Latest Updates 2023
This is where you’ll find the latest information about what is coming to the channel. There are hints on upcoming videos, guides or important milestones. SocialBlade stats can be found here. Thank you for checking out the latest updates!
– Jon
blogs from previous years [ 2022, 2021, 2020 & 2019]
February
- 2023-06-04 – I try to have a new video out every week, but unfortunately things didn’t go my way this time. I’ve got a new guide that was planned for release this week and some portions of the video ready to go, but I’m awaiting an update from the company before I can release it (something that will make the product better, which I will also need to test thoroughly). Found out mid-week that I need to hold off until next week to get back on that project and instead started another video. It’s obviously not done yet and may be mid-late week before it’s completed. Both are going to be very interesting and fun, as soon as I get them done I will release them. Thank you for your patience!
- 2023-05-27 – The EmuDeck team has released a new version of EmuDeck v2.1. In this video, we’ll install and configure it on the Steam Deck and cover the new features.
- 2023-05-21 – Just wanted to provide a quick update on some projects coming to the channel soon. First up, some new Steam Deck content related to retro game emulation. Additionally, should be seeing a new video+guide coming for an AtGames product that is pretty cool. Lastly, I have pre-ordered the ASUS ROG Ally so you can expect related content hitting the channel in June as I ramp up my knowledge of the device. Lots of fun stuff!
- 2023-05-19 – The BenQ treVolo U Desktop Bluetooth speaker provides clear reproduction of human speech and is optimized for Voice Clarity. This makes it an ideal solution for Home Office use. I’ve ditched my typical USB headset for 4-5 weeks to see how the treVolo U compares. The results of this experiment may be found here.
- 2023-05-13 – The Super Console Arcade X3 gaming console by KinHank included 50k built-in games allowing you to easily connect it to a TV/Monitor and start playing! You can also connect it to a PC or various other gaming consoles and use it as an Arcade gaming stick controller. Check out the review here.
- 2023-05-12 – The Asus Rog Ally handheld was made available for pre-order today. I love my Steam Deck, but this device looks very impressive too and can’t be ignored. I’ve placed a pre-order for a unit that should arrive at the studio before June 15th. As soon as it arrives, I’ll be pausing all current content and focus on this device so that I can ramp up quickly. I’m already receiving questions about the Asus Rog Ally, stay tuned to the channel for more information!
- 2023-05-11 – Next video is well underway and hoping to complete it by Monday or Tuesday (if not sooner). It will be a product review for a new design of a retro gaming console. Everything has been recorded and a good chunk edited, but I like to take my time and make sure I didn’t miss anything important.
We’ll also have a new guide coming a week or two after that, it’s already done just waiting on an update from the company to wrap it up and the companion video(s). I’m also testing other products far in advance to make sure they work well (so far so good). I likely won’t get much done on Sunday, it’s Mother’s Day and that’s a special day here. My wife has been hinting she wants a dashcam for months, guess it’s time to give it to her. It’s been sitting in my closet for well over a month 🙂 - 2023-05-05 – In today’s video we’ll check out the RetroStation Deck External HDD for the Steam Deck and PC. There are 31k games included, check it out here!
- 2023-04-27 – It’s going to be a little quiet here in terms of new content over the next week or two. Several family situations/events that are unavoidable will impact my availability to create new content (daughter moving in college, Mom in hospital, daughter surgery, etc.) New content is being developed but will be delayed, I appreciate your understanding.
- 2023-04-22 – The Pinball FX Cabinet Mode Setup video is now available and may be found here or on the written guide.
- 2023-04-20 – The next video will be the Pinball FX installation in Cabinet mode on the Legends Pinball. The video is progressing well. Hoping to release this weekend or early next week, at the latest.
- 2023-04-18 – The initial version of the Pinball FX Cabinet Mode Guide for Legends Pinball is now available for preview. Please see the notice at the top of the page, it’s still being refined and subject to change. The video companion is being edited.
- 2023-04-15 – Worked on the Pinball FX Guide and additional testing last night and will continue today. I’ve encountered an issue saving the button mapping and let Zen know about it. I’m also trying to increase the performance of the button response times and testing different options.
