‘Doctor Who’ gets first female Doctor

The number 13 seems to be a lucky number for Jodie Whittaker. BBC just announced that the actress will be playing the 13^th Time Lord of the long-running British science fiction show, Doctor Who. Whittaker will be taking over the role from Peter Capaldi in an upcoming Christmas special and then will take on the role fully in the 11^th series, which is expected to air in late 2018. As mentioned, Whittaker will be the first female to take on the role of the Doctor throughout it 50-plus years of existence. It won’t complicate things though as it has been shown in the series many times that the Time Lords can regenerate as different genders and races. Recently, the traditional male villain The Master was re-characterized as The Mistress, who is played by Michelle Gomez.

Whittaker has starred as Beth Latimar in the ITV crime series Broadchurch. That show’s creator Chris Chibnall will also be replacing Steven Moffat as the showrunner of Doctor Who. In an interview with the BBC, Whittaker commented that "It's more than an honor to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can't wait."

Google Maps tells you when’s the best time to leave for your destination

Google Maps isn’t just going to alert you about traffic in your area. This time, a new update coming to Android will let you know when the best time to leave for your destination will be. A bar graph shows up when you input directions and it shows you everything from the relative time it’ll take you to get to your destination. It’ll show you estimates of how long it’ll have taken a half hour earlier and how long it’ll take in the next few hours. The bar graph will either be highlighted in green, yellow, or red to show traffic conditions. As mentioned, the feature is coming to Android but no word yet when it’ll hit iOS devices.

Source: The Verge

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Lenovo makes AR headset for ‘Star Wars’ games

Lenovo makes AR headset for ‘Star Wars’ games

It’s not something you’d expect to be announced at Disney’s D23 Expo in Anaheim, California but here it is. Lenovo and Disney have partnered to release its own augmented reality headset, which would need a smartphone for it to work. Not much is known yet about the headset but the first game coming is called Star Wars: Jedi Challenges and it looks like it’ll bring your lightsaber-wielding dreams to life as you have a motion controller for it. Other games coming include Holochess, which is considered a catch-all term for the holographic games in the Star Wars universe. No announcement yet on the release dates of the headset and the games but according to its website, it’s “coming soon to Best Buy and Lenovo.com.”

Source: Polygon