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Nintendo fans make Studio Ghibli inspired Pokémon Legends: Arceus trailer

Two Nintendo fans have released a Ghibli-inspired fan trailer for Pokémon Legends: Arceus. 

Self-proclaimed “Nintendo fangirls” Channy and Kimberly have shared their version of the Pokémon Legends: Arceus trailer that bears a resemblance to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke.

This is only a 57-second video that features its own custom Studio Ghibli logo with Snorlax and Hisuian Growlithe instead of the spirit Totoro. The trailer also shows the protagonist riding on a Wyrdeer, similar to Ashitaka riding his loyal red elk Yakul.

For more on Pokémon Legends: Arceus check out my review of the game.

Source: Channy and Kimberly Via: GamesRadar

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Mobile Syrup

Detour Lake becomes the first mine in Canada to have a private 5G network

Detour Lake mine, located in northeast Ontario, is the first mining operation in the country to be connected to a private 5G wireless network, thanks to a partnership between the mine’s operator Kirkland Lake Gold and Rogers.

Detour Lake is the second-largest gold-producing mine in Canada, and the partnership will offer enhanced coverage, reliability, and low latency. It will also help turn it into a “smart mine.”

“Bringing a 5G wireless private network to Detour Lake provides the stable and reliable service we need as we build the digital mine of the future,” Tony Makuch, president and CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold, said in a statement.

“Not only does the new network provide an extra layer of connectivity for our employees, it also enables us to drive mining innovation and technology into the future by expanding tele-remote drill operations and research into potential autonomous haul trucks.”

Rogers has deployed five wireless towers at the mine with a built-in backup system, helping to provide reliable access across the mine’s 80 square kilometres.

The connection will also help employees access real-time information on operations, use drones to deliver supplies at the bottom of the mine, and further explore their work.

The two companies are also collaborating on eight new cell towers along Highway 652 that will primarily be off the grid. Seven of the towers will largely be fueled by wind and solar energy. The project will cover a total stretch of 180 km between Cochrane, Ontario and Detour Lake and is set to be complete by the summer of 2022.

Image credit: Kirkland Lake Gold/ Twitter

Source: Rogers

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Mobile Syrup

Apple launches ‘Shot on iPhone’ macro photography challenge

Apple wants iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max users to show off their macro photography chops in a new ‘Shot on iPhone Challenge.’

In a news post, Apple said the challenge opened on January 25th, 2022 and will run until February 16th, 2022. To participate, all you need to do is share your favourite macro photo taken on iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtags #ShotoniPhone and #iPhonemacrochallenge.

Apple will review submissions alongside a panel of expert judges, including Canadian photographer and filmmaker Peter McKinnon. The company will announce the ten winning photos in April — winners will be celebrated in a gallery on Apple’s Newsroom page, website, Instagram, and other official Apple accounts. Moreover, Apple says the photos may appear in digital campaigns, Apple Store locations, billboards, or in a public photo exhibition.

Other judges include Anand Varma, Apeksha Maker, Paddy Chao, Yik Keat Lee, Arem Duplessis, Billy Sorrentino, Della Huff, Kaiann Drance, and Pamela Chen — you can learn more about these judges here.

Finally, Apple shared some macro tips for would-be iPhone photographers:

  • Make sure to get close to your subject — you can get as close as 2 centimetres (about an inch) away.
  • Place the primary point of focus near the center of the frame, as that’s where the sharpest focus is when shooting in macro on iPhone.
  • Tap an area in the viewfinder to set a specific focus point.
  • Shoot at .5x to capture an Ultra Wide field of view, or try shooting at 1x for tighter framing — iPhone will automatically switch cameras as you get close while maintaining the 1x framing.

You can learn more about Apple’s macro photography challenge here.

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Mobile Syrup

Bell Let’s Talk and Brain Canada donate over $4 million to mental health projects

Bell Let’s Talk and Brain Canada have awarded a total of $4,190,000 to five teams working on mental health-related research projects.

The funding comes through the Bell Let’s Talk-Brain Canada Mental Health Research Program, a joint initiative between the carrier and non-profit, with support from Health Canada.

More information on the projects can be found here.

Additionally, Bell’s latest annual “Bell Let’s Talk Day” is today, January 26th. As in previous years, the carrier pledges to donate 5¢ to mental health initiatives for “every applicable text, call, tweet or TikTok video using #BellLetsTalk, social media video view and use of our Facebook frame or Snapchat lens.” Last year, $7 million was raised. The general “Let’s Talk” goal, per the carrier, is to break “the stigma” surrounding mental health.

It should be noted, however, that the initiative has generated criticism, especially in recent years. Some have said the corporate advertising around that day, on top of feeling cynical, can lead them to feel more alone. Others have pointed out that the campaign only highlights certain major aspects of mental health, while leaving others, like borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia, aren’t addressed. The unique mental health struggles faced by racial minorities also go unmentioned.

