Way back in 2012, Google "released" an 8-bit version of Google Maps as one of the company's then-annual April Fool's Day jokes. There was a low-res 8-bit style of Google Maps to play with, but the company didn't deliver on its promise of a cartridge you could pop in your old Nintendo Entertainment System. Gizmodo noticed that, nine years later, someone has figured out how to pull this off, with the help of a heavily-modified NES system and the previous work of other hackers before him.

Specifically, YouTuber ciciplusplus used a method to build his maps inspired by someone who figured out how to translate Bing Maps aerial imagery into 8-bit tiles that make up scenery in the original The Legend of Zelda NES game. Ciciplusplus used a similar method to convert Google Maps images into what appears to be tiles from the NES game Dragon Warrior (yes, Dragon Quest for those who didn't grow up playing it in the US). 

As for the elaborate mods he made to a standard NES, those were inspired by YouTuber TheRasteri, who figured out how to get Doomplaying on his NES (of course). You can see a full video of how he pulled it off below: 

As for the final Google Maps on NES product, well, you can vaguely make out the shapes of continents, and areas by the coast are recognizable, but once you zoom in, there isn't a whole lot of detail to distinguish what you're looking at. Still, it's an impressive and fun hack that we're guessing Google didn't think anyone would ever pull off.

When Microsoft released the Windows 11 Insider preview earlier this summer, it did so with some confusion around minimum system requirements. It quickly reversed course, saying that more people could install the software update than its requirements originally stated so the company could gather more performance on how the OS performed. After a few months of users testing and providing feedback, Microsoft says that, for the most part, its system requirements from June will stand — but there are a few notable changes.

This means that you'll need a compatible 64-bit processor, 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage, as well as "UEFI secure boot, graphics requirements and TPM 2.0." For the most part, Microsoft is still requiring an 8th-generation or newer Intel processor, but the company is adding a few 7th-generation Intel options to the supported list, including Intel Core X-series, Xeon W-series and the Intel Core 7820HQ. For the latter, Microsoft will only support "select devices that shipped with modern drivers based on Declarative, Componentized, Hardware Support Apps (DCH) design principles, including Surface Studio 2."

After working with AMD, Microsoft has declined to include the first generation of AMD Zen processors in its officially supported list. The full list of supported processors can be found here.

There is some good news for people running older hardware, though. According to The Verge, Microsoft won't prohibit computers running processors on its "supported" list from installing Windows 11 — they just won't be able to do so through the official Windows update software. You'll instead have to download a Windows 11 ISO file and install it yourself. The Verge says this method will primarily be for businesses to try Windows 11 and it won't be publicizing this method to standard users. 

If you're still wondering whether or not your computer will be able to officially run Windows 11, Microsoft has released an update for its PC Health Check, which was originally giving users some rather vague and unhelpful messages regarding compatibility. The new version should make it much clearer whether your computer is supported and, if not, what it needs to meet the Windows 11 system requirements.

Nintendo surprise-announced Metroid Dread, the fifth mainline game in the series, at E3 this year. Part of the surprise was that it was arriving this year, October 8th to be precise. Now, with just over a month before it arrives, Nintendo has released a new trailer for Metroid Dread, which might be our last look at the game before launch. Of course, this trailer isn't as detailed as the 20 minutes of gameplay Nintendo showed off at E3, but it still shows off a lot of what to expect when Metroid Dread arrives on the Switch. 

The video mixes more cinematic shots of Samus Aran battling some pretty huge and intimidating baddies with the 2D gameplay footage that originally defined the series before the first-person Metroid Prime games. The game looks immediately familiar to people who've been waiting for a new 2D Metroid game, but Samus Aran has more abilities to navigate the terrain and battle enemies than ever before. The trailer moves fast, but there's lots of aerial dashing, underwater action, multiple different arm cannon weapons, wall jumping and more. 

Given that this is the first all-new, side-scrolling Metroid game since 2002's Metroid Fusion for the Game Boy Advance (!), Dread has a lot to live up to. But at least from what we've seen so far, Nintendo may have pulled off the feat of bringing one of its oldest franchises into the modern era of gaming. We'll find out in just over a month. 

I’ve been a technology journalist for 10 years now and have written thousands of news articles, reviews and analysis pieces in that time. But lately I’ve wanted to change it up and do some writing that flexes different parts of my brain: things like short stories, essays or even a longer fiction piece.

