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Toyota put on a race to find the most-efficient drivers
There's an air of excitement in the car as we whip around a corner at Sonoma Raceway, 45 minutes north of San Francisco. The passenger up front is barking stats at the driver while staring at an iPad: "We're at 24 percent, 27 percent, 32 percent, 37 percent! OK, we're at 40 percent. Hold it there." The driver responds in the affirmative and the car continues down the track at a blistering 25 miles per hour. The Prius we're sitting in isn't going to break any speed records. Instead, it's being pushed to the limits of its efficiency.
Google's Immerse VR series debuts with exploration of racial identity
Google's virtual reality offerings are taking off. While their engineers develop techniques to simulate user faces hidden behind headsets that will make streaming VR less clunky, the NBA recently released an original show for Daydream VR. But today, the search giant quietly dropped the first episode of its own series, Google Immerse VR, devoted to exploring the nuances and complexities of race, diversity and identity.
Sammus is somewhere between nerdcore and afrofuturism
Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo used to get the same question every time she set down the mic and stepped off the stage. She came to expect it after performing in crowded bars, big music festivals or comic book stores, and the question usually came from a well-meaning stranger or new fan of her music. "Who makes your beats for you?" This would happen right after she'd screamed into the mic that she was Sammus, a producer and rapper, and that everything she just did on stage was her work. The question would come in different forms -- "Where's your boyfriend?" was another staple -- but the sentiment was the same. People assumed Sammus didn't produce her own music.
How not to promote a video game sale
You don't need a degree in marketing to know promotional material that could offend and alienate potential customers is obviously a bad call. But it's a fact Indie Gala -- an online store selling Steam keys for indie titles -- seems woefully unaware of. In an effort to promote its winter sale, specifically a discount on tactical first-person shooter Insurgency, the store bundled an insensitive and years-old Steam recommendation with an equally crass meme to create the advert you see above. The tweet has since disappeared, likely due to the devs of Insurgency publicly deploring the promotion, not to mention a chorus of other Twitter users clearly offended by it. The ad remains live on Indie Gala's Facebook page, however.
Big data shows racial bias in police behavior
Stanford University just delivered further proof that massive, readily available data sets can solve tricky law enforcement problems. School researchers combing through a mix of 28,119 Oakland Police Department stop reports, officer body camera footage and community surveys have learned that there are "significant" racial biases at play. OPD officers are not only more likely to stop a black person, but far more likely to conduct searches of black people, even though they weren't any more likely to find something incriminating. Officers more frequently handcuffed black people without arresting them, too. And the pattern is the same regardless of the crime rate in a given region.
Watch Tesla's super-fast Model S modes square off in a drag race
When Tesla introduced its extra-fast Ludicrous Mode for the Model S, it also raised a big question: is that acceleration advantage over the already-quick Insane Mode actually meaningful? Thankfully, some owners were willing to find out. DragTimes has posted a drag race between a Model S P85D (using Insane Mode) and a P90D (using Ludicrous) to see how much that added performance really matters. And the answer is "quite a lot" -- as you'll see in the clip below, the P90D pulls ahead quickly and leaves the P85D firmly in the dust. Who'd have thought that the P85D would suddenly seem pokey? You'd expect this kind of lead when it costs at least $5,000 extra to get the Ludicrous setting, but it's still good to have evidence that you're getting more than just a spec bump.
IndyCar racers use LEDs to show their positions in real-time
It's sometimes hard to keep track of positions in an IndyCar race, especially if you're in the stands and don't have the luxury of a broadcaster or data stream to point things out. Never fear, though: as of this weekend, the league's cars are carrying LED panels that display the driver's race position in real-time by working in conjunction with timing lines embedded in the tracks. They're also smart enough to switch to pit stop times, so you'll know if that tire swap is running too long.
