Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 Mystery Button Revealed… Kind Of

What does the C stand for?

When Nintendo first teased the existence of the upcoming Switch 2 in January, some keen-eyed gamers noticed an extra button on the right Joy-Con that had no label. There was a Capture button and a Home button, but this third button had no marking on it at all. That is, until Thursday when Nintendo launched its own news app and had a never-before-seen picture of the Switch 2.

On the app’s page on both the App Store and Google Play Store, there is an image of the Switch 2. On this image, the third button has a clear «C» on it, which was not previously marked when the Switch 2 was teased out in January.

With this reveal from Nintendo, the question now is what this button does. The most likely explanation is that «C» stands for «Capture,» which would make this button a quick way to screenshot your gameplay. However, this does bring up some confusion as the Capture button, which many Switch owners refer to as the Share button, already worked as a capture button for that purpose. What may happen is that the C button is for capturing screenshots and that the old Capture button is for broadcasting a live stream.

Xbox and PlayStation consoles have implemented livestreaming directly from the console since the last generation. Once inputting Twitch or YouTube info is set up, those consoles can broadcast a streaming game with just a few button presses. The Switch, however, never came with that functionality. Those who want to stream games from a Switch would have to connect their console to a capture device that’s connected to a computer. Having one button to start a stream would be a time saver for many content creators.

The C button could also be used to switch the controls of the Joy-Con. In the teaser from January, there is a short part of the video where the Joy-Con is detached and moves on a flat surface like a mouse. This button could switch the Joy-Con from a standalone controller to a mouse, which would make sense as it’s on the right Joy-Con, although left-handed gamers might feel left out.

Another theory is that the C button is for Community. During Thursday’s Nintendo Direct, the company revealed the return of the Tomodachi Life series, which was a Sims-like game featuring avatars for Miis. The Switch didn’t have these Miis when it launched, but it looks like they could be coming back. Knowing Nintendo, if the Miis are coming back, a Community button would bring up a place for different Miis to interact with, similar to how it worked with the Nintendo 3DS and the Mii Plaza.

Nintendo won’t reveal the function of that C-button until April 2, when it officially unveils the Switch 2. There are still plenty of questions about the company’s next console, such as when it will come out, how much it will cost and what games it will launch with. Those questions will likely be answered during the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct happening on April 2.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for June 9, #463

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 463 for June 9.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Todays NYT Strands puzzle features a bunch of mysterious words. Some are a bit difficult to unscramble so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: What you see isn’t what you get

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Hiding in plain sight

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CALL, CALLS, FALL, FALLS, SAME, SEAM, LAND, ROSE, COVE, CANE, CANES, FLUME, FLUMES, DIGS, MEAL, COLA, CARD, CASE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

MASK, CLOAK, COVER, FACADE, DISGUISE, CAMOUFLAGE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is FALSEFRONT. To find it, start with the F that’s two rows over from the far left and two letters down. Wind around into a question mark.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 9, #729

Here are some hints and the answers for Connections for June 9, No. 729.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Do you play the NYT Spelling Bee? If you do, you should be able to ace the purple category in today’s NYT Connections puzzle. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Control-C.

Green group hint: Don’t wait till the last minute.

Blue group hint: Pals to plan a heist.

Purple group hint: Think another NYT online game.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Keyboard shortcut commands.

Green group: Secure in advance.

Blue group: Crime organization.

Purple group: Spellling Bee ranks minus a letter.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is keyboard shortcut commands. The four answers are paste, print, quit and save.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is secure in advance. The four answers are book, order, request and reserve.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is crime organization. The four answers are crew, family, ring and syndicate.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Spelling Bee ranks minus a letter. The four answers are genus, goo, mazing and slid. (Genius, good, amazing and solid.)

Technologies

I Made Google Translate My Default on iPhone Before a Trip and It Saved Me More Than Once

Google Translate supports far more languages than Apple’s app, and it’s easy to make the switch.

If you’re traveling overseas this summer, the Google Translate app can come in handy to quickly translate a road sign or conversation. The latest Google Translate update allows you to pick the app as your default translation app for Apple iPhones and iPads running iOS and iPadOS 18.4 and later. Previously, you were limited to the built-in Apple option.

Google began leveraging AI to boost Google Translate’s offerings, adding 110 languages last year to increase its total support for 249 languages. Compare that to Apple Translate, which supports 19 languages. Neither Google nor Apple responded to a request for comment.

Both apps offer voice and text translation, including a camera feature that lets you instantly translate by pointing your camera at text. Both also allow you to use translation features without an internet connection, which can come in particularly handy when traveling to more remote locations.

After using both, I found that the Google Translate picked up speech a little quicker so I didn’t have to constantly repeat myself, and the audio pronunciations were a little easier to understand than on Apple Translate. I switched to Google Translate as the default on my iPhone, and here’s how you can, too.