Today I’m toying with

It’s a delightfully nerdy new handheld gaming podcast from The Full Nerd Network and Retro Game Corps… and I’m the first-ever guest! What’s that in my hand?? The episode airs Saturday at 9am PT (Update: you can watch it embedded below). I bring a future Today I’m Toying With item on the show, too!

It’s the Clear Drop Soft Plastic Compactor, and it’s not exactly adorable. But it’s fun to feed unrecyclable plastic into the machine and have it spit out bricks! Justine and I teamed up for a hybrid report and review of the somewhat flawed creation. You can even see and hear what happens to the bricks.

It’s so thin! Watch me hit it with a huge mallet, charge it via its deconstructed USB-C port, and shine bright light though the paper to reveal the flexible circuits within. Then, go read my colleague Andrew’s story: he interviewed the creator!

Friends and colleagues keep asking things like: “Can I pay you for some of those 3D-printed whistles to fight fascists so I can hand them out too?” But they are free! Request free whistles right here. Also, I’ve got an extra-long Bluesky thread with more inspiring quotes.

Today I toyed with the Lego Smart Brick, touted as the “most significant evolution” to the Lego system in 50 years, and I came away impressed. I have a whole hands-on preview story coming Wednesday, but here’s a whirlwind two-minute video tour of what it can actually do. (Also on YouTube.)

What if you could charge double-As with the same cord as your phone? That’s a thing, and these 1.5V lithium-ion Zepath batteries are surprisingly good! Don’t throw away your Eneloops yet, as NiMH is likely safer and can last longer in low-current applications. But these last way longer in my modded GBA.

The viral sliding gamepad designed by a 19-year-old is nearly here — with big differences from last year! Satisfying snap, nice controls, pairs with lots of devices including Switch 2. But it’s $150, and thick. I also had slightly peeling magnets, but Ohsnap says that’s fixed for mass production.

I brought our Quest 3 to Valve’s offices just in case we’d be seeing the Steam Frame, formerly known as Deckard — and it paid off! I didn’t have time to directly compare optics, but I’d say comfort is superior. It’s noticeably smaller, with controllers that are bigger.

Since people seem interested on our social media channels: Valve really does have a giant valve at HQ! A huge red wheel that spins in place on a huge screw, anyhow. It’s fun to throw, heavy, lots of inertia keeps it spinning. No word on what happens if you let the Steam out.

That was fast! I slapped down my $29 the day we wrote about Hallmark’s new ornament and it’s already here. Watch when I press the power button — and see how it compares to my Sega Genesis one Hallmark released in 2022! There’s an NES, SNES and OG Xbox too.

When Liz wrote that an officially licensed Haribo gummy bear battery was taking over the ultralight backpacking world, I just knew I’d have to toy with it for you. What else am I supposed to do with my shiny new USB-C power meter, after all? Links: Haribo, Iniu, Nitecore.

You know how Sony’s quietly building a PS5-grade handheld? GPD’s kind of already done it — by stuffing the monster AMD Strix Halo chip in the Framework Desktop and ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet into a handheld that needs SO MUCH electricity. Preorders are live at Indiegogo.

The brick version is even better than I imagined: an incredibly faithful, fun, and clever build. You can press every button, spin every wheel; designers nail the curves and recreate almost every label. For $48 at Costco (in-person) or $60 at Amazon, it’s even relatively affordable. (I bought it myself.)

a double-sided magnetic ring grip and stand I don’t have to remove when I use MagSafe car mounts. Or those double magnet rings I introduced you to before, which now serve as stands in my house. It’s from Syncwire, and it ranges from $17-$25 on Amazon. Sound on if you want to hear the satisfying ratcheting swivel!

Remember when the Steam Deck burst onto the scene and validated Linux for gaming in one fell swoop by making your Windows games handheld? Your phone might be next.

Remember when I upgraded a laptop’s entire GPU in just three minutes and filmed it for you? It wasn’t the only first I filmed that day! Here’s my Today I’m Toying With video hands-on with Framework’s industry-first standards-based 240W USB-C PD charging system. Look ma: no barrel jacks!

This is the Framework Laptop 16, and the company tells me I’m the first journalist to do this thing: show proof that upgrading a laptop’s GPU can be as easy as upgrading a desktop one. Alienware whiffed on this idea, but Framework is delivering. More on this right here.

I said the Sharge Retractable 3-in-1 “might be the coolest looking pocket charger I’ve ever seen” and promised to find out. But while it’s definitely cool, I’m not so sure about the “pocket” part! For $45, do you gravitate towards Sharge’s unique design, or the slimmer Anker one?

There’s lots we don’t know about Antigravity, the first drone from Insta360. But after my first flights, I think it could change what we expect out of drones. Want a look at some (prototype! compressed!) 360-degree footage on YouTube? I uploaded this interactive sample! Set resolution to 4K first.

I adore Mechanism’s mounting solutions, but always felt its $15 kickstand was a skip; I bought this amazing $25 mount instead. But the brand-new Kickstand 2 is better! Slimmer, stronger, anti-skid, no more detach when you lean back. Still can pop off when pulling forward at some angles, though! Tradeoffs.