Formula E's first season of electric racing comes to a close
After several months of occasionally intense competition, Formula E's first season of all-electric racing is over. Virgin Racing's Sam Bird has won the second race of the London ePrix, while NEXTEV TCR's Nelson Piquet managed to do just well enough (seventh place) to win the overall driver's title by a single point. Not that Piquet's chief rival, Sebastien Buemi, is about to cry -- he secured the team title for E.dams-Renault after winning the first London race on June 27th.
Tim Cook says diversity is the future of Apple
Tim Cook has pledged that Apple's future won't be as white and male as it has been in the company's past. The CEO sat down with Mashable in advance of the WWDC keynote to say that diversity is the "future of our company." It's not just hand-wringing that has prompted his attitude, since he believes that "the most diverse group will produce the best product." The executive has added that the tech community needs to work a lot harder to show women that the industry is "cool" and "how much fun it can be."
Victory brings an e-bike to the world's best-known motorcycle race
Victory Motorcycles is better known for its burly cruiser bikes than racing, but it's about to challenge that reputation in a big, big way. The company has revealed that it will run a prototype electric motorcycle at the Isle of Man TT, arguably the world's most famous two-wheeled race. The machine will compete in 'just' a one-lap electric class competition on June 10th, but that still amounts to jumping in with both feet. The Isle of Man's 37.7-mile circuit is one of the most dangerous and grueling you can race -- there are many moments where you're seemingly a hair's breadth away from colliding with someone's house.
Eight manufacturers will supply Formula E with custom parts next season
The inaugural Formula E season is well underway, but already organisers are preparing for the next championship. At the moment, all 10 teams are using identical electric vehicles (EVs), but the plan is to let them tinker with the design from the 2015/16 season. Now, thanks to the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), we know the eight manufacturers that'll be contributing custom parts later this year: ABT Sportsline, Andretti, Mahindra, Motomatica, NEXTEV TCR, Renault Sport, Venturi Automobilesa and Virgin Racing Engineering.
Formula E adds extra race to season climax at London's Battersea Park
The UK's Donington Park racetrack was chosen as the official home of Formula E last year, so it was only fitting that the final race of the inaugural championship be held in Blighty, too. The plan has always been to close out the season in London, but you can't exactly turn part of the capital into a racing circuit without cutting through reams of red tape. The initial proposal to transform Battersea Park into a makeshift track was approved late last year, but race organisers can breath a further sigh of relief as full planning permission has now been granted by Wandsworth Council. This was essential, as there would be no ePrix without the temporary facilities required for race teams and spectators alike. The Battersea Park racetrack -- the layout of which is yet to be finalised -- won't host just one event, though, as the FIA has also announced the London leg will become a double-header, with separate races being held on June 27th and 28th.
Gaming while black: Casual racism to cautious optimism
NPR's Planet Money reported last year on a culture shift in 1984 that drove many women away from pursuing computer science degrees. Computers were more readily available at stores that catered to men and advertisements pushed the narrative that these new-fangled home devices were made for men. Pop culture followed suit, depicting men as computer geeks in movies, books and journalism. One thing that Planet Money found notable about computer ads in the 1980s was that they featured "just men, all men." Another aspect the ads shared was that they overwhelmingly starred a specific type of man: white. Click here for the full piece on Joystiq
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's big fanfest reveals
Christmas came early for the forward-looking Final Fantasy XIV player this year. I know some people are upset at the fact that there were more revelations in the Japanese fan festival than in the ones in Vegas or London, but the timing is different. (I'd also point out that the expansion was announced in Las Vegas.) We've gone from having only a dim view of what's coming to having a pretty clear picture of what awaits through the next few month. One of the things that awaits is, of course, endless yelling about Machinist. Because boy. So let's start unpacking the stuff we learned from Tokyo. I say "start" because there is no way to get everything in one column, certainly not with deadlines and other considerations to take center stage. It's going to be a few months, but there's a lot to chew on just about 2.5, even if we ignore all of the expansion stuff, which I have no intention of doing.
