Robots doing tattoos?
People are weird. They’ve had ink painfully pushed into their skin since at least 3351 BCE in what was once a cultural practice but has since evolved into an excuse for people to cover their bodies in Hanzi, Kanji, infinity symbols, and countless mothers’ names. The art of tattooing has fallen to modern-day tattooists, with no two tattoos alike (it’s kinda the point).
Blackdot, a new startup in the US, is hoping to change that. It’s designed the “world’s first automatic tattooing device” that’ll tattoo customers with the precision that only a computer could pull off. It apparently took the company five years to pull off the feat and could potentially open “new categories of art in tattooing.”
They won’t be cheap either. Or as painful as a traditional tattoo, for that matter. According to Blackdot’s website, you’ll be expected to fork over between $400 and $8,000 for a tattoo, with an extra $1,800 “execution fee” thrown in. Hey, at least you’ll be guaranteed something better than this.
How it’ll manage pain is probably the most interesting part of Blackdot’s wizardry. While you’re in the machine’s clutches, it’ll do a preliminary scan using several “concealed test dots” to inspect the client’s skin and run it through Blackdot’s skin database. It’ll use that data to determine the depth and number of punctures needed to result in the best-looking tattoo possible. It’s tech that could find a purpose in traditional tattoo shops. That’s what we’re hoping for, anyway.
Channels is coming to Facebook and Messenger
Remember Channels? That broadcast network that’s taken over what used to be WhatsApp’s status page and just won’t go away? Yeah, they’re coming to Facebook and Messenger, a new favourite strategy of Meta’s when it needs an update.
If you’re in need of a refresher, ‘Channels’ is a broadcast network that lets users subscribe to their favourite channels – usually set up by creators and public figures to keep subscribers in the loop. Subscribers don’t have any say in a Channel aside from emoji reactions and the occasional vote on a poll.
On Facebook, it’ll be Page managers who have the power to bring Channels forth, though they’ll have to join the waitlist for that power if they don’t already have it. Page subscribers will be notified once the first Channel message goes live, asking them if they’d like to join up. For now, there are only a couple of channels out there – including Netflix, WWE, and the ICC.
This is (hopefully) the last we’ll be hearing of broadcast channels for a while, with Meta having gone through its list of big apps that lacked the feature. Expect to see something new from Meta the next time an update rolls around.
Sony just filed a rad patent for the DualSense
Sony’s been investing plenty of time, energy and money into innovating the world of in-ear earbuds, first with the Pulse Explore and more recently, the Inzone Buds, its “first gaming-focused earbuds.” Now, Sony’s filed a patent that could turn the DualSense into a place to store, charge, and pair a set of those buds.
The patent filing, first spotted by GameRant, could potentially turn the already feature-heavy DualSense into something even greater. It mentions that the technology, which could see some slots on either the sides or back of a future DualSense controller, would provide a “greater opportunity for the earbuds and the controller to work together.” Specifically, it could “triangulate the audio source so that the audio can be processed to provide better audio quality.”
As rad as that sounds, it’s worth remembering that a patent isn’t indicative of the product’s launch soon, or ever. It might just be an excuse for Sony to fiddle around with the tech before testing its viability internally and making sure that Microsoft can’t get their hands on it.
Even so, it seems too good to be true. With the big shift in focus to gaming-centric earbuds and rumours of a PS5 Pro on the way, it would be the perfect time to upgrade the DualSense with the new console. Especially if those rumours of a slightly upgraded AMD Ryzen Zen 2 chip are true.
Let your DS emulation dreams run wild
Gaming handhelds are all the rage of the 2020s, with foldables getting most of the fanfare of late. Ayaneo’s gone and done both, taking us back to a time when Nintendo’s DS line-up was the coolest way of catching Pokémon. It’s doing that through the Ayaneo Flip DS – a 7in, 120Hz-capable handheld with a familiar clamshell design that’s making OG DS fans excited for the emulation possibilities.
It’ll be powered by AMD’s Ryzen 7 7840U chip, which is more than enough power to get a DS game going, or something much more power-hungry if DS games aren’t your thing. Honestly, we’re just excited to say hello to our Nintendogs again.
Don’t expect it to arrive soon, though. Ayaneo likes to go the crowdfunding route for its products and tends to keep specifics under wraps until the official Indiegogo debut. When that’ll be, or how much a Flip DS will set you back, is still unknown. It could be months before Ayaneo updates us on this one, so do your best to keep it off your mind for now.
