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The Daily Grind: What zones feel 'real' to you?
Let's face it: Some MMO game zones seem as real as a set on the stage of a high school play. They check off all of the fantastic features that give art directors goosebumps, but when you're in those areas you can't quite shake the feeling that it's a façade put on for your benefit. Then there are those special places that check off all of the boxes on your own list instead, gelling together to create an environment that feels utterly believable. I encounter these places in Lord of the Rings Online quite often, especially when I go through terrain types that exist in the real world but are rarely seen in games. Maybe I'm strange to get a thrill out of a fog-shrouded swamp, but it's better than another lava zone. So what MMO zone feels real to you? What gets you all well and properly immersed? 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!
Steam now accepts Brazilian national currency via Boleto
Steam users in Brazil can now pay with the national currency of reais, with Boleto. Boleto is a payment service regulated by the Brazilian Federation of Banks. To purchase games on Steam with reais, Brazilian users will select "Boleto" as their payment and receive a voucher via email, which they must then take to the bank to fund the transaction. Games will remain in pending until this process is complete.Steam plans to add more payment methods in Brazil, including "deposits, account transfers, PagSeguro and local credit cards."This move harkens back to when Steam added Russian rubles; soon after activating that currency, Valve and Xsolla established cash kiosks in Russia, where users can add cash directly to their Steam accounts.
RealPlayer leaves beta, becomes fully-fledged Android app
RealNetworks has decided to roll out that old internet chestnut, RealPlayer, to a fresh-faced generation of smartphones that are screaming out for one more media player. This one reckons it can handle your music, video and photo content al in the same blueish hue and while the player has a basic flavor out for free, there's a $5 app for those that like the finer things in life. Extra features in the paid-for version include a graphic equalizer with save function, Gracenote database compatibility and manual metadata editing for those with more esoteric music tastes. Naturally, advertising is nixed in this version too. Now out from beta testing, hit the source for the download.
Super Retro Squad surpasses Kickstarter goal with ease
Super Retro Squad's $10,000 Kickstarter goal to turn Super Mario Bros. Crossover into a real, legitimate title has already been achieved, over 20 days ahead of schedule.Creator Jav Pavlina is currently enmeshed in an "Ask Me Anything" thread on Reddit, but he's also posted what he calls "stretch goals," or things that the team plans to do if they reach a certain amount of funding: $20,000 will get Time Attack modes, leaderboards, and achievements added to the game; $30,000 will get translation into foreign languages; and $40,000 will earn players access to Eve VII, a character based heavily on Blaster Master's Sophia III.After that, says Pavlina, it all depends on how big the project ends up growing. Hopefully it won't get too big: We could do without a character based on Hudson Hawk.
RealVNC teams up with Sony to bring Android apps to the dashboard
Sony and RealVNC have announced a partnership that aims to liberate your smartphone's applications and content, bringing the wares to your car's dashboard. Once a VNC-enabled vehicle and Android handset are paired, users can access and manipulate the device's applications, music library and stream web content directly to the car's infotainment system. In order to preserve public safety, and meet "regulatory requirements," the system can detect vehicle velocity and will revoke the proverbial keys to your mobile kingdom while you're in motion. The RealVNC code will be bundled with "all new 2012 Xperia handsets" and the accompanying VNC Automotive software has -- according to the press release, anyway -- "been widely adopted by the automotive industry." What's more, the VNC goodies will allow Sony support specialists to troubleshoot your Xperia handset remotely, should you request such assistance. Mosey on past the break for a look at the full announcement.
Intel bolsters video patent portfolio with purchase from RealNetworks
Silicon juggernaut Intel has inked a multi-million dollar deal with RealNetworks, agreeing to purchase scores of video-related patents and annex an entire software team. Specifics of the accord have Intel shelling out $120 million in exchange for 190 patents, 170 patent applications and a video codec development squad. In addition, the two companies have signed a "memorandum of understanding," agreeing to collaborate on future development of the licensed software. RealNetworks states that the sale "will [not] have any material impact on its businesses" and it will retain "certain rights" to the sold technologies. Intel says the sale will improve its ability to "offer richer experiences and innovative solutions [...] across a wide spectrum of devices." The full PR is queued up for you after the break.
Sprint Music Plus app gives users yet another mobile jam portal... if you're cool with RealNetworks
Tired of waiting for Google Music? How tired? If you've been pushed to your wit's end, and you're willing to give RealNetworks one last chance to actually impress you, Sprint's got a new service for you to dip your toes into. Sprint Music Plus is a newfangled app that can be accessed via the carrier's website and on Android / BlackBerry handsets, serving as a "single, convenient destination for customers to discover, purchase and play individual and bundled offers of full track music, albums, ringtones and ringback tones." Naturally, everything in here is DRM-free, and aside from being a hub for transactions, it doubles as a media management tool where playlists can be created and new content can be recommended based on prior purchases. We're told that customers can receive a discount if angling for a bundle -- which includes a full track, ringtone and ringback tone -- with $0.69 to $1.29 (per tune, mind you) being thrown straight to your Sprint bill. Care to give it a spin? Android users can head just past the break for a QR code, while everyone else can give those source links a hit.
