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Distro Issue 70 arrives with a look at wearable computing and the history behind Google Glass
The first wearable "augmentations" span from the 11th and 12th centuries all the way up to Google's side project that has built a ton of momentum this year. In the cover story of this week's issue of our e-magazine, we take a look at Google Glass and the timeline of wearable computing that's led us to this point. Eyes-On keeps up the theme while taking a gander at Garmin's Fenix and we offer up an in-depth review of the second coming of Jawbone's UP. If that's not enough, the brains behind the Pebble smartwatch, Eric Migicovsky, submits his responses to the Q&A. Unfortunately, this issue isn't wearable itself, but all of the usual download links are ready to meet your swipes and clicks just down below. Distro Issue 70 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
Archos 28, 32, and 70 now available, do not combine to form mythical Archos 130
Archos' line of inexpensive (dare we say "cheap," at times) Android tablets aren't necessarily on your wishlist, but for the budget-conscious, they're hard to beat. And now three new models are on sale, including the 2.8-inch Archos 28, the 3.2-inch Archos 32, and the 7-inch (of course) Archos 70. The first two will put you back $99.99 and $149.99, respectively, while the biggun' comes in both 8GB ($274.99) and 250GB ($349.99) options. What are you waiting for? Honeycomb? You're adorable.
Archos Internet Tablets get firmware updates, everybody gets a Froyo
Okay, maybe not everybody, but the vast majority of the Android offerings from Archos are receiving some guilt-free sweet treats. Models 23, 32, 43, 70, and 101 (you know, these guys) are all on the lucky receiving end of firmware updates that bring Android 2.2.1 to the table. That comes with improved performance, better battery life estimation, and support for external GPS adapters. All yours for the low, low price of free -- well, assuming you've already bought the tablet, of course. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
20 quests you shouldn't miss
Our friend Lassirra over at Hunter's Mark has a good post up featuring 20 quests you shouldn't miss in the game. If you're looking for something to do in-game between now and next week's expansion, it's probably a great time to go back and check out some of the best quest content in the game.Unfortunately, her number one quest has been gutted already, but there are a lot of good quests on the list for sure. And quite a few of them have some great rewards as well -- the Barov Peasant Caller is great, I'm still wearing the cloak from Bring me the Egg, and the Divination quests in SMV will let you pick up some nice consumables and gear as well, not to mention a good bit of cash. And some of them are just plain awesome -- Ivus the Forest Lord, I agree, is something people almost never do any more, but once you've done it, the reward of having a big treant kicking ass for you is just too fun.If you need more quests to do, you can check out our writeups on the top lore-based quests in the game, and don't miss the must-see quests at 70, either. Whether you're looking for a time-filler or want to know which quests to start on when the XP starts flowing again, odds are there are quite a few great quests you missed the first time through.
The Daily Grind: How long should it take to reach the level cap?
Yesterday Blizzard revealed that World of Warcraft's recruit-a-friend program will undergo some big changes. One of those changes: if you group with a friend whose account was signed up because you invited him or her to play, you'll both receive experience at 300% the normal rate.Blizzard has already decreased the amount of XP needed to reach level 60. When Wrath of the Lich King launches, word has it that an even bigger slash will occur in the 60 - 70 range. How long will it take to 60, 70, or 80 now, we wonder? That probably depends on your personal playstyle. But the question of how long it ought to take to reach the endgame in an EverQuest/World of Warcraft-style MMO has been on our minds ever since Funcom made a statement about how many hours it wants people to invest to reach level 80 in Age of Conan.What's the sweet spot for you? Do you want to get there as fast as possible, or is the journey to the top the real attraction?
Heartless gamer delays dinging 70 as long as possible; writer sympathizes.
