rest
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Hatch made a smart sleep light to help adults rest better
Hatch, which is perhaps best known for its baby-focused products, is turning its attention to grown-ups. It made a smart sleep light called Restore, with the aim of helping people drift off more easily and get a better night's rest.
Uber is forcing six-hour rest breaks on busy US drivers
With its latest app update, Uber is forcing US drivers to take a six hour break after working 12 straight hours. The company implemented a similar feature in the UK earlier this year, but lets American drivers work two hours longer. The app will issue three warnings, starting after 10 hours of straight driving, before going offline and forcing drivers to stop. The aim is to put a halt to drowsy driving that causes 4,000 accidents a year, the company said in a statement.
Kello trains your sleeping habits without using sensors
While there are already a handful of devices that claim to improve our sleep quality, one little startup from Hong Kong's Brinc IoT accelerator thinks that it can do a better job. Kello is a sleep trainer that comes in the form of an internet radio alarm slash Bluetooth speaker slash home automation hub, and unlike some of the competition, it doesn't use any bed sensor, clip-on device nor wearable to track the user's sleep activity. Instead, it's all about leveraging "simple, effective and scientifically proven techniques" from specialists to help us sleep faster, wake up better and ultimately change our lifestyle.
The Daily Grind: How should hunger work in MMORPGs?
This week's Crowfall character creation screenshot was pretty and all, but it was the unassuming "hunger resistance" stat down in the statistics panel that caught my eye. A huge fan of cooking and food mechanics in games, I was simultaneously excited and concerned over the inclusion. I have seen hunger (and other needs/survival mechanics) done so well in MMOs (Star Wars Galaxies, EverQuest II) and in mods for other games that they're genuinely fun to play; they add much-needed flavor and immersion as well as flesh out the economy and give meaning to crafting. But I've also seen MMOs, RPGs, and player-made mods that make eating, resting, and traveling so arduous and chore-like and downright annoying that they actually distract from the core game, even when those activities weren't originally the point as they would be in an overt "survival" sandbox or roguelike (I'm not talking about those!). How do you think Crowfall will handle it? How should hunger and similar mechanics work in MMORPGs? 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 smartest 'smart bed' auto-adjusts throughout the night
Responsive Surface Technology (ReST) is taking sleep tracking to its logical conclusion with its smart bed. The ReST bed, which debuted today at CES, features a proprietary smart fabric and sensors to track your sleep habits, and it uses that data to make sure the bed stays comfortable as you toss and turn at night. Within its mattress are 18 air sensors that constantly inflate and deflate based on your preferences -- be it something incredibly firm, or a mattress that's as soft as a cloud. We've already seen smart beds from Sleep Number, but the ReST is going far beyond mere sleep tracking. It's more like an ever-evolving sleep surface. But, as always, sleep comfort doesn't come cheap. The twin ReST smart bed will run you $5,000 when it lands in March, while the queen version will go for $7,000. It's also working on a king version with two independent sensing areas.
Productivity Tip: Take a break
In the past couple of installments of TUAW's productivity tips, I've discussed a number of ways to keep you focused on your tasks. Managing those tasks will be the next big-picture topic, but this week I wanted to keep it short and simple, just like your breaks should be. Yes, you should take breaks, especially if you are a knowledge worker and/or you have to focus on tasks which require a great deal of problem solving. There's a lot of evidence that shows our brains need frequent rest in order to function at their best, so don't skimp on the breaks even if you are worried about a deadline. Why is this important? Aside from how you should really be taking a vacation, your brain can suffer from decision fatigue. While you're busy processing your inbox or responding to emails, your brain is getting quite the electro-chemical workout. As with any of our organs, after a while it tires out. Just like a physical workout, you should allow for a cool-down period to let your brain rejeuvinate itself. At AOL we're quite fond of naps, too. Timing breaks As I discussed in my article on timers, you should aim to take a quick break after a period of intense focus. Pomodoros are set up for this purpose, giving you 25 minutes of task time plus a five-minute break. I've read of 90-minute work sessions followed by a 30-minute break time (which allows time for a walk or run or yoga), but ultimately you'll have to experiment and see what works for you as a person and in your job. I like to take frequent breaks. The key to timing your breaks is definitely scheduling them around those periods of intensity. Again, your brain gets worn out after too many decisions in a fixed amount of time -- let that thing cool off! The time of your break should be somewhat proportional to the period of intensity, however. Five minutes after 25 makes sense, as does 30 after 90. Taking an hour nap after 20 minutes of email is a bit much, however. Types of breaks Now, do you need to rest or do you need to re-energize? One allows things to cool down, while the other is more like a warm up. Often we just need to rest our eyes, or just stretch to shake off the tightness of sitting for too long. For short breaks I tend to make sure I have a bottle of water, then go gaze out a window for a few minutes. Or, since I work at home, I'll