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TGI Fridays' mistletoe delivery drone draws blood
If you think a crowded restaurant is one of the worst places to fly a drone in, photographer Georgine Benvenuto will most likely agree with you. After all, the mistletoe drone TGI Fridays unleashed in its Sheepshead Bay, New York location didn't lead to a kiss -- instead, it took a small chunk off her nose and clipped her chin. According to Courier Life's Brooklyn Daily (where she worked), the operator encouraged the reporter with Benvenuto to land a 10-inch drone on her hand during a demo on December 4th. While it was the smaller of the two drones on site, and the propellers were only five inches in length, their blades were both sharp and uncovered.
The Daily Grind: What was your dumbest move?
We all like to think of ourselves as relatively intelligent. While most of us are well aware that we will not be proving string theory within the next month or so (exceptions made for some of our readers), we'd like to think that we know what we're doing most of the time. Of course, then there's the time that we complain in-game for the better part of a week about how a quest is broken, and then find out that if you just turn left when you walk into the town you'll see the quest objective clear as day. Let's be honest with ourselves, we've all had moments when we've done something searingly dumb. Maybe it's something useful we've overlooked, maybe it's something obvious that we didn't catch, or maybe it's simply a case of not reading the darn manual. Whatever led up to your personal moment of derp, what was your moment of being really dumb in-game? Did you laugh about it or get angry at the time? And most importantly, did it change your opinion of watching others do similarly dumb things by accident? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our 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 The Daily Grind!
Like iPad, blistering in the sun: Temperature issues reported
With all deference to the Violent Femmes, there's nothing upbeat about the cases of overheating that some iPad users are facing in the early days with the device. We've heard directly from two readers about the dreaded 'iPad needs to cool down before you can use it' message; Henry in Colorado and John in Tampa Bay both reported that their units went into thermal standby after being used outside. John noted that his iPad was in the (black, heat-collecting) Apple case... perhaps there's a market for reflective or liquid-cooled models. Both Cult of Mac and Next Web cite similar stories from users who have, in some cases, resorted to popping their iPads into the fridge to chill them out. Of course, the iPhone has sometimes suffered from similar thermal challenges, but there's a difference between roasting your phone in the glove compartment (bad idea) and reading a book on the porch or at the beach (perfectly reasonable activity). iPads that can't take the heat are likely to tick off outdoorsy users. Apple's thermal guidelines for the iPad cite a maximum operating temperature of 35º C / 95º F, but they also note that you might see the temperature warning with "some conditions and activities" like leaving the iPad in direct sunlight for extended amounts of time, or "[u]sing certain applications in hot conditions or direct sunlight for long periods of time, such as GPS tracking in a car on a sunny day or listening to music while in direct sunlight." A few predictions: Apple's first firmware update or hardware revision for the iPad will address overheating issues. Some clever accessory makers will make a pretty penny on sunshades and chill packs (too bad the iBrella name is already taken). And it won't be long before Amazon's ads are set in the actual Amazon rain forest. We'll see spiking thermometers and intrepid explorers frantically looking up remedies for anaconda bites on their burnt-out iPads, before turning to their cool-as-a-cucumber Kindles. Note to Amazon's ad agency: Call me. [Image from Amazon.com]
Sony patented the PlayStation ... robot?
Last June, Sony Computer Entertainment filled a patent application for a small robot accessory with multiple user-interaction options, according to Siliconera. Along with the ability to bomb around a user's house like a distant cousin of the Roomba, the SCE robot patent calls for the device to include a camera (presumably so it can watch you sleep at night) and display, a microphone for voice and sound command functions and speakers. According to the story, Sony also prepped upgrade options for the bad idea device in the form of an acceleration and gyro sensor, and/or possibly a GPS receiver. In case the above sarcasm isn't enough, let's be clear. We don't think this is a good idea. No, not because this idea has been tested in the past -- and failed miserably, mind you -- but because giving a robot this many options seems dangerous. A camera to watch you, GPS to track you, speakers to announce the coming Robotocalypse -- No, thank you! If this robot, which we hope is some kind of early and elaborate April Fool's joke, is ever announced and is codenamed Skynet ... just run.
Wii Warm Up: Worst idea EVAR
Let's put aside for a moment titles like Chicken Shoot. We don't want to talk about the obvious bad eggs or the crap that litters the shelves. Instead, let's talk about some of the bad ideas that actually started out as good ideas, or that came from otherwise interesting or good developers. What Wii games have made you pull out that handy Captain Picard image of WTFery? We're sure a couple of things might come to mind.
Someone thinks BioShock on mobile phones is a good idea
Quick, name one thing that could improve the epic, graphically and acoustically rich experience that is BioShock. If you said "squeezing it onto a cell phone with a three inch screen, tinny speakers and a memory cache the size of my old 486" then you could probably get a job at mobile developer IG Fun, which has just secured the mobile phone rights to the game."We're trying to do great things and BioShock on mobile promises to offer a whole new gaming experience and unmatched excitement amongst mobile gamers the world over," said IG Fun CEO Sean Malatesta. Unmatched excitement, you say? Surely you don't think BioShock mobile will be more exciting than IG Fun's other mobile "hits" like Rush Hour 3 and the improbably named Good Night Mr. Snoozleburg. Because that would just be crazy.[Via X3F]
The best video game blunders of 2006
Have you been wondering what the biggest screwups in the video game industry were in 2006? Well, you can quit worrying and start reading. This is the sort of stuff we'd like to see covered at things like the Video Game Awards. For an industry that is so good at congratulating itself, they sure don't like to admit their mistakes. So, it's up to someone else to do it for them.Check out this list of the top ten video game blunders, boners, mistakes and gaffes of 2006 from next-gen.biz, and laugh along at some of the highlights from the past year. The Gizmondo story should have totally been number one, though, as Stefan Eriksson has become the official poster-boy for video game idiocy in action after single-handedly killing a company. And a gorgeous Ferrari.[Thanks, Joe]