Heartless Gamer sent in his (or hers) story of an intentional delay in dinging level 70 here. He says:"Also, the auction house was full of bargains when I started. I easily replaced nearly every item on my character with a TBC green for just a few gold per slot. Due to the mudflation of items in TBC, I was far more powerful than most players that started TBC at it's (sic) launch. This made the first few levels relatively painless.Unfortunately, there are a couple things that surfaced due to my late start: lack of groups and level 70 gankers."As a recent level 70 dinger, I can certainly sympathize with taking the long route. Not as bad as college, though; I'm on the 20+ year plan there. I did a mad dash to 60 to do the TBC review (a pace that would have made Cartman proud), did the review, got burnt out and logged in again mid-summer and got to 65. Eventually the embarrassment of writing for a WoW website and not being 70 got to me and I ground it out."In the end, levels 60 through 69 came and went and 70 arrived. In reality, I am back at level 1. I'm just a baby 70, barely able to hold my own in dungeons five levels below me"I feel that pain. I was a level 70 hunter in quest blues and greens, steadily holding the bottom spot in the DPS charts--I'm pretty sure the healer was ranked higher. After running some instances to get my Kara key things got a little better, but the saving grace for me was my first Kara run--the Loot Gods bestowed favor on me and I had a four-drop day in Kara, and then Murmur dropped the Sonic Spear that night. Now that I'm half-epiced, gemed and enchanted things are a lot better.How about you? Any of you take the scenic route to 70? Will you take your time getting to 80 when Wrath launches or rush like there's no tomorrow?
Player levels nine characters to 70, all at the same time
Thargor has done something pretty crazy, and he's throwing a party to celebrate. But unlike a few other players who've thrown big parties for a ding, he's doing something a little bigger than that. Instead of celebrating just one ding, he's going to celebrate not three, not six, but dinging nine level 70s within a half hour.Wild. And they're all different classes, too, which means that since November of 2005, he's been simultaneously leveling all the classes at the same time (he added a Paladin when BC came out, and leveled only her for a bit to bring her up to speed. And now he's level 69 and a half across the board, and he's going to hold an event where he levels each of them to 70 at basically the same time by doing the Khadgar quest in Shattrath. No word yet on when it's going down, but Thargor, if you're reading, throw us a tip and we'll let everybody know about it.That's crazy. I have trouble repeating the same areas twice with two alts-- I usually have to level in different places as much as possible, just to keep it interesting. But to do the same quests nine different times all at the same time-- lunacy. But super impressive-- as someone else in the thread says, he's already seen 621 dings go by.
I'd rather be lonely
My little blood elf tankadin has just hit 50, and I've got to admit that I'm having more fun with WoW than I have in a long time. I'm exploring a new class and new roles, looking forward to quest rewards and leveled skills, and not dealing with raid schedules, raid invites, instanced rep grinding and all the other hassles of endgame. My 70 troll rogue sits alone in Shattrath City, probably wondering if I've ditched her for a younger, skinnier toon. And while I'm looking forward to walking my pally through the Dark Portal, part of me dreads getting her to 70. Maybe I'm just not very good at this whole MMO concept, but I wish there were more things to do at max level in solo PVE. Questing is my second favorite part of the game, after professions, and it sucks that after 70 soloable levels, nearly all character progression is in groups. Yeah, yeah, I know, this is an MMO and I do like instances and raids, but I also like being able to log on for half an hour and accomplish something while kind of paying attention instead of having to devote a set amount of time and brainpower to an instance. Especially since on my pally, I can alt-tab and read forums or write between Holy Shields. I'm looking forward to patch 2.1 because there looks like there will be a lot more reputation quests that can be done solo to get nice rewards. Maybe then I'll dust off my old rogue and start working on some new quests -- or at least have something to look forward to on my paladin. Do you like soloing or not? What other options would you like to see for character advancement at 70? Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk.
Ding! 70!
My warlock hit level 70 during one of the horrendous trash pulls in the Auchindoun's Shadow Labyrinth. It took about 2 weeks, a little over but for the first four days my server was unplayable. I have a few suggestions for those of you who are trying to get 70 in the minimum amount of time spent. First, get out of Hellfire Peninsula as quickly as possible. There are so many people in that zone that I spent way too much time waiting for spawns. Second, unless you are a mage getting powerleveled with the help of a entire guild, quests are the way to go, not grinding and not instances. Finally, my pattern was Hellfire Peninsula to Zangarmarsh to Nagrand to Terokkar Forest to Blade's Edge to Shadowmoon Valley. I did Nagrand first Terokkar Forest was very heavily in use, and I wanted to stay out of that mess. They're about the same level, so it works out. I haven't even been into the Netherstorm area. Why did I skip Netherstorm? I'm a warlock. Shadowmoon Valley is full of demons. I was completely playing to my strengths. I started The Burning Crusade with about 150 gold on my warlock. I ended with a tad over 1500, not counting green items (sold via my bank alt) but counting all consumables, repairs, flights, and other expenses. Whenever there were quest rewards with no usable options, I picked the 2 handed weapon or the plate armor, those items tended to sell better. Unless you blow all of your cash on tradeskills, you should have basic flying mount cash very quickly.I managed to find groups to finish nearly all of my group quests on an ad hoc basis. On a couple of quests I got help from in-guild. Now that I've finished leveling, my goals are to finish up all my keys, do some instances, and help the rest of the people in my guild level.
