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‘GLOW’ season 3 (elbow) drops on Netflix August 9th
Netflix's terrific '80s wrestling saga GLOW is crashing back onto to our screens August 9th. The ten-episode third season of the comedy-drama promises even more neon than ever, as the grapplers turn Sin City into Suplex City.
Las Vegas taps Elon Musk's Boring Company for transport project
Your next visit to Las Vegas might include a peek at the possible future of transportation. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has recommended choosing Elon Musk's The Boring Company to develop an underground tunnel loop that would use autonomous electric vehicles to shuttle people around the city's Convention Center (aka the LVCC). A proposed expansion (below) would include a much larger loop that would cover much of the Strip, McCarran International Airport and Las Vegas Stadium.
Apple took out a CES ad to troll its competitors over privacy
Historically, Apple hasn't had an official presence at CES. It's not surprising given the company's success at hosting and hyping its own product launch events -- long before the iPod and iPhone brought Apple to the top of the technology mountain, Steve Jobs keynotes were can't miss events. The company is also very deliberate about its marketing campaigns; when I see Apple billboard ads, they focus on new product close-ups with minimal messaging. This is why the giant ad banner I saw when I arrived in Las Vegas yesterday for CES 2019 caught my eye. Positioned not far from the convention center where CES takes place, the sign is a cheeky riff on the old "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" slogan -- and with just a few words, it casts an Apple-shaped shadow over the convention. Apple never shows up at CES, so I can't say I saw this coming. pic.twitter.com/8jjiBSEu7z — Chris Velazco (@chrisvelazco) January 4, 2019
Lyft and Aptiv complete 5,000 self-driving rides in Las Vegas
Lyft's experiment with paid self-driving rides in Las Vegas appears to be going as smoothly as you might hope. Lyft and its partner Aptiv have revealed that they've completed 5,000 autonomous trips since launching service earlier in 2018. The passengers are happy with the experience, Lyft claimed. About 96 percent said they planned to use self-driving service again, while 20 percent have already used the service at least twice. Lyft also touted the average five-star rating, although that's not surprising when max ratings are par for the course among human ridesharing drivers.
The Las Vegas strip's first eSports arena opens in March
Last year, Allied Esports and Esports Arena announced plans to convert a Luxor Hotel and Casino nightclub into the Las Vegas strip's first dedicated eSports arena. That arena is almost complete and is scheduled to open on March 22nd. To celebrate the opening, Esports Arena Las Vegas will host a multi-day, live-streamed tournament that's invitation only. "With Las Vegas rapidly becoming a hub for eSports, Esports Arena Las Vegas at Luxor will be the city's home for competitive gaming and interactive entertainment," Allied Esports CEO Jud Hannigan said in a statement.
Why is Google taking over Vegas for CES 2018?
Google doesn't usually have a big presence at CES, but that's changed in a big way this year. You can't help but notice that the monorail circling the Las Vegas Convention Center bears huge letters saying "Hey Google!" Just below, Google has set up a huge, multistory monument to the Google Assistant booth in the convention-center parking lot. It's still under construction so it's hard to say exactly what's going on in there. (Also, there's a superfluous spiraling slide on the side of the booth and a weird Google Assistant ball-pit game near the convention center's main entrance.)
Lyft will offer autonomous rides in Las Vegas during CES
Lyft has been working to make autonomous cars a reality lately. The company recently launched a pilot in Boston, thanks to a partnership with nuTonomy. Now Lyft has extended its partnership to nuTonomy's parent company Aptiv, to give rides to people attending the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from January 9th through the 12th.
The Void's large-scale VR gaming is coming to Las Vegas
The Void's room-sized, immersive VR gaming is only available in a handful of locations right now, so even a modest expansion is important... it's big deal, then, that the company just added two new venues. The entertainment startup has has unveiled plans to open Void Experience Centers in Las Vegas' The Venetian/The Palazzo hotel (specifically, the Grand Canal Shoppes) and the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California. Both new locations will showcase Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, an experience where you go undercover as a Stormtrooper.
Las Vegas' self-driving bus crashes in first hour of service
Las Vegas' self-driving shuttle service marked its return by getting into a minor collision, according to local NBC station KSNV News 3. French startup Navya's autonomous electric vehicle shuffles at around 15 MPH on a 0.6 mile circuit in the downtown Fremont East district. But, just an hour into its year-long trial (which follows a successful stint in January) the shuttle was hit by a delivery truck that was backing up.
Las Vegas expands its self-driving shuttle tests this week
Las Vegas' initial self-driving shuttle trial clearly went well, as the city is coming back for another round. AAA and Vegas are launching a year-long trial on November 8th that will see one of Navya's shuttles drive a half-mile circuit in the downtown Fremont East district. It'll only make three stops each way, and it'll putter about at typical speeds between 10MPH and 15MPH, but it'll give you a chance to see how driverless mass transit works in real life for extended periods. The city has fitted traffic signals with wireless sensors to help them coordinate with the shuttle as it navigates the streets.
