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TUAW's Daily App: BeSpeak
Our friends at luxury blog Luxist have discovered an app that's perfect for my lack of fashion sense. Given some basic information about how you look (eye/hair color, height, and body shape), it will give tips for men's fashion. It doesn't just tell you what colors to wear, though; it tells you what patterns in your wardrobe match and what shades complement each other. I have an extreme blind spot when it comes to looking good, so outsourcing this kind of decision-making is perfect for me. The next time I go suit shopping, BeSpeak will be on my iPhone for sure. Unfortunately, it's only for more formal clothing (suits, dress shirts, and ties), so if you want to try matching T-shirts with your favorite khakis or figure out which button-down you should wear with your jeans, you're still on your own. However, casual tips are on the way. The app is basically free advice for men, so if you're at all confused about whether that tie goes with that suit, it's probably worth a download.
Study: Playing in a guild actually lowers stress
A new study done by researchers at Australia's Queensland University of Technology says that spending time online playing World of Warcraft with others can actually be good for your mental wellbeing -- within moderation of course. Researcher Huon Longman studied WoW players who played alongside guildies in game, and found that players often shared their real-life concerns with their virtual associates, which resulted in lowered levels of "anxiety, depression, and stress." In short, it seems that when you build relationships and share emotions even with people online, it can help you deal with problems in real life as well. That follows what we talked about earlier this week with Dr. Hilarie Cash -- games like WoW can definitely complement real-life relationships and actually help you relax.But only when used in moderation -- Longman also found that 10% of the sample he studied played considerably more World of Warcraft than normal, and that those players not only didn't experience a bigger benefit to their wellbeing, but actually experienced more "negative psychological symptoms." A good balance of virtual and real life can have a lot of benefits, but falling too much into virtual life can actually cause more problems psychologically, according to this researcher's work. Obviously, this is one study of many about how playing these games can affect how we think, but the results are definitely reflected in experience: in-game relationships, used in moderation, can definitely help you deal with the real world in a healthier way.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
