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Beepocalypse: How Apple could improve multi-device reminders
Today, beloved leader Victor pointed me to this write-up over at Tidbits. Although Joe Kissel's experience with quite so many devices (nine, I believe) falls a bit into the extremes of iOS/OS X use, the problem of dealing with distributed alarms is a real one: a single reminder can set off alerts all over the home or office. Surely, there's got to be a better way to focus alert attention. Victor asked if I could brainstorm some geek solutions up that might help coordinate reminders with multi-device deployment (I won't even try to figure out "how to deal with bosses who remind you about too much stuff with shared calendars"). The idea is to let users choose reminder strategies across several devices: Macs, iPads, iPhones, etc. The strategy brought up by Kissel was to add "do not disturb" buttons and slight time offsets to alerts. The opt-in would allow you to disable alerts either per-device or per-Apple ID. The offsets would allow users to respond to a dialog, allowing them to accept the reminder and disable triggers on other devices. The only slight problem with the time offsets approach is determining which device gets priority. You can imagine being in bed, exhausted, sleepy and hearing a slightly long symphony of beeps that finally arrives at the iPhone on your bedside. Being able to prioritize a device (e.g. "always alert this iPhone first") would certainly help. I also started thinking about activity -- and, specifically, giving priority to any device experiencing touches and mouse and key interaction (e.g. "always alert active devices first"). An active use pattern generally links to a human presence -- the likely target of a reminder. It's an easy way to connect alert reception to an audience. Devices could trigger in order of most recent use, with the reminder ending once a user taps an acknowledge key. In the worst case, the reminder lasts 9 times longer than it did originally, but in the best case, only the most active device is triggered. Per Apple ID, of course. Your partner's devices would have its own alert chain. But that doesn't take location into account . If your devices are idle but in distributed locations, say one at home, and one at work, which takes priority? Perhaps you'd want both to ring because there's no a priori knowledge of your location. Or maybe you'd want it to alert at work first and then home (e.g. "prioritize work"). And at home? If you have a device downstairs and another upstairs, they may seem to be at the same location-to-detection algorithms, but you certainly would want to be reminded of lunch no matter which floor you're on. At the same time, you'd think devices could potentially figure out they're clustered together. What if Apple, in addition to slight time delays, could listen to hear alerts from triggers they know would happen on a related device in their Apple ID family (e.g. "listen for duplicate alerts")? You might be able to skip the active "Okay I get it" button then. Devices could actively suppress extra alerts by listening for ones in their vicinity. The problem again, would be if two Apple IDs were linked to similar reminders but didn't share calendars explicitly. For this, Apple could build in a "coordinate my alerts with..." option and harmony would once again reign in the land of the multi-device family.
OS X Mountain Lion Preview updated with Do Not Disturb feature
So, you're tapping your manifesto into a Macbook, but twitter, RSS and email alerts keep clamoring in your face. How to finish that latest screed with such distractions? In the "where has this been all my life?" category, a new update to OS X Mountain Lion Preview 3 has a Do Not Disturb option, which stonewalls all notifications and banners. The feature, which could be useful on plenty of other devices too, can be armed with a mouse click on the menu bar or a left swipe on a trackpad. Some other iOS-style tweaks debuted in Preview 3 include the Game Center, Notes, Airplay Mirroring and Reminders. Now, back to fomenting that revolution.
Champions Online gives you the chance to design an in-game villain
Let's face it: Supervillains are almost always more interesting than heroes. Give us The Joker, Lex Luthor, or Deadpool any day of the week, and we're happy geeks. So to design a supervillain in Champions Online that will actually go into the game seems like a dream come true. Cryptic is hosting a Design-a-Villain contest in which players can whip up some fearsome foes of their very own. The top five submissions will make it into the game in the form of Alerts villains whom everyone will fight. The top villain will be used in a 10-man Alert, while the others will be relegated to other roles in the future. Any players, including free ones, may participate. To do so, you'll need to make an outfit for the villain in the Champions' costume creator, then come up with a name, backstory, power set, and minion type. Bring your best game, for you may only enter twice. [Thanks to The Grand Nagus for the tip!]
Champions Online's On Alert launches, we interview Rob Overmeyer
There's been a big buzz for the latest update to Champions Online. The entire game is undergoing a significant overhaul for the newest expansion, On Alert, which has just gone live today. The developers are adding in talent trees for player heroes as well as a dramatic overhaul of the way equipment works. We sat down with Rob Overmeyer, executive producer for Champions, and asked him a few questions about the update and what it will mean for Millennium City's superhero population. Naturally, he had a lot to say!
