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It's SPHERICAL! That's right, the GameSphere from Drake & Josh is based on a real product—the Memorex Boomball. So let's explore Memorex's history (don't forget the juicy lawsuit) and let's try to mod a Boomball into a working GameSphere!
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👇Lots of cool people helped make this episode possible!
Delicious Damian: Modding, 2nd Unit Production, Guest Star
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BigRig Creates https://www.youtube.com/@BigRigCreates : Guest Star, 3D Printing
Dave https://youtube.com/@dgfpv : On-Location Camera Op
Savvy Sage: Research
Brainiac Brent: Assistant Editing
Thank you to Ian Schwabe (@ArtisIan_) who illustrated the judge's decision!
And special thanks to my amazing Feedback Team!
The music used during the Boomball demo was from Animusic, composed and recorded by Wayne Lytle.
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0:00 Introduction
0:31 Memorex History
5:39 Delicious Damian
6:32 “IT’S SPHERICAL!”
7:38 Memorex Sphere Product Line
13:50 Boomball Test
15:47 GameSphere Mod (Part 1)
18:52 What Happened to Memorex?
22:13 GameSphere Mod (Part 2)
#KrazyKen #ComputerClan
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3YTL0sk
Official Website: https://bit.ly/3AHm1Ps
You can support this channel on Patreon! Link below…
It's SPHERICAL! That's right, the GameSphere from Drake & Josh is based on a real product—the Memorex Boomball. So let's explore Memorex's history (don't forget the juicy lawsuit) and let's try to mod a Boomball into a working GameSphere!
More Great Episodes:
CIDCO iPhone ● https://youtu.be/_LEyXAIS8mE
Steam Machines ● https://youtu.be/NdMZExDQGTU
Pre-order my signed photo calendar! ● https://www.etsy.com/listing/1822466497
(PRE-ORDERS END DECEMBER 3 AT 6:00 PM CST)
Get free wallpapers! ● https://thecomputerclan.com/wallpapers
Follow me on Twitter ● https://twitter.com/thecomputerclan
Facebook ● https://facebook.com/computerclan
😎Shop for cool stuff on my store ● https://thecomputerclan.com/etsy
⭐️Support the Computer Clan on Patreon ● https://Patreon.com/KrazyKen
👆Patrons got early ad-free access to this episode. They also got behind-the-scenes access, Discord VIP access, and their names in the credits! Pledge now to get those awesome perks, and help fund the future of the Computer Clan! Thanks for your support.
👇Lots of cool people helped make this episode possible!
Delicious Damian: Modding, 2nd Unit Production, Guest Star
Damian's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FarrOffMan
BigRig Creates https://www.youtube.com/@BigRigCreates : Guest Star, 3D Printing
Dave https://youtube.com/@dgfpv : On-Location Camera Op
Savvy Sage: Research
Brainiac Brent: Assistant Editing
Thank you to Ian Schwabe (@ArtisIan_) who illustrated the judge's decision!
And special thanks to my amazing Feedback Team!
The music used during the Boomball demo was from Animusic, composed and recorded by Wayne Lytle.
📱Contact Us ● https://thecomputerclan.com/contact
🎬Get royalty-free stock footage with Artgrid. Sign up with my link to support the channel and get 2 extra months free: https://bit.ly/clan2Dr3M3e
🎵I also use Artlist for the music in my videos. I highly recommend them 👌 Click for 2 extra months free: https://bit.ly/clan2LBaKov
🎥Get film gear I use ● http://amzn.to/2hmJhHU
On a lower budget? ● https://amzn.to/2hLrJBL
Computer Clan is an Amazon Associate. Amazon links are powered by the Amazon Associates Program and the Computer Clan may receive a commission. Artlist and Artgrid links are also affiliate links.
0:00 Introduction
0:31 Memorex History
5:39 Delicious Damian
6:32 “IT’S SPHERICAL!”
7:38 Memorex Sphere Product Line
13:50 Boomball Test
15:47 GameSphere Mod (Part 1)
18:52 What Happened to Memorex?
22:13 GameSphere Mod (Part 2)
#KrazyKen #ComputerClan
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00It's spherical! That's right, the famous Game Sphere from Drake and Josh and Internet Memes
00:05is a real product. But it's not a game console.