But since I’m a tech nerd at heart, I couldn’t help but start thinking about new software or gadgets I could use to optimize my pursuit. I started using my favorite writing app, Bear, on the iPad Pro. I had read that minimizing distractions while writing can be crucial to making headway – and though my job means I’m almost always multitasking while writing, the luxury of my new hobby is that I can take the time to truly focus. But all those notifications and distracting apps lurk right beneath the surface, testing my resolve to actually sit down and get into the zone.

At the same time, I caught wind of a new product from a company called Astrohaus, the “Hemingwrite,” a limited-edition version of a device that Astrohaus has sold for about five years. The Freewrite (and the Hemingwrite edition, which is already sold out) combines an excellent mechanical keyboard with an e-ink display and is meant purely for drafting text. There aren’t even arrow keys, so editing anything more than a few words back is a non-starter. It has WiFi, so you can sync your drafts to Dropbox, Google Drive or Evernote, but that’s about the only concession it makes to the internet age.

My colleague Kris Naudus tried the Freewrite Traveler last year. As the name implies, it’s a portable version of the Freewrite with a clamshell, laptop-like design and a standard laptop-style keyboard. She did not love it, mostly because of the refresh rate on the e-ink screen.

The Traveler held little appeal to me, but the full-size Freewrite wormed its way into my mind. It’s expensive at $600, but it’s a beautiful machine with an aesthetic that spoke to me. I imagined starting my day with a large cup of coffee and the Freewrite, banging out my thoughts for an hour every morning before starting my work day. With my phone silenced, good music on my headphones and a blank page in front of me, I’d surely get into the writing flow.

By the beginning of August, I had decided to try the Freewrite for a month and see if it was a useful tool for me. My first impression of the Freewrite hardware was that it looked just as striking in person as it does online. The main chassis is a dark gray aluminum, while the underside is a bright white soft-touch plastic that matches the white keycaps. The e-ink screen is a little under five inches wide and a bit over two and a half inches tall. There’s also a smaller thin strip of a screen below that displays things like word count, a clock, a timer or the sync status of your drafts.

Flanking that screen are two pleasantly chunky physical switches: one for controlling WiFi settings and another to move between three different folders that drafts are saved in. The last button wakes up the Freewrite when you’re ready to go. Like the two switches, this button just feels great to press. At a time when so many of our devices try to do so many things, there’s something pleasant about a beautiful piece of hardware designed to do one thing well.

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Right away, I noticed the learning curve. For me, it was a combination of the mechanical keyboard and e-ink screen. Those are both two of the main selling points for the device, and they’re each very different from what I’m used to. After years of using thin laptop keyboards, the mechanical keyboard tripped me up a bit; my accuracy and speed were not the finest. Given the lack of a cursor and arrow keys, I tried to train myself to blast past small typos rather than delete words to go back and fix them.

This is just what the Freewrite’s creators intended. This isn’t a device for editing your thoughts, just for getting them out as quickly and efficiently as possible. Fine-tuning can happen later, on a laptop. It took some time to get used to this approach, and I still often find myself stopping to go back and fix small mistakes, but I can definitely appreciate the benefit of moving forward with whatever I’m writing rather than getting hung up on the details.

The e-ink screen presents its own challenges and benefits. I was originally worried about its size, but that turned out not to be an issue. You can adjust the text size, but the default setting let me see plenty of my draft. I’d occasionally have to page up a bit to refresh my memory on what I was working on, but it honestly never felt too cramped.

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

It’s sharp, clear and looks great with or without the light activated. I tried to train myself to write by natural light, and most of the time I found the built-in front-light (again similar to the Kindle) unnecessary. It’s still good to have you prefer working in darker conditions, but I try to do most of my work in a well-lit room.

If you’ve ever used a Kindle, you know the big downside of e-ink screens: the refresh rate. It’s not as big an issue on a Kindle, where you flip the page every 30 seconds or so, but on a typing device the screen is updating constantly. It’s far different than the instant feedback you get when typing on a traditional computer, and I can absolutely see how it would be off-putting to some people.

It’s worth taking the time to get used to, though. Most experienced typists probably don’t need to watch every single character appear; I just tried to type and get into a flow and only really pay attention to the screen when I wanted to go back and read something. In my mind, I think the trade-off between a traditional LCD screen here is worth it. We have more than enough blue-light screens in our lives.

Another benefit of the e-ink display is that it means the battery life is measured in weeks, not hours (yup, like the Kindle). I’ve been using the Freewrite pretty heavily over the last month and I think I’ve given it a full charge twice. Astrohaus says it’s rated to run for four weeks with 30 minutes of daily usage. My sessions were usually longer but less frequent; I definitely didn’t hit four weeks between charges, though. Regardless, unless you use the device for multiple hours every day, you shouldn’t have to worry about running out of juice.

