Category: Tater News

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Zelda Game & Watch Hacked Into a Tiny Emulation Powerhouse

https://retrohandhelds.gg/zelda-game-watch-hacked-into-a-tiny-emulation-powerhouse/

Ever tried turning a nostalgic desk ornament into a pocket‑sized retro arcade? That’s exactly what tinker‑legend Tito from Macho Nacho Productions did with Nintendo’s limited‑edition Zelda Game & Watch. He ripped out the stock 16 MB flash, soldered on a beefier 64 MB chip and slipped a custom microSD slot onto the tiny board, then flashed homebrew firmware. The result? A glittering LCD shell that can now run Retro‑Go SD, load ROMs, save states and emulate dozens of classic consoles—all from a device that originally only offered three Zelda titles and a clock.

The mod isn’t for the faint‑hearted: it demands hot‑air rework on microscopic surface‑mount components, careful shielding with foil and Kapton tape, EPROM dumping and firmware flashing before you even touch the SD slot. One misstep and your collector’s piece becomes an expensive brick.

Why care? The Zelda Game & Watch already boasts a crisp screen, solid d‑pad, USB‑C power and marathon battery life—perfect hardware that was wasted on a fixed trio of games. With this hack it finally lives up to its “pick‑up‑and‑play” promise, giving retro fans a legit handheld emulator in a cute, legal‑grey shell. (As always, the ROMs you load are your responsibility.)

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

AISLPC RG52 Mini Review: Budget Brawn

https://retrohandhelds.gg/aislpc-rg52-mini-review/

If you thought budget handhelds were all “meh‑ware,” AISLPC’s new RG52 Mini might make you reconsider. The little 5.5‑inch box packs a Rockchip RK3562, 2 GB RAM and an 8 GB eMMC (expandable via microSD), pushing classic titles—PSP at 2×, Dreamcast, N64—into smooth, full‑speed territory.

Designwise it’s a retro‑future molded shell that feels sturdier than its plastic looks suggest, with a comfortable curve and textured grip. The “fan” vent is just an exhaust port (no fan inside), so don’t expect active cooling—but the device stays cool enough for long sessions. Controls are solid: a standard D‑pad, Switch‑style sticks, Hall‑effect triggers, and decent face buttons, though the Back/Home buttons sit where you’d instinctively hit Start/Select, leading to occasional thumb mishaps.

The stock EmuELEC OS is functional but sparse—Nintendo cores are missing and some DS games are mislabeled as Sega titles. Still, it’s a workable platform for newcomers who don’t mind a little tweaking.

At $109.99 (roughly $80 on sale) the RG52 Mini offers more punch than most rivals like the Mangmi Air X, especially if you’ve got a PSP library to dust off. In short: decent build, better performance, quirks that are fixable—definitely worth a look for budget‑conscious retro gamers.

📰 New article from RetroRGB

Wobbling Pixels: Scaler Shootout Document Update

https://retrorgb.com/wobbling-pixels-scaler-shootout-document-update.html

Ever feel like picking a video‑scaler is a choose‑your‑own‑adventure novel? Wobbling Pixels just dropped the newest edition of his “Scaler Shootout” spreadsheet, and it finally puts the RetroTink 4K CE, Morph 4K, and OSSC Pro side by side in a way that even non‑geeks can read.

The updated sheet is a deep dive—think rows of feature ratings, cost breakdowns, and a handy summary tab that scores each scaler on everything from latency to color accuracy. Wobbling Pixel retested a slew of specs, restructured the pricing section, and added per‑feature grades so you can spot the strengths (and quirks) at a glance.

Why it matters: if you’re on the fence about which scaler will give your retro rig that crisp 4K glow without breaking the bank, this is the cheat sheet you’ve been waiting for. It doesn’t cover the higher‑end RetroTink 4K Pro (that beast belongs in its own league), but it does link to a quick launch video if you’re curious about how the Pro stacks up against the CE.

Bottom line: grab the spreadsheet, skim the tabs that matter to you, and let the numbers do the heavy lifting—your next HDMI upgrade just got a lot less mysterious.

📰 New article from TorrentFreak

Meta Employee Deleted 9TB of Torrented Files, Adult Film Producers Claim

https://torrentfreak.com/meta-employee-deleted-9tb-of-torrented-files-adult-film-producers-claim/

Ever wonder what happens when a tech giant’s internal file‑sharing meets Hollywood’s “no‑piracy” crusade?

