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Tesla's prototype Semi has a 'Mad Max' Autopilot mode
You didn't think Tesla's Semi truck would go without a Ludicrous-like software setting just because it's meant for work, did you? Sure enough, it exists. Elon Musk has revealed that the prototype electric cargo hauler has a Mad Max mode. No, this won't give the Semi a battering ram or a flame-spewing guitar -- rather, it influences Autopilot's blind spot threshold. Musk didn't elaborate on what that meant, but his photo of the settings page suggests the semi-autonomous driving feature will make lane changes with even more gusto than the "aggressive" option.
The 11 best tech gifts for movie buffs
We're guessing this person on your list already owns a TV. (And if they don't -- or you just love them very much -- we have a couple suggestions.) But there are other ways to help your movie-loving friend round out their home theater setup. If money is tight, why not go for one of Roku's recently released media streamers? They come in at different price points, but we ultimately recommend them all. Alternatively, perhaps your friend could use a sound bar or a 4K HDR receiver for better audio, or a projector to make movie nights at home feel that much more cinematic. Or, you know, you could just get them some Blu-rays. Just make sure you exercise good taste. Here at Engadget, we recommend Lone Wolf and Cub, the Horace and Pete digital box set and the Mad Max "High Octane" edition. For our full list of recommendations in all categories, don't forget to stop by our main Holiday Gift Guide hub.
Steam's selling all four 'Mad Max' films along with the game
Steam has revealed that along with the new Mad Max game you'll be able to buy all four films, from the 1979 Mel Gibson original to this year's Fury Road. Valve does very little promotion for movies on Steam, but said in a press release that it has 100 titles to date, which sent me scurrying to check that fact. And yes! Sort of. There are titles for sale, but all are either documentaries (including its own) or straight-to-video fare like Let's Ruin it with Babies and Kung Fury.
What's on your HDTV: 'Humans' season finale, 'Mad Max: Fury Road'
AMC is wrapping up its first season of Humans this week, so let us know if you'll be hanging around for season two of its android shenanigans (eight new episodes are confirmed for next year. If that's not exciting enough, you can order up Mad Max: Fury Road via your video on-demand service of choice this week, as it hits downloads ahead of the eventual Blu-ray release. Tonight Spike TV premieres I Am Chris Farley, while gamers are anticipating Goat Simulator and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
'Mad Max' the game has crazy cars, murder and a story
The "Savage Road" story trailer suggests that there's a deeper tale behind all of the desert-drenched road rage and creative killing in the Mad Max video game. Apparently, that story is about a dude looking for a car, finding a car, kissing a lady and then destroying all of the evil men he can reach on four wheels. It's a slightly different narrative than the one in this year's film, Mad Max: Fury Road, and plot isn't the only way these two products diverge. We played a portion of Mad Max last week and found it to be fun as a car game but lacking in intrigue as a brawler: "In its translation to an open-world video game, Mad Max: Fury Road's unique charm's been traded in for monotony." Still, a video full of rampaging, spiky vehicles and bloodthirsty desert overlords gets our blood pumping every time. Watch the story trailer below. Mad Max is due on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on September 1st, with pre-orders open now.
'Mad Max' the game lacks the charm and detail of 'Fury Road'
Like any Mad Max fan thrilled by the film Fury Road, I approached Avalanche Studios' new video game translation hoping to find echoes of the film's anarchic spirit. And while the full game may deliver -- we won't know until review time -- the current demo feels more like a mundane snapshot of Max's offscreen life in that post-apocalyptic world than an adrenaline shot from Fury Road. Mad Max, due out this fall for PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One, just doesn't have the same level of enervating detail.
'Mad Max' meets 'Mario Kart' in this rad mash-up
Mad Max: Fury Road is already one of the year's best movies, but you know what was missing in all of director George Miller's gear grinding under the desert sun? Mario Kart's banana peels and green shells. Check out the video below for a quick look at the mashup that'll almost positively never, ever happen: Chomp chains destroying dune-buggies, Bob-ombs attached to the kamikaze-like warboys' staffs and so, so, so much more mayhem than Nintendo would likely ever allow. We're just going to have to close our eyes (for a different reason this time) and imagine sucking dairy dust from our teeth in Cheese Land in a Mercedes is the same thing.