Overall, I’d say the hardware delivers what Astrohaus promises. But I’m not trying to review this like an iPad or other modern gadgets. For me, the question has been whether this thing will help me become a more disciplined writer, and if it is better suited to that task than other tools at my disposal.

By one very important metric, the Freewrite is a success: I’ve written over 15,000 words on it in less than a month, the vast majority of which were not for work. Aside from this story and one other, everything else I’ve created on the Freewrite has been words I would not have written if I wasn’t trying to write creatively.

Of course, that’s not to say I couldn’t have done the same thing with my iPad, a laptop, or various other gadgets. From that perspective, it’s hard to spend $600 on a Freewrite, as it doesn’t offer any truly new features compared to a laptop.

But, in the same way that a Kindle, Nintendo Switch or a high-end digital camera are better for specific purposes than a smartphone or iPad, the Freewrite is optimized for its singular purpose better than other options. Because the hardware is so gorgeous and easy to use, I found myself wanting to pull it out – it has been a positive reinforcement tool that has helped me build my habit.

That said, I still have to have the discipline to use it and block out potential distractions. If I set up with a laptop on my desk while trying to write with the Freewrite, I’m just screwing myself.

That’s why the Freewrite hasn’t been an essential tool for my work. Even on days when I need to get writing done, I’m often multitasking, keeping an eye on our Slack channel and the news in a broader sense. I realize this doesn’t make for an optimal writing environment, but it’s the reality of being an online journalist.

Practically speaking, I’m often flipping between my writing and a browser for research or another document with notes on my piece. There simply aren't a lot of stories that I work where I can just sit down and write uninterrupted. This story is one of them, though, and a workflow where I do my drafting on the Freewrite while also having my iPad handy for research, notes and an occasional Slack check has worked pretty well thus far.

There’s no way to quantify how much of this is due to the Freewrite and how much of it is simply me finding the willpower to start developing a new habit. People are creatures of habit, and I, too, enjoy a good ritual. I haven’t fully transformed my life where I can write uninterrupted every morning like I imagined, but I have found myself making more time for my new hobby. The other night, I had a few hours free after work, and instead of blowing them on video games, I worked on a story I’ve been writing – a small victory over my lowest impulses, but I still think it counts.

Lately, I find myself waking up thinking about when I can squeeze in 30 minutes or an hour of writing time without the distractions of news and work, and the Freewrite is my first choice for that. It’s a joy to type on, and it’s a prime example of hardware that just gets out of your way and lets you focus on the task at hand. There’s no doubt that it’s an expensive device, and one that is more limited than a comparably priced laptop. It’s a luxury, but for a specific type of person, it might also end up being an invaluable tool for your work. For me, it's been a great help in fostering a new hobby. It's not an essential tool, but it's something that makes me want to write more when I'm not, and something that makes me want to keep writing when I am using it.

I missed one of my best friend’s birthdays this week – but belated best wishes are better than nothing. So, to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, my favorite console of all time, which arrived in the US on August 23rd, 1991, I wish you many happy returns.

The SNES wasn’t my first console. Like many kids of the ‘80s, I started with the venerable NES. But that system never quite felt like mine. I played it at friends’ houses for years before my parents relented and got me one for Christmas in 1989. While I don’t want to downplay my excitement, I had already played many of the platform’s classic games. So while it was a huge deal to have my own NES, I wasn’t exactly coming to it fresh.

But the Super NES, that console was mine. I didn’t get it on launch day, but I had been eagerly devouring details about it in Nintendo Power. I started saving my allowance, doing extra chores and monitoring weekly sales flyers for price drops. Finally, at some point in 1992, I brought it home – the console, two outstanding controllers whose design has stood the test of time and Super Mario World. (Remember how generous game companies used to be with the pack-ins?)

Obviously, one does not buy a console to ogle the hardware. It’s all about the games, and Super Mario World was an outstanding introduction to the system. I was plenty familiar with Mario at this point, but the sheer scope this time around was stunning. Individual levels were massive and crammed with secrets, and you could re-enter and play them again for the first time to find everything. New additions like Yoshi and the cape power-up offered new ways to navigate and explore these levels.