Grab, smash, and burst: Champions Online summarizes Alerts
Champions Online's upcoming Alert system seems to be the perfect solution to Captain Immediate Gratification's urges. In the push of a few buttons, a primed and ready superhero can dive right into team vs. villain action. Executive Producer Rob Overmeyer writes an after-report of the Alert system from its recent stay on the public test server. His post provides a great overview and how-to guide of the system, starting with its three basic variations: GRAB Alerts (stopping villains from doing crime), SMASH Alerts (all-out brawls), and BURST Alerts (unstable environments necessitating instant action). Within the three versions of Alerts, all sorts of crazy events can occur. Players' nemeses may appear, and classic villains may team up to fight you. There are also specific rewards based on the Alert tackled; for example, Champions will give resources for GRAB Alerts and modifications for BURST Alerts. "Alerts are a great platform to offer a ton of gameplay with loads of variety," Overmeyer writes. "We're really excited to launch Alerts, and to see the feature grow with Champs over time."
No subtlety to Champions Online's SMASH Alerts, just straight-up brawling
The most basic superhero stories are pretty simple -- a villain is attacking the city and the hero has to go stop him or her. That's the spirit behind the new SMASH Alerts coming to the Champions Online test realm, quick instances that pit players against signature villains in a straight-up brawl. The villain may or may not have any minions, but the real test is to see if the heroes can knock out the villain within the time limit. Players will notice that the new Alert system also has gained a new minimap icon and improved queue functionality, allowing you to sign up for a quick and dirty brawl with your nemesis of choice from anywhere. There are also new team-up GRAB Alerts available for testing against paired villains, which should give every hero a chance to pop in and beat the living daylights out of a villain up to no good. And, really, isn't that all you can ask from a superhero game?
Champions Online puts out Alerts for heroes
Executive Producer Rob Overmeyer is beating the drums about the "big goals" for Champions Online's next update. Possibly one of the biggest of these goals is the addition of the Grab Alerts system, and in a new dev diary, Overmeyer outlines how these will work. Grab Alerts are small team instances designed to allow players to get into exciting scenarios without a lot of waiting. Each Alert centers around a super-villain who's up to no good -- such as a heist or kidnapping -- and challenges players to thwart the evil-doer's efforts. Overmeyer promises that it will take just "two clicks" to get into an Alert, as the system will team up like-minded heroes automatically and then toss them into the instance. Alerts will be shuffled around on a regular basis as to keep things fresh, so players will need to check the Alert Rotator to see which ones are available. If a player is looking for a specific reward that's tied to a certain Alert, the Rotator will help him or her find it. Overmeyer promises a wide range of rewards including costumes, gear, and bonuses.
DCUO's Battle for Earth pack spells the final confrontation with Braniac
The confrontation between Brainiac and the world's most superpowered figures is coming to a head, as SOE announced that a final confrontation with DC Universe Online's premier villain will take place in the game's third DLC pack. Titled The Battle for Earth, the pack will pit players against Brainiac's final avatar, the Avatar of Magic, during a raid on Wonder Woman's home of Themyscira. To assist players with this new raid, SOE is arming superheroes with the game's ninth powerset: Earth Powers. Earth-using heroes can excel at both tanking and damage by using earthquakes and constructs to bring the pain to enemies. The core of the pack's storyline will lead players through the struggles against Brainiac as he creates Prime Avatars to conquer the world. The Battle for Earth DLC pack also includes an invasion in South Gotham, another raid, duos, and a Courthouse Alert. SOE says that the DLC pack is coming "soon" and will be included for Legendary members or available to purchase for Premium and free players. You can check out screenshots from the pack in the gallery below. [Source: SOE press release] %Gallery-128108%
DCUO's game update 9 brings the world together with role-optional alerts and team buffs
DC Universe Online's Game Update 9: Assemble For Battle is now live and operational, and it brings with it a few very interesting features, especially for players interested in group content. One of said features is the addition of role-optional alerts. As any MMO player knows, there's often a rather large population disparity between various roles. Generally, there's a ton of DPS with much lower numbers of tanks and healers, which can make finding a group a PITA if you're in the former camp. As of this update, all alerts are considered role-optional, which means the longer a group waits in the group-finder for a certain role (such as a tank or a healer), the less picky the group-finder will be about filling that role. For instance, if a healer can't be found after a substantial period of time, the role will be filled by another available role. This is possible thanks to the team buff. Any time three or more group members are within range and line-of-sight of one another, the whole group will gain a buff to compensate for missing roles. For instance, a group missing a tank will get a damage mitigation buff, a group without a healer will get a health regeneration buff, and so forth. The official post notes that "the buffs are by no means a replacement for having the actual role in your group. But with some self-reliance, it will... allow you to complete the Alert successfully." For the full details on the new system, plus other features such as Novice Raids, click on through the link below to the official site.
