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US investigates escort and massage sites over human trafficking
Backpage is no more, but US authorities are still determined to crack down on sites that enable human trafficking and other crimes. Wall Street Journal sources say Homeland Security, the Justice Department and others are reportedly investigating escort and massage sites Eros.com, EroticMonkey.ch and Rubmaps.ch to see if they've either participated in or knowingly facilitated trafficking, prostitution and money laundering. All three are dominating in the US in the wake of Backpage's closure, and both Eros and Rubmaps have turned up as evidence in multiple sex trafficking cases.
Engadget Live L.A. was all about that bass (and some treble)
We've had a great run this year with all our Engadget Live events, taking us to Austin, Seattle, Boston and finally Los Angeles. We packed into the Belasco Theatre in downtown L.A. along with some amazing people and exhibitors -- one who was all about that bass and some...bananas.
Engadget Live hits Los Angeles this Friday!
As we told you last time, there's lots going on in Los Angeles on Friday nights, but we still think our event trumps anything else you could possibly have planned. Our final Engadget Live event of the year kicks off at 7PM this Friday (October 3rd) at the Belasco Theatre.
The hottest party in Los Angeles on October 3rd is...ours
Friday nights in Los Angeles aren't snoozers, especially October 3rd. That night, some celebrity will be caught mid-wardrobe malfunction boozing it up at Club Area by TMZ -- or it could be the night Bruce Jenner holds his epic "freedom" party. While we're thrilled for his escape from Kardashian Prison, we'd like to think that our final Engadget Live event of the year at the Belasco Theatre will be much more exciting -- and a lot less flammable.
We're taking over Los Angeles on October 3rd!
Austin, Seattle and Boston welcomed our Engadget Live tour this year with open arms and before we gear up for Engadget Expand, we're heading to one more city: Los Angeles. Grab your free tickets and join us at the Belasco Theater on October 3rd at 7PM.
Engadget Live Seattle is this Friday!
To all our wonderful friends in Seattle, let's make it clear: there's no better place to be this Friday (July 18th) at 7PM than the Showbox SODO for our second Engadget Live event of the year! Why is this a cant-miss event? Flip through the gallery below to find out.
The Daily Grind: Do other players exist in the game?
First things first: Nobody's suggesting that you're hallucinating all of the other players in what is actually a single-player game. While that might make for an interesting albeit quite specific movie, that's not the scenario I'm contemplating today. Instead, I started wondering if, within the context of the game, its NPCs, and its lore, do other players actually exist? Your character is widely acknowledged as existing by every quest-giver out there. You are the hero, after all. Unless the world is full of scam artists, you're the only person who needs to save the princess and escort the prince, and once that's done, the world shouldn't need rescuing more than once. But is there evidence that other players are acknowledged by NPCs? Does anyone notice that there are a million other heroes running around too? Or is the game so focused on making you feel like you're the center of the universe that it engages in a blanket denial that there might be other axe-toting do-gooders out there? Am I going mad? Probably. Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Perfect Ten: My gaming pet peeves
In general, I try to be an optimistic fellow. When it comes to gaming -- you know, that hobby we apparently love and enjoy -- I'd rather look on the bright side than the angry, cynical, disgruntled dark side most days of the week. There needs to be balance between such outlooks to be sure, but if I'm to err, I'd rather err as a happy gamer than a bitter one. So today's list will be a departure for me, as I'm going to complain at great length about stupid little things that annoy me in MMOs. I look at it like lancing a boil: painful, gross, and generally relieving. If you want to join in with me, just remember that the area can get infected if you keep picking at it for too long. What ticks me off? Open Pandora's Box below and ye shall never know peace...
Leaderboard: Escort vs. limited drop quests
We love complaining about quests in MMOs almost as much as we love doing them. Maybe you wear hipster glasses and say bold statements like, "I hated quests while they were still the cool, new thing," but it doesn't make you special and nobody likes your glasses. Sorry. It's Blunt Truth Day here in the Massively offices. If there are two types of quests that seem to drive everyone bananas, however, they would have to be escort quests and limited drop quests. Escort quests in any video game, not merely MMOs, are aggravating because they take some of the control out of the hands of the player and force them to babysit an often slow-moving, death-seeking sack of idiocy. Limited drop quests can be just as frustrating, because it's here that you know the game is just screwing with you. "Go get six werewolf eyeballs," the quest-giver says, "But, for no good reason other than to suck up your time, not every werewolf will drop an eyeball. Lots of blind werewolves in these here parts, you see." Today you're voting on the quest type that's the most frustrating: escort or limited drops. Which causes you to rip out your hair? Vote after the jump!
