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Crowdfunded Project News: The best of Kickstarter, Indiegogo and the rest
Every week, TUAW provides readers with an update on what new or significant crowdfunded Apple-related projects are in the news. While our policy is to not go into detail on items that haven't reached at least 80 percent of their funding goal, this update is designed to give readers a heads-up on projects they might find interesting enough to back. Note that we're not covering those "projects" on Indiegogo where people are trying to get someone else to cough up money for a new computer or tablet... From Kickstarter Bringrr, yet another one of the "find your lost stuff" Bluetooth tags, but this one actually makes sense. You can change the batteries in the tags (unlike those that you simply throw out after a year or two); they're small enough to be pet-friendly; and it comes with a car charger/alert so that you can actually make sure you've got your tagged stuff before you drive off -- 68 percent funded with 19 days to go. Everydisk from Avatron is about halfway funded, but only has 10 days to go to meet its goal. If you'd like a nice, encrypted personal cloud storage solution from a trusted name in the app world, get behind this project. EyeShield has to be one of the goofiest-looking iPhone cases around. The idea is that you have a sunshade that can fold over the top of the iPhone 5/5s screen so you can see it in sunlight. Or you could just turn your body and provide your own shadow to make the screen visible... 7 percent funded with 17 days to go. Smartlet. Why just look nerdy with an oversized smartwatch on your wrist when you can strap your iPhone to your wrist? 28 percent funded with eight days to go. Moment is a high-quality wide-angle and telephoto lenses for the iPhone camera from people with experience in the lens business. The lenses can be used on a variety of smartphones using a thin metal adapter. This one is in the bag -- 166 percent funded with 29 days to go. (Hat tip to Hal Sherman for telling us about this one) TEO, a keyless padlock that is unlocked with an app. No keys to lose, no combinations to forget; 35 percent funded with 51 days to go. We covered this last week; it seems to have gained some traction and looks like it might keep gaining momentum. I guess there were a lot of us who forgot our locker combinations in high school... meMINI, the wearable camera from last week, is funded -- 101 percent, with 21 days to go. From Indiegogo Airtame is billed as "wireless HDMI for everyone," and this project is a winner -- 511 percent funded with six days left; think of it as an AirPlay/Chromecast that works anywhere you have an HDMI port. Athene is an interesting idea -- a designer bracelet that works as a Lightning charging cable, USB flash drive and fashion accessory -- 58 percent funded with 31 days left. Now if they could just make a utility belt... FitCute is a smart body analyzer (i.e., Bluetooth-enabled scale) that works with an iPhone app to provide info on eight different body stats. Too bad that it's 22 percent funded with less than three days to go. Oh, and that logo looks way too much like the Withings app icon... Birdi. Are you upset that Nest was purchased by Google? Here's a solution: Birdi is a smart air monitor/smoke alarm that works with an app and provides details on inside air quality. It's at 72 percent funding with 10 days left in the project campaign. Now if we can just get them to make a thermostat, too... Eyebloc -- paranoid much? Worried that the NSA is looking at your face through your webcam? Don't have a piece of electrical tape that you can put over the camera to stop THEM from watching you 24/7? Then back Eyebloc, which is a little piece of plastic that goes over your camera. Yeah, I thought it was pretty dumb, too -- 12 percent funded with 25 days left. Woodster is a goofy idea that actually has some merit -- it's an iMac stand with two USB 3.0 ports built into it, made out of wood. Perfect for those situations where you need to prop your iMac up a bit higher (low desk or tall person). It's 40 percent funded with 33 days left. If you're aware of any other crowdfunded Apple-related projects, be sure to let us know about them through the Tip Us button at the upper right of the TUAW home page for future listing on the site.
Gaming For Good's Siege raises over $2M for Save the Children
Well-known PvPer Athene made his return to WoW this weekend with GamingForGood's The Siege. A plethora of top streamers did independent fundraisers, including Athene himself and his colleague Reese. Athene tells us in the video above that they had set a goal of $500,000, and were amazed to hit over $2M over the weekend. They extended the goal time and time again, and hit it. There were several great events, but a huge highlight was the Throne of Thunder 25-man heroic raid race, which tens of thousands of viewers tuned in to watch live, along with several Blizzard Community Managers and Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas. World First EU guild Method took on the US guild Midwinter in what turned out to be a pretty close race. Method led out strong, pulling an early lead on Midwinter, which they held solidly until a wipe on Dark Animus suddenly put their advantage at risk. Midwinter had a great chance to take the lead, but unfortunately also got grounded by the garrulous golems, and wiped. More excitement followed as Method had a big early error on Ra-Den, allowing an orb to hit the boss, but somehow recovered to win by approximately 2 minutes. If you want to see what the world's best guild can do, you can check out the video here.
Wrath of the 1337 King: seriously, wtf?
This Wired article put me onto a 'mockumentary' site advertising something called 'Wrath of the 1337 King', 'a movie about ATHENE best Paladin in the world' [sic]. Watching the trailer [NSFW language] the first time yields a mix of bemusement and humor. Watching it a second time makes me wonder if it's a complete bit of flummery from the top down: Is ATHENE for real, and he's just unaware that this documentary is being made to ridicule him, or is ATHENE an actor? Honestly, I could make the case either way. It's well-known that World of Warcraft has the ability to make fools of otherwise rational beings, and the YouTube phenomenon has caused many such fools to seek the light regardless of, or perhaps because of the potential scorn this may bring upon them. And thanks to Borat, odd, vaguely Slavic accents are in!Is it still fun to watch clueless people be exposed to outrageous behavior? Does the fact that ATHENE is a Paladin add to the joke? Did it need to be a movie, or is the trailer enough? My favorite line from the trailer: 'Flash Heal: Kaboom kaboom kaboom kaboom!' More bits from ATHENE here and here.
