Saab’s “Phoenix platform” rises from the ashes

The bankrupt Swedish car company's last new design could form the basis of a partnership between former owner Spyker and China's Youngman.

The story of Saab, enigmatic Swedish carmaker and bane of Kurt Vonnegut, is starting to sound like a soap opera, mixed with a zombie movie. After the company went bankrupt in 2011, its remains were purchased by an Asian conglomerate, which plans to produce electric cars under the National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) brand. Now, Saab’s former owner, Dutch boutique carmaker Spyker, and a Chinese firm are making their own bid for some of Saab’s remains.

That Chinese firm is none other than Youngman, the same company that tried to buy Saab from Spyker before General Motors nixed the deal. Spyker and Youngman may not have the Saab trademark, but they do have the company’s last design. The appropriately-named “Phoenix” platform could underpin a new Dutch-Chinese car in the near future.

“Since the regretful demise of Saab in 2011, we have been investigating the possibilities to continue our cooperation with Youngman,” Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker and former CEO of Saab, said in a press release. “With this framework agreement, Youngman and Spyker lay the foundation for an intense cooperation whereby we will pursue the objectives we each had in mind when forging our cooperation as partners in Saab.”

Under a joint venture called Spyker Phoenix B.V., the two companies hope to build a range of premium cars based on the Phoenix platform, which was supposed to form the basis for nearly all future Saabs. Spyker will do most of the engineering work and sell the cars under its brand name.

However, Spyker does not own the Phoenix; it lost the rights to all of Saab’s designs after the latter was sold to the NEVS conglomerate. That’s where Youngman comes in. In addition to providing the venture with cash, Youngman still has a non-exclusive license for the Phoenix platform. The Chinese company took the license as collateral when it loaned Saab money in 2011. That loan was obviously never repaid. S

till, NEVS technically owns the Phoenix platform, and it might not like seeing another car with its design driving around. In his statement, Muller said that, whether NEVS pays off Saab’s debts or not, the license granted to Youngman would still be valid. He added that Spyker Phoenix may try to purchase the platform outright if the opportunity arises.

If the deal does fall through, Youngman and Spyker will still have a joint venture. Under Spyker P2P B.V., the two companies will work together to launch Spyker’s ultra-luxury SUV, the D8 Peking-to-Paris, which was supposed to debut in 2009. Youngman will provide the cash needed to get the D8 into production.

Saab may be gone, but its cars may live on under the NEVS and Spyker banners. Like seeing a beloved friend resurrected as a zombie, it might be too much for the Saab faithful to bear.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Rumor: Fallout 4 heads to Boston and MIT

An alleged MIT employee claims Bethesda's been scouting the school and Boston for Fallout 4.

Bethesda is going to make Fallout 4. It will do this because Bethesda and its owner, publishing umbrella ZeniMax, are businesses and they make creative works likely to make money. People liked Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. A lot. Yeah, Bethesda will probably sit down and build another irradiated wasteland for people to wander and mess about in. That’s not in question: It’s the locale that will be up in the air. The Elder Scrolls studio let you drift about Las Vegas and the District of Columbia in the past. Next time, it’ll let you act out all your post-apocalyptic Good Will Hunting fan fiction and fight a mutated Bill Belichick. Fallout 4 is headed to Boston.

So says Reddit user “Fallout4boston.” This intrepid tipster hit the aggregator community over the weekend claiming to be an MIT employee. That educational institution will figure prominently in the next Fallout game as Bethesda has reportedly paid a number of scouting visits to the campus lately.

The Boston area is called “The Commonwealth” in Fallout lore, an area as nasty and unforgiving as Pittsburgh remnants “The Pit,” but also home to the “Institute” and the “Railroad.” The Institute, built from the remnants of MIT, is an organization producing technologically advanced weapons and human-like androids that pop up in Fallout 3’s quests. The Railroad is the Institute’s sworn enemies, a group trying to free the androids. Both factions are classic Fallout, cleaver references to familiar 20^th century trappings, slightly warped. Example: The Railroad refers to the Tech Model Railroad Club, an unofficial group formed at MIT in the ‘40s remembered as the first hacker collective.

