Thursday, July 26, 2018

Instead Of Suing Them, They Shoulda Bought Them Out

Nintendo wins judgment against real-life Mario Kart operator in Japan 

The video game maker is ultra protective of its intellectual property 

Bad news, would-be Marios (or, like ex-F1 ace Jenson Button above, Princesses). Marika Co., the entity behind all those real-life Mario Kart sightings on the streets of Tokyo, has been ordered to stop renting to tourists and residents costumes that resemble the characters famously featured in Nintendo's franchise video games.

This judgment comes after Nintendo sued Marika in February of 2017 for violation of intellectual property. Tokyo District Court sided with Nintendo in a ruling that also requires Marika pay Nintendo 10 million yen in damages. That's about $88,000. As of the time this story was published, the website where the karts are booked remains active and populated with plenty of Nintendo-themed characters.

Best we can tell, Marika hasn't been shut down completely, and may still be able to rent go-karts on public streets in Japan. It just can't provide its patrons with outfits to make them look like Mario, Luigi, Princess, Peach, or any other bit of intellectual property owned by Nintendo.

(AutoBlog.com)

Living Up To The Stereotype


(Bits&Pieces.us)

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Working Smarter, Not Harder - Heavy Lifting Edition

“Everything I’ve ever done has started small. It’s hard to remember for you guys, but for me it’s like yesterday I was driving the packages to the post office myself and hoping one day we could afford a forklift.” - Jeff Bezos

(BroBible.com)

The Irony Of The Situation


(Bits&Pieces.us)

Speak The Truth, Woz!

DOA: Apple's Steve Wozniak Officially Announces The DEATH Of The Self Driving Car. Even BEFORE It's Here.

Wozniak made the comments at Mastercard's 'Connecting Tomorrow' event in Barcelona.

During his talk, he said he's 'lost faith' in the abilities of self-driving car technology and doesn't expect to see them used widely on the roads anytime soon.

'They have to drive on human roads,' Wozniak said, according to Arabian Business.

'If they had train tracks, [there would be] no problem at all. I don't believe that sort of 'vision intelligence' is going to be like a human.

According to Wozniak, autonomous cars will struggle with unforeseen circumstances that are common in a real-world driving scenario.
(AutoSpies.com)

I Enjoyed This LIst


(Bits&Pieces.us)

I'd Buy This Version

Four new Chevy Silverado concept trucks get lifted and lowered 

These pickups showcase Chevy accessories 



RST Street

Next up is the RST Street, above. As for this concept truck, it also lowers the suspension like the first Silverado RST. It has a cold-air intake system, but this one gets six-piston Brembo front brakes in red and a Borla exhaust system. Chevy says the dual exhaust system on the 5.3-liter V8 is good for an additional 10 horsepower. A bunch of body graphics give it a louder look along with its glossy black 22-inch wheels. Faux carbon fiber parts are splattered about on the mirror caps, door handles, grille and interior trim too.

(AutoBlog.com)