Monday’s top tech news: Mario’s still got a day job

Image: IlluminationMario’s plumbing ad was one of several big new trailers from the Super Bowl. Continue reading…

Kass Kass
Feb 13, 2023 - 21:02
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Monday’s top tech news: Mario’s still got a day job

I sometimes forget that in between his adventurous odysseys, Mario’s day job is plumbing. So it’s fun to see the upcoming movie lean into it, using Mario’s profession as an excuse to revive the rap used in the 1989 Super Mario Bros TV show. The clip from the film was one of the half-dozen plus trailers broadcast during last night’s Super Bowl — The Guardian has a neat roundup of the other big ones.

In other news, it might not be a good idea to attempt the Steam Deck RGB mod that’s been doing the rounds after users reported that it can cause damage to the handheld computer’s mother board. Why not stick to some safer modifications, like upgrading its storage or replacing its cooling fan?

And finally, in case you missed it, my colleague James Vincent did a great breakdown last week highlighting the biggest risks and problems facing Microsoft and Google as they forge ahead into a new era of AI-powered search.

Here’s a silly tweet to start your day:

Stay tuned, as we continue to update this list with the most important news of today: Friday, February 13th, 2023.

Green light.

The Super Bowl is over, and all the advertisements are now easily available on YouTube (for movie trailers other than The Flash, check Polygon’s roundup linked below).

Did you check out Fox’s 1080p HDR-upconverted-to-4K broadcast? How’d it look?


What is this, a 3D printer for ants?

Not quite, but this miniature resin printer created by My N Mi is surprisingly fully-functional and capable of producing delicate, detailed prints despite measuring just 18 x 31 x 41 millimeters (seen via The Awesomer).

That’s about the right size for a typical dollhouse FYI, and it's giving me the same vibes as those addictive miniature-cooking videos.


Plumbing’s their game.

The latest ad for the Super Mario Bros. Movie is a plumbing commercial with the iconic rap from the 1989 Super Mario TV show. And yes, the included website and phone number actually work.


Why can’t we have both?

We’ve already seen modders swap their iPhone’s Lightning port for USB-C, but this YouTuber adds a USB-C port to their iPhone 12 mini while keeping the device’s existing Lightning port.

The idea of a double-ported iPhone may seem a bit strange, but hey — at least this person can plug in headphones and charge their phone at the same time.