In July 2025 adult‑content studios Strike 3 Holdings and Counterlife Media sued Meta, accusing the company of siphoning torrent‑downloaded movies to train its AI. The claim is massive—up to $350 million in damages—and hinges on a trail of BitTorrent traffic that the plaintiffs say their proprietary tracking software captured.

Meta’s answer? A motion to dismiss, insisting the occasional downloads were just “personal use” by employees and not part of any coordinated data‑mining scheme. The plot thickened when Strike 3 pointed to a February hearing in an unrelated book‑author case where a Meta employee allegedly erased 9 TB of torrent files—prompting plaintiffs to demand immediate discovery before the evidence can vanish.

Meta counters that nothing was destroyed, that proper legal holds are in place, and that only 157 downloads over seven years were even mentioned in the complaint. The discovery request now targets everything from ML‑Hub logs and PySpark traffic to hidden AWS IP addresses.

Both sides agree a trial could land in early 2028 if the case survives dismissal—so keep an eye on this clash of copyright watchdogs versus AI ambition.

📰 New article from RetroRGB

HyperBoy+ Virtual Boy ROM Cart – Final Batch?

https://retrorgb.com/hyperboy-virtual-boy-rom-cart-final-batch.html

Ever wonder what it feels like to dust off a ’90s relic and give it a modern twist? Kevin Mellott just announced the likely last run of his HyperBoy+ Virtual Boy flash cart, and it’s causing a nostalgic stir.

The HyperBoy+ is a 32‑mbit single‑flash cartridge you load via PC—compatible with every retail and homebrew VB title you can find. At $215, the carts are slated to ship this spring, but they’re truly limited: Kevin bought the final batch of those quirky four‑color eInk screens (black, white, red, yellow), and the other internal parts have reached end‑of‑life. In short, once these ships, you’ve got a collector’s item.

Don’t despair if you miss out; Kevin still churns smaller batches of alternative VB carts—Mr Cart and HyperFlash32—each with its own quirks (size, speed, flash capacity). A quick side‑by‑side look will help you pick the right fit for your retro library.

Bottom line: snag a HyperBoy+ now if you want the most “complete” VB experience, or explore the other options before they too fade into obscurity. Happy hunting!

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Anbernic RG G01 Review: Not Quite There

https://retrohandhelds.gg/anbernic-rg-g01-review/

If you thought “another cheap controller with a screen” was just a gimmick, meet the Anbernic RG G01 – a $40‑ish joystick that actually tries to be clever (it even tracks your heart rate). On paper it’s impressive: 2.5‑inch IPS display, electro‑inductive sticks, Hall‑effect triggers, 1 kHz polling and a 21‑hour battery. In practice the execution feels half‑baked.

The button feel is a mixed bag. Micro‑switch face buttons have a tiny travel that some will love, while the short‑throw trigger toggle is oddly loose and hard to confirm when it clicks. The D‑pad sits too high and can be a pain to reinstall without bending clips. Sticks and long‑throw triggers, however, are solid and drift‑free.

Ergonomics suffer from the added screen height; shoulder buttons become fiddly after a few rounds of shooters or racers. Extras like macro buttons, gyro, vibration and a phone mount work, but they’re cramped or flimsy. The on‑device software is functional yet clunky, and the heart‑rate sensor takes forever to activate – you’ll probably never use it.

Bottom line: the RG G01 isn’t broken, just over‑promised for its price. If you really want a built‑in screen, wait for a sale on the Manba One or stick with proven sub‑$50 options like the Fantech EOS Pro IIS. Otherwise, there are better bang‑for‑your‑buck controllers out there.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Game Over: Sega CDX

https://retrohandhelds.gg/game-over-sega-cdx/

Picture this: it’s 1994, Sega rolls out a sleek black box that looks like a Discman on steroids and calls it the CD X—the ultimate “why‑not‑both?” gadget. For $399 you got a Genesis, a Sega CD, and a portable CD player all in one compact unit (known as the Multi‑Mega overseas). The idea was noble: revive the flailing Sega CD by bundling it with the beloved 16‑bit console.

In practice, the CD X was an expensive compromise. Its tight chassis trapped heat, its top‑loading drive inherited the notorious reliability issues of the original Sega CD, and battery life as a portable player was abysmal. Even though it could run every Genesis cartridge, all Sega CD titles (and even the 32X add‑on) felt dated—by then the CD library was riddled with FMV fluff and missing true killer apps.