UPDATE: 10:00AM – Last night I had my wife test it, she said it was too “laggy” and didn’t like it while using Joytokey. So, this morning made some changes that seem to have massively improved the performance. I had her re-test and she said, YES, this is MUCH better! I still have more work to go on the controls, but I fully agree with her. Performance was bad before but now it’s much more fun. I won’t be including Joytokey in this new guide for Pinball FX. - 2023-04-13 – Zen has released Pinball FX (latest version) to Steam today. I will have a new video+guide for Pinball FX available as soon as possible. If you’re waiting on this guide, don’t forget to subscribe and click the bell notification so you’ll be notified once available. Work on this will start this evening. I’ll keep you posted here as progress is made.
UPDATE 10:23pm: Got the basics mostly working (see here for a short video). The playfield rotation works well. Zen added the ability to more easily position the backglass and DMD which I really appreciate. Initially, the DMD/Backglass settings didn’t seem to save after an exit/restart but seems fine now. When mapping the L/R nudge buttons, those settings don’t seem to persist at all. I have a message into Zen asking about this. Tonight was mostly install recording and basic testing. I need to understand what areas I need to understand better before going full-speed on the guide. That will likely start tomorrow and over the weekend. Overall, it’s going well. - 2023-04-12 – If you saw the HDD mentioned in my previous Batocera video, you have a hint as to what I’m working on next. I received an update this evening that fixed all the issues that I reported and will continue to test further with additional devices. If everything continues to go well, which I fully expect, you’ll see it soon. My current plan is for the video to be released sometime this or early next week. But, there is another that may take precedence. I suspect I’ll be working on both at the same time (not my forte) and we’ll see which one wins. Both are equally important.
- 2023-04-09 – Installing Batocera to a USB Stick / Flash Drive allows allows using any x86 64-bit PC as a retro gaming system. In this video, we’ll install Batocera to a USB Stick, fully set it up and try it on a few different machines!
- 2023-04-07 – The next guide+video is coming along very well. Due to working all weekend, including Easter, it’s going to take some time to finish. Hoping to complete it for release next week. It should be one that most viewers can use and enjoy, cheaply and easily. I’m really excited about all the awesome possibilities this will provide. Retro Gaming Anywhere, well almost!
- 2023-04-05 – Video mentioned in my previous post is on a temporary hold. I found a minor issue during testing and reached out to the company. They confirmed the problem and working to resolve it. As a result, I’ll be switching to the next planned video which works out, as it’s one that is needed, been asked of me several times and missing from the current library of guides/videos. It will be a good reference to have for a follow-up in light-gun gaming planned for next month. New guide and video edits have begun, but a little ways from being ready as this week I’m on-call for my day job (little free time).
- 2023-04-04 – The next video is in production. If you love playing Retro Games from the late 70’s to recent systems such as the Switch, you’re going to enjoy it. If you like playing these games from a PC or even a Steam Deck, you’ll really enjoy it. What’s coming is a unique idea that I’ve not seen any other company create. I’ve been testing it for about a week and we’ll talk about it soon.
- 2023-03-29 – The first installment of the new Dr. Seuss Pinball Pack #2 is coming (3/30 early access/pre-order customers/LPO, general release 3/31). There will be a total of four tables included in this pack, the remaining two will be released June 30th, 2023. The first two tables are: Dr. Seuss’s ABC and Green Eggs and Ham. For more information on these tables, check out the video here.
- 2023-03-28 – If you’re a Legends Pinball fan, there are a few cool new tables coming very soon! Demonstration video coming this week!
- 2023-03-25 – Here’s a cool case for your Raspberry Pi 4 called the Pironman! It includes a nearly 1″ OLED Display, 16 addressable RGB LEDs, M.2 SATA port, IR receiver and more. This video will cover the unboxing, assembly and Software setup.
- 2023-03-24 – Next video is completed and ready for release tomorrow (3/25), stay tuned!
- 2023-03-16 – If you’re interested in running ChatGPT on your Amazon Alexa-enabled device, a skill has been created that you may be interested in. You can check it out here.
- 2023-03-16– A lot of work has been going on at the WTT Studio. A new video will be released very soon (video is ready to go) that demonstrates an Amazon Alexa Skill working with the latest AI sensation, ChatGPT. Additionally, a few new gaming-related guides are in-development and will be revealed very soon, just waiting on some updates from companies to finalize them. Some cool stuff ahead, fur sure! Also, a few new products to review for the Steam Deck, PC Emulation and perhaps one additional console-type device (not 100% sure if this is coming). Also, one pretty cool Raspberry Pi 4 case is definitely coming soon too. Think “Ironman”, with a “Pi” somewhere.
