6% of all jobs in the US replaced with robots in 2021

If you're a truck or taxi driver, an Uber driver or work in customer service, your days of employment could be numbered - with robots taking out 6% of these jobs in the US by 2021 according to a new report from market research firm Forrester.

The intelligent agents will be powered by artificial intelligence technology, where they will be capable of understanding human behavior, and then making decisions, for you. We're already dabbling in it now with AI-based services like Google Now, Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, and more - which for the moment mostly simple, but they will get much more advanced in the coming decade.

Once this breakthrough happens, the world of AI assistants, self-driving cars and computer hardware that can think for you, the changes to the world will be enormous. The Guardian reports that it's "not so good if you're an employee working in a simple-to-automate field". This is reiterated by Forrester's report by Brian Hopkins, who said: "By 2021 a disruptive tidal wave will begin. Solutions powered by AI/cognitive technology will displace jobs, with the biggest impact felt in transportation, logistics, customer service and consumer services".

Continue reading: 6% of all jobs in the US replaced with robots in 2021 (full post)

iPhone 7 tested: It's really as fast as Apple claims

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | Sep 15, 2016 3:33 AM CDT

Apple launched their new flagship phones last week - iPhone 7 and 7 Plus on September 7th. Fans are already lined up in front of Apple stores waiting for September 16th when first iPhones arrive in stores. Reports say that one fan started waiting in front of an Apple Store on August 25th, two weeks before the iPhone 7 was officially launched.

But for those who are having second thoughts about the new iPhone, we decided to take a closer look at what improvements the iPhone 7 brings, and we asked an expert his opinion.

The iPhone 7 critics will point out that the new iPhone doesn't have a headphone jack, and to be honest, Apple haven't really given any good alternatives, which may happen next year. Also, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are marked IP67, not IP68, which means they are splash proof but not submersible. If you take a closer look at Apple's ad, you will also notice (if you don't blink) a warning saying: "Water resistance IP67 under IEC standard 60529. Liquid damage not covered under warranty". So, if your iPhone 7 dies from water damage, Apple will not replace it.

Continue reading: iPhone 7 tested: It's really as fast as Apple claims (full post)

Frostbite Engine team now part of EA's tech organization

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Sep 15, 2016 2:09 AM CDT

EA has announced a big shake-up of its organizational structure, with big changes taking place with the formation of EA Worldwide Studios, which brings several EA development studios together under one roof.

Andrew Wilson, EA's Chief Executive announced the news on the official EA website. The shift will see EA Mobile and Maxis into the larger company, with Samantha Ryan stepping up as Senior VP, who is also with BioWare. One of the more notable changes here is that the Frostbite Engine team will move over to the technology side of EA's business, and will be run by Ken Moss acting as the Chief Technology Officer.

The move is something EA explains as a "responsibility to put [their] players first", with EA executive Peter Moore explaining last month that the company was aiming for a "player-first" direction. After EA had been voted "Worst Company in America" for a couple of years, EA is wanting to change direction and move towards a better path.

Continue reading: Frostbite Engine team now part of EA's tech organization (full post)

Radeon Technologies Group celebrates its 1-year birthday

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Sep 15, 2016 1:18 AM CDT

Can you believe it has been an entire year since AMD announced it was forming Radeon Technologies Group, a newly-focused team that had a hungry new thirst for the GPU market.

AMD formed the Radeon Technologies Group with a bang late last year in Sonoma, California, where it announced the new Polaris architecture and a tease of a new card that was capable of 1080p 60FPS using less than 100W of power. In that time, AMD has launched the exciting new Radeon RX 480 and landing new semi-custom designs with Microsoft and Sony for the Xbox One S that just launched, the new PS4 Pro coming soon, and the upcoming 4K-capable Xbox Scorpio console in 2017.

Radeon Technologies Group boss Raja Koduri (which on a personal note, I'm going to add is a super chill guy in real life who I've enjoyed a few ice creams with in the last 12 months after our random 3am icecream with the RTG guys and girls at CES earlier this year in the freezing night of Las Vegas) said: "We managed to bring the focus back to graphics and turned around the erosion that happened over the last few years".

Continue reading: Radeon Technologies Group celebrates its 1-year birthday (full post)

New 'Star Trek' series 'Discovery' delayed by 4 months

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Sep 15, 2016 1:11 AM CDT

'Star Trek' fans looking to boldly go once again after the release of this year's 'Star Trek Beyond' need to be patient for just a little while longer.