DC Universe Online's upcoming game update is all about easier grouping
If you've been enjoying DC Universe Online ever since the game switched business models, odds are good you're looking toward the endgame by now. Game Update 9, which is coming soon, will make getting into that endgame even easier via the addition of Novice Raids. This new difficulty setting still allows players to experience all the storyline of Fortress of Solitude, Kahndaq, and the Batcave, but the difficulty will be notched down so that players can get a better feel for what they're doing. Of course, if you're not into the endgame rush, you've still got something to look forward to with the new role-optional alerts system. In essence, players will now be able to queue for Alerts without needing to put together a balanced group; in the event that a role is missing, a team buff will be applied to ensure that the area can still be cleared. That means that even with nothing but Damage characters, you can still explore all of DC Universe Online's group content, something that should allow for some novel player approaches once the update goes live. [Update: SOE has also issued a statement about plans for the game's PvP in 2012. The full quote is after the cut.]
WWDC Alerts will help make sure you get into Moscone
Two Mac developers have created an alerts service, which you can sign up for free right now, that will let you know the very moment that tickets go on sale for this year's WWDC in San Francisco. Just put in your cell phone number, send back one code for verification, and then you'll get a text the instant tickets show up, which should give you a nice head start on making sure you get in the door for the conference. There's also a Twitter account to follow if you want something that might get you a little less spam, but the makers of the alert system say they won't forward your details to anyone or misuse the list at all, so if you trust them, it shouldn't be an issue. Obviously this service is being seen by a ton of people, so I'm not sure how much help it will actually be, but any heads up is better than nothing. If you're planning to try going to WWDC this year, good luck! [via TNW]
Champions Online releases September State of the Game letter
Champions Online is two years old this month (yep, really), and Cryptic executive producer Rob Overmeyer has taken to the intarwebs to pen a lengthy State of the Game manifesto. The first half of the piece is basically a recap of the game's last few months, and touches on everything from Aftershock to player hideouts. The second portion of the letter focuses on upcoming content patches and also mentions the anniversary event (which is basically a social gathering featuring dev appearances). Upcoming content includes Comic Series 2: Whiteout, a new mini arc, and team missions called alerts that will scale to your level. Overmeyer has more to say, of course, and you can read all about it at the official Champions website.
Xbox 360's ESPN3 app updated with more voice control, split screen and more
The PlayStation 3 may have NFL Sunday Ticket but the Xbox 360 still has exclusive access to ESPN3's slate of games, shows and replays, and today the app was updated with a new look and a few new features. Viewers can designate their favorite sports and teams to bring related content right to the front, while a new mini-guide gives easy access to other streams while you watch. If you're trying to keep track of more than one game there's also support for split screen viewing (with independent control of each stream) and upgraded voice control for Kinect owners. Other tweaks include a college football scoreboard to keep track of all the games at once, reminders, live alerts on score changes and the addition of ESPN's BottomLine. Unchanged is the restriction that you need to subscribe to a TV provider that includes ESPN3 in its package, but if you do have the service (and shell out for XBL, of course) it should be available the next time you load up your console. Check out the YouTube videos embedded above and after the break along with a press release for a runthrough of some of the new features.
MobileNotifier dev snapped up by Apple to work on iOS framework?
We said that MobileNotifier unobtrusive notifications might be the single best reason to jailbreak your iOS device, and it sounds like Apple may agree -- Redmond Pie reports that lead developer Peter Hajas has been spirited away by the Cupertino computer company to work on iOS itself. Hajas wrote that he was taking a break from MobileNotifier, and some newfangled detective work dug up the rest -- a thinly-veiled reference to Steve Jobs, a tweet mentioning a California "fruit" company, and finally an alleged screenshot of Hajas' entry in Apple's employee database. We're feeling slightly bittersweet about the whole thing, to tell the truth, as while we'd rather not have to smash our iPhone chains, the notion that this is all happening now suggests we won't see greatly improved notifications in iOS 5, come Monday. [Thanks, Jeff]
US Homeland Security Department planning to use Facebook, Twitter for terrorism alerts
It looks like we finally know what the US Department of Homeland Security plans to use instead of the now infamous color-coded terrorism alert system. According to a draft document obtained by the Associated Press, the department's new system will simply have two levels of alerts -- "elevated" and "imminent" -- and it seems those warnings will even be published online using Facebook and Twitter "when appropriate." There's no word as to exactly how those alerts will be published, however, or any indication that the two companies have actually committed to aiding the department in any way, for that matter. We should know more soon enough, though -- the new system is expected to be in place by April 27th.