Rhapsody for iPhone updated, now takes its music offline (in a good way)
We heard back in mid-March that Rhapsody for iPhone was getting an offline mode for downloading music and playing at times of no reception (like most subway rides). Good news, folks, today is the day the app get this coveted update. Lest we forget, too, with this summer's OS 4 release finally enables background music, Real's aural offering just got even more enticing. Press release after the break, or hit up the iTunes link to download now -- don't forget, though, that a monthly subscription plan is still required for playback.
RealNetworks to stop selling RealDVD, your copyrights are safe -- for now
Remember when RealNetworks said it wasn't giving up on RealDVD, that it would fight the good fight and appeal the August ruling finding its DVD copying application wasn't quite legal. Well, a lot of things can change in five months and now it seems Real is caving in to the inevitable crush of the movie industry, setting the lawsuit filed by the MPAA for $4.5 million and instantly turning existing copies of RealDVD into collectors items. (Hope you kept those boxes in mint condition!) What's next for Real remains to be seen, as the company just spun off Rhapsody to be its own thing, but surely whatever it comes up with will not involve the copying of copyrighted things onto other things.
Sprint standardizing on RealNetworks' platform for music delivery
Even in the face of an endless torrent of free and subscription music services that are doing their best to effectively soak up the world's 3G bandwidth, carriers are showing no sign of giving up the fight for a piece of the audio download revenue pie; indeed, three of the four US nationals run their own branded (or co-branded) services. Sprint happens to be in that group, and they're looking to present a slightly more unified front by bringing tracks, ringtones, and ringback tones under a single roof that'll be managed by RealNetworks' Media Entertainment Platform. The result should be a "streamlined" user experience (read: it'll be more compelling to spend a dollar here, a dollar there as you browse through Sprint's mobile portal) when the new services launch later this year, but no specific date's been set as of yet.
RealNetworks not giving up on RealDVD, plans to appeal court injunction
RealNetworks found itself on the wrong end of a gavel back in August, receiving a court injunction to stop selling its RealDVD software -- curiously flying in the face of an earlier ruling in the favor of Kaleidescape. Perhaps that's why Real isn't done fighting yet. Or, perhaps it's just because it doesn't want to be put out of business. Either way, the company is set to file an appeal and take the show back to court again. Exactly what the basis of their appeal will be remains to be seen -- assuming there is one -- but here's to hoping it's a little more legally sound than their last defense. We're not quite ready to give up on Fair Use just yet ourselves.
FujiFilm Real 3D camera given a video hands-on by fake 3D journalists
The first thing you notice about FujiFilm's €499 Real 3D W1 camera is its size. It's big -- big in the way that bloggers see main stream media journalists as big. And the industrial design is straight-up Cold War. Still, it delivers 3D without special glasses and does so with surprisingly realistic detail -- it really does work. Yeah, you have to position yourself oh so carefully just in front of FujiFilm's €349 FinePix 3D Viewer or printed photos courtesy of a FujiFilm web service, but the novelty might be worthwhile for those with money to burn. It begins shipping to Europe and likely beyond in late September. Check the video demonstration from IFA and let Germania wash over you.
Entelligence: Stream on
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide. With the introduction of the iTunes Music Store, Apple brought the business model of buying music online to the masses at 99 cents a song. iTunes changed the dynamic of the music business: consumers re-discovered the single and no longer had to buy a whole CD to get the one song they might want. It's a model that's worked well: I've bought a lot of music from the folks in Cupertino over the years, and so has everyone else: Apple's one of the largest music retailers in the industry. Having said that, Apple's model isn't the only one out there. Microsoft, Real, Napster and others have all tried to push the subscription model that allows users to consume as much music as they wish from a catalog of millions of songs for a monthly fee. Some services, such as Microsoft's Zune Pass, also allow users to keep a certain number of songs each month in unprotected format. Although subscription services will likely continue to need be protected by some sort of DRM I don't really have an issue with that. Technology like DRM should be used to create new business models, not protect old ones.
CEPro breaks down Real and Kaleidescape cases, uncovers more questions
It's been a rough week for DVD copying services from Real and Kaleidescape, and public understanding of the whole DVD copying mess hasn't been spared. People like to watch DVDs and lawyers like to get paid, however, so we're willing to bet there's more to come. CEPro has put together a breakdown of the issues at hand, which not only makes for some good reading but also shows just how far from any real clarity we are. Whether it's legal to make bit-for-bit copies, but illegal to view them; legal to use copying tools, but illegal to produce them; or just plain mean to do something Hollywood doesn't want you to, consumers are going to push for media convenience. We're still hoping Blu-ray's Managed Copy gives us enough wiggle room on our HD digital handcuffs, but sadly, it seems like DVD fans can pick between taking up residence in legal limbo while the courts struggle to catch up with tech or just strip the CSS from discs and get on with their lives.
