Light Start – Samsung’s own Siri, Blade Runner 2049, Rimac bike, and Gears of War: The Movie
Brett Venter
Samsung is snapping up Viv Labs, which was started by the team that originally made Siri
Apple has one, Google has one (sorta), Amazon has one (also sorta), and Microsoft has one. Now Samsung wants one. By which we mean that they want their own digital assistant. Why, what were you thinking? Anyway, Samsung is buying up Viv Labs. Viv Labs is a company started by the team, consisting of Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer, and Chris Brigham, that first came up with Apple’s Siri. Teaming up with Samsung means that they have a lot more money to throw at their latest product, a new AI that was recently demonstrated. And Samsung will be reaping some of the benefits. Or rather: “Samsung is setting its sights on becoming a major player in software and services, and specifically AI.” And this new investment, the terms of which have not been disclosed yet, will help them do that. Viv has its sights set on more than just Samsung devices though and Samsung, apparently, has agreed to make that happen. Nice.
The Blade Runner sequel is coming and it’s called Blade Runner 2049
Remember Blade Runner? Some of you might not have been born when the 1982 film was first released. Er… we were still infants or were just being born. But that doesn’t take anything away from the Harrison Ford/Ridley Scott vehicle about androids or Replicants (which was based on Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep — go read it). And now… there’s a sequel, so younger folks can find out what all the fuss was about. The official title is about all that has been released so far but we’re still excited anyway. The new film is called Blade Runner 2049 and will involve a bunch of the old team (including Ford and Scott) as well as Ryan Gosling. There’s also a launch date — expect Blade Runner 2049 to drop on 6 October 2017. Wonder who the Replicant is this time…?
Meet the Rimac Greyp G12H long-range electric bicycle
See that slick little bicycle up there? That’s the Rimac Greyp G12H, a long-range electric bike which is able to reach a (claimed) distance of 240km on a single charge. But before you go getting excited about this one as a possible commuter vehicle, it’s likely to cost in excess of about R150,000. And you’re going to have to import it. But for your money you’re getting a 50kg electric bike that will work for ages on a charge, a semi-motorcycle design, and a biometric scanner so just the owner can use it. Impressive, right? And if you’re racking your brain trying to think when you’ve seen the name Rimac before, cast your eye on the Rimac Concept_One electric supercar. Now does this dinky little bike make more sense?
So apparently there is a Gears of War film on the way…
That’s right, you heard us. Microsoft property Gears of War is getting the film treatment and, if you’ve ever played one of these post-apocalypse (or is that present-apocalypse?) cover-based shooters, you probably know why that is. Gears is incredibly cinematic, when you’re not chainsawing the jawbone out of some Locust scum, and it should translate well onto a large-scale screen. But there’s a catch. Fans of the game series might not see a completely true-to-series adaptation. Current developer Coalition’s Rod Fergusson said “I want it to be this thing where it feels authentic to Gears of War, but I want it to, like, blow people’s minds because it’s actually a great movie first, and then it pays homage to the source material second.” Which… might not be as bad as it sounds. Some game films fail because they’re too much like the game. An all-new tale in the Gears universe… that sounds like it might work.
