The Morning After: How Android stifles competition

July 20, 2018

Hey, good morning!

You've made it to Friday. To reward those efforts, we take the official Tour De France game to task for being, well, rubbish, test out the expensive modular motorcycle of the future, and spell out this summer when it comes to esports schedules.

It's probably better just to wait for the battery to recharge.Zero motorcycle's modular battery is one pricey upgrade

Electric motorcycles can be a tough sell. Hybrids and electric cars can save a driver money in the long run, that doesn't really apply to motorcycles which already get excellent mileage on gas. That said, on bikes like Zero's, you can silently cruise around without frightening the neighborhood pets with a bombastic exhaust. Oh and there's also the incredible electric torque. Senior Editor Roberto Baldwin says Zero's FX is a fun, nimble commuter bike with a modular battery pack that, sadly, most people won't use.

#CloneWarsSaved.
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' to return on Disney's streaming service

At Comic-Con, Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni made the surprise announcement that a new 12-episode season of the Star Wars show will arrive on Disney's upcoming streaming service, and showed off a quick teaser trailer.

From 'League of Legends' to 'Fortnite', esports are in full swing.It's peak esports season: Here's how to watch the games

Thinking of watching the best video game players in the world battle it out for millions in prize money? Well, here's a handy viewing guide for upcoming matches in five major esports titles: Overwatch, League of Legends, Fortnite, Arena of Valor and Call of Duty. It's nearly championship time for most of these games, so matches are primed to be extra exciting.

Hardware variety does not equal choice in software.
Hey Google, Android actually does stifle competition

Sundar Pichai knows that the choice of mobile OS nowadays boils down to Android or iOS. He published a blog post yesterday in response to the European Commission's competition decision against Android, which opens saying, "If you buy an Android phone, you're choosing one of the world's two most popular mobile platforms."

In Pichai's post, he acknowledged that with Android, the company can "offer phone makers the option of pre-loading a suite of popular Google apps..., some of which generate revenue for us." Cherlynn Low lays out how Google is stifling competition, even while it's battling with Apple for mobile dominance.

Maybe don't go for the fully tricked-out model.Apple's slim MacBook Pro design could be holding back its i9 CPU

The 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro lets you crank up the processor power by swapping in an Intel 2.9GHz six-core Core i9 CPU for an extra $300. But the chip seems to be struggling when it's handling power-hungry tasks, to the point where the average clock speed is vastly below the advertised performance of the CPU. Some tests even showed that it fared worse than the i7 model.

A deal with Cargo offers snacks and phone chargers on the road.
Uber drivers can sell you goods during your ride

Uber has formed a partnership with Cargo to give drivers free boxes full of goods they can sell to passengers through a mobile app, ranging from snacks to phone chargers. Drivers in Los Angeles and San Francisco can pick up the boxes today at Uber's support centers (known as Greenlight Hubs), and there are plans to expand to other cities with Cargo service (including New York City, Atlanta and Dallas).