A perfect set up for a new Fallout adventure. That technological conflict is very different from past entries in the series, and the harsh coastal climate of Boston should make for a familiar but different setting. Not to mention all the hilarious accents wandering muties are bound to have!

All this is speculation though. The only official anything out there for Fallout 4 is the ZeniMax-owned URL Fallout4.com, but its owned that domain since 2004, back when Bethesda’s ownership of the series was hotly contested by Interplay.

That said, Fallout 4 will probably be a reality well before series albatross, the Fallout MMO. ZeniMax Online is hard at work on The Elder Scrolls Online. 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

OnLive acquired by Lauder Partners, but who will own the streaming video game company in the future?

OnLive's new owner Lauder Partners has a history of investing in streaming technologies, but will it hold on to the troubled gaming company?

OnLive is dead, long live OnLive. Or at least live a little longer than previously expected. The world’s first full cloud-based streaming video game business isn’t closing shop completely, just as corporate communications director Brain Jaquet said on Friday. Rumors that the entire OnLive staff was laid off on Friday as an anonymous investor with “substantial funding” took ownership of the company and its assets also turned out to be true though.

Who is OnLive’s new master? GamesIndustry International reported on Monday that Lauder Partners, one of the initial investors that backed OnLive during its second round of fund raising in 2009, has taken control of the company.

The news clarifies just who lost their jobs and who made the transition to the new corporate structure of OnLive in the wake of its dissolution as a private entity. Reports from Kotaku and Joystiq are corroborated by an official statement.

“Almost half of OnLive’s staff were offered employment at their current salaries in the new company immediately upon the transfer, and the non-hired staff will be given offers to do consulting in return for options in the new company. Upon closing additional funding, the company plans to hire more staff, both former OnLive employees as well as new employees.”

The stock deal for former employees does not extend to OnLive’s founder and CEO Steve Perlman. “Like all shareholders, neither Steve nor any of his companies received any stock in the new company or compensation in this transaction at all. Steve is receiving no compensation whatsoever and most execs are receiving reduced compensation to allow the company to hire as many employees as possible within the current budget.”

Anonymous sources from within OnLive said that it was Perlman’s mismanagement and refusal to sell his company to interested bidders that caused it to implode this month.

Lauder Partners has invested heavily in streaming technologies over the past three years. Following its investment in OnLive in 2009, the LLC has backed local television streaming service Aereo, as well as Smart TV software makers Flingo and TrickPlay.

Lauder isn’t likely to maintain full ownership of OnLive. The transition period will entail streamlining OnLive’s business beyond mere staff cuts, establishing firm content deals like the service’s agreement with Ouya’s Boxer8, and hunting for a new buyer. OnLive competitor Gaikai was purchased by Sony earlier this year, the first shots fired in the new streaming battlefield for video game console makers. Priority one for Lauder will be polishing OnLive until it shines and selling it to the highest bidder.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

LA restaurant offers discount to diners who give up their phone during meal

A restaurant in Los Angeles is offering a 5 percent discount to diners willing to hand over their handset for the duration of the meal. The owner says he wants people to connect again (with the person sitting opposite them rather than with someone in another part of the country).

There was a time when visiting a restaurant with a friend meant enjoying a tasty meal together and having an engaging conversation. Thanks to the proliferation of smartphones, however, it’s now also about texting a friend between the starter and the main, taking a call from a co-worker mid-meal, tweeting a photo of the dessert, and firing off an email during the post-dinner coffee. Of course, a review of the eatery posted online even before you’re out the door is also obligatory.

If both of you are at it, no one gets hurt, but it kind of defeats the whole point of going to a restaurant with a friend, does it not?

