Pop culture’s many takes on artificial intelligence

Over the years, artists, writers, filmmakers and game studios have all tackled the concept of artificial intelligence. Often their vision is of machines that are brutally hostile to humans. Philip K. Dick envisioned androids that murder their owners....

It’s ‘Blade Runner’ android Roy Batty’s birthday

Back to the Future isn't the only big sci-fi movie whose memorable dates are cropping up in real life -- January 8th, 2016 marks the "birthday" of Roy Batty, the leader of the rogue Replicants in Blade Runner. He wouldn't have much to celebrate if h...

LaCie Blade Runner drive now available, offers stand-out storage for $300

LaCie Blade Runner drive now available, offers standout storage for $299

LaCie teased us at CES with the prospect of a rare high-concept hard drive design in the Blade Runner, but it left out the rather important matter of when we could buy the Philippe Starck-designed storage. As we've discovered, we didn't have to wait long -- the Blade Runner has just become available. Plunk down $300 and you'll get a 4TB, USB 3.0-based external drive that melds a blob-like disk shell with aluminum blades that both cool the main body and create a (minor) conversation piece. Just be sure to hurry if you're looking for a dash of art with your extra drive space, as it's doubtful that the Blade Runner's 9,999-unit production run will last.

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LaCie teams up with Philippe Starck on the Blade Runner limited edition hard drive

LaCie teams up with Philippe Starck on the Blade Runner limited edition hard drive, 4TB capacity for $300

Philippe Starck, the design mind behind various Parrot wares, has teamed up with LaCie once more for a quite dapper external storage device. The duo has just announced the Blade Runner here at CES: a 4TB USB 3.0 hard drive wrapped in heavy-duty aluminum and sporting a LED power button in the shape of Mr. Starck's logo. That's not all. Only 9,999 of these bad boys will be produced so you'll need to have your affairs in order ahead of time if the gadget strikes your design sensibilities. The drive will also include 10GB of Wuala secure cloud storage to lend a hand with the archival process. No word on when the Blade Runner will arrive, but when it does, you can expect to nab it online from LaCie and other retailers after parting with the requisite $299. For a closer look at the goods, hit the galleries below to take a gander at the press shots and our brief hands-on.

Continue reading LaCie teams up with Philippe Starck on the Blade Runner limited edition hard drive

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Must See HDTV (October 22nd – 28th)

Must See HDTV October 22nd  28th

While baseball's postseason moves on to its final round, football is just hitting its stride and NBA preseason action is just beginning to get interesting. This week Blade Runner gets yet another HD home release, there's one more presidential debate, and on Friday the maker of Pushing Daisies returns for a one-off / backdoor pilot attempt called Mockingbird Lane -- check out a teaser after the break. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

I, Robot (3D)
A 3D Blu-ray release isn't uncommon these days, however I, Robot has a fresh twist: it wasn't in 3D in theaters, ever. Fox has made the interesting decision of converting the flick in post and releasing a 3D version exclusively for the home. Fans of the 2004 Will Smith flick can snag a $24.99 Blu-ray 3D set, but if you pre-ordered at Comic-Con, it comes with a bust of the robot character, Sonny. We'll have to wait and see if this trend takes off (Fox says it has more titles in the pipeline), or if people prefer the standard original releases.
($24.99 on Amazon)

Forza Horizon
The Forza series has brought its brand of sim racing to Xbox consoles for several generations, but this latest version takes all of its underlying technology on a trip to the arcade side of town. You won't be doing so much tweaking under the hood this time, but there's still a healthy selection of cars plus options for night and off road racing to keep you interested. Joystiq was impressed enough by its "massive toy chest of hyper-accurate Hot Wheels" to give it four out of five stars, racing fans can check out a demo on Xbox Live now.
($59.99 on Amazon)

World Series
Baseball fans, it all comes down to this. For the championship in 2012 the Detroit Tigers will face TBD in an epic battle that kicks off Wednesday night. Either St. Louis or San Francisco will be representing the National League in the World Series, but we'll have to wait until tonight's game to know which one. The days for the games are already locked in however, so clear your schedule as needed.

Continue reading Must See HDTV (October 22nd - 28th)

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Must See HDTV (October 22nd - 28th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google patent delivers close-up photos when your phone can’t, Blade Runners would approve

Google patent delivers closeup photos when your phone can't, Blade Runners would approve

It's been 30 years since we saw Deckard track down replicants by having a machine "enhance" pictures, and yet we're still stuck with distant-looking photos when we want more detail than our smartphone cameras can manage. While we'd argue that a few phones already live in that Blade Runner future, Google has just obtained a patent that could give the rest of us a helping hand. If the zoom isn't up to snuff, the proposed software could gauge a mobile device's position and orientation to offer a closer, already-taken photo from a server as a substitute, whether it's a Street View shot or a more traditional image. The geocoded system could even cue photos based on the time of day and year to provide that extra dash of authenticity. We already get a trace of the concept through photo overlays within Street View itself, although there's no indication as to whether or not Google will link our camera apps directly to a cloud of substitute photos -- suffice it to say that the industry has changed a lot since Google was using the iPhone 3G to illustrate its photography concepts.

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Google patent delivers close-up photos when your phone can't, Blade Runners would approve originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 17:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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