- 2023-03-12 – Here’s a fun video (YouTube short) where we’re using Amazon Astro and Furbo to throw our dogs a treat.
- 2023-03-10 – In this video, we’ll talk about how to setup the AimTrak light-gun on the AtGames Legends Ultimate home arcade cabinet.
- 2023-03-09 – The AimTrak Light Gun companion video is completed and will be released on Friday morning. Talk to you soon!
- 2023-03-07 – The AimTrak Light Gun Guide for the Legends Ultimate is basically ready to go, you can find it here. The companion video is about 60% done and plan to release it this week. The two should make setting up the AimTrak light gun a bit easier. I welcome any feedback in the video comments. My next post will be the companion video announcement.
- 2023-03-05 – The latest written light-gun guide is mostly a wrap, focus now moving to editing the companion video in preparation for release this week. Much of the rough-edits have been done and awaiting voice overs. I’ll be starting this today and planning to release both this week. I’ll post a link to the new guide once the video sees similar progress. In addition, received two more light-guns a few days ago that will be a part of a follow-up segment (or segments, we’ll see how interested folks are).
- 2023-03-03 – A new light gun video and guide is in-process. I’ve been working some really long hours in my day job which has slowed progress on it, but I have both guns working on the Legends Ultimate and working great. I’ll keep you posted as it gets closer to release-time.
- 2023-02-25 – Success! I have one light-gun working on the Legends Ultimate (mentioned earlier this month) with the BitLCD installed and a few additional accessories I picked up. There were some things I had to do a bit differently to get it to work. I’m in-process of documenting everything I’ve done and I want to add a big shout out to RaphSeraph who had created a guide over half a year ago that had some very helpful information and will be credited in this new guide. As a result, I ordered a 2nd Light-gun to test such that I will be able to demonstrate two-player light-gun gaming (not just on the ALU). I hope to have this new guide available this week and a companion video available shortly after. This is only a start to WTT coverage of light-gun gaming, much more is coming for other systems that support it. Multiple light-gun manufacturers will be documented as well for various platforms, the Legends Ultimate is only the first in the series, then Steam Deck after that the Pi 4. It’s a subject that’s been asked of me for years, I can only now invest in making it happen and appreciate your patience if you’re one who’s asked about it. I hope you’re as excited as I am!
- 2023-02-24 – I spent a lot of time working with the INMO Air AR Glasses and now able to provide a detailed review of this product. The glasses have some very interesting features, but it’s probably best to just show you in this video rather than talk about it here. If you have any questions or comments, I’ll help as best I can in the video comments section.
- 2023-02-19 – On the Amazon Astro guide, added a new section for the Furbo 360. This device will let you flip a treat to your dogs/cats. It can rotate in 360 degrees, has a 1080p camera and of course can flip treats to your pets. It can operate stand-alone on a table/counter or you can add it to the cargo bay of Astro. More details here. A video review is coming for the Furbo 360.
- 2023-02-18 – Received an interesting pair of AR glasses. This device has a built-in battery, camera for recording images/video, can pair to your cellphone and runs Android. The glasses work completely independent from your phone, yet can connect over WiFi to your home network or Bluetooth to your phone. There is also a limited AppStore built-in that allows you to perform a number of additional functions such as translating some languages to English and show the results within the glasses (translated to English). They can’t be used for connecting to a Steam Deck and there are other limitations. We’ll be checking it out on the channel soon.
I also received one of the two Light Guns. The box is unopened at this time, but I expect to open it this weekend and begin testing it out. There will likely be a new guide developed for each type of gun that arrives and videos for each specific device it’s tested on.
- 2023-02-15 – I’ve had several ask me if I’ll ever create guides for Light Gun games for either the AtGames Legends Ultimate or distributions such as Batocera / Recalbox / RetroPie. This is an area I’ve neglected, primary due to the cost involved in acquiring them. In the past, I’ve used the Dolphin bar with WiiMotes which worked decently (but not great). I decided to invest in some light-gun related content for the future and ordered 3 that will be included in future episodes / guides on the channel. I’m looking forward to digging into the world of Light Gun gaming and sharing that experience with you.
- 2023-02-11 – Batocera is an excellent option for Retro Gaming on the Valve Steam Deck! In this guide and video, we’ll install and setup Batocera and provide a detailed written guide to further assist.