Discount

One restaurant owner/chef in Los Angeles has decided to encourage people to once again enjoy the company of their fellow diners by offering a 5 percent discount on their check if they hand over their phone before the first course is served.

Southern California radio station KPCC reported that Mark Gold, who runs Eva restaurant on Beverly Boulevard, is hoping to create a more homely atmosphere by giving patrons the chance to enjoy their meal without the possibility of a handset interrupting the flow of the dining experience.

“For us, it’s really not about people disrupting other guests. Eva is home, and we want to create that environment of home, and we want people to connect again,” Gold told KPCC. “It’s about two people sitting together and just connecting, without the distraction of a phone, and we’re trying to create an ambience where you come in and really enjoy the experience and the food and the company.”

Gold added that so far just under half of the diners visiting his restaurant have taken up the offer, though he failed to mention whether anyone had broken into a cold sweat halfway through the main course, begging to have their phone returned.

Phone Stack

Earlier this year another Californian man, Brian Perez, also had an idea to get diners looking at each other again, instead of at their handsets, creating a game called Phone Stack. The idea is that after taking your seat, everyone places their mobile in the center of the table. The first person who grabs their device during the meal, regardless of the reason, has to take care of the check.

How do you feel about Mark Gold’s idea of taking your phone away for the duration of the meal? Could you handle it? Or does the thought of being separated from your handset for even just a few minutes fill you with dread?

[Image: Shebeko / Shutterstock]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Here’s your chance to own an animatronic hillbilly band

For only $5,000 you could be the lucky owner of a group of creepy musical robots.

There are certain things in this life that you just can’t put a price on. For instance, love, or the sensation of snuggling a tiny kitten. A musical troupe of robotic hillbillies however is not one of these things. If you’ve got $5,000 and questionable money management skills you too could be the proud owner of an intensely creepy group of mechanical musicians.

An eBay user known by the handle “burnban” recently placed the group on the world’s largest auction site alongside the following, awkwardly-formatted description:

Animatronic Hillbilly band for sale.  Purchased new from Sunshine Motion Company (designed and built by someone who used to work on animatronics at Disney World).  Band featured for a few seasons at petting zoo/amusement park in Massachusetts.  Selling due to changed business model.  Originally purchased for approx. $14,000  Asking $5,000

Hillbilly characters sing and move to soundtrack.  Electrically powered gears and motors – no computers.  Pop in the included CD and press play.  Weather protector (as seen in photo), CD player, accessories, speakers, plugs, etc. all included.

 

Faux porch included if buyer wishes to dismantle and arrange for transport

 

If you’re suddenly struck with an intense urge to blow a wad of cash on this contraption, we’ve got bad news for you: This thing is only being sold to prospective buyers who are able to pick up and transport the band from its current location in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Though one could presumably still acquire the animatronic characters from the other side of the country, it seems the seller is pretty firm on his demand that prospective buyers make all shipping arrangements, so keep that in mind if you’re keen to place a bid.

 

If you’re still not convinced that this is the one thing missing from your otherwise relatively hillbilly-free existence, we direct you to this  collection of YouTube clips of the machines in action. We’ve embedded our favorite below, but trust us when we say that each of them offers a unique glimpse of the bafflingly eerie qualities this hillbilly band brings to the table. 

 

Detached cynicism aside, we can’t really imagine the hypothetical future owners of this thing. We suppose it could provide ironic entertainment at parties, but the sort of people who go in for ironic musical statements like this likely don’t have the discretionary cash to afford it. On the other hand, one could take the Chuck E. Cheese route and create a theme restaurant around these characters with hourly performances from the band, though we’re not convinced that children won’t run screaming at the sight of these musicians belting out their greatest hits.

 

Then again, maybe that’s the goal here. We’re sure someone (possibly a supervillain) is hard at work on a way to terrify our kids en masse, and at only $5,000 this seems like a very cost-effective way to leave a room full of youngsters crying and wetting themselves.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com