According to Variety, CBS has confirmed that the hugely anticipated return of 'Star Trek' to the small screen will now premiere in May 2017, delayed from the originally announced January premiere. Speaking on the delay, executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Bryan Fuller said that "Bringing 'Star Trek' back to television carries a responsibility and mission: to connect fans and newcomers alike to the series that has fed our imaginations since childhood. 'Star Trek' deserves the very best, and these extra few months will help us achieve a vision we can all be proud of." The delay comes as no surprise considering that filming isn't set to kick off until November in Toronto, Canada.

The new series will be set 10 years before the events of the original 1960's 'Star Trek' series, in the original timeline as opposed to the Kelvin timeline of the newly rebooted feature film series.

Continue reading: New 'Star Trek' series 'Discovery' delayed by 4 months (full post)

'Mad Max' goes low-def in 'Black & Chrome' edition

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Sep 15, 2016 12:27 AM CDT

While last year's Blu-ray version of the multi-award winning thrill ride 'Mad Max: Fury Road' didn't come with the promised black and white version of the film advocated by director George Miller, Warner Bros have made good on their promise and will release the experimental 'Black and Chrome' version of the movie to Blu-ray later this year.

Coming to Blu-ray in the U.S. on December 6th, the "surreal" version of the film comes on a two disc set accompanied by the previously released theatrical version of the film. Miller has previously called this version of the film as his preferred vision, describing it as "something about it seemed more authentic and elemental". Detailing how it came to pass, Miller continued "I asked Eric Whipp, the colorist, 'can I see some scenes in black and white with quite a bit of contrast?' They looked great. So I said to the guys at Warners, 'can we put a black-and-white version on the DVD?' There wasn't enough room... on another version with commentary and other features."

The Blu-ray also comes with a new introduction recorded by Miller.

Continue reading: 'Mad Max' goes low-def in 'Black & Chrome' edition (full post)

Amazon's second-gen Echo Dot is nearly half the price

Sean Ridgeley | Audio, Sound & Speakers | Sep 14, 2016 4:06 PM CDT

Amazon's second-generation version of the Echo Dot is out now and features a much lower $49.99 price point (versus the previous $89.99), despite the product selling out recently.

A puck-like device, it adds the Alexa voice assistance to any speakers you have around the home, allowing you to control your media with just the sound of your voice.

The new version features a redesigned voice processor, and spatial perception tech that detects multiple uses of the Dot, so that if you like, you can have different Dots for different devices, and control them all independently, with no extra effort on your part. The technology is also being rolled out for first generation devices.

Continue reading: Amazon's second-gen Echo Dot is nearly half the price (full post)

GameRoom launcher rolls your PC library into one program

Sean Ridgeley | Software & Apps | Sep 14, 2016 3:03 PM CDT

One of the issues with PC gaming these days is having multiple game libraries across multiple services. While many attempts have been made at creating all-in-one frontend solutions, you might say they've all fallen short. The newly launched GameRoom, however, looks to be the best of the bunch so far with a sleek interface similar to Origin prior to its recent overhaul.

Feature-wise, it includes automatic import, sorting, support for command line arguments, a power saving mode, a play time tracker, and more.

The downside: it requires Java, which has been swiftly going the way of the dodo. If that doesn't dissuade you, download GameRoom here.

Continue reading: GameRoom launcher rolls your PC library into one program (full post)

This guy got a Xbox One months before it was announced

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Sep 14, 2016 1:55 PM CDT

Microsoft made a pretty big shipping error back in 2013: it accidentally shipped out a prototype Xbox One console months before the system was revealed.

This guy got a Xbox One months before it was announced

Back in March 2013, Jia Li ordered a laptop from the Microsoft Store. Instead of receiving the notebook, Li received a working prototype of an early Xbox One console codenamed "Kryptos".

"The box had a lot of security tape over it," Li told Business Insider. "So I was wondering, 'What is that?' I opened it, and it's something I've never seen before."

Continue reading: This guy got a Xbox One months before it was announced (full post)

Top Blizzard devs break away to form new studio

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Sep 14, 2016 1:01 PM CDT

Some of the main creative forces behind World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and Battle.net have jumped Blizzard's ship to form their own games development studio with League of Legends' Riot Games picking up the check.

Top Blizzard devs break away to form new studio

Blizzard is losing a lot of their talent lately: legendary Warcraft and Diablo co-creator Chris Metzen has retired, and now three more devs have left: Blizzard's cinematics expert Nick Carpenter, Diablo III's game director Josh Mosqueira, 16-year vet and Battle.net director Matthew Versluys, and Nexon's ex-CEO Min Kim have joined ex-World of Warcarft lead director Rob Pardo as the "original five" to form the new Bonfire Studios.

In an announcement blog post, Rob Pardo says that the original five left their cushy jobs at Blizzard so they could have more freedom and creative control over their projects.

Continue reading: Top Blizzard devs break away to form new studio (full post)