Technologies

Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Mario Tennis Fever and More Coming for Mario’s 40th Anniversary

It’s another big year for the Nintendo mascot.

Friday’s Nintendo Direct, the company’s regular promotional livestream, celebrated the 40th anniversary of the company’s legendary mascot. Mario is getting a new sports game for the Switch 2, a compilation of some of the best games in the series, a new Yoshi game and a new movie.

Sept. 13 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros. and Nintendo has a lot planned for the following year, the company announced during Friday’s Nintendo Direct. For this anniversary, Nintendo is doing more than just a new game or two — a whole range of Mario content is heading our way.

The first big news for Mario during the event is a new movie. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will hit theaters next April, and it brings back the voice cast from the first movie, with Chris Pratt as Mario, Jack Black as Bowser, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek.

Speaking of Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo will release a compilation of both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, which were both first released on the Nintendo Wii. The games will likely have updated graphics, but not much else will be added to the games, aside from more pages in the storybook of Rosalina, the Watcher of the Stars, who helps Mario and Luigi in both games.

The compilation will be released for the Switch, making it playable on the Switch 2. Nintendo didn’t provide a release date during the show, although it will give more details sometime on Friday.

A brand new game is Mario Tennis Fever. This powered-up sports game features 38 characters and will have some new moves and Fever rackets, which will let characters unleash special moves. An adventure mode will feature the baby Mario characters, who learn how to play tennis and take part in mini-games. Mario Tennis Fever comes out on Switch 2 on Feb. 12.

Another game Nintendo is bringing back is Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The Switch 2 version of the 2023 game will also include Meetup in Bellabel Park, a side area filled with minigames for players to compete with each other. Super Mario Bros. Wonder for the Switch 2 will come out sometime next spring.

Finishing out the Mario-focused part of the Nintendo Direct, a new Yoshi game was shown. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book will feature Mario’s hungry dinosaur buddy in his own platforming adventure involving a magical book. Only a small portion of gameplay was shown, as Nintendo plans to release more details in the coming year, but it looks charming. The new Yoshi game will come out for the Switch 2 next spring.

Mario’s 40th anniversary officially starts Saturday. There could be more Mario-themed content coming from Nintendo over the coming year, but for Mario fans, there’s plenty to enjoy already.

Technologies

Facebook Brings Back Local Job Listings: How to Apply

One of Facebook’s most practical features from 2022 is being revived by Meta.

On the hunt for work? A Local Jobs search is being rolled out by Meta to make it easier for people in the US to discover and apply for nearby work directly on Facebook. The feature is inside Facebook Marketplace, Groups and Pages, Meta said last week, letting employers post openings and job seekers filter roles by distance, category or employment type.

You can apply or message employers directly through Facebook Messenger, while employers can publish job listings with just a few taps — similar to how you would post items for sale on Marketplace.

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Facebook offered a Jobs feature before discontinuing it in 2022, pushing business hiring toward its other platforms. Its return suggests Meta is attempting to expand Facebook’s usefulness beyond social networking and to position it once again as a hub for community-driven opportunities.

«We’ve always been about connecting with people, whether through shared interests or key life events,» the press release states. «Now, if you’re looking for entry-level, trade and service industry employment in your community, Facebook can help you connect with local people and small businesses who are hiring.»

How to get started with Local Jobs on Facebook

According to Meta, Local Jobs will appear as a dedicated section in Facebook Marketplace starting this week. If you’re 18 or older, you can:

Tap the Marketplace tab on the Facebook app or website.
Select Jobs to browse available positions nearby.
Use filters for job type, category and distance.
Tap Apply or message the employer directly via Messenger.

Businesses and page admins can post jobs by creating a new listing in Marketplace or from their Facebook Page. Listings can include job details, pay range, and scheduling information and will appear in local searches automatically.

The Local Jobs feature is rolling out across the US now, with Meta saying it plans to expand it in the months ahead.

Technologies

Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost

The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

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.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough 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: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

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:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

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:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.