck the drone away unprotected. The Minimalist Edition case is a soft-shell designed to slide into another bag. Custom-moulded to the Mavic Air’s shape, the bag fits the drone (when folded), four batteries, remote, and other accessories including filters and cables. The soft case retails for $30.

PolarPro’s Rugged case fits the same amount of gear but inside a hard-shelled case. The case is also waterproof and uses a foam insert to offer more protection for the drone. The hard case lists for $50.

PolarPro is also working to help pilots use their drone for recording on the ground. The Katana Mavic Air Tray and the Pro version of the same tray allow the Mavic Air’s camera and gimbal to be used handheld. The tray gives the drone a grip that makes the camera easier to use for handheld shots in no-fly zones, or for keeping ground-based footage consistent with aerial footage for the same project by using the same camera. The basic version will sell for $50 and the Pro for $80.

Pre-orders for all the accessories are available from PolarPro’s website, while the company expects the accessories to begin shipping in February.

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Ditch the backpack and ride with 686’s Hydrastash jacket to stay hydrated on the slopes

For this winter’s Outdoor Retailer show in Denver, Digital Trends teamed up with The Manual to crown the greatest outdoor gear as our Best Of Show winners, along with four awards going to the most innovative products. Head on over to The Manual to see the complete Outdoor Retailer Awards.

Staying hydrated while skiing or snowboarding is important, but the dilemma of where to stash a water bottle or bladder remains a constant issue. Backpacks tend to be cumbersome, and riding a chairlift with one is even less comfortable. Plus, the lines in hydration bladder backpacks tend to freeze, leaving you with a solid chunk of undrinkable ice. This is exactly where the built-in hydration sleeve in 686’s Hydrastash Jacket would come in handy, and why we crowned it a Digital Trends Innovation Award winner.

The Hydrastash is a clever new micro-hydration system that fits around your waist rather than on your back, freeing up space on the chairlift and allowing you to ski or snowboard completely backpack-free. And because it hugs your body inside a coat, the tube won’t freeze — even in the coldest of conditions.

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Also check out The Manual’s winners

The hands-free system, which launched at this year’s show after four years of research and development, is currently built into 686’s GLCR Reservoir jacket. The system integrates with the jacket’s powder skirt to provide 25 ounces of available hydration — the equivalent of about a mid-sized water bottle. When you snap your skirt up, the hydration pack shifts onto your waist, maintaining an even center of gravity and moving along with you as you ride.

Anti-slosh dams within the bladder help prevent motion when fluid is low, and lifts any noticeable weight, resulting in a ride down the mountain that feels free and unencumbered by bulky packs. The reservoir itself is constructed with material so strong it can be run over by a small car without bursting, so you don’t have to worry about hard falls breaking the bladder, and the tube has a self-sealing Microbite valve with a steady, strong flow rate.

The jacket itself is built with waterproof infiDRY 20K stretch fabric, fully taped Bemis seams, and 80g ultra-warm polyfill in the body. For now, Hydrastash is only available in the GLCR Reservoir, however, the company may integrate the patent-pending technology with other products down the line.

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