Escort SmartRadar hands-on
Escort has long enabled heavy-footed -- but ticket-shy -- drivers a little more freedom with just how quickly they're able to complete the daily commute. Escort's SmartRadar is set to extend that fun and cut the cord by including Bluetooth connectivity in the detector itself and enabling users to have a mostly out-of-sight installation -- as your handset becomes the interface to the radar. The SmartRadar integrates with Escort's Live ticket protection app which shares other users of the system's radar / laser hits and updates them in real time on your phone's display. Check the gallery for some pics of it installed behind the rearview mirror and a simulated laser notification. Joseph Volpe contributed to this report.
Escort's SmartCord Live brings radar detection, KRS-One to your smartphone (video)
Evading the long arm of the law, as we all know, is infinitely easier with a radar detector onboard -- and even easier if said detector is hooked up to a cloud. That's the idea behind the SmartCord Live, a new power cord from the eagle-eyed folks at Escort. Once connected to your car's radar detector and lighter socket, this Bluetooth-enabled bundle will communicate with your iPhone or Android handset through a specialized app. Once that's taken care of, you'll be hooked up to Escort Live -- a so-called "social network for the road." There, you'll find access to Escort's Defender database, full of real-time geographic information on verified speed traps, red light cameras and other roadway surveillance systems. Once your detector picks up a threat, you can press a "report" button on the cord or app to instantly send out a big "five-oh" to all other Escort users in the area, while boosting your Karma quotient, in the process. Find out more about the cord and its corollary system, after the break.
Captain's Log: Preparing for launch (and farewells)
Hello, computer (and players)! As we are all now aware, the development team at Star Trek Online is busy making its preparations to re-launch the game with a hybrid, free-to-play model. Currently, the Tribble test server has been taken down as a beta build is being prepared for testing. In the meantime, Red Shirt, originally a Closed Beta test sever, has been opened up to current subscribers to continue testing new releases that will occur between now and the F2P launch. While there is still no date set for when this will be happening, many signs point to an October or November launch period. To add to the craziness that must be going on at Cryptic's headquarters in Northern California, on Tuesday, Dan Stahl, Executive Producer of STO, publicly announced that he would be vacating the Captain's Chair as he moves on to a new endeavor in his career. Effective immediately, Stephen D'Angelo, Cryptic's CTO, will be taking temporary command as the search for a new EP begins. While this came as a shock to many and was completely unexpected even by me, it may not be the "end of the world" as some players are calling it. Let's explore more. Ensign, warp 10! Set sensors to maximum range as we explore a little bit more about this change...
Wargaming.net publishes World of Tanks development plan
Wargaming.net has gifted World of Tanks fans with a development roadmap for the World War II-based action MMO, and a visit to the game's official website will give you a preview of what's coming down the pike over the next year. The post lays out quite a bit of information, most of it marked with vague release windows like Q3 2012 and so on. There's the standard "dates are subject to change" disclaimer, but it's nonetheless interesting to see what looks to be a fairly complete development schedule. What are the highlights? Well, more tank models, of course, followed by new game types including historical battle, escort, garage battle, assault, and company battle modes. There's also an expansion of the clan wars map in the works, as well as new customization options, vehicle physics, and more. [Thanks to Greg for the tip!]
Passport IQ GPS throws a radar detector into this law evading mix
You know we've seen our share of GPS units, the occasional radar detector, and even a radar detector that incorporates GPS functionality to keep on top of speed traps. The kids at Escort, however, are throwing us "the world's first fully integrated driving accessory." (Whatever that means!) Passport IQ is a 5-inch, full-color, voice controlled touchscreen GPS unit featuring NAVTEQ 3D maps and live traffic. If that weren't enough, this bad boy also sports protection against radar, laser, red light, and speed camera ticketing. If only we hadn't had our license revoked by the state of Rhode Island back in '04! (Long story.) And, yes: it costs a mere $650. PR after the break.
