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Apple HQ could have Google deliver them some iPads, and I hope they do
Today, Google announced that its Google Shopping Express service -- which will run to select area stores, take care of your shopping list and then deliver the items to your doorstep -- is now available to virtually all of San Francisco as well as a huge chunk of the peninsula all the way down to, and including, San Jose. You pay a small fee for your delivery depending on how large your order is, but overall it seems like a very convenient service... even if you work at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino. Based on Google's current coverage area for the service, only part of Cupertino is eligible for delivery, but after searching for Apple's address -- 1 Infinite Loop -- we discovered that it is indeed covered. Apple isn't usually known for pranking, unless you count a bit of rickrolling, but if I were Tim Cook, I'd make a Shopping Express list of a few iPads and a dozen iPods from Office Depot Target. Then, when the driver(s) arrive with the items, tell them they can keep it all to share with their coworkers back at home base.
We now live in a world with two pet-based social networking apps
I love my cats, and I take photos of them frequently and with reckless abandon. That said, I'm not entirely sure I need more than one specialized app just for sharing photos of Nibbler and Cinnamon (don't judge me). Regardless, a couple of months after the iOS version of Peterest hit the scene, we now have Petigram. OK, so pet photo apps clearly still need to work on original naming schemes, but we'll ignore that for the moment. Petigram offers the ability to share photos, follow other users, and post comments. Its main selling point, however, is the built-in photo editing tools that let you add borders, text and other obnoxious graphics. At the moment, the app is quite buggy (you can post blank comments, buttons are sometimes unresponsive, etc.) but for a 1.XX version, it's not terrible. If you really want to share photos of your furry friends somewhere other than Facebook or Twitter, I'd still recommend Peterest as your first stop -- it simply has a better layout and more-polished features -- though Petigram may also be worth checking up on down the road.
Interrogating Siri: We ask Apple's digital assistant the hard-hitting privacy questions
With more and more information about the potentially worrisome link between the NSA and some of the biggest tech companies in the United States coming to light each day, Apple's announcement earlier this week of a new smartphone that can read your fingerprints was accompanied by plenty of conspiracy theories. Sure, Apple thoroughly explained that your personal biometric information is stored only on your device itself, but that hasn't done much to calm privacy concerns. But rather than sit back and let the everyone else have their paranoid fun, I decided to put on my own tin foil hat and put the screws to Siri, the heart and soul of the iPhone, in an effort to find out just exactly how big of a privacy threat my smartphone actually is. When I first began my line of questioning, I did my best to make my iPhone 5 feel comfortable, hoping that a relaxed Siri would make her more open to divulging the iPhone's secrets. We sat on a couch in my office and chitchatted for a while. I asked about the weather, the local football team, and we discussed movies for a while to get her warmed up. Then I moved in for the kill. Ouch. Shot down. Perhaps a more broad query would help matters. I guess not. At this point I decided it was time to take the gloves off. I brewed a pot of coffee, turned the heat up, and relentlessly assaulted Apple's virtual assistant in hopes that she would crack. The suspicious responses continued for some time, with Siri keeping her poker face firmly in place. It was a battle of wills, but I could feel that the interrogation was beginning to take its toll. One more finely tuned question was all it took. I knew it! Finally I had the evidence that Siri is indeed working against humanity. With the air now clear, it was time to hit her with the question everyone has been asking this week... and her response was chilling to say the least. That's it! It was at this moment I knew I had to call off my plans to purchase the iPhone 5s. Siri had shown her hand and revealed the true danger she poses to iPhone owners. I was a broken man. I sat there for a long while, hoping Siri would at least try to explain why Apple feels the need to destroy our privacy. A single tear dripped down my cheek as I made one more plea for Siri's mercy...
No Comment: Samsung London store signage thinks different
Fair cop: Windows-based signage and displays can sometimes go a little bit sideways, to hilarious effect. This snapshot of Samsung's East London storefront, featuring a delightfully stark "Ctrl+Alt+Del" reminder, is a lovely example of the genre -- and it rates our weekend No Comment badge. Thanks, Simon!
Retailer shows off new store concept via eight iPads, never gets them back
Let this be a lesson to all of you business-minded iPad owners out there: showing off your plans to clients using your pricey slate may leave you entirely tablet-less. Guampdn reports such was the case for DFS Galleria, a duty-free luxury retailer bidding for a spot in the Guam International Airport. The company -- along with several others bidding for a spot in the concourse -- showcased its plans for a new shop space to airport representatives, but what set DFS apart was that it decided to use eight iPads to display its proposal rather than use simple paper binders. Rather than returning the tablets to DFS after a decision was made -- for which DFS's proposal didn't make the cut -- the airport is hanging on to them, as per its policy. The airport's guidelines for such proposals state that all documentation from bidders will be kept by the agency's procurement office. So the iPads remain in the care of the airport, locked away in a file cabinet with the rest of the failed proposals. Oh, who are they kidding? They probably spend all day playing Flight Control now.