00:09Yet. With some modding, it can be. So let's dive into this orb,
00:14and the history of the brand behind it, Memorex.
00:21Hey everyone, how are you all doing? If you're new here, welcome. My name is Krazy Ken,
00:25and the famous Game Sphere is actually a Memorex Boom Ball, which is a CD player and AM FM radio.
00:32Memorex was founded in 1961 by former engineers at Ampex. Lawrence, Arnold, Donald, and Lawrence.
00:40Spelled differently.
00:41Memorex is a portmanteau of Memory Excellence. Almost as good as Chef Excellence.
00:47You've probably heard of Memorex from those blank CDs lying around your house at one point in time,
00:51but before CDs were a thing, Memorex produced magnetic computer tape in Silicon Valley.
00:57Before it was called Silicon Valley.
00:59In 1966, they expanded into disc packs,
01:02followed by IBM plug-compatible peripherals for IBM mainframes.
01:07And in 1970, IBM sued them.
01:10Oh my gosh, seriously, we're like 15 seconds into the story,
01:14and already somebody is suing someone else?
01:17God bless America.
01:19What happened was IBM accused Memorex of wrongful appropriation and use of trade secrets.
01:25Memorex was like, man, that's uncool.
01:28So they countersued, accusing IBM of crowding out competitors.
01:32Countersuits can make a civil case much more complex,
01:35and that's likely what happened here because this case lasted for eight years.
01:40Meanwhile, in 1971, Memorex is going to continue doing business, right?
01:44They're not just going to give up.
01:46So they entered the consumer media business with some new products
01:50and a new marketing campaign, which launched the famous slogan,
01:53is it live or is it Memorex?
01:56Lawsuit aside, through the seventies,
01:58Memorex was one of the largest independent suppliers of disc drives
02:02and communication controllers for IBM mainframe users.
02:05And on the consumer side, audio and video cassettes.
02:08These guys were a big deal.
02:10In 1978, the lawsuit finally went to trial for 96 days
02:16and the deliberation lasted 19 more days on top of that.
02:21Ultimately, the jury could not reach a verdict.
02:24So it was declared a mistrial.
02:26Now it was down to a judge's decision.
02:29And the winner of the 1970 lawsuit is IBM.
02:36Memorex said, so they appealed,
02:37but they couldn't prove that IBM was engaging in anti-competitive practices.
02:42So they lost the appeal too.
02:44So now they were down to their last resort, the Supreme Court,
02:49which is like a regular court, but with extra toppings.
02:52And SCOTUS was like, eh, no.
02:55The full settlement details must have happened behind closed doors
02:58because I cannot find a concrete outcome.
03:01But I do know IBM did not have to pay the damages Memorex sought,
03:05which according to the New York Times was $306 million.
03:11At this point, Memorex was struggling financially.
03:14In 1980, they had a loss of $29 million,
03:18a stark contrast to the $31.5 million profit in 1979.
03:23But the problems ran deeper than that.
03:25In fact, some would argue that the true financial troubles at Memorex
03:28started several years earlier.
03:30As competition grew in the early 70s,
03:33and IBM lowered prices of its own disk storage equipment,
03:36Memorex struggled to keep up.
03:38And in 1973, they lost $90 million,
03:42leading to significant reorganization.
03:45Thanks to that reorg and Memorex's focus on the consumer market,
03:49they were able to stay afloat.
03:51But in 1980, they needed to sell.
03:55Okay, so this is where the story starts breaking up a little bit.
03:59Let's play a drinking game.
04:00Every time a company, trademark, or other asset is sold, take a drink.
04:06Spoiler alert, you will die.
04:09Memorex sold to Burroughs in December 1981 for $105 million.
04:15Then Burroughs sold the consumer portion of Memorex
04:17to Radio Shack's parent, Tandy Corporation.
04:20Burroughs kept the OEM and enterprise business,
04:23and then merged in November 1986 with Spurry Corporation, forming Unisys.
04:28Then they spun off most of Memorex into a separate business one month later,
04:32Memorex International.
04:34Then that company acquired Telex, and they formed Memorex Telex,
04:39but that went bankrupt in 1996.