And, of course, the game both looked and sounded fantastic. Super Mario Bros. 3 pushed the NES about as far as it could go, but Super Mario World underscored how much more capable the new system was. Mario and some familiar enemies looked more vibrant and detailed than ever, and the system’s power was also evident in those sprawling levels and environments. It was the first Mario game with a save feature, and with good reason. There was no way to take in even half of what the game offered in just one sitting.

This underlines how video game development was changing with 16-bit consoles. Many NES games were ports of arcade mainstays, perhaps modified to make them more suitable for extended play sessions. But they were still games meant to be finished in one session, once you got good enough. RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior, not to mention Nintendo’s own adventure game The Legend of Zelda bucked that trend with a bigger focus on exploration and a save feature so you could proceed at your own pace. But with the Super NES, developers were thinking bigger, regardless of genre.

For me, the finest example of this is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It was the second game I bought for the system, despite having never played the earlier NES Zelda games — the buzz around it was just too enticing. It was a smart choice, because it’s still on the short list of my favorite games ever. Its art style remains gorgeous 30 years later, the soundtrack is fantastic, and the freedom of exploration, combined with all the puzzles to unravel, was unlike anything I had played before. 

The story’s twists and turns made me always want to keep pushing forward, but I also was happy to go off the path and search for secrets I hadn’t found. And there are still a handful of show-stopping moments that rank among the most memorable game experiences I’ve had. Striding out of the Sanctuary after the first hour or so of gameplay with the booming main theme behind me, getting the Master Sword and the final showdown with Ganon after months of play leading up to it are just a few  parts of the game that I’ll never forget.

Besides these bigger titles, the SNES still had plenty of arcade ports – they were just much better than in the NES era. The SNES was far more capable of replicating the arcade experience, and games like Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time were outstanding ways for me to get my arcade fix.

Broadly speaking, the SNES enjoyed strong third-party developer support from companies like Capcom, Konami, Tecmo, Square and Enix. And while I spent tons of hours on those aforementioned arcade games and other excellent titles like Capcom’s Mega Man X, the SNES allowed Nintendo to flex its muscles as one of the best game developers around.

The list of all-time classics that Nintendo published during the system’s lifespan is impressive. Aside from Super Mario World, games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country (and its sequels), Super Metroid, Yoshi’s Island, EarthBound and Super Mario Kart were critically acclaimed, hugely popular or both. Launch titles F-Zero and Pilotwings didn't hit those heights, but they still provided the SNES with a strong and varied lineup from day one.

All these games and many more have kept me coming back to the SNES over the many years since it launched. I played it throughout high school and when I came home from college; at some point I lost track of that console and all the games I had, though. It was a tough pill to swallow, but since I (like many Nintendo fans) have re-bought favorite games on the systems like the Wii and the Switch, not to mention the tiny SNES Classic Edition. Of course, you can’t be the real thing, so I picked up a used SNES about 10 years ago, too. I don’t play it often, but I’m happier knowing I can when I want to.

It’s not just for nostalgia, either. Somehow, I have never played Super Metroid – and with Metroid Dread coming out soon, I think it’s high time I finally try another of the system’s all-time greats. I never would have expected that I’d be playing the Super NES 30 years after it arrived in the US, but I won’t be surprised if I still go back to these games 30 years from now.

For a few years now, wireless carriers in the US have offered their customers all manner of video and music freebies. Verizon (Engadget's parent company) has offered free subscriptions to Disney+, Apple Music and AMC+ recently, while T-Mobile has long offered its customers free Netflix access. Today, T-Mobile is adding another freebie to its offerings: Apple TV+. Starting on August 25th, customers on the carrier's Magenta or Magenta Max plans (as well as some Sprint legacy plans) will get one year of free Apple TV+ access. 

If you're already paying for Apple TV+, you can still take advantage of this deal. It'll just add a free year of access and pause billing until the trial is up. If you haven't used Apple TV+ yet, it is naturally available on basically all current Apple hardware, but it's also available on a pretty large number of third-party set-top boxes, gaming consoles and TVs, as well. 

This move comes as Apple itself has cut back on the length of its Apple TV+ free trials. Ever since the service launched, Apple offered a year free to basically anyone who bought new hardware from the company, and it extended that free period multiple times. But lately, people have noticed that Apple is finally charging them for the service, and the free trial period has been cut down to three months. That's still quite generous, but all these changes indicate Apple is keen to start collecting money for Apple TV+. Unless, of course, you're a T-Mobile subscriber, in which case it's a perfect time to start your Ted Lasso binge.