Final Fantasy XIV introduces two new jobs and new races for Heavensward
The last Final Fantasy XIV fan festival of the year is going on now in Japan, and the event's keynote speech has already contained big revelations for the game's first expansion, Heavensward. Players can look forward to the first new race for the game, the Au Ra, a race of dragon-esque people from Othard. It's been established that heretofore masked NPC Yugiri belongs to this race, and she will be revealing her face in patch 2.5. Fans were also treated to preview footage of the Dark Knight in-game as well as two new jobs, the Machinist and the Astrologian. Astrologians are a new style of healer, drawing cards from decks to aid party members while debilitating enemies. Machinists are ranged DPS with a single large handgun and a style of play based on laying down turrets and paying attention to positioning. The keynote also contained information on the next multi-part raid and the Collector's Edition for the game, currently scheduled for release in spring of 2015.
Archlord 2 adds a new server and two races
Next week's Eternal Strife update for Archlord 2 will offer a fresh start for many players, as the semi-launched title will open a new European server and toss in a couple of additional races. So which races will be immigrating to the fantasy MMO? First up are the Moonelves, who will team upwith the Crunn and bring their exclusive magical orbs to bear (insert skimpy armor joke here). Over on the Azuni side, the Dragonscion and their deadly pistols will join the struggle. Each race will also get its own new starting region as well. Eternal Strife is scheduled for Tuesday, December 16th. We've the update trailer for you to watch after the break!
Players power direction of Oort Online's development
Oort Online's dev team is not content to make this voxel sandbox in the isolation of its ivory tower (or the corner of a deserted warehouse, whatever may be), but it has been asking for constant input from backers for the direction of the game's development. "As the game currently stands, the playable features are quite contained as we've been focusing on establishing the core MMO services and game engine," the devs posted. In a recent backer survey, 43% of those surveyed asked for the devs to prioritize the creation of character races out of the four options presented. In addition, the team said that some of the biggest priorities for a 1.0 release include resource gathering, crafting, and PvE combat. At the bottom of the list? "Real money purchases -- I want short cuts!" Oort Online is a "universe-sized" sandbox that's currently in alpha testing and has raised over $123,000 in crowdfunding. [Thanks to Jose for the tip!]
Take a look at World of Warcraft's updated Blood Elf models
Blood Elves kind of got the short end of the World of Warcraft stick when Warlords of Draenor launched. All the classic races got an updated model, the Draenei got an updated model, and the Blood Elves didn't. The result is that the race is notably older than its contemporaries. That's going to change soon; the updated models for the race are swiftly moving through development, bringing the Horde's magical addicts up to par with the rest of the faction. As with the other updated models, the differences are subtle but notable. Blood Elf women have slightly wider torsos and a more defined neck, while the men have better anatomy and a more natural stance. There's no precise ETA, but the team is hoping to have these updated models into the game soon, as rigging and animating are currently underway. You can get some idea of what the finished product will look like by checking the preview.
New World of Speed vid features nearly four minutes of gameplay
We've seen a lot of teaser videos from World of Speed thus far, but gameplay footage has been rather scarce. Happily, that's no longer an issue thanks to a new video that puts you in the driver's seat of a race through Moscow. The contest gives us a good look at the game's UI, various camera angles including genre staples like a hood view and a third-person behind-the-car view, and plenty of tire-screeching back-and-forth between a RUF RK Coupe and a Mercedes SLS. See for yourself after the break!
Star Trek Online introduces playable Talaxians, discounts lifetime sub
Big things are afoot in the Delta Quadrant, as Star Trek Online has not only added the Talaxians as a playable race but thrown them into the lifetime subscription package and then discounted that sub by $100 for a limited time. From now through November 20th, the Star Trek Online lifetime sub can be bought for $199. This marks the player as an eternal gold member, with the Talaxian race, a ship upgrade token for Delta Rising, a monthly ZEN allowance, and other veteran rewards. As for the Talaxians, players who pick one as a captain will not only have the honor of looking like Voyager's resident space hedgehog but also get access to two unique traits: salvage specialist and loyalty.