go spend a few minutes washing dishes (a very peaceful activity, honestly). These short breaks help refocus you later, and serve as a brief cool-down for your brain. Be careful not to overdo it; tidying your desk or going to the break room might seem like a quick rest, yet you're still making all sorts of decisions, leading again to decision fatigue. A better short break fully disengages your brain for a bit. Staring is actually good. Stretching is even better, and there are lots of exercises you can do, even in a cubicle. The more you allow your body to work, the better it will be able to assist your brain. Anything that literally "takes your mind off of things" is good, which means social media checking is likely bad as you're likely to see things which make you angry as well as happy on any given day. Naps are excellent, but most people don't use them correctly. Here's a great primer, and here are some tips from the Mayo clinic. I have found that a 25-minute or less nap has made me feel more energized in the afternoons if I am not already sleep deprived. If I haven't had enough sleep that day already, I tend to get a headache later and feel sleepier. That said, naps can be very effective when done properly. I have found a short walk or run, or even time with a Kinect game, helps the afternoon doldrums significantly. A few jumping jacks or standing on your head can also get the blood flowing. Apps to help For simple breaks, I like to use Due's timers and have set a 5, 10, and 15 minute timer as default break times. Siri can do this in a pinch as well. For naps I use Naturespace (which has a timer), or Pzizz, a longtime Mac app which was ported to iOS some time ago. Pzizz is, in my opinion, the best napping app; it guides you into a restful state much like hypnosis, can be set for various times, and can be configured in numerous ways while still using a set of sounds and tones which help lull you to rest. Other TUAWers enthusiastically recommend Andrew Johnson's apps and audiofiles for guided rest periods. Meditation is a good rest plan, and we've already mentioned a few apps for this. I'm currently using Mind, which is as simple a meditation timer as you're likely to find. There are also a number of exercise apps on the store, including some niche products like Healthy Break, which adds simple stretches to a break timer. I haven't had much success with these, as I tend to look up things online, learn them, and have a few I do over and over again. It's best to discuss your options with your doctor or trainer (if you're lucky enough to have a trainer). Conclusion While you can push through a day with no breaks, you will wind up making worse decisions as time wears on, and as those decisions wear you out. As your productivity and quality of work decrease, you become less efficient. The best way to combat this: get plenty of rest to begin with, and allow yourself breaks through the day. By setting timers for breaks and having a collection of short activities to break to, you'll set yourself up to stay productive longer than before, with better results.
Nokia Parking helps you find and pay for a spot, we go hands-on (video)
Parking in Paris is a nightmare. No, it's worse -- it's bad enough to keep you awake at night, worrying that your precious machine will be scratched up or simply missing the next morning. Nokia, at least, is trying to make things a little easier with an upcoming service it's just calling Nokia Parking. It's a comprehensive parking database launching in Europe in November that can not only help you find parking but even help you pay for it once you do. More details, and a video demo, after the break.
Pro Tip: Start earning rested XP ASAP
If you, like me, have a whole lot of warriors (or some other classes, if you're into that kind of thing) that you'll be needing to get to 90 at some point, remember that any current alts you may have will need to be logged on and moved to an inn or capital city in order to start gaining rested status. They won't start getting rested until you log them on since Mists of Pandaria, like all expansions, resets rested XP. However, you can stockpile up to 25 quests (the maximum your quest log holds) and turn them all in as soon as the level cap is raised. These can be daily quests. If they keep to the same format as they did when Cataclysm launched, the value of Cataclysm quests to a leveling character will be reduced, but it can provide a bit of a boost. It's worth keeping in mind. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Raid Rx: Mists of Pandaria healing changes
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poohbah of World of Matticus and a founder of Plus Heal, a discussion community for healers of all experience levels and interests. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading, the Matticast. You'll notice that there are a ton of new glyphs that have been added for all the classes. That list is by no means exhaustive. I also noticed some slight changes in the way certain spells work. I can assure you it won't be anything too drastic, but these changes are enough to keep you interested and wondering. This week, I'll be rounding up what we know healers will be getting, as well as any other notable modifications. New for druids Cenarion Ward appears to be a Prayer of Mending-like spell without the subsequent charges. Good spell to open with before an engagement. Won't have to pre-HoT as much. Just remember to pre-Ward. Wild Mushroom: Bloom! Hope you love 'shrooms, since you'll be gaining the use of these in addition to your Balance friends. Anticipate a moment where big AoE healing is needed, and plant 'shrooms. Detonate after raid group takes a hit, and relish in the healing spores that explode. Regrowth can be glyphed to remove the HoT component. Benefit? 40% increased chance of a critical heal. I guess you can configure a HoT-based class to switch to a non-HoT direction.
