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The Morning After: Monday, March 27th 2017

Toilet tour time.

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Hey, good morning!

Hello from Monday morning. Over the weekend, we welcome the return of a 1998 gaming classic, toured the fanciest toilet showroom you'll ever see, and reported on a self-driving Uber crash. Oh, and in case you forgot, we will finally get to see Samsung's next flagship smartphone later this week.


4K graphics, reworked audio and even story improvements.'StarCraft: Remastered' upgrades a real-time strategy classic

Blizzard is legendary for keeping old games alive, but it's going the extra mile this time around. The studio has unveiled StarCraft: Remastered, an overhaul that drags the 1998 real-time strategy game into the modern era. It's getting the obligatory fresh coat of paint, including higher-resolution graphics and improved audio. The team is also using this as an excuse to 'fix' the game by adding content and features you take for granted. Multiplayer fans will see features that have been a staple of newer Blizzard titles, including "advanced" matchmaking, ladder play and social features. You'll also have cloud saves for everything from your solo progress to custom maps and key bindings. About the only thing that won't change is the core gameplay.


The retailer plans to expand its non-gaming businesses.Digital downloads killed 150 GameStop stores

It's game over for at least 150 GameStop stores. The retailer has announced that it's shutting down 2 to 3 percent of 7,500 shops across the globe after sales and earning plummeted last year. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company was affected by the shift to digital downloads. More and more people now prefer installing their games straight from their console's online store instead of buying physical copies, that GameStop's sales dropped 14 percent in 2016.


Travel through space on your porcelain throne.
Toto hopes to woo you with its high-tech toilet showroom

High-functioning toilets have long been a mainstay in Asian households, but the concept is still something of a curiosity in much of the Western world. Toto, Japan's biggest toilet maker, has attempted to market its high-tech commodes to American audiences for decades with little success. The company is trying to change all this with a brand new "experiential" showroom that launched this week in San Francisco. It's called Concept 190, and it's equipped with four sensor-laden bathrooms where visitors are invited to pee, poo and have a toilet experience unlike anything they've had before.


Automakers may have to ignore the feds' attempts to loosen rules.
California's new car emission standards defy the White House

The Trump administration may be rethinking car efficiency regulations, but that isn't stopping California. The state's Air Resources Board has finalized car emissions standards for 2022-2025 that the White House still wants to review, creating the potential for a conflict if federal officials rethink the rules.


'Not taking risks'Uber suspends self-driving tests following an Arizona crash

Uber isn't taking any chances in the wake of its self-driving car accident in Tempe, Arizona. The company has suspended both its Arizona testing and its Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania operations while it investigates what happened. The company has confirmed that its vehicle was in self-driving mode at the time, but adds that there were no serious injuries on either side of the collision, and "no backseat passengers" in Uber's autonomous Volvo.


'Hi! I'm Alexa. How may I help?'
Amazon considers opening augmented reality furniture stores

Amazon's retail plans could extend well beyond books and groceries. New York Times sources hear that the internet giant is "exploring" the possibility of appliance and furniture stores with a technological angle. You'd use augmented or virtual reality to see how items would look in your own home, making it easier to pull the trigger on that new couch or stove. Amazon might directly challenge some of its tech rivals in retail too. Just as long as Alexa doesn't try to sell me a sofa on interest-free credit.

But wait, there's more...