YouTube reportedly alters search algorithm after Las Vegas shooting
YouTube has updated its search engine in an effort to promote more authoritative videos, hoping to diminish the reach of conspiracy theories, harmful messages and misinformation on the platform, The Wall Street Journal reports. The changes follow the mass shooting in Las Vegas this week, wherein a gunman killed 58 people and wounded more than 500 others at a music festival on the Strip. After the shooting, videos propagating conspiracy theories and misinformation started climbing the ranks in YouTube's search results -- Google and Facebook faced similar problems this week. For example, The WSJ says on Tuesday night, the fifth result for "Las Vegas shooting" on YouTube was a video titled, "Proof Las Vegas Shooting Was a FALSE FLAG attack -- Shooter on 4th Floor," a rumor that has been repeatedly refuted by authorities.
Facebook tests a feature that provides info on article publishers
Facebook is still working out how to reduce the reach of fake news and misinformation on its site and today, it starts testing a new feature that sounds like it might be pretty useful. When an article link is shared in someone's News Feed, there will now be a small "i" button that will bring up additional information about the publisher and article when clicked. It will include information from the publisher's Wikipedia page, a link to follow its Facebook Page, Trending and Related articles about the same topic and a graphic on where and how the article is being shared across Facebook. When any of that information isn't available, Facebook will say that explicitly. That in itself is pretty useful. For example, if there's no Wikipedia page for the publisher of the piece, it could mean it's not a reputable outlet.
After Las Vegas shooting, Facebook and Google get the news wrong again
The worst mass shooting in modern US history took place last night in Las Vegas, where a gunman killed at least 58 people and injured more than 515 others, according to the latest reports. Not long after the unfortunate event, Facebook and Google began populating news stories on their respective platforms, as they often do. And, in what's become a problematic trend, some of the articles being highlighted and distributed to millions of people were from unreliable sources. This time, among them were a trolling thread on internet forum board 4chan and a completely false story from a far-right conspiracy website.
It takes a smart city to make cars truly autonomous
Artificial intelligence is driving the autonomous car. Coupled with robust computers, automobiles of the future will be more powerful than any other device we own. But they'll only be as powerful as their surrounding allows. If your vehicle doesn't know about a traffic jam along its route, like its human counterparts, it'll get stuck in gridlock. That's where connectivity comes in. When self-driving cars hit the road, they'll not only be computing juggernauts but also sharing data with everything all the time.
Nevada would allow in-stadium mobile bets at Raiders games
When the Raiders start playing football in Las Vegas, their stadium lease will officially ban the team from offering bets or other forms of gambling in the building. Don't tell that to the Nevada Gaming Commission, though. Its officials understand that there's nothing in the lease precluding the use of mobile betting apps on the facility's grounds, even if you're already in your seat. The NFL tells ESPN that the Raiders will have to "abide by League rules," but the Commission says it hasn't been asked to make any policy decisions so far.
Las Vegas nightclub is turning into an eSports arena
Las Vegas is quickly becoming a hotbed for virtual sports. Allied Esports and Esports Arena have unveiled plans to turn a 30,000 square foot nightclub at the Luxor Hotel and Casino into the Vegas Strip's first permanent eSports venue. The "multi-level" arena will pack expected amenities like a stage, a massive video wall and a broadcast studio, but it will also be equipped for more mundane uses through "daily gaming stations" and its own food and drink offerings. You won't need to wait for the next major tournament to show up, in other words. The location should be ready for business in early 2018.
You can now gamble while playing 'Frogger'
Konami has launched a version of Frogger that's suitable for gambling, which is now available to play in a casino. Frogger: Get Hoppin' is a skill-based title that enables players to wager money in exchange for testing their reflexes in the game. It's the first of its kind that's been authorized by Nevada's gambling commission in the hope of creating a new generation of gamblers.
Las Vegas is testing autonomous shuttles this week
Public self-driving vehicle tests are becoming more and more commonplace, and the latest to launch in the US just hit the roads in Las Vegas. French driverless electric vehicle manufacture Navya just announced that its autonomous electric shuttle is now taking passengers through Las Vegas' Fremont East entertainment district from today through January 20th. Navya and the city of Las Vegas say this is the first autonomous electric shuttle to hit a US street, though Uber is already providing public transportation with autonomous cars in Pittsburgh.
David Copperfield: 'I come to CES to get inspired'
CES is many things to many people. For the most part, it's the grease that keeps the mechanics of technology running for the rest of the year. For some, though, it's a veritable treasure trove of potential magic. Literally. David Copperfield, a stalwart on the Las Vegas strip and legendary magician isn't just a fan of the show; he walks the floor every year looking for technology he can use in his illusions. Naturally, he wouldn't tell us exactly what he's incorporated into his act, but we bet it's more magical than a voice-activated trash can.
Audi's new traffic-light countdown is the first step to smarter cities
As I get closer to the intersection, a countdown starts on the dashboard. The light is currently green, but the new Audi I'm driving tells me it'll be 147 seconds before I make it through the junction. Sure enough, the light turns yellow, then red, and I come to a stop as the numbers tick off in reverse. Once it hits four, the timer disappears, and within a few seconds the light turns green. It seems like a trivial feature, a timer telling you when a traffic signal is about to change. But in practice, it's quite useful. More important, it's currently available in Las Vegas, a baby step toward a future where cars and cities talk to one another to reduce gridlock.