The most obnoxious iPhone accessories available on Etsy
Since its launch in 2005 Etsy has gone from a curious virtual art shop to a massive marketplace featuring just about any kind of handmade product you can think of. But it's not just trinkets and paintings that line Etsy's shelves -- the site is also home to a bounty of one-of-a-kind iPhone accessories as well, ranging from useful to ridiculous. Here are some of the finest (read: craziest) examples of "custom" iPhone gear the site has to offer. Cowboy Hat iPhone Dock Sure, you already have a sleek and sexy iPhone dock on your nightstand, but maybe it just doesn't have enough western flavor for your tastes. This custom dock, which lets you plug your iPhone into the top of a cowboy hat, should definitely do the trick! Yeehaw! Price: US$69 (link) Furry iPhone case with ears and a tail When I'm looking for an iPhone case, I do my best to find one that is as thin as possible while still providing a reasonable amount of protection. For others, though, phone cases are less about function and more about form -- feline form, to be precise. There's not much to say about these furry phone protectors other than "wow." Price: $14 (link) Home Button Bow Tie If you find yourself getting invited to black tie gatherings on a regular basis and are a bit nervous that your rather casual iPhone just isn't impressing your upper-class associates, this home button bow tie may do the trick. Just don't let on that the sparkling bling is made of simple crystals rather than diamonds, or you might end up dining at McDonalds instead of the country club. Price: $2.99 (link) Glow-in-the-dark Charger Ok, I'll bite: A glow-in-the-dark phone charger is actually a pretty cool idea. I can't tell you how many times I've had to feel around the base of my nightstand in the dark in a feeble attempt to find my iPhone charger, and the claimed 12-hour glow time of the stickers applied to these plugs and cords sounds like the remedy I didn't know I needed. Price: $20 (link) Gramophone Speaker System The iPhone isn't exactly known for its ability to pump out high-quality audio via its built-in speakers, but if you plug it into a massive gramophone-style speaker, it just might surprise you. This totally acoustic speaker accessory promises to boost your iPhone audio many times over, filling the room with sound without the need for electronic amplification. Price: $525 (link)
Kickstart this retro Mac cooler, so you can have it before it's cool
The world of Apple-themed drink coolers isn't exactly a bustling industry. In fact, I'm not sure I've actually seen one before today. Nevertheless, this adorably retro Mac-shapped box is called the MaCool and it's begging to hold your cold beverages. The MaCool is the brainchild of Scott Sefan, a Mac fan from Florida who clearly thinks that taking an old Apple desktop to the beach is a fantastic idea. According to its Kickstarter page, the MaCool can hold up to eight cans and ice, though in the product shots, it appears as though a 12-pack would fit without issue. You can currently pre-order via the funding campaign for US$39, though the price will jump to $59 after the "early adopter" pledge slots are filled.
Daily iPhone App: Clone Booth is wacky, but simple
We reported last month that the makers of You Don't Know Jack, formerly called Jellyvision, had changed its name to Jackbox Software. Now, Clone Booth is the very first release under the new brand. Unfortunately, this isn't a game at all. It's a utility of sorts that lets you insert your face into a number of different old-timey pictures, "cloning" yourself in wacky ways. You can see an example of how it works above -- you snap a picture on one face, and then you can fix or adjust the other faces as needed. Unfortunately, it's all just for one face, so you can't snap a few different faces and insert them into the photos as needed. That seems like it would have been a fun option, and added a little more functionality to the app. When you're done, you can share your photos off to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or the other standard services you see above. Clone Booth is simple and it's only US$0.99. If the photo above makes you giggle and the prospect of making your own seems like it's worth a buck, go nuts. The rest of us will probably wait and see what Jackbox is working on next.