Boxcar Beta for Mac available, brings notifications to Mac
Today brings a delightful surprise for Mac users with Boxcar joining the Mac family. Boxcar has been the standard for getting push notifications from your social networks, email, RSS and other services on iOS devices since it launched in July of 2009, and it has been one of my favorite iPhone apps from the start. Boxcar currently supports more Twitter events than you probably have time to read, including mentions, direct messages, new followers, trending topics, Twitter list updates and keyword searches. Boxcar also supports other social networks for notifications from Facebook, check-ins from Gowalla and Foursquare, even Google Buzz.
iOS 4.3 spotlight: Message alerts options
Aside from major features like Personal Hotspot and iTunes Home Sharing, iOS 4.3 also brings some subtle changes to the way message alerts work. The settings for the Messages app now allow you to have alert tones repeat up to ten times at two minute intervals, which will come in handy if you're away from your iPhone for awhile and miss a text. Most of the 17 new (iPhone 4-only) text tones introduced in iOS 4.2 have been retooled. These new tones were quite lengthy before iOS 4.3, with some of them seeming more suited to a ringtone than a text message alert. Eleven of the tones have been dramatically shortened and/or sped up -- including Noir, which I thought was short enough to begin with -- while six tones remain at roughly the same length they were before iOS 4.3. Most tones are now less than a second long, and they sound much less overdriven, too; several of the new tones were so loud in iOS 4.2 that they sounded distorted through the iPhone 4's speaker. That's no longer an issue now as far as I can tell. Another subtle change that you might not even notice at first: vibration alerts for messages have been changed up. Before, new messages had the same brief vibration as the new mail alert. As of iOS 4.3, new text messages will instead give two sharp and quite noticeable vibratory pulses. We're unsure if the new tones have made it to the iPhone 3GS as of iOS 4.3; they weren't available on the older iPhone in iOS 4.2, so chances are they're still iPhone 4-only.
MobileNotifier: iPhone alerts improved (video)
If you haven't jailbroken your iPhone yet then MobileNotifier might just push you over the edge -- a place you're probably already teetering upon given Apple's pathetic push notification implementation. MobileNotifier beta v3 is a free open-source rewrite of iOS' notifications from Peter Hajas (lead developer) and Kyle Adams (UI and UX). Perhaps the biggest feature of MobileNotifier is the addition of unobtrusive alerts that appear at the top of your existing app. Unlike Apple's interfering popups, MobileNotifier alerts can be ignored, leaving them on the display without inhibiting use of the device. You can also take immediate action on alerts or tap them away for later. Pending alerts can be found in the AlertDashboard -- the previously unused area above the app switcher, accessible with a double-press of the iPhone's home button. Pending alert counts are also displayed as a line item on the Lockscreen. We've been running MobileNotifier for a few hours. While it's not perfect (opaque windows?) we have no plans to remove it either. At least not until we see what Apple has in store for iOS 5 which, with any luck, will be revealed on Wednesday for a summer launch. Another screenshot and demo video can be found after the break.
Google adds HTML5 Gmail and Gtalk notifications for the desktop, makes you envy Chrome users
Oh, come on, Google! If you're going to give us desktop notifiers for our favorite email and chat clients, you've got to play nice and let us have them on more than your own browser, right? To be fair to the Chrome maker, it's standardizing the code it's used in its new HTML5 alerts so that other browsers can soon use it too, but as of today, you'll need to use the Google-sanctioned webscape navigator if you want its sweet new pop-ups on your desktop. We gave them a quick try and they're delightfully quick, with Gtalk message alerts updating themselves to the latest one received instead of stacking up and threatening your sanity. Hit the source link to learn how to enable the new notifications.
Dear Apple: It's (past) time to let us customize our alert tones
Picture this: you're hanging out at a friend's house, and the familiar "doodle-dee!" of the iPhone's Tri-tone alert sound goes off. But four people simultaneously start reaching for their iPhones, because they're all using that sound for SMS/MMS alerts. Or how about this: you're on a bike ride and getting audio feedback on your pace from RunKeeper Pro. As you ride along, you hear the Tri-tone alert go off half a dozen times. Is it someone sending you an important text message, or is it just Twitter spamming you with @reply notifications? If you're using Tri-tone for Messages alerts, there's no way to tell the difference unless you stop pedalling and check. Now imagine that your iPhone is more than 10 feet away from you, or you're in a room where the ambient noise is above whisper level, and you get a new email. How would you know? The New Mail notification sound is so unobtrusive, even with the iPhone's volume maxed out, that it barely ever registers. I don't know about you, but I've encountered all three of these scenarios with distressing frequency. It's well past time that Apple allows us to customize our alert tones.
