The Morning After: Thursday February 2nd, 2017

the-morning-after-thursday-february-2nd-2017 photo 1 Robot beats "I am not a Robot" Captcha Matt Unsworth (YouTube)

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Another day, another Boston Dynamics robot. Also, Tesla made a name change and "shared reality" is a thing.


Moving forwardTesla pulls an Apple, drops 'Motors' from its name

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Reflecting the company's ambitions for solar and electric energy in more places than just your car, Tesla Motors has chopped off a bit of its name. Now known as simply Tesla (which you probably called it anyway), the company can push its Powerwall batteries and Solar City roofs under one brand name along with its famous EVs.


After all these yearsNintendo's first-ever Super Bowl ad is for the Switch

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You don't have to wait for the big game to watch Nintendo's big ad. Its first-ever Super Bowl ad is up in an extended cut on YouTube, trying to sell the upcoming Switch console to hardcore gamers, casuals and families alike.


Who hasn't wanted to do this?The State of New York sues Charter over slow internet speeds

According to NY AG Eric Schneiderman, from 2012 on, Spectrum internet customers paid for plans promising 100Mbps+ speed but ended up with connections that were frequently 70 percent slower. Worse, investigators believe the poor performance was intentional, with execs aware their system couldn't live up to the promised speeds and even creating interconnection bottlenecks.


Not everything needs a cloud connectionProject Nursery HD Baby Monitor review

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Looking for a way to keep an eye on the little one? Dan Cooper tried out the Project Nursery setup, with a micro USB powered camera that broadcasts on its own 2.4GHz signal, the Parent Unit with a 5-inch display, and a wrist-wearable 1.5-inch "Mini Monitor." With night vision and remote control over the camera, he found it has all the necessary features, although the $300 price tag is a little high. For a cheaper option, there's also a $200 version with a 4.3-inch display and no Mini Monitor.


Boston Dynamics is back'Handle' robot combines wheels and legs

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During a presentation, Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert showed off a couple of new robots, including this "Handle" model. While the company's previous metallic terrors have focused on walking, this one includes wheels, perfect for spinning and leaping around on smooth surfaces. It may not have the go-anywhere chops of Atlas, but its impressive speed and agility would be perfect for hunting humans on a basketball court maneuvering around a controlled environment like a warehouse.


The company says it was done to give a "better user experience"The OnePlus 3T cheats by boosting its performance for benchmarking

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Alternative facts are even popping up in benchmarks, as XDA posters discovered the OnePlus 3T and Meizu Pro 6 Plus both turn up the juice on their CPUs when a benchmark is running. Now, OnePlus says it will fix the behavior in its next operating system update.


An escape room designer built a puzzle game around 'Zelda''Defenders of the Triforce' is a fun but tedious adventure

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Instead of a traditional escape room experience, designer SCRAP uses the "real-time puzzle format" in a The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time retelling. As Sean Buckley discovered, that means "doing math, deciphering glyphs and turning in worksheets to a cast of Zelda-themed taskmasters."

But wait, there's more...

  • 'Star Wars: Battlefront 2' will have a story mode
  • PlayStation VR bundles are back
  • Developer combines HoloLens and Vive for 'shared reality'
  • GoPro's troubled Karma drone is back on sale
  • Zenimax lawsuit scores a partial win against Oculus worth $500 million

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