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Mercedes' Concept EQV can transport 8 passengers with its 249 mile range
A single passenger EV is a good way to reduce your carbon footprint. But if you really want to make a difference, you go with a vehicle that transports a lot of humans around. That's what Mercedes is doing with its Concept EQV. a high-end van for moving lots of folks at once.
Plex's redesigned desktop media player comes with 4K support
Just as it did in 2012, Plex is once again bringing a new look to its desktop app for PCs. Back then the service focused on offering more of a living room-friendly experience, hence the application being renamed to Home Theater. Now, Plex Media Player intends to keep that going, but with an improved user interface that matches its various TV apps that will "leave all that original code behind." To help, it's switched the media playback engine to mpv, and hired the primary contributor from that open source project as a full timer to help out. Aside from the redesigned and speedier UI, which brings it in line with Plex's smart TV, console and set-top apps, there's support for a "true" 4K interface, multi-channel music tracks and improved compatibility with H.265 video files, among other things. PlexPass subscribers can try out an early preview of the app now, before it releases for everyone later on. According to Plex, Home Theater will continue to be available and open source, though the firm doesn't have any plans to continue developing for it.
American Prius V to get old-school batteries, Japanese version to get fancy Li-ion ones
We'd rather see a more interesting Prius before we see a bigger one, but it's the bigger one that comes first. The taller Prius V that was unveiled in Detroit is said to begin hitting Japanese showrooms next month, priced at ¥3 million (about $37,000) and packing an all-new Li-ion battery in the floor. This is different than the nickel metal hydride pack found in the current Prius, a smaller and lighter design that leaves room for a third row of seats. When the car hits the US, though, we'll get a bigger set of cells like the one in the current Prius, meaning the American version won't have those seats in the back. Irritating? A little, but the version we'll be getting will also be available in Japan, where it will sell for almost $10,000 less than the Li-ion version. For ten grand in savings we'd probably skip the rear seats too.
Warner Bros. head spin: lawsuit claims studio pirated anti-piracy patent
We'll let that headline sink in for a second -- it gets even better, we assure you. The story goes as such: German company Medien Patent Verwaltung (MPV) claims that in 2003 it showed Warner Bros. (under a confidentiality agreement) a way to track where exactly a pirated movie came from. One year later, according to the company, Warner started using the same technology without ever providing compensation. Thus, a lawsuit is born -- filed in both New York and Germany against Warner, Technicolor and Deluxe. As bad as it sounds, we can't help but love the irony of such an accusation, but the crème de la crème of all this? The New York lawsuit accidentally cites Warner's patent in place of MPV's. It's being amended now, but think about it: the name of the patent claimed to be a stolen patent was itself stolen by the original patent holder as its own patent. And that's really fun to say out loud.
