Technologies

Fujifilm’s Instax Mini Evo Cinema Camera Lets You Time Travel

Spin a dial to get images like those from your parents’ and grandparents’ photo albums.

As much as we love the latest technology, we still have a reverence for retro. Fujifilm has taken a stab at marrying the two with the Instax Mini Evo Cinema, a camera that lets you take photos and video — and print them — with the resolution and color altered as they might have appeared in decades past, going back to the 1930s.

Set the camera to 1930s mode, and you can get those grainy, pale-color shots and video from the pre-World War II era. Dial it up to the 1980s and get the vibrant colors of that decade. Or go with 2020s setting for the high-resolution images we have currently. It’s all done with a body styled after an old 8mm movie camera.

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Fujifilm executive Bing Liem said the new camera melds a vintage look with modern functionality. «Mini Evo Cinema delivers a smooth, unique photographic experience that gives the user a myriad of ways to turn casual moments into unforgettable ones,» he said in a statement.

But those retro moments won’t come cheaply. The Instax Mini Evo Cinema will be sold at a suggested retail price of $410 in the US. Fujifilm said the device will be available in early February.

Go back in time

The Instax Mini Evo Cinema features a Gen Dial, which lets you set your photo or video mode to a specific decade. «Each era is designed to capture the look and feel of the imagery of that time,» Fujifilm said.

It could be a useful device for a Depression Era-themed party, or a big-hair 1980s shindig. Or don some beads and take yourself back to the Swinging ’60s.

There’s also a Degree Control Dial, which allows you to adjust color, contrast and noise expression up to 10 different levels for each era.

15-second clips

If you want to make a video instead, you can toggle the Cine/Still mode to Cine for a video up to 15 seconds long, in whichever decade you want. You can shoot a series of shorter clips, and the camera will stitch them together for one continuous video that is 15 seconds long in total.

By downloading the free Instax Mini Evo smartphone app, you can connect via Bluetooth and create videos up to 30 seconds in length.

There are several other features. You can add a frame — with the characteristics of each era — to each photo or video, zoom in or out, and access a storage gallery where you keep and categorize your masterpieces.

Shoot and print

The Instax Mini Evohas an analog-style lever to print your photos, or frames from video clips, directly from the camera. If you take a video and want to play it back, the camera can make a print with a QR code that you can scan with your phone and then watch the video.

Other features include remote shooting (via an app), a 1.54-inch LCD, a viewfinder and grip attachments, a USB-C port for charging and transfer, and a microSD card slot to add photos and videos to.

Technologies

Popular Chinese ‘Are You Dead?’ Safety App Changes Name

The app offers a way for people who live alone to let others know they’re alive and well.

Some people who live alone don’t always stay in contact with their families and friends on a daily basis. That’s the reason for an app created by Chinese company Moonscape Technologies, which requires users to check in regularly to reassure their emergency contact that all is well. Now, the company has changed the app’s original name, Sileme, which bluntly translated to «Are You Dead?» According to Global Times, the company announced the new name, Demumu, on Tuesday on the Weibu app. The new name is still partially derived from a Chinese word meaning death.

The original name was a play on the name of a popular Chinese food delivery app, Ele.me, which translates to «Are you hungry?» But when the app drew worldwide attention on Monday, the company announced the name change.

Not everyone was a fan of the new name. Global Times cites one online commenter as saying, «The reason you went viral was your original name.»

Whatever name it goes by, the personal safety app, launched in 2025, is designed to serve as a safety net for individuals living alone, particularly those who may be less mobile or have health issues.

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«We wanted to build something that works invisibly in the background of people’s lives — not intrusive or complicated, just a simple tap each day that says ‘I’m OK’ to the people who care,» a spokesperson for Demumu said in a statement.

Demumu currently holds the top spot among the most popular paid apps in China and is just as sought after in Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States and Australia. Demumu is available for iOS and costs 99 cents as a one-time purchase.

Of course, you could just reach out to your loved one via phone or text daily for free, but the app offers a kind of forced reminder in case you forget.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 15 #683

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 15, No. 683.

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 could be tough. It really depends on how well you know your human anatomy. Some of the answers are 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: The ears have it!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Can you hear me now?

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:

CARB, CART, CAPS, SCAR, DUEL, LANE, HEAL, HEALER, MAIN, HEAR, SEAR, SEAR, PART

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:

DRUM, LOBE, ANVIL, CANAL, HAMMER, STIRRUP, CARTILAGE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is HEARHEAR. To find it, start with the H that’s the farthest left letter of the top row, and wind down.

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Technologies

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Drops Long-Awaited Update One Day Early

You can now decorate guest rooms at a new resort hotel, buy Lego items and add characters from The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon games.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons villagers, it might be time to dust off that Nintendo Switch and head back to the island. On Wednesday, Nintendo dropped its long-awaited 3.0 free content update a day early.

The free version 3.0 update includes a new resort hotel, run by the family of Kapp’n, the sea turtle who takes players on boat tours. You can decorate guest rooms at the hotel, purchase new furniture and clothing and dress mannequins.

You can tidy up your island with the character Resetti’s Reset Service as well as upgrade your home storage to stash up to 9,000 items, which also includes the ability to keep plants and flowers in your storage. Some new items are also available, including some classic Nintendo game consoles. Those come as a perk for Nintendo Switch Online members, who can actually play select classic Nintendo games online when you interact with those consoles. Other new additions include Lego items along with characters and items from The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon games.

If you’ve got a Nintendo Switch Online membership, you can try out a new addition to the game called Slumber Island, where you design and save up to three new islands and play online with friends. You can build and design the islands collaboratively with your friends and invite residents from your home island to visit your new creations.

To install the update, turn on your Nintendo Switch and follow the prompts, and the new update will be installed fairly automatically. Just a warning that if, like me, you haven’t played in a while, your character will need to shake the sleep out of their hair, stomp all the cockroaches that have infiltrated their home and deal with your villagers pointedly asking where the heck you’ve been for a year.

The company announced the update back in October, but it was not scheduled to arrive until Thursday. It’s an extra treat because back in 2021, the company announced that the version 2.0 update, which was released in November of that year, would be the final major free content update.

Thankfully, Nintendo rethought that decision, though some of us are still eagerly awaiting eventual news of an entirely new Animal Crossing game. (With the Nintendo Switch 2 now out, there’s no way Nintendo is getting off the AC gravy train, right?) A representative for Nintendo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.