04:41And in December 1989,
04:43Unisys completed the sale of its hard disk assembly,
04:46manufacturing, and refurbishment operations,
04:49which were previously used by Memorex,
04:51to a group of managers who formed a new company, Sequel.
04:55Okay, that was a lot.
04:58I'm a teetotal, so I don't drink alcohol,
05:00so I'm okay to keep going, but hopefully you're doing okay out there.
05:05How many fingers am I holding up?
05:06So everything I just mentioned was the non-consumer side of the structure.
05:11So what about the consumer focuses?
05:13In 1993, Tandy Radio Shack sold the Memorex consumer brand
05:17to private Hong Kong firm Hanny Holdings,
05:20who licensed the name and brand recognition to another company named Memcorp.
05:25And Memcorp used the Memorex name on consumer electronics,
05:28such as television sets and CD players.
05:32And that brings us to July 2002,
05:35and Memcorp's unique Sphere product line.
05:39And before I dive into that product line,
05:41I know this mod is going to take a while,
05:43so I'm going to get a head start.
05:44I'm going to bring it to my friend Delicious Damien
05:46and see what he can do.
05:48Let's go pay him a visit.
05:50Hey Damien, I want you to turn the CD player into an actual working game Sphere.
05:55The one from South Park or Drake and Josh?
05:58Crap, I forgot there was one from South Park.
05:59Uh, Drake and Josh.
06:01Alrighty, I'll do my best.
06:02Thanks.
06:05What are you writing?
06:07None of your business, Ken.
06:09That computer cost $3,000.
06:11Is that including depreciation?
06:13All right, well, I'm kind of sad about my smashed iMac.
06:17That seemed completely unnecessary,
06:20but I can't wait to see what Damien cooks up.
06:22And don't worry, I have a second BoomBall we can preserve in all its glory,
06:28and I'd love to show it to you.
06:29But now I think would be a good time to get everyone up to speed
06:32on the whole game Sphere reference,
06:34because if it weren't for that joke,
06:37there's no way I would have bought two of these things in the first place.
06:39The game Sphere has achieved meme status,
06:42and it originates from the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake and Josh,
06:45which first aired on January 11th, 2004.
06:48The first episode of season two was called The Bet,
06:51and as the title suggests, Drake and Josh make bets with each other.
06:54Josh bets Drake he can't live without junk food,
06:57and Drake bets Josh he can't live without video games.
07:00And as punishment, the loser dies.
07:03His hair pink.
07:05Josh is doing great in this contest until his Grammy sends him a game Sphere,
07:10and he really wants to play it.
07:12Why? Because it's spherical!
07:14Spherical!
07:17And Drake and Josh wasn't the only TV show with a game Sphere.
07:20In fact, several years earlier,
07:22South Park featured a game Sphere console in season five, episode eight.
07:25Come on, game Sphere!
07:27Despite the game Sphere's reputation for being a terrible game,
07:31Despite the game Sphere being fictional,
07:35the Boom Ball's appearance is still a head-turner.
07:38But the Boom Ball wasn't Memorex's only spherical product.
07:42There was a whole line of Sphere products.
07:46Memcorp's Sphere product line was launched in July 2002 as a Target exclusive.
07:52Oh, that explains the red spherical nature of the products.
07:56Now I get it.
07:58This line consisted of Time Ball, Tele Ball, Video Ball, and of course, Boom Ball.
08:04Time Ball is an alarm clock with a built-in AM FM radio,
08:07and thanks to its spherical nature,
08:09if you lose your softball, you can always use the Time Ball for your sport activities.
08:13It's got a nice grip.
08:14Time Ball uses AC power, but it also has a 9-volt battery compartment for backup.
08:19To tune the radio and change other settings,
08:21all the controls are on the bottom, except snooze and the sleep timer.
08:25And on the back is this Boomerang It sticker.
08:28And that got me curious because it was on all of the Sphere products I own.
08:32I had no idea what this company was, so I looked them up,
08:34and apparently they're still active.
08:36They're an international lost-and-found service.
08:38And Memorex, or Memcorp, I suppose, teamed up with Boomerang It to offer this service to customers.
08:44So I thought that was kind of nice.
