Episode 96 - Holographic Girlfriends
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Welcome to episode 96 of Geek Bytes Podcast.
I’m Ramon Mejia
Every podcast we bring you the roundup of the week’s best Geek and Tech news, then we discuss that news and anything else we’re interested in that week.
In Geek News this week, we’ll talk about Ubers latest move in CA, Japan’s Siri like girlfriend, Power Rangers speculation, and we’ll decide which trailer we liked more Alien Covenant or Blade Runner 2049.
Now let’s Begin our show with Geek News
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Geek News
We begin with…
Uber announced Wednesday it stopped its autonomous car pilot program in Califronia, after the state DMV revoked registration for 16 test vehicles. Uber said it will redeploy the modified Volvo XC90s elsewhere, but remains "100 percent committed to California" and will work "to develop workable statewide rules.” Meanwhile San Jose Mercury News reporter Marisa Kendall wrote on Twitter that Uber is "moving its self-driving cars to Arizona, will begin testing there in next few weeks."
*Uber used it’s autonomous Truck Otto to move its autonomous cars. https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/21/uber-stops-san-francisco-self-driving-pilot-as-dmv-revoked-registrations/
Japan Challenges Siri with Azuma
(Play Video 1)
Azuma Hikari, the holographic character who lives inside the Gatebox.
Instead of a simple, cylindrical speaker design, Gatebox has a screen and a projector, which brings Hikari — her name, appropriately, means “light” — to life inside the gadget. On the outside are microphones, cameras, and sensors to detect temperature and motion, so she can interact with you on a more personal level, rather than being a voice on your phone.
The result is a fully interactive virtual girl, who at her most basic can control your smart home equipment. The sensors mean she can recognize your face and your voice, and is designed to be a companion who can wake you up in the morning, fill you in on your day’s activities, remind you of things to remember, and even welcome you back when you return home from work.
https://youtu.be/6ySeiSIaAyw
Kiss and Vid
Japan’s done it again with this truly odd peripheral for your phone. The Kissenger, a new smartphone add-on that allows anyone to send a smooch live via video chat.15/
It’s a little larger than a protective case and has an oval silicon “lip” at the bottom. High precision force sensors register a user’s lip movements and miniature linear actuators replicate those movements on the device of the person being kissed.
https://gizmodo.com/robot-phone-device-transmits-kisses-to-your-loved-ones-1790482894
Lex Luthor has officially joined the cast of Justice League, according to Warner Bros.' press kit for 2017.
Batman v Superman actor Jesse Eisenberg is listed among the cast for Zack Snyder's Justice League, which is scheduled for release in November 2017.
http://www.dailydot.com/parsec/lex-luthor-justice-league-jesse-eisenberg/?fb=gk
Carrie Fisher suffered from a “cardiac episode” while flying from London to Los Angeles, according to emergency officials.
A Los Angeles Fire Department source says Fisher is on “assisted breathing” at a local hospital.
https://io9.gizmodo.com/carrie-fisher-in-critical-condition-after-heart-attack-1790454414
The 12 Doctors of Christmas
(Play Video 2)
Doctor Puppet creator Alisa Stern teamed up with Scott Ampleford for “The 12 Doctors of Christmas,” with lead vocals by Rebecca Ampleford. In the accompanying video, each incarnation of the most famous Time Lord (except the War Doctor!) is briefly revisited in this Christmas countdown with their most cherished objects. Although we think the fans on YouTube are correct. The Ninth Doctor should have have some fantastic bananas! As an added bonus, the newest companion, Bill, makes her Doctor Puppet debut near the end of the clip as the Twelfth Doctor gives her a gift that’s undoubtedly bigger on the inside.
https://youtu.be/ozhapjDZfgM
http://nerdist.com/doctor-who-gets-in-the-holiday-spirit-with-the-12-doctors-of-christmas/
Jason David Frank Will Reportedly Appear in the New Power Rangers Movie
This week the internet was ablaze with rumors that Jason David Frank, who was introduced as Tony, the Green Rangers in the Mighty Morphin series, would be making an appearance in the upcoming Power Rangers movie.
Jason David Frank later denied these rumors as just being internet speculation but it might just be a red herring. We’ll have to wait and see when the film comes out March 24th, 2017.
http://epicstream.com/news/Jason-David-Frank-Will-Reportedly-Appear-in-the-New-Power-Rangers-Movie
Naruto Live!
Over the weekend, it was announced that Hollywood is moving forward with its live-action Naruto. Lionsgate secured the film rights to Naruto back in 2015.
https://kotaku.com/the-internet-reacts-to-the-hollywood-naruto-movie-annou-1790266160
Movie Trailer Showdown - 4 trailers enter, 1 trailer leaves
BladeRunner 2049 teaser trailer (Video 3)
Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a new blade runner for the Los Angeles Police Department, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. His discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who's been missing for 30 years.
Alien: Covenant trailer (Video 4)
Headed toward a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew members of the colony ship Covenant discover what they believe to be an uncharted paradise, but it is actually a dark, menacing world in which the only inhabitant is the synthetic David (Michael Fassbender), a survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.
Attack on Titan Season 2 trailer (Video 5)
It’s been a long wait between seasons for Attack on Titan fans, but FUNimation and Kodansha have an early Christmas present for fans: the first trailer for Attack on Titan season 2!
According to the new Attack on Titan video, the animated adaptation of Hajime Isayama’s best-selling manga series will resume in Japan in April 2017. And if the footage is any indication, things won’t be getting any easier for the men and women of the Scout Regiment, as they continue their newly impossible quest to defeat the man-eating giants. If anything, it looks like there are even more Titans than ever before, including the newly revealed Beast Titan and a horde of other misshapen giants who are gathering to renew their war on humanity. The Colossal Titan also makes his return with a particularly impressive display of power.
Ducktails Reboot Trailer (Video 6)
Disney announced the ridiculously strong voice cast for the reboot (the original cartoon went off the air in 1990) by releasing a video of the actors singing the show’s earworm theme song. The Duck family is a murderers’ row of delightful TV weirdos—Danny Pudi (Abed from Community), Ben Schwartz (Jean-Ralphio from Parks and Rec), and Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live) will play the ducklings Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Meanwhile, David Tennant (Doctor Who and Jessica Jones) will play the richest duck on earth, Scrooge McDuck. And SNL-er Beck Bennett and Kate Micucci from Raising Hope also will voice cartoon lake birds when the show premiers in summer 2017.
That’s it for the show
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Thanks for watching and listening.
For the Geek Bytes Podcast I’m Ramon Mejia and I’m Edgar Acosta. Now Go Geek out about something.
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Music Credits
"Happy Bee", "Movement Proposition", "Theme for Harold (var.3) ", "Take the Lead"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/