Q. What is one of the best Nintendo games I might not know about?
A. Nintendo Online is a subscription service that gives every Nintendo Switch owner access a vast library of classic games. I would start there.
Decades ago, before the Switch and Wii, was GameCube, which had a relatively short life but some amazing titles. The older Zelda games are there, along with a large library of other popular games from classic Nintendo consoles.
Not long ago Nintendo Online expanded into GameCube games, including Zelda’s WindWaker, and the hidden gem, Starfox Adventures.
Starfox Adventures was created by the game studio Rare Limited, which had earned a reputation for next-level quality. I had not played Starfox Adventures since 2002, when it first debuted. In re-playing recently, I noticed how many aspects of the gameplay “predicted” what the open world adventures like Zelda Breath of the Wild would feel like.
StarFox Adventures is so well designed that despite the last few levels feeling a bit undercooked, I nominate Starfox Adventures as the best video console game you probably never heard about.
Q. Apple has released updates for all its devices. What changes are noteworthy?
A. There is no shortage of videos that describe what’s new, but I have a few items that every Apple user should know.
Siri AI is still in beta, but it’s ready for its close up. Lots of improvements but initially turned off by default. Go to Settings and there should be a prominent button visible to request the new Siri.
The Photos app’s Tools menu is worth finding right away. It will appear whenever you edit an image and tap on Adjust. Of the three new tools, Clean Up is probably worth trying on nearly every image to remove unwanted elements. Select the Clean Up tool and trace your finger over any blemishes or distractions to erase them. Most of the time it works like magic!
Another must-do adjustment is enabling Impersonation Risk Detection. Once enabled, the phone will attempt to identify active impersonation scans. Because of the signals it may process, it requires that you give your device explicit permission to use it. To get started, visit Settings on your device, and choose Privacy and Security, then scroll down to find and switch on Impersonation Risk Detection.
There are dozens of small improvements, and lots of videos explaining what is new. But for my readers, these three new features are standouts that should be a part of your everyday life.
Q. What does “vibe coding” an app mean?
A. “Vibe coded” apps are part of the AI tidal wave swamping the tech world.
Programming an app is a painstaking process that requires special skills. For example, you need to learn a programming language and communicate in that language in a way the computer understands.
Vibe coding an app means that rather than follow a traditional path, the app is coded by asking AI tools in plain English sentences to create the app for you.
Apple’s fall updates include a little jewel of a feature that deserves attention: vibe coded shortcuts.
The Shortcuts app is a tool that helps everyday users write little programs. I use shortcuts myself every day, but I don’t write about them because I think it has been a niche product for a small number of users until now.
For example, I have a shortcut called “order breakfast” that accesses the Starbucks app and orders my selected items. In order to set this up, I needed to learn how the Shortcuts app works and build my own shortcut.
With the latest updates and new Siri, I can simply ask Siri to create a new shortcut to order breakfast.
This new feature has rough edges, but it works. And exploring it today is a great way for anyone to peek over the horizon at one direction of modern computing. To learn more, check out “shelpful” in Wander the Web.
Bob has been writing about technology for over three decades. He can be contacted at techtalk@bobdel.com.
Wander the Web
Here are my picks for worthwhile browsing this month:
Super Helpful (shelpful)
This site is a fountain of productivity advice for Apple products. shelpful.com
Usenet Returns
For those of us old-timers, Usenet was social media for the 1980s and 1990s. Usenet-Rewind an archive spanning from 1980 to present day.
Human History
History is a collection of stories, and this site is a novel way to look at humanity.
