Technologies

This Retro Gaming Keyboard Hits All the Right Nostalgia Vibes and It’s a Great Keyboard

8BitDo’s Retro keyboard is wonderful to type on and look at.

As a child of the ’90s few things get my nerd brain tingling like good ol’ Super Mario. Even hearing my best friend’s Mario-themed phone notifications take me back to a simpler time. So it’s no surprise that I completely nerded out when I saw 8BitDo’s Retro Mechanical Keyboard decked out in Mario colors. A solid mechanical keyboard with a heavy dose of nostalgia? Count me in.

If the Mario theme isn’t up your alley, the Retro is available in a few different versions, each pulling something from the gaming and computing archives. I love seeing something a bit (pun intended) different out of keyboard designs rather than just fancy lighting. Best of all, the Retro has the hardware to back up its great looks.

What I like about the 8BitDo Retro mechanical keyboard

The fun theme is far from the only original thing about these Retro keyboards. 8BitDo makes three different accessories for the keyboards that will set your inner nerd-child’s heart racing. There are four Super Buttons — a set of two comes in the box — each meant to act as a single «A,» «B,» «X» or «Y» button from the consoles of yesteryear. They’re color matched to the theme as well being available in bright yellow, green or blue. If you’d rather not break out the Super Buttons, there are two large «A» and «B» buttons on the bottom of the keyboard you can use

There are also a Super Joystick and Super ABXY accessories. The former matches the retro style of the keyboard, of course. The latter has four keyboard keys colored and labeled to match «ABXY» buttons from a controller. Not only are these fun to use, they can be customized with whatever macros you choose, aside from just gaming. The Super Buttons are $10 each and the Super Stick and ABXY are $15, though there are some packages that include one more of these accessories with the keyboard.

It types great too

If the design alone wasn’t enough to sell you, it also types great. The Kailh Box White V2 switches offer plenty of tactility and responsiveness. Best of all, the board is hot-swappable, so you can quickly change out the switches for others if you desire. The keycaps are Dye-Sub PBT which gives them a solid feel and means they should last quite a long time before showing any wear. Overall, I enjoyed typing on it.

Everything else you’d expect from a good mechanical keyboard is here too, like Bluetooth and 2.5GHz wireless connectivity, solid battery life and robust software support. There’s also an optional external numpad that matches the aesthetic of your keyboard for about $45. Or if you want to have it built in, 8BitDo has full 108-key versions of the N and Fami Editions for $120.

What I don’t like about the 8BitDo Retro mechanical keyboard

There’s not much I don’t like about the 8BitDo Retro keyboard. The design is awesome, the build quality is superb and the functionality is useful and fun. If I had to be picky, I do wish the included cable had some sort of retro theming as well. The 2.4GHz dongle does, so it would make sense for the cable to as well.

The same goes for the cable attached to the Super Buttons. It would be cool if it somehow matched the aesthetic of the keyboard, especially as it might clutter up your desk if most of your other peripherals are wireless. I might end up switching out the Kalih switches, but that’s purely personal preference. That said, having at least a few different switch options at checkout would be nice.

Should I buy the 8BitDo Retro mechanical keyboard?

Yes. The build quality is solid, the design is one of the best retro-themed ones I’ve seen on a keyboard, and the added functionality adds a lot of fun.

Most importantly, the price is great. This version retails for $100, but I’ve often seen it on sale for $90. There’s also the The Fami version, which has a maroon Famicom computer aesthetic, and a brown-on-brown «Commodore 64» C64 version. The most expensive version is the green officially-licensed Xbox one, but at $120 it’s not that much more than the others.

Technologies

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 Headphones Are Fantastic for Gaming, With One Big Compromise

I love everything about these headphones… but I hate using them in public.

Turtle Beach is no stranger to good gaming headsets. As far as my friends were concerned, they were essential if you wanted to be considered a «serious» gamer. The company’s Stealth 700 Gen 3 sits just below its Stealth Pro line and offers an impressive range of features for $200. For starters the headphones has big, 60mm drivers, plus multiple wireless transmitters as well as Bluetooth. The PC version even includes the option for 24-bit audio, sadly at the cost of Xbox compatibility.

Speaking of compatibility, the non-24-bit version will work with PC, Xbox, PlayStation and any Bluetooth device like a phone or Nintendo Switch. The CrossPlay button on the right earcup lets you instantly switch between the wireless transmitters. You can even stream audio from a Bluetooth-connected device and the wireless transmitter simultaneously so you can listen to an epic playlist from your phone while dominating on the battlefield.

