Waymo wants Driver to be usable in any sort of vehicle, Zoox says its vehicle is “truly revolutionary”…like the iPhone. — The hype surrounding self-driving cars plateaued in 2020, as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic halted most public driverless testing. The dour mood gave way to almost everyone apart from Tesla retreating from the ambitious projections of 2015, with several projects delayed and Uber abandoning ship.

All three banks have established a foothold in the UK, but none have ever recorded a profit. Once the funding dries up, which will survive? — All three banks share a lot of similarities: they generate revenue mostly from interchange, focus on app over web, have no physical branches and do not offer first-party mortgages, credit or extensive insurance programs. However, the differences between them are starting to emerge, as each attempts to find new revenue…

The self-driving vehicle holds a commanding lead on its rivals—but perhaps not for long. — Waymo is ahead of the self-driving pack in almost every metric. Its autonomous driving system is the most sophisticated and valuable, and it has led the industry ever since it started in 2009. So, is it possible Waymo will not be the Facebook/Amazon/Uber of its category? The self-driving market is…

Alphabet’s self-driving division was the first out of the gate in 2010 and has retained pole position ever since. — If there’s one statement the entire self-driving industry can agree on (save perhaps Elon Musk), it’s that Waymo is leading the race. Alphabet’s subsidiary, which began life as one of Google X’s first secretive projects, has always held a commanding lead over rivals. In the days before automotive interest, Google’s…

What’s more likely, transhumanism or light-speed travel? — In Star Trek: The Next Generation, the crew finds three people from the 21st century cryogenically frozen, and brings them back to life. …

The launch of new TV streaming services will not lead to higher levels of media consumption, regardless of the aspirations of these newly formed platforms. — Technology executives seem to be under the impression that because we spend a lot of time watching TV, we’ll be more than happy to subscribe to another platform to consume even more. However, I would consider most people’s thoughts on more streaming options to be far less enthusiastic. The fragmentation…

Blizzard has been the king of online PC gaming for years, but thanks to largely self-imposed wounds, it could be unseated by Riot Games — Ever since Warcraft, Diablo and Starcraft established themselves as leaders in their respective genres, Blizzard Entertainment has held a captive audience of millions, who devote endless hours to their titles. World of Warcraft, with its many, many expansions, is one of the highest grossing PC games of all time. …

In 2015, companies said self-driving cars would be “road ready” by 2020. Clearly, we are still a few years away, and we haven’t even settled on how these cars should operate. — A Medium post by Stefan Seltz-Axmacher, the founder of self-driving truck startup Starsky Robotics, provided yet another nail in the temporary coffin for autonomous vehicles. …

Permanent Flash: Flash is used by 95 percent of all champions. It is, for many, the only spell that cannot be subbed. If flash were available to everyone (similar to recall), it would create more summoner variables. Trinket upgrades: Players should be able to upgrade their warding tool at Level…