08:46It's like an early version of Apple's Find My network, except in 2002.
08:51One second.
08:52Sorry about that.
08:54Uh, ooh, I gotta take this.
08:58This is the Teleball, and to me, it looks kind of sus.
09:02Teleball is a cordless phone which is very roundish,
09:05and the dock itself is definitely spherical.
09:08Like the Time Ball, the red color is striking, and it stands out.
09:12It also has the usual phone features,
09:14like call waiting for placing an existing call on hold and accepting another call,
09:17and caller ID with a 40-number memory.
09:20And it has a detachable belt clip, so guys, if you need to dazzle your lady,
09:26pop one of these bad boys on.
09:28It's gonna be the next fashion trend.
09:30I guarantee it.
09:32So I hooked up my landline, which is something I haven't used since my Cidco iPhone episode.
09:38It certainly has been a while.
09:39And let's go ahead and test it out.
09:41Let's give ourselves a call.
09:42A call!
09:45I wonder who it's for.
09:46Hello?
09:48Oh, yes!
09:49Thank you for reminding me that there's no battery in this phone,
09:52and I'm not actually taking a call right now.
09:54Yes, the battery that arrived with this thing, as you can imagine, was corroded.
09:58And I ordered a replacement, and it's still not here.
10:01So we just have to go with the dock for now.
10:05Up next, Videoball.
10:08In terms of surface area, the Videoball TV is the most spherical of them all.
10:12And it features a 13-inch CRT with a movable translucent hood that covers the screen.
10:17The front bezel has all your control buttons,
10:19and the back has an F-type connector for your antenna.
10:22And there's plenty of jacks.
10:24A composite video jack, a mono audio jack, a headphone jack, and Samurai jack.
10:29Videoball also comes with a red rounded remote, but it's pretty elusive.
10:34I've been able to track down every single Sphere product, except for the remote.
10:40Except for the remote.
10:42But, I mean, with a little imagination, we can just pretend the Teleball phone is a remote.
10:50Wow.
10:51Now I saved the best for last.
10:53The MSP-BX1600, aka BoomBall.
10:58And I'll show it right after I show some other products first.
11:01Introducing the Lifan Wave.
11:04I'll talk about the features in a moment, but first, just look at that design.
11:07I love how it's inspired by Apple.
11:09Even down to the packaging.
11:11Heck, it even has motion activated lights with soft pulsating rhythms.
11:14It's just a really attractive toothbrush.
11:17Wave's proprietary servo system helps clean deeply without hurting your gums.
11:21This is the world's first 60 degree oscillation and vibration toothbrush.
11:25Its unique side-to-side sweeping motion covers a wider area,
11:28and removes six times more plaque than a regular electric toothbrush.
11:32It's also IPX7 water resistant, and if you really want to customize your experience,
11:36you can use the Lifan app to adjust the vibration strength and the oscillation range and speed.
11:42You can also set a two minute timer and a 30 second zone change reminder
11:45to tell you when to brush a different part of your mouth.
11:48And the icing on the cake?
11:50Magnetic charging.
11:52It really is like an Apple product, isn't it?
11:54Lifan Wave comes in a variety of colors,
11:56but if you want that pure Apple style white color, go for the white.
12:00Just like your teeth will be.
12:01So search Lifan on Amazon or Google,
12:04or click the links in my description to get your own Lifan Wave.
12:07And you can get up to 40% off with Lifan's Black Friday sale,
12:10so jump on that discount while you can.
12:12And one more thing, replacement heads are only $15.99 for a three pack,
12:16so keeping your bristles fresh is easy.
12:19Go ahead and click the links in the description to get your own Lifan Wave,
12:22and when you do that, you're also supporting the Computer Clan.
12:25So thank you very much.
12:27All right, let's get spherical.
12:31The BoomBall is a spherical CD player with stereo speakers and an AM FM radio.
12:36And to this day, 22 years later, I still think it looks stunning.
12:40Move over, Sonic the Hedgehog Boombox.
12:43The BoomBall is my favorite now.
12:45With its vibrant red colors and glossy and matte finishes, it's a beautiful ball.
12:50And I'm blessed to have one in such great condition.