Captain's Log: A guide to Lieutenant progression
Star Trek Online goes out of its way to make sure the player always has a bevy of mission choices at their fingertips. That makes a step-by-step guide on progressing through Lieutenant (i.e. the first ten "levels") somewhat worthless to write. So, I'm taking a different approach this week. This guide is aimed at helping to quicken the pace of leveling towards your first new ship. The Miranda class ship is nice and all -- but everyone just really wants their first real ship. Plus, as an added bonus, you can use these tips throughout your entire Star Trek Online experience!
Winners announced in STO's ship naming contest
Cryptic's gone and announced the winnings names (and prizes!) for their ship naming contest. You can see all three Tier 5 ship name here, and of course there's friendly screenshots to go along with the name. If you're just looking to know the names for each of the three ship archetypes, we can help there. T5 Cruisers will be known as Emissary Class, Escorts have been named Dervish Class and Science vessels of the T5 variant are named Destiny Class. Each winner of the contest is set to receive a Digital Deluxe Edition of Star Trek Online as well as a poster featuring the ship they've named. For everyone else who submitted a name, the special in-game title "Utopia Planetia Staff" will be given. Wearing it will tell everyone in the game you've participated in the contest, which we have to admit is a nice consolation prize. There's certain to be future naming contests as well and we're looking forward to that -- especially since it means new ships for the game!
Star Trek Online dev chat explains ship classes and configurations
Star Trek Online is a game that's being built upon one of the most popular sci-fi IPs of all time. As such, gamers have certain expectations of the title, particularly when it comes to the ships they'll be flying. As with the Star Trek films and shows, the game will stick to certain ship classes and configurations, but the developers at Cryptic Studios also need to allow for customization within that system -- everyone wants to fly something that's unique in some way. Something that's their own. This customization was the theme of a recent Star Trek Online dev chat with executive producer Craig Zinkievich. Ships in Star Trek Online will have defined purposes, with Escort (cannons, heavy attack rating), Cruiser (general purpose, large crew), and Science vessels (emphasis on deflector dish 'powers') to be in the game at launch. Of course, you'll be able to modify them in various ways. The producer explains that the customization options won't allow players to drastically alter the look or silhouette of any of the ship classes from Star Trek canon, but you'll definitely have options within your chosen configuration.
Forum post of the day: Really bad quests
Most of us have at least a couple of alt projects that we're working on. Once you've leveled to seventy you get a feeling for which quests are a breeze and which ones are painful. Arross of Thorium brotherhood started a thread entitled Really bad quests where players listed their least favorite quests. Some honorable mentions include: Arross of Thorium. "I have to say so far the worst quest I have ever had was Super Sticky in Un'goro Crater. The drop rate isn't bad, it's horrible." Shrosarias of Burning Blade, "Any quests having to do with murloc. Murlocs = evil." Ashcroft of Smolderthorn, "Zeth'Gor Must Burn! had me tearing my hair out by the roots. It was so very demoralizing to go from BG-topper to single-quest-dyer in one fell swoop." Arteree of Rivendare, "Almost every quest in Westfall." Etamalgren, "imo, any escort quests are the worst quests overall, except for the skettis daily and the nagrand escort."
WoW Moviewatch: Why I hate escort quests.
Those mechanical chickens always look so helpless -- whenever I run across them I can't help but try to help them out. This inevitably leads to a scene much like the one Areallysmartcookie shows in the video above. And, yes, for many escort quests, that particular music selection would fit just perfectly. And in case once isn't enough, there's also a sequel. Previously on Moviewatch...
Passport 9500i packs GPS into a radar detector for double the fun
If you suffer from a pricey speed addiction, a nasty habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or just happen to enjoy breaking the law, you might want to give Escort's Passport 9500i radar detector a look-see. Along with the traditional radar detector functionality of giving you a bleep or three when you need to slow down, the 9500i carries a GPS payload that allows for all sorts of exciting possibilities. First off, you can let the detector know about false alarm spots -- such as an automatic door sensor -- and keep the 9500i from alerting you to those specific radar frequencies when you're in that area. Even if a copper happens to show up next to that false alarm location, the detector will be able to differentiate and sound the alarm. The detector also lets you mark common speed trap locations so that the 9500i can remind you when they're coming up and you can engage your cloaking device slow down in time. Other intelligence boosts have made it into the Passport as well, but you'll sure be paying for the convenience: it'll take a whoppin' $450 to score yourself one of these, so you had better better be in great need of its ticket-dodging prowess.