- 2023-02-10 – Production is a wrap on the next video and guide, Steam Deck Batocera Emulation Setup Guide! The companion video will be released tomorrow, 2/11. This project took quite awhile to complete, one of the largest ones in some time. It should have been done two weeks ago, but unfortunately I’m behind since I haven’t been well. You may be able to tell in some parts of this video 🙂
- 2023-02-07 – I’ve completed the next written guide for the Steam Deck and it will be made available when the companion video is done. My voice is almost back to normal, or at least tolerable, to begin voice-overs for the next production today or tomorrow. Hoping to release this new guide and video over the weekend, if I still sound a bit raspy my apologies in advance 🙂 I’ll share more updates as we get closer to that point.
- 2023-02-05 – Feeling slightly better today, it comes and goes. I’ve started work on the next guide, it’s going to be a very detailed guide for the Steam Deck that I think many are going to appreciate. Lots of work remaining, there will be a companion video for it as well to talk about it more. It will be released as soon as it’s completed.
- 2023-02-04 – Been sick for the past week and rather miserable at the moment. My apologies for slowing down on new content, but will be hitting it hard once I’m back to better health.
January
- 2023-01-27 – Since it’s release in Nov. 2022, I’ve spent some time experimenting with ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) system that can generate text and programming code in ways not seen previously. It has received a lot of attention since it’s release and for good reason, it’s impressive. ChatGPT has the potential to be disruptive to a number of different industries and in this video we’ll explore some of the different ways it can be used.
- 2023-01-27 – Thank you to all of our amazing subscribers who have helped us reach 25,000 subscribers on our Wagner’s TechTalk YouTube channel! We are so grateful for your support and engagement and couldn’t have done it without you. Your encouragement and feedback keep us motivated to continue creating content that entertains and educates. We look forward to continuing to grow with you and bringing you even more exciting content in the future. Thank you again for joining us on this journey and for being a part of our community!
- 2023-01-19 – The awesome CoinOpsX team has released not only a new CoinOpsX Marquee 2.0 pack for the AtGames Legends BitLCD accessory, but have also included over 1k VIDEO marquees too! Based on this development, a video has been created to demonstrate how to set it up and may be found here. This pack takes the BitLCD to an entirely new level, Enjoy!
- 2023-01-17 – I’m back! My wife and I took our first-ever cruise the early part of Jan. and a few days in New Orleans also. With the holidays, trip preparation and other reasons I was not able to create content before our departure. But, back and have plenty to complete and some footage to show from our trip. Given this is a tech channel, won’t get too much into. the trip itself but did bring along some tech stuff during the trip that made it a bit more pleasant. We’ll talk about that in an upcoming video, but first need to wrap up some in-process content and get back to our regularly scheduled program.
- 2023-01-02 – It’s going to be a little quiet here at WTT for the first few weeks of Jan. Lots of new content in-process, but there are some personal things that need to be taken care of the first few weeks. I’ll reveal more when I return 🙂 Hoping to show some new tech outside the US in-action. This new content will appear likely towards the later part of this month and in likely more than a few videos early this year. Just wanted to keep you updated.
- 2023-01-01 – Happy New Year 2023! I hope you had an awesome 2022 and are having a great start to the new year. 2022 was a transitional year for Wagner’s TechTalk. There was a large number of new guides developed to support you in a lot of different ways. According to the number of views and subscribers, the top content was Steam Deck related. A very close second was new and existing AtGames guides and videos. It’s not always about what is the most popular that drives the content that gets created. I’m always searching for new tech to bring to you so you can decide for yourself if it’s something you like or not. It’s also important to continue bringing new and interesting content for those topics that are the most popular. This year, you will see even more continuation of that, including some new technologies that may not be popular now but have the potential to be in the future (example: Amazon Astro). I’m excited for new products that are coming to the studio and looking forward to sharing them with you. There is more content to make than time to create it (this is not my full-time job).
This website went through some additional upgrades that were largely transparent to you. Improved security, automated daily backups, monitoring, etc. -all to provide a better experience for you. Of course, none of it is free for me. I always appreciate your support by using affiliate links that you find on this site, it helps me keep new content flowing and the site operational.
The support received in 2022 was tremendous, I want to thank each and everyone of you with your very kind comments, trust, subscribing and likes to videos. In 2022, subscribers increased by 8.2k, there were over 1.2 million views and 87.2 thousand watch hours. In terms of channel growth, it was over a 30% increase from 2021. Again, thank you and looking forward to what 2023 has in store for us!