The Morning After: Friday December 16, 2016
Get out of my dreams and into my car.
Hey, it's Friday!
The weekend is almost here. We have luxury EVs, a gaming laptop that's ready for VR, and Nintendo's patent sketches tell us all about its incoming Switch console.
It's safe to leave bad reviews again
President Barack Obama signed several new laws on Thursday, and a couple are relevant to your internet interests. One of them banned the use of ticket-buying bots nationwide, so maybe you have a chance at those Taylor Swift seats after all. Meanwhile, the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 is meant to keep businesses from punishing customers that leave negative reviews. Oh, and also his press secretary suggested Vladimir Putin personally authorized the hacking of DNC officials email accounts.
Why choose just one media center setup? Plex and Kodi already share roots in XBMC, and now you can use them together to display all of your media. The Plex add-on for Kodi is currently in testing and available to PlexPass subscribers before it rolls out for everyone.
Microsoft says Xbox One downloads are speeding up by as much as 80 percent
Depending on your connection, your next download from Xbox Live could go a lot faster. The latest system update claims that, for gamers with high-speed connections of over 100Mbps, downloads will be up to 80 percent faster, while those with slower connections could see a boost of up to 40 percent. Game installs, patches and expansions have resulted in a lot of waiting around for updates during this console generation, so anything to make that faster is a welcome addition.
Going for a ride in Lucid's luxurious Air EV
Forget the affordable Model 3, this new EV company plans to debut a $100,000 set of wheels in 2018. The Lucid Air has a lot of Tesla-like dreams (large touchscreen displays, self-driving features) but it's not production ready yet. Roberto Baldwin's ride in a prototype lasted just long enough to appreciate the leather accents -- and the exposed wiring.
Review: ASUS ROG Strix GL502VS gaming laptop
Most laptop buyers are looking for something to type a few papers on, but if you also desire some graphically-intensive gaming then you'll need a bit more oomph. That's where the Strix comes in. It has enough power to feed your VR headset, without a ridiculous pricetag or too much weight. You will give up something in battery life, and its orange highlights won't be to everyone's taste, but some compromises are worth making.
Uber Beacon guides you to the right ride
In order to help riders pick out their driver's grey sedan or SUV, Uber is testing out a system of colored lights called Beacon. Similar to Lyft's Dashboard, it attaches to the driver's windshield and displays whatever color you choose in the app. Beacons are currently lighting up in Miami, Denver and Nashville.