Beyond that, some Canadians have criticized Bell for how its treated its own employees. One New Brunswick Bell employee said she was fired her mental health issues, while several other workers said aggressive sales targets led to vomiting, panic attacks and anxiety. The company also came under fire for laying off hundreds of people last year — less than one year into the pandemic, no less.

Source: Bell

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Mobile Syrup

TD to introduce loyalty program that turns points on everyday purchases to currency at select stores

Toronto, Canada- April 10, 2021: Close up of TD bank sign on the building. TD (Toronto–Dominion Bank) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation.

TD will soon be introducing a new loyalty program to its customers.

The news came during the banking giant’s TD Tech Day event, an annual occurrence that invites media to preview the bank’s new initiatives.

The rewards program will be embedded within TD’s mobile banking app and allow customers to earn points on purchases they make through various retail vendors. It’s not clear what vendors will take part in the program.

Imran Khan, head of global innovation at TD, told MobileSyrup the app is an evolution of the data-driven experience launched a couple of years ago. That allowed customers to view spending patterns and estimates of their financial situations weeks down the road.

David Reilly, VP of partnerships and loyalty at the institution’s credit card department, says the program will use spending trends, and customer needs to provide people with recommendations on where they can collect and spend points.

“We’re making the investment to do it right within our core mobile banking app, really making it easy for customers to redeem their points in areas that matter to them,” Reilly said.

The program has three areas of focus. The first is connecting loyalty experiences digitally. The second focuses on balancing aspirational experiences with everyday rewards. Reilly explained customers are looking for flexibility in their rewards programs, which allows people to redeem points on various things, like travel or a simple coffee. The third area is for the program to evolve as customer preferences change to stay fresh and relevant.

The program has different tiers of loyalty experiences with opportunities to enhance how many points are earned. This feature won’t be present when the program is launched but will be part of the complete experience of the program.

While TD does have similar options, such as its points program with Amazon, it’s limited to who can access it. Only customers with one of four Visa credit cards can collect points through Amazon purchases that can be used to pay for products.

Khan says this program will be different. “Everyone will have access to a selection of benefits,” regardless of what card they hold.

Image credit: ShutterStock

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Mobile Syrup

YouTube Shorts amass over five trillion views in two years

Instagram and YouTube have both adopted Tik Tok’s short video format, and the latter of the two has been successful with the change, as is evident with these numbers that came out earlier today.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has shared a blog post that outlines the company’s priorities for 2022, which include the platform delving into NFTs, growing its creator ecosystem, providing creators with additional sources of revenue and working on adding a “shopping” tag that will let viewers browse and shop for products they see in videos.

Along with the future plans, Wojcicki also announced that YouTube Shorts have amassed over five trillion views since the sub platform’s birth in 2020.

“More people are creating content on YouTube than ever before. We’re seeing momentum across the platform, including on Shorts. We’ve now hit 5 trillion all-time views on Shorts!” reads the blog post.

2022 will see YouTube further build on Shorts. Wojcicki says the platform will expand upon Shorts’ ‘Remix’ feature and will also provide creators new ways to create branded content through BrandConnect.

Learn more about YouTube’s 2022 priorities here or watch the video below:

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: YouTube

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Mobile Syrup

Intel, Samsung hype the future of touchless food ordering coming to Quebec

Source: https://news.samsung.com/ca/samsung-canada-brings-innovation-to-foodservice-industry-with-unique-touchless-display-solution

Intel and Samsung are really, really excited about a new touchless interactive kiosk headed to select St-Hubert locations in Montreal and Laval, Quebec.

Both companies reached out to MobileSyrup about the ‘AIRxTOUCH KIOSK Series 3,’ a fancy retail kiosk from Luxembourg-based iNUI Studio. In short, the kiosk leverages “air touch” technology to allow customers to interact with it without actually touching the display. It actually sounds kinda neat, although it remains to be seen how well it works in practice.

Specifically, the Air Touch tech uses proprietary image processing algorithms to allow “mid-air interaction (5 cm from the screen)” with support for common interactions like clicking, double-clicking, drag and drop, slide, zoom, and more.

As for where Samsung and Intel come in, both companies supply core pieces of the AIRxTOUCH kiosk solution — it uses a Samsung QMR Series 55-inch display, while the kiosk runs on Intel’s NUC 11 Pro Kit.

According to a press release provided by Intel, “Canada and the St-Hubert chain were chosen as one of the first global locations for this food ordering technology with additional implementations expected in other food chains across North America.”

Initially, I thought the whole AIRxTOUCH kiosk was ridiculous (thanks in part to this overly dramatic marketing video) but after thinking about it a bit, I may actually be on board with this thing.