Every ridiculous vehicle in 'Mad Max: Fury Road' is drivable
Practical effects have gotten incredibly scarce in big-budget summer blockbusters, so it's pretty refreshing to learn that every ride in Mad Max: Fury Road's apocalyptic menagerie isn't CGI -- they're all functional and drivable. Production designer Colin GIbson had strict marching orders from the movie's director ("make it cool or I'll kill you," according to Jalopnik) so he and his team scoured Australian scrapyards for donor vehicles. The 88 nightmarish results of that quest speak for themselves whether it's the Mopar-on-tank-treads "Peacemaker" or 600+ cubic-inch, dual V8 monstrosity with two '59 Cadillac Coupe de Ville bodies mounted on top of its chassis dubbed "Interceptor." The production team built some 150 vehicles and then beat the ever-living hell out of them. When all was said and done, "over half" were destroyed. How'd that happen? Catch the flick when it opens this weekend and find out.
Must See HDTV (June 3rd - 9th)
The summer programming schedule has officially arrived, and this week familiar warm weather favorites return including Continuum, Falling Skies and Burn Notice. There are also a few new entire including TNT's The Hero reality show and Sinbad on Syfy, plus a lengthy list of Blu-ray releases including a few classics and season five of Breaking Bad. The NHL Conference finals are in full swing, and tonight we'll find out who's joining the Spurs in the NBA Finals. All that, and we haven't even mentioned the Game of Thrones season finale or the news that Dan Harmon is returning to Community. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames. Continuum Despite a plot centering around the always-tricky-to-pull-off time travel, season one of this Canadian science fiction show impressed us when it finally aired here, and now season two is ready to go on Syfy. The first season left plenty of juicy plot threads and cliffhangers for us to wonder about, and now we'll find out if the show can continue to deliver on them. Check after the break for a season two preview. (June 7th, Syfy, 9PM) Falling Skies TNT's own science fiction effort returns for its third season this weekend and features a new twist in the battle against Earth-invading aliens -- more aliens. The first two seasons have had some inconsistent quality and gotten bogged down in romantic or political plot lines occasionally, but the premieres and finales always suck us right back in. (June 9th TNT, 8PM) Mad Max Trilogy All three Mad Max films get a Blu-ray set this week, and the third movie Beyond Thunderdome makes its debut on the format. We shouldn't have to convince you this one is worth viewing, but you can see a few trailer clips after the break. Why is this set arriving now? A new flick, Fury Road, is due next year with Tom Hardy taking over the title role. ($34.86 on Amazon)
RIPE NCC handing out its last block of IPv4 addresses, tries to fend off internet survivalism
In a world where IPv6 lives and IPv4 addresses are scarce, network providers must fight for survival... or at least, claim their IP blocks quickly. The RIPE NCC, the regional internet registry for Asia, Europe and the Middle East, warns that it's down to assigning its last set of 16.8 million IPv4 addresses as of this weekend. That sounds like a lot, but we'd do well to remember that the registry churned through about 5.2 million addresses in just the past two weeks. What's left won't be around for long, folks. To cut back on the number of Mad Max-style battles for dwindling resources, RIPE NCC is rationing out IPv4 for local registries in 1,024-address chunks -- and only to those who both have IPv6 assignments as well as proof of a need for IPv4. With just a bit more than half of the RIPE NCC's customers currently on IPv6, that could still trigger a shortfall among networks that haven't prepared for the internet protocol apocalypse. We'd advise that companies stock up on IPv6 supplies before launching the raiding parties.
AORA builds sci-fi-looking solar/hybrid plant in the Israeli desert
A company called AORA has developed a hybrid solar power plant in the Israeli desert. Comprised of a number of 100kWe base units, the operation is modular (additional units can be added) and it should be complete sometime in the next ten days. When operational, thirty mirrors will track the sun and direct its rays up to the 98.4 foot tall "flower," where the concentrated sunlight heats compressed air, which in turn drives an electric turbine. When the sun has set for the day (or if it's cloudy) the turbine can be run off of biodiesel, natural gas, or fossil fuels, allowing the plant to operate twenty-four hours. The only downside we can see is that the huge tower is sure to attract psychopaths like Lord Humungus and Wez -- so you'll want some weapons. More pics after the break.[Via Inhabitat]
Work on Mad Max continues, game still a ways off
It's been seven long months since we last heard an update on Cory Barlog's video game adaptation of Mad Max. Now Barlog, best known for his work on a little thing we like to call God of War II, has posted an update on the project to his blog, though whether or not he had to saw through his own foot to get to the keyboard remains something of a mystery. Barlog's work on the game's story with Mad Max film producer, George Miller, appears nearly done, the pair having "put the final touches on the Mad Max story and game design structure and mechanics." However, Barlog adds that they're "working with some publishers to get a deal locked down so we can start making this bad boy," so don't go expecting to hunt gangs across the dystopian Australian highways anytime soon.