12:52And I'm also grateful to have the original box and manual,
12:55which are also in good condition for their age.
12:57And they both bear the Memorex branding,
12:59but they also mention Memcorp Incorporated, located in Weston, Florida.
13:04The BoomBall's translucent hood slides up,
13:06letting you access the CD compartment and the controls.
13:09The function button switches between the CD player and the radio,
13:13and the band button switches between AM and FM.
13:15Would you like AM or FM?
13:18You can power the BoomBall with the included AC power cord,
13:21or if you hate the environment, you can use eight C batteries.
13:26I guess that makes it portable, but yeah, you know, whatever you wanna do.
13:29It also has a headphone jack and a built-in handle.
13:32The crazy thing is, this thing originally sold for 50 bucks,
13:35but they're going for more than double that on eBay right now.
13:38And that's for non-fully functioning units.
13:41So if you have one of these lying around and you need a little extra dinero, sell it.
13:47They have appreciated pretty well.
13:50Thanks, Nickelodeon.
13:51All right, I have a CD with me.
13:53Let's pop it in.
13:54Very nice.
13:55And power it up.
14:00Power.
14:04That's the radio.
14:06CD.
14:22Uh-oh.
14:23Uh-oh.
14:25Okay, so I'm making the hypothesis that one or more capacitors has gone bad
14:30or something else is shorting internally,
14:32because not only does the CD drive not spin,
14:36but the radio signal is also pretty staticky
14:39and the LCD doesn't display numbers or letters correctly.
14:42I'm not stupid, usually.
14:44I know I'm 10 stories underground and that's not gonna help with a radio signal.
14:47So I escaped to the surface and it was still pretty staticky.
14:52However, there were some moments where the signal was somewhat clear,
14:56but overall it was kind of bad.
14:58But I'm not gonna blame the BoomBall's design for that.
15:01It's aging circuitry that's the problem.
15:04So that's a bit of a bummer,
15:06but I'm not fully surprised because when I was looking for these on eBay,
15:11every listing I saw said the CD drive doesn't work.
15:15So I guess these components just didn't age well.
15:19But with a little movie magic, I can simulate how it should look and sound.
15:26Let's check in with Damien and see how the mod is doing.
15:30Speed dial.
15:33Hey Ken, what's up?
15:35Hey Damien, can you bring me up to speed on the GameSphere mod?
15:38Yeah, definitely.
15:40Whoa, I have no idea how you did that over the phone, but thank you.
15:45All right, so here's the situation.
15:49Delicious Damien and his friend have teamed up to literally fit a square peg into a round hole.
15:54And the first step is, all the guts need to be removed from the BoomBall.
15:58Then Damien et al took the internals out of this GameCube,
16:01desoldered one of the memory card slots, and soldered an external HDMI port.
16:05Then they wired up some fans to keep the system cool,
16:07and desoldered wires from an old parallel cable.
16:10These wires will connect to the recently desoldered memory card slot,
16:14so now it can reside outside the BoomBall's case.
16:17Let's give it a test.
16:19And bingo, external memory card is working.
16:22Up next, they soldered a Raspberry Pi Pico computer to the GameCube motherboard.
16:27This Pico is running the PicoBoot firmware,
16:29which lets us bypass the GameCube's default BIOS,
16:32and load the Swiss Homebrew utility from a microSD card.
16:36Swiss gives us several features, including the ability to launch games from microSD,
16:40but we can still use the optical drive if we choose.
16:43And then Damien had to stop for a while,
16:46because it turns out they need some 3D printed parts to continue the mod.
16:49I volunteered to help,
16:51which was a stupid idea because I know nothing about 3D printing,
16:54but I'm willing to learn.
16:55I know how to 2D print, so I tried that first, but that was utterly useless.
16:59In the end, I couldn't nail this 3D printing thing,
17:02but I know who can.
17:04BigRig Creates.
17:06Let's pay him a visit.
17:17All right, I've infiltrated BigRig Studio's lab.
17:18How are you doing today?
17:19Doing pretty good.
17:20Fantastic. Now, I don't know anything about 3D printing,
17:22so you're going to teach me things.
17:23So, what's going on here?