WoW Moviewatch: World's First Level 70
Whether or not you agree with how he went about it or the sanity behind his desire, there's no disputing that Gullerbone was indeed the first player to get a character to 70. This video shows the method behind his madness, just in case you want to go and farm your way to 70 too. Because I'm never one to shy away from a good discussion, I'll just add my opinion here: As long as Gullerbone enjoyed himself, either in the activity of getting to 70, or in the result itself, then there's no harm here. He's not hurting your game, he's just working the game mechanics to reach an end that he desired. That's the great thing about an MMO such as WoW - there are so many options that you can explore for your $15 a month. Oh, and one more quick comment: Is it just me, or can you really tell the difference between European-made videos and North American-made videos by their choices in music?? Not 100% of the time, but enough to make an educated guess as to the continent of origin. Post your reactions below, and also see what the punters over at our sister site, Joystiq, have to say about it too.
First US 70?
Metaphysic, a dwarf priest in the guild Afterlife on Cenarius, posts screenshots of himself at level 70, along with his /played. A long thread consisting of doubtful screenshot analysts and people who don't understand the irony in calling someone else a nerd on a video game forum ensues. Asked how he did it, Metaphysic said he solo quested all the way to 70 in 44 hours. He's gotten 11 hours of sleep since the expansion's release. He'd already been to 70 in beta, so he mostly knew where the good quests were -- although he did say there were some "brutal" periods of griding when he couldn't find a good quest. I created a character on Cenarius to see if I could confirm this, but Metaphysic wasn't online (unsurprisingly.) The screenshots look pretty darn convincing, though, and since a ton of other people in his guild were 67, I wouldn't be surprised if he really was 70. So congratulations Metaphysic, and as your guildies said, get some sleep!
The Burning Crusade: What to do at 70?
Yeah, I realize this is a little way off for some, and a long long long (like maybe next year or the year after) way off for some other people, but when I think of the Burning Crusade I always tend to think, "What'll I do when I hit 70?" I've had a level 60 since December of 2004 (yes, I'm one of those nerds), so I've always been wondering what's next in the endgame. In WoW 1.x, we had Molten Core, and then Blackwing Lair, and after a while we had ZG, AQ20 and AQ40. That's a fair bit of content in itself. Add Naxxramas to that, and there's been a lot to do. Or at least, I thought I'd had a lot to do. Attunements were pretty simple, the quest chains not unbearable, and progression a pretty solid and steady advance. Last week I talked about Mount Hyjal, and the attunement leading up to it. As it turns out, it's even a bit more complicated than I thought.
Forum Post of the Day: Name an item...
Can you name an item you have now that you're planning on keeping at level 70? Of course there are the obvious trinket toys (there are multiple mentions of WoW Insider favorite Dartol's Rod of Transformation), non-combat pets, and fancy clothes -- but think about it, is there any actual gear you plan on holding on to by the time you hit 70? For my part, I imagine my priest will be holding on to the Blue Dragon Darkmoon Faire card, as it has a unique effect that I doubt I'll see duplicated elsewhere. But for ordinary gear -- even epic gear that's taken hour upon hour upon hour of learning encounters and attending raids -- it may smooth the trip to 70 a bit, but I don't see any of it being irreplaceable.
Samsung announces biggest consumer LCD available: 70-inch, 1080p
Just when we found the perfect spot to put the Sharp 65-inch LC-65D90U LCD, Samsung has announced their 70-inch LCD will be available to consumers during the first half of 2007. Sporting a full 1080p resolution, 2000:1 contrast ratio, sub-8ms reponse time and 120hz refresh rate, Samsung thinks it will compete will with similar large plasma HDTVs. While LG still has the crown of the biggest LCD we've heard about, this will be the biggest one actually available. It will be shown publicly for the first time on the 23rd at the International Meeting on Information Displays (IMID) 2006 in Korea, which is exactly far off enough to get a plane ticket, fly across the Pacific and check it out before you order one.
