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The Morning After: SpaceX builds a Starship

Elon Musk's press conference is scheduled for later today.

Richard Lawler
Senior News Editor
·4 min read
0

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Welcome to your weekend! Keep an eye out for the SpaceX live stream later today, but first, we'll recap notable news from this week, like all of the Alexa-connected stuff Amazon unveiled. Finally, Friday's news included a sex toy that promises "surprise" and yet another iOS update.

It cycles through 90 different options, all at random.Autoblow AI is a sex toy that promises 'surprise'

The phrase "artificial intelligence" conjures all sorts of ideas about a synthetic consciousness that knows us better than we know ourselves. But it's more often hollowly used as a buzzword, providing a little excitement to systems that just identify patterns. This pattern recognition has been, apparently, harnessed by the Autoblow AI, a $259 device that claims to use AI to offer users the "perfect blowjob."

Don't worry -- it's going to get worse.Why are there so many TV streaming services?

A decade ago, if you wanted to cut the cord, your options were limited to on-demand services like Hulu and Netflix. Now that streaming is all the rage, everyone wants a piece -- and the networks and companies that own attractive content want a bigger slice of the pie.

Libraries of movies and shows are being divided up, with any company that owns the rights to something people want to watch considering keeping them as exclusives for a new service. All of which is to say: Streaming isn't the great deal it once was, and more options arrive all the time to entice us to spend even more.

It'd be easier to list the things Alexa isn't in.These are all of the Alexa devices Amazon unveiled

Amazon's annual hardware deluge enveloped us Wednesday, as it revealed a slew of Echo devices, Alexa-powered wearables, Ring's first indoor security cam and a new smart oven. Oh, and that's not all -- now Alexa can speak to you using a celebrity's voice, and Samuel L. Jackson is first on the list. This is the quick and thorough roundup you've been looking for.

Good luck trying to escape that.Boston Dynamics' humanoid Atlas robot is now a gymnast

Over the past few years, we've seen Atlas navigate uneven terrain and even jump around a parkour course. This latest video is on another level, though. The bipedal robot does a handstand, rolls around and also does a few jumping twists -- all without losing its balance.

Separately, enterprise customers interested in one of the company's dog-like Spot robots can apply to purchase one. According to Boston Dynamics, the versatile bot is useful for going places a wheeled machine can't reach; like inspecting construction sites or serving as a remotely-controlled camera for public safety.

That's how you go to 11.Xiaomi's Mi Mix Alpha has a '180.6-percent' screen-to-body ratio

Forget edgeless phones -- the Mi Mix Alpha is practically frameless, with a "Surround Screen" that covers nearly the entire device on all sides. Xiaomi hasn't revealed all of the details about its phone but said it's already in production with plans to launch in December for 19,999 yuan (or about $2,810).

Controls are activated using the pressure-sensitive sides since there are no physical buttons other than a power switch on top. The fingerprint reader and acoustic tech are tucked underneath the screen too. Inside, there are 5G radios, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset, 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Finally, it's packing a 108-megapixel camera in the small amount of space that isn't screen, plus lenses for ultra-wide and telephoto shooting. Forget a front-facing selfie camera though -- you can see yourself in the part of the screen that's on the back of this phone.

Keep an eye out for the SpaceX stream Saturday night.SpaceX's Starship halves come together ahead of a big event

Ten days after we got a peek at the construction of SpaceX's first Starship in Texas, CEO Elon Musk tweeted out a picture of the craft's two halves coming together. It's a timely post, as Musk is planning a press conference Saturday evening with updates on the company's programs, including its Starships.

Another new update from Apple.iOS 13.1.1 arrives to address battery drain and Siri issues

Apple has released an iOS 13.1.1 update (plus a corresponding iPadOS 13.1.1 version) that tackles several glaring problems. The most notable is a fix for a battery drain issue plaguing users across the board, but there's also a solution for Siri's problems recognizing requests on the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

But wait, there's more...

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