A rather unusual vulnerability in Razer mice has been identified and the company is currently working on a fix. Over the weekend, security researcher Jon Hat posted on Twitter that after plugging in a Razer mouse or dongle, Windows Update will download the Razer installer executable and run it with SYSTEM privileges. It also lets you access the Windows file explorer and Powershell with "elevated" privileges — which essentially means someone with physical access to the computer could install harmful software.

Since this vulnerability requires direct, physical access to a computer, it's not nearly as dangerous as a security issue that can be carried out remotely, but it's still a troubling find. Hat said on Twitter that Razer eventually reached out and told him that the company's security team was working on a fix. We've reached out to Razer as well to verify these details and will update this story if we hear anything, including when users might expect the issue to be fixed. We're also hoping to find out what specific Razer mice can cause the issue.

Part of WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption scheme is a requirement for users to set up the service with a phone as the "main" device for an account. The company announced in July that it was working on next-generation encryption that would enable a true multi-device connection without requiring a connection to a smartphone. As part of that, it sounds like WhatsApp is planning a fully native iPad app fro the first time.

AppleInsider noticed a few tweets this weekend from the WABetaInfo account, an unofficial source of details about upcoming WhatsApp features. The account says that as part of the upcoming multi-device beta, both the iPad and Android tablets would be able to be used as "linked devices" to a WhatsApp account for the first time. A follow-up tweet claims that it'll be a native app (rather than a web app) and that it'll work "independently" (as in it'll run if your smartphone is offline). 

There's no word on when this app and integration will arrive; the WABetaInfo account says it's under development and will be released in a "future update." But if you already have the WhatsApp for iOS beta, you'll get access to the iPad version as well. On the one hand, plenty of people who've been using WhatsApp for years have likely gotten used to the app not being available on tablets — but multi-device support seems like the perfect time to make WhatsApp work on more devices.

When Apple launched the first Macs with its own M1 silicon inside (the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini), they were essentially identical to the Intel models they replaced, aside from the new processor of course. But numerous rumors have indicted that Apple is working on major redesigns for its laptops soon, and the company already released an all-new iMac with Apple silicon inside. Now, it sounds like the Mac mini will get a big refresh soon, as well.

Both 9to5Mac and MacRumors are citing a newsletter from Bloomberg's reliable Mark Gurman that says a redesigned Mac mini with an "M1X" chip in it should arrive in "the next several months." The M1X hasn't been announced, but it's been the shorthand over the last year or so for a chip that can outperform the M1 that Apple currently offers. 

In addition to the new internals, Apple is also expected to redesign the Mac mini and add more ports to the small desktop computer. This Mac mini might be more focused on power users and will also likely cost more than the current models Apple offers, so it seems likely that the company will keep the M1 model around as a more basic and affordable option.

In addition to the Mac mini, Apple is also expected to introduce totally redesigned MacBook Pro models this fall, also sporting the more powerful M1X chip. It also sounds like Apple might take the multi-colored approach that it brought to the iMac earlier this year, as well.

Last week, Facebook released its first "widely viewed content" report, a document that essentially was the company's response to numerous reports that the most engaging content on the platform usually comes from polarizing and potentially misleading conservative figures and outlets, including Newsmax, Fox News, Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino. The report last week contradicted that, saying that in Q2 of 2021, top domains included more innocuous content coming from YouTube, Amazon, TikTok and a cat GIF from Tumblr. 

But on Friday, the New York Times published a report saying that it had seen a "widely viewed content" report for Q1 of 2021 and that it showed different trends. For example, the most-viewed link was a story claiming a Florida doctor died from the coronovirus vaccine. Facebook has now confirmed the document's accuracy and released it directly.

Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone took to Twitter to get into the details of the report and said that Facebook withheld the report because "there were key fixes to the system we wanted to make," but he didn't elaborate on what those fixes are.

Stone also did a deep dive into the misleading story that came out of Florida, trying to explain Facebook's decisions around it. “News outlets wrote about the south Florida doctor that died. When the coroner released a cause of death, the Chicago Tribune appended an update to its original story; NYTimes did not," he wrote on Twitter. "Would it have been right to remove the Times story because it was COVID misinfo? Of course not. No one is actually suggesting this and neither am I. But it does illustrate just how difficult it is to define misinformation."

As noted by the New York Times, Facebook has been trying to counter pressure around the things shared on its platform, specifically regarding misinformation around COVID-19 and its vaccine. Much of that pressure is coming directly from the US government. President Biden memorably said last month that Facebook was "killing people" with vaccine misinformation on its site, though he walked back his statements slightly later.