Sega pulled the plug just months later when the 32X and Saturn arrived, relegating the CD X to a collector’s curiosity. Today it’s prized for its quirky design, but fixing one is a nightmare. The CD X stands as a textbook case of “more of a bad thing isn’t better”—a stylish reminder that stacking two flops never makes a hit.

📰 New article from TorrentFreak

Belgian Pirate Site Blocking Order Targets Cloudflare and Google, But Not Their DNS

https://torrentfreak.com/belgian-pirate-site-blocking-order-targets-cloudflare-and-google-but-not-their-dns/

Belgium’s “two‑step” pirate‑site blockade is getting more surgical, and this week it turned its sights on illegal IPTV streams.

Broadcasters RTL Belgium and RTBF won a court order that forces the country’s five big ISPs—Proximus, Telenet, Orange Belgium, Mobile Vikings and DIGI—to block the domains of five shady IPTV services (LEMEILLEURIPTV, BESTIPTVABO, ATLASPRO12, OTT PREMIUM and MIJNIPTV) and any future mirrors. The ban is DNS‑based, but here’s the twist: the order doesn’t ask Cloudflare or Google to block at the resolver level.

Instead, both tech giants must act as infrastructure providers: Cloudflare must stop serving the sites if it’s acting as CDN/host, while Google must pull the domains from its search index, ads network and relevant cloud services. Their public DNS resolvers (including Google Public DNS and Cloudflare 1.1.1.1) are left untouched—a concession likely tied to Cisco’s ongoing appeal over earlier DNS‑blocking mandates.

What this means for users is simple: your ISP will cut off the IPTV sites, but you can still resolve their names elsewhere—though you won’t find them in Google search or on Cloudflare‑hosted pages. The case underscores how Belgium’s blocking regime keeps tweaking its scope in real time, and it may set a precedent for future European orders that target infrastructure without throttling public DNS.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Retro Handhelds Weekly: Handhelds with Knobs, Xbox on Android, Tariff Updates, and More

https://retrohandhelds.gg/retro-handhelds-weekly-edition-87/

If you thought handhelds had hit their design ceiling, think again—this week’s roundup proves the opposite. GameMT is rolling out the Pocket Super Knob 5000, a gloriously over‑the‑top Android box that basically says “knobs are back” (and it lands in April). Meanwhile, Lenovo and ASUS quietly announced they’ll stop pushing driver updates for the Legion Go’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme, hinting AMD might be pulling the plug on support entirely.

On the competition front, ASUS’s ROG Xbox Ally isn’t selling as fast as hoped, despite early hype that it could dent the Steam Deck’s market share. In software news, an Android‑native Xbox emulator (a fork of xemu) has hit GitHub—early, hungry for resources, but a tantalizing glimpse of console gaming on phones. And if you’ve ever dreamed of Dreamcast in your browser, a Flycast‑WASM core now lets you stream those classics via EmulatorJS.

A quick glance at the broader scene shows price hikes looming for Lenovo devices, an official Evercade wireless controller arriving soon, and a slew of new RetroArch cores promising Xbox, PS3, and Wii U emulation—still in alpha, but worth keeping on your radar. Grab a coffee; the retro handheld world is anything but static.

📰 New article from RetroRGB

Modding The Zelda Game & Watch

https://retrorgb.com/modding-the-zelda-game-watch.html

Ever wondered if your dusty Game & Watch could moonlight as a pocket‑sized retro console? Tito from Macho Nacho Productions just proved it can—by turning the little handheld into a full‑blown emulation machine.

In his new video he walks through a fairly advanced mod, swapping out the original firmware for GnWManager and loading a curated SD card of classic titles. The hardware hack isn’t for first‑timers, but the end result is a sleek, feature‑rich device that can run everything from NES to Game Boy games—all on the same 2‑inch screen you’ve been pressing “Start” on for decades.

Why care? Besides the cool factor, this shows how far the Game & Watch modding scene has come after five years of tinkering. There are simpler “jailbreak” routes if you just want basic homebrew, but Tito’s setup packs the most bang for your buck—full‑screen menus, save states, and a tidy SD library.

If you’re curious, check out the GnWManager install guide on GitHub and the pre‑modded emulator collection to see what’s possible. And hey, if the video sparked joy, consider tossing a few bucks Bob’s way on Patreon. Happy hacking!