17:24Yeah, so right here is some FDM printing,
17:27which means that it's melting plastic layer by layer that's being fed into it,
17:31based on a 3D model that I sent over.
17:34What are you printing with this right now?
17:35This is going to be a Porygon from Pokemon housing a Wii.
17:38I see. Okay, we're both doing some Nintendo stuff right now.
17:41So, for the GameSphere, how long is the build time?
17:44So, for the GameSphere, how long is the print job going to take?
17:47Yeah, I just sliced it up a little while ago.
17:48It's going to take about an hour and a half or so.
17:51Is there any way we can speed that up a little bit?
17:53That's why they invented time lapses.
17:55Oh, I love time lapses.
18:03Whoa, hey, that was fast.
18:05So, what kind of material is this made of?
18:07I see like there's a bunch of lines here.
18:09Yeah, so layer by layer, this is all PLA,
18:12which is kind of the go-to material for hobbyists and stuff.
18:16There's other materials you technically could use,
18:18but this is kind of the standard.
18:20All right, awesome.
18:21Well, Damien, I'm going to get these right to you,
18:22and we can finish the GameSphere.
18:24Thanks very much for helping out.
18:25Sounds good, Ken, thanks.
18:26I won't break into your lab anymore.
18:29Yeah.
18:30Just to be safe, I asked BigRig to print all the parts
18:32from Matt the Gamer's list,
18:34but in the end, Damien only needed four.
18:37Two pieces to hold the GameCube up,
18:39so it doesn't sink into the ball.
18:40One piece to hold the power button in place,
18:43and a guide so they can trace and cut out a hole
18:46for the GameCube's optical drive.
18:48The cut wound up being kind of crude,
18:50but hey, it works.
18:52So Delicious Damien and his friend
18:54need a little more time to complete the GameSphere mod.
18:56In the meantime,
18:57I think we should take another look at Memorax
18:59because as cool as the boom ball is,
19:02it came out in 2002, 22 years ago from today.
19:06Memorax had plenty of other stuff going on.
19:08On May 1st, 2006,
19:10Memorax was acquired by another company
19:12you've probably seen on CDs,
19:14Imation.
19:16Or maybe it's Imation.
19:18I don't know.
19:18The jury is out on that one.
19:20They bought Memorax for $330 million.
19:24Okay, they definitely recovered from the 80s,
19:26but they wanted more.
19:28On July 10th, 2007,
19:30Imation acquired Memcorp's assets for $60 million,
19:35giving them full control over the Memorax brand.
19:38Unfortunately, as we enter 2013,
19:40Imation's profits were down
19:42and the company wanted to strengthen its focus
19:44on data storage and security
19:46and optical media retail products.
19:48So on October 15th, 2013,
19:50Imation divested Memorex's consumer electronics business
19:54to an unknown buyer.
19:55About two years later,
19:56Imation was in the middle of a restructure
19:58and they sold their corporate headquarters.
20:00They sold the Memorex brand too,
20:02which included the Memorex trademark
20:04and two other related trademarks
20:06for $9.4 million.
20:08And the new owner was DPI,
20:10Digital Products International.
20:12After the sale,
20:13Imation shifted into strategic investments
20:15and asset management.
20:16And on February 21st, 2017,
20:19they rebranded themselves as GlassBridge Enterprises,
20:22but they still held onto the Imation trademark
20:25until they sold it to Korean company Ojin
20:27on December 1st, 2017.
20:30DPI continued to own the Memorex brand
20:32until January 2024
20:34when they sold it for an undisclosed amount
20:36to Finest Brands Incorporated,
20:38making them the new holding company.
20:41And the largest official licensee
20:42is Misari Enterprises,
20:44which is why you'll see their name
20:46on the Memorex website today.
20:48CES Daily dropped some hints at the future
20:50saying Memorex is seeking global partners
20:52and their upcoming products
20:53will honor the brand's heritage
20:55with a plethora of new products.
20:57As of today,
20:57I haven't seen any of these new products yet,
21:00but it has only been 10 months to be fair.
21:03So maybe there's more coming soon.
21:05The Memorex website gives us a glimpse of what's coming
21:08saying they have a vision to renew
21:10and transform the once famous company
21:12using its heritage and brand recognition.
