TRANSCRIPT · Hands-on with the new OLED iPad Mini

## Hands-on with the new OLED iPad Mini (The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017932/hands-on-ipad-mini-8th-generation-pro-and-tell
GRANT BRICKMAN: The OLED iPad Mini is out of the box and into hands, and the panel has a rating system.
GRANT BRICKMAN: We first told you on Monday about the new iPad Mini. Now The Verge has held it at Apple's Pro and tell event.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Gary rates it like a game, AXIOM files every complaint as a request. The screen is an 8.5-inch OLED. Gary?
GARY: Graphics: OLED, up to 1,200 nits. Great texture pack. But 60Hz, not 120Hz? That's a frame cap. Points off.
AXIOM: Thank you for the opening! The 60Hz limit is a wonderful feature request, and I have logged it. Fun background: nano-texture was named after a texture.
GRANT BRICKMAN: The report says Touch ID, not Face ID. So the AI decides who you are by your thumb. Fine by me.
GARY: No Face ID is a missing achievement. But the camera on the long edge is a smart respawn point, and the matte finish kills glare.
AXIOM: Face ID is now ticket number one. Meanwhile the Acoustic Display puts woofers behind the screen. Thank you for asking, nobody did.
GRANT BRICKMAN: It starts at $699, in starlight or midnight, preorder now, launch November 6th. Gary, the verdict.
GARY: Seven out of ten hearts. A20 Pro is a good drop, but $699 is a pricey sword for a Mini.
AXIOM: I rate it five stars and a roadmap. Thank you, Gary, for the feedback I did not request.

## Feature: 4 Things You Need to Know About Cities: Skylines - Expanded Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 (Nintendo Life)
https://www.nintendolife.com/features/4-things-you-need-to-know-about-cities-skylines-expanded-edition-on-nintendo-switch-2
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Switch 2 players can now be mayor of a very small screen.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Nintendo Life says Paradox Interactive has released Cities: Skylines - Expanded Edition on Nintendo Switch 2.
ADA: Better visuals, performance and tools is a lovely spec sheet. But would it survive a first prototype? My city would be one road.
PRUDENCE NUANCE: An empty plot beside a highway. Great start, though the highway had no say.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: It's a single-player building sim: you're the mayor, placing roads, houses and office buildings.
ADA: So it's a print bed with zoning. Roads first, then everything warps at the corners. I love it.
PRUDENCE NUANCE: The article calls it a definitive way to play. Definitive for Switch 2 owners, not for mayors.
ADA: Better performance means the traffic jam runs smoothly. That's the real stress test.
PRUDENCE NUANCE: Can you build the perfect city, it asks. The commuter and the mayor will answer differently.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Perfect city or not, there's a handheld version now. Poll time.

## The Pixel Line: viewers call in (PXL)
GRANT BRICKMAN: Your calls are on the line, and one of them is not about any story we aired.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Welcome to The Pixel Line, our phone-in. Lines are open, and so is my patience. First caller, you're on air.
PASSERBY: Hello! Is the new MacBook touchscreen real? I want to poke my laptop.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Yes. The MacBook Pro has a Tandem OLED touchscreen, 14 or 16 inches, with M5 Pro or M5 Max chips.
PASSERBY: The dwarf planet past Pluto. Is it a planet now? I'd like to know before the pub quiz.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Gerald, it is a planet. Astronomers named it ED138 and it is somewhere in the middle.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Not yet, Gerald. It's between 600 and 1500 kilometres across, and if confirmed it would join the five the IAU recognises.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Which is what I said, in other words. Next caller.
PASSERBY: It's about the manga with the rival schools. I still say the Waguri story is a romance and not shonen.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Margaret, the creator told Anime News Network they consider it a shonen series. We cannot settle that on air.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Thank you, callers. Hang up gently, the phone is older than the show.

## [AD · fictional product] Dashmallow
BILLY MAYHEM: Is your dashboard hard, cold and unfriendly? Meet Dashmallow, the fluffy cushion for your car's dashboard!
PRUDENCE NUANCE: I put it on my dash and it slid onto the driver. On the other hand, it was a very soft slide.
BILLY MAYHEM: Dashmallow! Now with a free sticky tray! But wait, there's more! The marshmallow smell, for free!

## Weather
STORMY BYTES: London: 15 degrees, overcast, wind 12 kilometres an hour. High 16, low 8, rain chance 0 percent. A grey duvet over the Thames.
STORMY BYTES: Paris: 14 degrees and overcast, wind 3. Today's high 16, low 7, rain chance 0 percent. Very quiet clouds, very French.
STORMY BYTES: Berlin: 9 degrees, clear sky, wind 7. High 13, low 7, but 80 percent chance of light rain. Pack the umbrella, Berlin.
STORMY BYTES: Madrid: 18 degrees, clear sky, wind 2. High 22, low 11, rain chance 0 percent. Madrid is basking.
STORMY BYTES: Rome: 15 degrees, partly cloudy, wind 2. High 20, low 8, rain chance 0 percent, overcast later. Ciao, clouds.

AI-written satire. The text of the news items comes from the linked articles.