What I like about the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3

The ear cups are quite comfortable. The cushions are memory foam and covered in a leatherette material that never got uncomfortable or hot for me while wearing them for long periods. Turtle Beach also has what they call «ProSpecs» technology, which is supposedly glasses-friendly. As a spectacle-clad gamer, I appreciated how comfortable they were while wearing my glasses. Other headsets I’ve worn were not as accommodating.

The mic is cleverly hidden away in the left ear cup, and when you pull it down, it automatically unmutes. For the Gen 3, Turtle Beach has added AI-assisted noise reduction to the microphone, which worked very well for me during video calls. I don’t play many multiplayer games, so I wasn’t able to test it out during gameplay. Judging by my experience on several video calls I’d say it works well. I wouldn’t say it’s significantly better than what any other company is doing, but it’s good at what it does.

The left earcup also houses the power button, USB-C charging port, two control wheels — one of which is remappable. There’s also a remappable Mode button which by default toggles Turtle Beach’s Superhuman hearing mode which increases the sounds of gunshots and footsteps. On the right earcup is the Bluetooth pairing button, Bluetooth volume control wheel and CrossPlay button for switching between sources.

What I don’t like about the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3

As my colleague Lori Grunin pointed out in her Stealth Pro review, having a single Bluetooth button can be a double-edged sword. Since Bluetooth headphones automatically connect to the most recently connected device the headphones are always jumping back and forth between devices. So this might take a moment to remedy at the start of a play session.

To be honest, with all the buttons and controls on the Stealth 700, it took me a while to learn them all. At times it became annoying. I’d have to remember which wheel controlled volume for which device. Sometimes I’d hit one when trying to readjust the headset. What I’d really have liked was a master volume wheel that decreased everything at once.

Oddly, I noticed that the power indicator light around the power button would blink rapidly while it was on instead of remaining solid green. It wasn’t a deal-breaker for me since I couldn’t see it, but it seemed the opposite of what a blinking light means on other gear.

There’s a bit of a downside to those big drivers and extra cushiony ear cups: the Stealth 700 is a bit heavy. It never became uncomfortable or painful, but I would instantly feel them with even the slightest head movement. I was always conscious that they were on my head and I always had to be careful of never moving my head too quickly.

What might be a bigger dealbreaker for some, and became more of an issue for me the longer I used them, is the lack of any sort of active noise cancellation. With lots of far cheaper headphones offering noise canceling, albeit not gaming headsets, that seems a drawback for the price of the Stealth 700s. I also liked these headphones enough to use them as my daily headphones, but trying to work in a coffee shop without any noise cancellation can be tough.

The lack of noise cancellation likely helps Turtle Beach’s claim that the Stealth 700 gets up to 80 hours of battery life. That’s pretty impressive for a gaming headset like this. While 80 hours may be technically achievable, you’ll likely never see battery life that high. For me, while gaming an average of 2 to 3 hours a day, a charge lasted about two weeks. Turtle Beach also claims it can fast charge to give you 3 hours of gaming time in about 15 minutes.

Customization of the buttons and EQs takes place in the Turtle Beach Swarm II app, which also lets you adjust mic levels, chat settings and most other typical gaming adjustments. The software can be a bit confusing, even glitchy, at times though. It had trouble recognizing the 700 headset a few times, especially when connected via Bluetooth.

Should you buy the Stealth 700 Gen 3?

The third generation of the Stealth 700 headset is a significant upgrade from the Gen 2 and it offers quite a few more substantial features than other headsets at this price. If you’re in the market for a new gaming headset, the Stealth 700 will give you just about everything you could ask for and then some… except noise canceling.

Lastly, there are three versions of the Stealth 700 Gen 3. The Xbox version is compatible with every platform. The Playstation is compatible with PC and the PC versions is capable of 24-bit audio as well as being compatible with PlayStation. All versions can also connect to Bluetooth devices.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, June 20

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 20.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Org. defending individual rights
Answer: ACLU

5A clue: Repeated words that lead up to …
Answer: HIPHIP

7A clue: What puzzle solvers don’t look down on
Answer: ACROSS

8A clue: … a big cheer!
Answer: HOORAY

9A clue: Hathaway who starred in «The Princess Diaries»
Answer: ANNE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Garment on which it’s totally acceptable to get food stains
Answer: APRON

2D clue: Doing the dishes or mowing the lawn
Answer: CHORE

3D clue: Younger sister to Bart, older sister to Maggie
Answer: LISA

4D clue: «___-daisy!»
Answer: UPSY

5D clue: Bit of laughter
Answer: HAHA

6D clue: Image of a compass, for Safari
Answer: ICON

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 20, #270

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 270, for June 20.

Looking for the most recent regular 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 and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition might be tough. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

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

Yellow group hint: Where games and matches are held.

Green group hint: Rev up.

Blue group hint: Fore!

Purple group hint: ¡Viva España!