Final Fantasy XIV unveils the full scope of patch 1.21
The time is now -- Final Fantasy XIV's sweeping patch 1.21 is going live. That means players can experience the new Job system, do battle in two new instanced dungeons, and relax in their new private rooms. The patch notes make it clear that as with most of the game's patches, there's a lot going on even beyond the headlining features for the update, including intra-city teleportation services, new achievement categories to explore, and new ways for players to spend guild marks. Patch 1.21 also brings along a revision to the food and medicine of the game, with food serving universally as a small long-term buff and medicines working as short effects or buffs with a big impact. The team has also revised accessories, doing away with the previous mechanic of slot costs. And that's not even touching upon new missions for provisioning from the Grand Companies, the introduction of chocobo barding, or any number of other smaller features added with the list. It's a lot of stuff to absorb, and it should keep adventurers happy for quite some time.
Vindictus gives characters a moment around the campfire
The focus that Nexon has pushed with Vindictus has been one of non-stop, no-holds-barred action. While that's not a bad thing in any sense, it does lead one to wonder if there will be anything but the non-stop slaughter to deal with. As it turns out, there will be a feature in the game not just allowing players a brief rest, but actually encouraging one -- the campfire. Long known as a place where adventurers can congregate and rest, campfires can be built mid-dungeon and provide not just a chance to stop and chat, but also offer vital services. Obtained from an NPC early in the game, campfire kits and books allow players to put a campfire together, giving them small buffs that increase the longer they sit by the fire. The fire improves attack, defense, and health regeneration, with greater bonuses coming the longer you enjoy its warming presence. It also offers a more subtle benefit to players by allowing the repair of any damaged items. Although you can only assemble one per dungeon and gain no protection while sitting at the fire, it seems that Vindictus has built in a mechanic to encourage the party to sit down and chat for a minute or two before resuming the charnel-house slaughter. %Gallery-104223%
Memory Shocker: keeping busy makes you too busy to remember things
The New York Times has picked up the scare-story baton again, this time citing two pieces of research that supposedly indicate we're spending too much time jacked into our electronic devices. The University of California, San Francisco, has come out with some data showing that the brain needs "downtime" to properly digest, learn, and memorize events. This is supported by the University of Michigan, which confirms that people remember much better after a walk through nature than after a walk through dense urban environments. Basically, crunching new data is preventing us from assimilating older, potentially more important, information. That's neatly (though somewhat dubiously) tied into electronics by reference to their ubiquitous presence and use in daily life. If you're constantly listening, watching, or checking something, you can't very well be packaging those precious memories of grandma's 85th birthday at the same time. Of course, the same could be said of a really good book you can't put down, but that doesn't make for a sexy headline, now does it?
The Five Rs of Character Revitalization
So I've talked recently about life as an RPer, and how we seem to interact with our characters just a bit differently. Sometimes, whether we like it or not, a certain character and their back story just grab hold and won't let go, and we find ourselves coming back again and again, just to see where the story leads. Of course, sometimes the character goes just the opposite way, and no matter what you do, your stories fall flat and you don't feel enthusiastic about logging on. It may be because you can't stand the character's personality anymore, it may be because your normal group of friends has hit an RP rut or even taken a break for a while themselves, it may be a variety of other things. Recently, Anna of Too Many Annas wrote a pretty awesome article about how to refresh a flagging RP character using 5 Rs: Relax and Rest, Reintegrate, Refresh the Character, Retcon, and Reroll/Reskin.What's sort of cool about this list is that you can even apply a lot of the principles to characters in general, even if you're a non-RPer. Anna's covered the RP angle pretty well, so I'll mostly focus on this other angle.
One-day credit for Misery (EU)
Firstly, I would like to apologize for the image at right, which is really not directly related. However, the only thing I could think when seeing the battlegroup name was Helium going "Miiiisewy" -- watch these flash videos, especially the first one, and understand.Now that's out of the way, here's what I meant to talk about. Apparently the realms in the European battlegroup Misery had some maintenance difficulties on May 21st and 28th, and will be compensated by the upstanding people at Blizz with a free day of playtime.So if you have a character on any of the following realms, enjoy your €0.43 worth of credit:Aerie Peak, Boulderfist, Eonar, Frostmane, Grim Batol, Jaedenar, Kazzak, Kilrogg, Outland, Ravenholdt, Stonemaul, Tarren Mill, Vek'nilash, and Wildhammer.Oddly enough, they're also giving a day's worth of rested bonus to affected characters, which is something I haven't seen them do before. I wonder if that's going to be the norm in the future.