21:15But the rest of the website is pretty nebulous
21:17in regards to the actual product offerings.
21:20But hopefully the website will be more polished soon
21:22because it feels really unfinished right now.
21:24Heck, even the products button in the nav bar
21:26doesn't go anywhere.
21:28Also, should I be concerned
21:29the office photos on their contact page
21:31show a SmartWorks coworking space,
21:34which is not even on the same continent
21:36as their business address?
21:37I mean, heck, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
21:39Maybe they're just using them as stock photos.
21:42For grins and giggles,
21:43I emailed Misari asking if they can give me
21:45any juicy nuggets about Memorex's future.
21:49And I actually got a reply
21:50from the president and founder himself,
21:52Alan Mizrahi.
21:54But just like the website,
21:55the reply was vague.
21:56We are expanding the brand.
21:58But in a follow-up email,
22:00he did say they will be at CES 2025.
22:02So maybe we'll get some new updates then.
22:06Nothing would delight me more
22:07than to see a historic brand spring back to life
22:09and become relevant again in the mainstream market.
22:12That'd be pretty cool.
22:14All right, let's check in with Damian and the GameSphere.
22:18Before installing the 3D printed parts,
22:20the team wired the BoomBall's program button
22:22to the GameCube's motherboard
22:23where the reset button would typically connect,
22:26effectively turning this program button
22:28into a reset button.
22:29They did the same thing with the power button too.
22:31And normally the GameCube's lid will tell the system,
22:34hey, it's closed, feel free to spin up that disk.
22:37But that won't work with our BoomBall lid.
22:39Instead, Damian and team wired a manual switch
22:42to tell the GameCube the disk drive is closed.
22:45And let's test it.
22:47Boom, it works.
22:48Next, the 3D printed parts were screwed
22:50and glued into place.
22:52A little more wiring and some taping
22:53to make sure things don't short and ta-da!
22:56Here's the inner workings of our lovely BoomBall.
23:00Well, GameSphere now.
23:02And when all closed up,
23:04it mostly looks like an original BoomBall from the front.
23:07But the back definitely has some spaghetti going on.
23:10But hey, we need ports.
23:12Before I test the GameSphere myself,
23:14I need to give a special thanks to Delicious Damian
23:16and Big Grid Creates for helping us make this mod.
23:19And I have to give a huge shout out to Matt Passarelli
23:21for making the 3D files and videos on this mod
23:24because he was super helpful.
23:26All right, time to test the GameSphere.
23:28And what better way than to use the VideoBall?
23:30Two beautiful balls coming together.
23:33The VideoBall is RCA in,
23:35so I'll have to use some conversion technology for the HDMI.
23:38But that's no problem.
23:40Let's take this thing for a spin.
23:57Ken, it's not even plugged in.
23:59What do you mean?
24:00It's in demo mode.
24:02Oh, I thought I was doing better than I usually do.
24:06It's pretty freaking cool to be playing games
24:08on a quote-unquote real GameSphere,
24:10especially with the spherical VideoBall as my TV.
24:13I was never huge into video games growing up,
24:15and when I did play, I usually played on a PC.
24:18But I do have some fond memories with the GameCube.
24:21Lots of Pac-Man World and Mario Kart Double Dash.
24:23And Star Fox Assault, but holy did I suck at that game.
24:28Oh yeah, and those Tiger Woods intros.
24:31Who could forget those?
24:33Man, I think I could just spend all day playing on this thing.
24:36And you know, it would be pretty cool
24:37if Josh Peck saw this one day.
24:39I hope we made you proud.
24:41Now, if I want to listen to radio or play games,
24:44I have enough balls for the job.
24:46That sounded weird.
24:47Let's just say spheres.
24:49Before I sign off, just a quick reminder
24:51Before I sign off, just a quick reminder
24:52that my signed 2025 calendars
24:55are still available for pre-order,
24:57but I have to close the pre-order soon
24:58because I want to deliver them to everyone
25:00before the holidays.
25:01So go ahead and grab one while you can,
25:03and I'm sure you'll love it.
25:04Thanks for sticking with me.
25:05Catch the crazy and pass it on.
25:13Now we just have to track down the game pod.
25:15It's Podular.
25:17Podular!