Assuming it works well, a touchless ordering kiosk would be great (especially with the pandemic) as it would hopefully reduce the number of people touching a shared surface. Plus, there are other potential applications — these kiosks could work in malls, transportation hubs and other places where a self-serve option is common.

Anyway, if you happen to live in Montreal or Laval and frequently visit St-Hubert, keep an eye out for one of these and give it a try if you see one.

Image credit: Samsung

Source: Intel, Samsung

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Mobile Syrup

Nintendo Switch Online update improves Zelda: Ocarina of Time performance

Along with adding N64 classic Banjo-Kazooie to the Switch Online’ Expansion Pack’ subscription tier, Nintendo has also improved The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s rampant lag and graphical issues.

This means Ocarina of Time’s ‘Water Temple’ and its abundance of water looks a little closer to the original N64 release. More importantly, as first spotted by YouTuber Modern Vintage Gamer (MVG), NSO Version 1.2 also improves the controller input lag issue the classic game suffered from in the emulator, reducing it to 1-2 frames from 5-6.

MVG outlines the positive graphical changes to Ocarina of Time in the lengthy video, mentioning that the title’s fog and lighting still feature issues.

I’ve spent the last few evenings playing Banjo-Kazooie, one of my favourite games from my childhood, and the Expansion Pack’s emulation is pretty spot-on. I’ve encountered a few instances of slow-down, but beyond the occasional hiccup, the game runs near perfectly on the Switch.

While the Expansion Pack’s price still doesn’t line up with the number of titles it offers, this is good news for the subscription tier. Hopefully, Majora’s Mask runs just as smoothly when it launches next month.

Nintendo’s ‘Expansion Pack’ online tier costs $63.99 for a 12-month individual membership (one account) or $99.99 for a 12-month Family Membership. The subscription includes Switch Online, SNES, NES, N64 and Sega Genesis games, and Animal Crossing New Horizon’s first paid DLC, Happy Home Paradise.

Source: Modern Vintage Gamer

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Mobile Syrup

Respawn is making two other Star Wars games on top of Jedi: Fallen Order sequel

Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment has confirmed that it’s working on three Star Wars games.

This is a bit of a surprise, as the EA-owned studio was previously only expected to be working on a sequel to its acclaimed 2019 action-adventure game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. 

In a press release, Respawn confirmed that one of the three games is indeed a follow-up to Fallen Order, although a specific title or other details weren’t provided. All that the company said is that Stig Asmussen, the director of Fallen Order, is returning to helm the series’ next entry.

Meanwhile, the other two games, also untitled, tackle the strategy and first-person shooter genres, respectively.

Peter Hirschmann, who has overseen the production of such Star Wars games as Lego Star Wars and The Force Unleashed, will lead development on the first-person shooter (FPS). It’s worth noting that he also has a background with the Medal of Honor FPS series, while Respawn’s lineage in general — from modern games like Titanfall and Apex Legends to the original Modern Warfare series — is also in FPS.

The strategy game, on the other hand, is being primarily developed by Bit Reactor, a Maryland-based studio formed by various XCOM and Civilization veterans, although Respawn will provide assistance.

It’s likely that the strategy and FPS titles are quite a ways off. On Twitter, Respawn said its team has “begun production” on the FPS, while the formation of Bit Reactor was only officially announced last week. However, the new Jedi game might be fairly close. VentureBeat reporter Jeff Grubb, a credible insider source in the gaming industry, said earlier this month that he expects fans will hear about the second Star Wars Jedi game “in a significant way” before June. He added that there’s a “chance” it could release this year, but it may also slip into 2023.

These three titles help extend EA’s time with the Star Wars brand. Since 2013, the publisher has had the exclusive rights to publish Star Wars games, but these are expiring in 2023. With that, Lucasfilm has already been partnering with other companies on Star Wars games, including an open-world title from Ubisoft, a remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic from Aspyr and, controversially, Star Wars Eclipse from Quantic Dream.

Source: Lucasfilm, Respawn

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung’s upcoming Unpacked event is set for February 9

Samsung has finally confirmed the launch date and time for the Galaxy Unpacked event, February 9th at 10am ET/7am PT.

The invitation doesn’t reveal very much about the upcoming phone but has the tagline “The Epic Standard” and features both an S and a 22 in invite the animation.

With that, we expect Samsung to unveil the Galaxy S22 series and the Galaxy Tab S8 series going off previous rumour.

In fact, earlier today the well-known Evan Blass has leaked the Galaxy S22 series in a rainbow of colours.

S22 Ultra White

According to previous leaks, the Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra will feature a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, up to 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and work with an S Pen. The other S22 models reportedly lack the S Pen support, sport an S21-like design with three cameras and feature the same Snapdragon 8 gen 1 chipset as the S22 Ultra.

We won’t know for sure until Samsung officially unveils the Galaxy S22 series and the Galaxy Tab S8 series.

Source: Samsung