One Shots: The day of rest
Today's One Shots is another wonderfully colorful shot or Lord of the Rings Online from Jose, who sent in a few different pictures for us to share with you. As today is Sunday, we thought it would be nice to share with you a sunny picture of a traveler enjoying some rest that Jose took for us. We certainly hope you're all enjoying a nice peaceful day today relaxing in whatever game world you call home! Do you have any great screenshots of people from your favorite game? Perhaps you'd like to send in a picture of your Guild, Clan or Corp triumphant over the body of a fallen enemy, or you just want to show off a cool bit of scenery you found. We happily take all those screenshots and more. Just send them to us here at oneshots@massively.com so we can feature them in an upcoming column! %Gallery-9798%
Kuchofuku's air conditioned bed, clothing line
Sure, you could blow a cool million on a bed you'd never sleep on, but why not grab one that actually provides some relief (and won't run you $5k a month... forever) after a hard day in the blazing sun? Enter Kuchofuku, who certainly has the right idea with its air conditioned sleeper and clothing line. The makeshift bed, which only weighs 5.3-pounds, utilizes dual fans to pull air in and circulate it through the cushion beneath you. Of course, it'd be a modern tragedy to have to rise and leave such a pleasant scenario, but you can solve that dilemma as well care of the air conditioned shirt. The button-up garb touts an integrated fan that is purportedly powered via USB, which means that your armpits can now remain fresh regardless of how infrequent the AC kicks on at the office. A cooler night's sleep is but $399 away, while the new threads (seen after the jump) will run you a staggering $159 apiece.[Via CScout, thanks Mike]
Zyken's NightCove provides a pricey better night's rest
While we've seen our fair share of methods to make your night's rest a bit more comfortable (or uneasy), Zyken's latest supposedly provides the perfect solution to combat "light pollution" and help you sleep exactly as nature intended. While you may be functioning on highly caffeinated beans or an overpriced can of energy-injecting liquid right now, the LED-infused NightCove emits various colors throughout the night to coincide with the time, theoretically "stimulating melatonin production" and helping folks sleep better. Of course, there's "proven research" on the firm's website suggesting that these claims are indeed factual, and we must admit the design would lend a hand in sprucing up a mundane bedroom, but for a reported €1,785 ($2,324), it's only a hair cheaper than the entirely more impressive million dollar bed.[Via ShinyShiny]
MyDo Bururu glasses vibrate your dome to prevent sleep
While there's no shortage of devices that force your eyelids to crack open in the morning, things can get a bit hairy for those late-night cram sessions when you must stay vigilant. As glasses become more like theaters, it's not entirely surprising to see Japan's Vision Optic Company adding superfluous functionality to your everyday spectacles. The vibrating eyewear, dubbed MyDo Bururu, automatically senses when the wearer's head tilts down to a certain angle, and depending on the level of sensitivity you have it set on, will begin to shake, rattle, and roll right up side your noggin until your face returns to an upright position (or you hurl the glasses across the room). Of course, there's no real substitute for a great night's rest, but sometimes duty calls at all times of the day (or night), so if you're a professional student who crams for exams entirely too much, you can hit a pair of these up for around ¥45,000 ($371) -- if you can stay awake long enough to order 'em, that is.[Via PlasticBamboo]
Best of the rest: Kevin's picks
Saint's Row (Xbox 360)Sure it's a ripoff of Grand Theft Auto, but the graphics, gameplay, and plotlines are loads better. Plus you get to throw Mila Kunis out a window. What other game offers you that? It wasn't a feature in the recent Family Guy game.
Hey! Where's my rested XP?
If you have a level 60 character, you may have noticed (if you run one of the many mods that continues displaying experience information after you hit level 60) that some time in the past week your rested experience -- probably maxxed out, after weeks of idling in your capitol city of choice -- has vanished. Just on the horizon of being able to put this rested XP to use, I'd been keeping an eye on this and hoping it was a bug of some sort. But now it looks like this may be "working as intended," with posters in this thread reporting that GMs say this is working properly. There's not much in the way of constructive commentary in the thread, but here's to hoping for some kind of blue response that gives us a bit of insight on why they made this change -- which only hurts 60s who have been waiting for the expansion release.
