The Morning After: Monday, September 11th 2017

It doesn’t rain but it pours.
Apple leaks: Emoji that track your face, the iPhone X and LTE Apple Watches

Courtesy of a leaked “gold master” build of iOS 11, people have been having a field day with all the nuggets hidden within. They include references to ‘Animoji’: 3D emoji created from your facial expressions and voice. Pick one of the familiar non-human faces in the emoji library and it’ll map your eye, mouth and cheek expressions to that character — you can make a robot smile or have a dog raise its eyebrows. You can even animate the poo emoji.

Then there’s the iPhone X, which will apparently house a six-core processor. However, for cable-addled tech hoarders like me, the suggestion that Apple’s anniversary phone might cram in a USB-C port instead of Lightning is arguably even more intriguing.

This gold master leak didn’t stop there. As previously teased and rumored, the next Apple Watch will pack its own LTE radio, and it’ll get a dashing splash of red on its crown.

It doesn’t like that others are trying to profit from free software.
Kodi fights trademark trolls trying to charge for its media app

Kodi doesn’t just have to worry about add-ons and devices that give it a reputation as a piracy bad boy. The media center app developer has revealed that it’s battling trademark trolls who’ve registered the Kodi name as their own and are using it to profit from software that’s supposed to be free. The culprits may charge you to host Kodi on a website, for example, or make you buy their Kodi boxes instead of others.

It’s only temporary, but it might help save lives.
Tesla extends range on cars to help owners avoid Hurricane Irma

Tesla may have software-limited the battery capacities of some cars to upsell owners to pricier trim levels, but the company is willing to lift that limit during a crisis. The EV maker has confirmed to Electrek that it temporarily unlocked the full battery capacity on 60kWh Model S and Model X cars in Florida to give them the full 75kWh and help them escape Hurricane Irma. As you might guess, the extra range (about 30 to 40 miles) could be vital.

A 114-year old Mercedes has more in common with a Tesla than you think.
Driving the Mercedes Simplex while thinking about the transportation future

Roberto Baldwin nervously got behind the wheel of the 1902 model (built in 1903) Mercedes Simplex 40. Surprisingly, a car that’s over 100 years old has a lot to tell us about the next revolution in automobiles.

But wait, there’s more…