Mitsubishi unveils REAL line of Blu-ray burning, super upconverting LCDs
Providing some competition for Sharp's DX series, Mitsubishi has taken the wraps off of its REAL Series LCD HDTVs, including a set with built-in hard drives and Blu-ray recorders, plus a few more that lack the recording, but throw in super resolution upconversion that claims to make even the worst SD look better than ever. Even if that's just hype, we hope it fares better than the company's ill-fated 120Hz processing. The 37- (1080p) and 32-inch (720p) BHR300 models feature their disc drives in the stand, rather than back-mounted approach of the AQUOS, plus 320GB HDDs, SDHC slot, plus i.LINK and USB connectors that let owners edit video from a camcorder on the TV before saving to disc or hard drive. The MZW300 models are all 1080p, in 40-, 42- and 52-inch sizes, with Diamond Engine Pro IV HD super resolution tech, the latest and most power efficient Diamond panel with 20,000:1 contrast ratio, built in 5.1 Dolby Digital decoder, virtual surround speakers and a talking program guide feature. These hit shelves in Japan in late October ranging in price from ¥350,000 ($3,705) for the LCD-52MZW300 to ¥200,000 ($2,117) for the LCD-32BHR300.
Court injunction puts sales of RealDVD on ice, hopes and dreams in purgatory
Something tells us Kaleidescape has a man (or woman, to be fair) on the inside, else United States District Court Judge Marilyn Patel is just downright trifilin'. In every visible way, RealNetworks' proposed RealDVD player was exactly what Kaleidescape was, but for people with annual salaries far less than $9,854,392,220. Regardless of our opinion, a preliminary injunction has just been passed down from The Almighty in the robe, which blocks the sale of the RealDVD software here in the US. The six major movie studies filed the suit last September, alleging that it "illegally violated their right to restrict the use of their movies in digital form." Evidently those that matter agree. A RealNetworks spokesperson took the time to vent their feelings on the whole ordeal, and since we know you're curious, we've pasted it below for your convenience.We are disappointed that a preliminary injunction has been placed on the sale of RealDVD. We have just received the Judge's detailed ruling and are reviewing it. After we have done so fully, we'll determine our course of action and will have more to say at that time.[Via Electronista]
RealNetworks steps up its RealDVD legal case, just wants your approval
It wasn't long ago that RealNetworks and its kludgy Player software were the bane of computer users everywhere. But, a few legal accusations later, Real is now the apple in the eye of every fair use advocate, fighting for the right for users to make legal copies of DVDs -- so long as you make them through its RealDVD software, of course. The company is now escalating its legal battle against Hollywood big wigs, suing the six major movie studios and the DVD Copy Control Association for anticompetitive activity, asking for monetary damages due to the sales it has lost since the industry asked for that initial injunction against RealDVD. We're not entirely sure who's going to come up on top of this one, but if Kaleidescape can survive the CCA, maybe Real can too.
RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles
Let's face it -- quite a lot is resting on the outcome of this case. For months now, RealNetworks has been unable to legally sell its RealDVD movie ripping software after a court issued a temporary restraining order that remains valid until it's decided if the application violates the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Now, the software is finally having its day in court, and the outcome could shape the future of the DVD player (for better or worse). You see, Real has already assembled a prototype Facet device that hums along on Linux; essentially, this DVD playing machine would sell for around $300 and could store up to 70 movies internally. On the surface, this sounds entirely like a poor man's Kaleidescape, but only time will tell if The Man agrees. Cross your fingers folks, we get the feeling fair use advocates are going to need the luck.
Court bans sales of RealDVD indefinitely
It look like Hollywood's won the first round in court against RealNetworks' RealDVD DVD-ripping software -- Judge Maralyn Hall Patel (of Napster fame, remember her?) ruled yesterday that a temporary restraining order blocking sales of the software will stay in place indefinitely until she decides whether it violates the DMCA. The central issue is whether or not making a bit-for-bit copy of a DVD constitutes circumventing copy protection: the studios claim the encryption keys must be read off the disk under the terms of the license agreement, and RealNetworks obviously disagrees. There's a lot at play here, including the studios' argument that fair use doesn't serve as a defense to backing up DVDs, so we'll be tracking this one closely -- it's sadly clear to us that Hollywood's fight here is against consumers having flexibility with their media, since it lost the battle against actual piracy ages ago.
RealDVD rips DVDs just like you do, only legally (maybe)
RealNetworks, the company you love to hate, is back with a new product sure to capture the attention of Hollywood and its MPAA thugs. For $30, RealDVD plans to do what DVD Jon enabled years ago -- namely, making digital copies of your DVDs. Unlike Jon's illegal DRM stripping software, RealNetworks' approach lays on additional DRM allowing you to make a single copy, only, playable on the machine doing the rip -- up to five additional Windows PCs can be authorized at a cost of $20 per. Real thinks that the use of the additional DRM coupled with Kaleidescape's legal victory -- a ruling that seemingly authorizes users to copy DVDs for their own personal use -- will help it escape the wrath of the MPAA. Not that RealNetworks has ever been afraid of a fight as demonstrated by its 2004 scuffle with Apple when it began offering software that allowed iPods to play Real's DRM'd content. Good thing too because we're pretty sure that shutting down the planned start of RealDVD's sales at the end of this month is the number one topic around the bunny-juice dispensers at the MPAA offices this morning. [Via cnet]