Creative uses for App Store icons: Ransom Apps and App Icon Quiz
Brian Stucki is the developer behind MacMiniColo (the Mac mini colocation outfit in Las Vegas), and he recently sent us a fun project he's hosting called "Ransom Apps." It's just a silly little web app, but the idea is that you enter a phrase of text, and Ransom Acts returns your phrase written in App Store app icons. I don't know if there's a real use for it, but it's fun and creates some neat designs. Speaking of using App Store icons creatively, Ransom Apps reminded me of App Icon Quiz (free), which is kind of ingenious. It's a trivia quiz based around identifying App Store icons. The app uses real icons (with the permission of the actual developers -- more on that in a second) to create quiz questions, challenging you to match the icon with its app. It may sound goofy, but in practice, it's actually fun, especially if you spend quite a bit of time browsing the App Store. App Icon Quiz is clever in another way as well. The developers, GameVision, told me back at GDC that they're using the app to market and brand new icons, so users' feedback is going the other way as well. Developers whose icons are included receive information about how easily players ID their icons as well as the word people tend to associate with their images. Personally, I think that can be a little shady. There's no indication in the app's description that the "game" is being used for marketing purposes. But as long as you know and agree to that use, it could be a fun way to give feedback on an app's most important visual element. App Icon Quiz is available on the App Store now
Mod lets you play 'Super Mareo Bruhs' inside Counter-strike
Behold, the Sourcemod Entertainment System, a custom-made plugin for Counter-Strike: GO that allows players to play "Super Mareo Bruhs" inside cs_office. With real controllers, cartridges, and a working power switch, the SMES is just like the real thing. With more flashbangs.
Rockstar shares the Grand Theft Auto soundtracks on iTunes and Spotify
Rockstar, the developers of the very popular Grand Theft Auto series, has kindly set up playlists for every one of the series' radio stations, for use in both iTunes and Spotify. The GTA series is well-known for its music, and when Rockstar ported both GTA3 and GTA: Vice City over to iOS, we were fortunate enough to get the great soundtracks with them. But, of course, you can't always be playing the game, so if you want to listen to the music on your own, you can load one of these up in iTunes, and listen away. Unfortunately, the games' commercials are not available in iTunes. Rockstar has set up a special "Advertising Council" site to let you listen in directly to the hilarious parody commercials from the series instead. And of course this is all done in prelude to the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 5, expected sometime later on this year. No word yet if there'll be a Mac (or even an iOS) release for the newest game, but we'll keep an ear open. [via Joystiq]
The Daily Grind: What's the funniest MMO?
Humor is in the funnybone of the owner, so today's topic will most likely lead to a wide range of responses. That's cool. Some of us like slapstick, some like horrible puns, some get a kick out of corny pop culture references, and some enjoy a smattering of witty dialogue. In the end, it comes down to what lightens our hearts and makes us laugh, doesn't it? So what's the funniest MMO out there? I'm going to cast my vote for, oddly enough, Fallen Earth. There's a bizarre streak of black humor that you only seem to get with a post-apocalyptic setting. The massively ugly mutated prairie chickens always make me smile, as does the weird-as-crap quotes that the wasteland inhabitants spout. But my opinion doesn't stand alone; I want to hear yours! What MMO makes with the funny the best? 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!
Do the Harlem Shake with ElvUI for April Fools' Day
The above video shows what awaits for ElvUI users when they log in today. I must say, I've been using addons and UI mods for years now in WoW, but as one YouTube commenter says, "Trolled by an addon, that's a first for me." Personally, I got a good kick out of seeing this on my main and I'm looking forward to logging onto my alts, at least just to see my dwarf scream "DO THE HARLEM SHAKE" to Zangarmarsh. However, for those ElvUI users among you who may have been less than diligent about keeping on top of updates - and who can blame you really, I swear ElvUI goes out of date every three days - it seems that instead of the Harlem Shake, you get a message saying all your gold has been donated to the Orgrimmar orphanage. I personally can't confirm this, because for once I did update my UI as soon as it said to. Let us know if you can confirm/deny the orphanage joke! Big thanks to @Vixsin_LiG5 for bringing the video to our attention, as well as the other commenters who tipped us on ElvUI's goofy prank. Happy April Fools' Day!
Harlem Shake open-sourced for iOS apps
The Harlem Shake YouTube dance meme, if you ask me, ended about three weeks ago -- which I think was right around when it started. But that hasn't stopped the developers at Velos Mobile from creating an open-source Objective-C class for iOS projects that will take all of an app's standard UIViews, and shake them up, Harlem-style. Even if you're not a developer, you can see the effects of the code below. As old and tired as these meme is, it's still pretty funny to see the standard iOS controls get down to the dubstep. As Velos Mobile says, "Please don't ship this." Developers can add it in their own code, and we may even see some apps make videos with it, but it's a pretty much just a silly hack rather than an actual feature. Still, it's good for a laugh or two on this Friday afternoon.
O hai, Twitter now has LOLcat language opshun, kthxbai
It's been a busy week at Twitter, what with new rollouts like an upgraded search engine that'll pull in older tweets and a simplified search tool for mobile app users. So it's now time to have some fun. As a little easter egg, the social media giant has added a LOLcat language option to add a bit of internet meme flavor to the normal Twitter web interface. The changes are what you might expect: Twitter is now TWTTR, "Compose new tweet" is COMPOZE NEW TWEET, "conversation" is CONVERSASHUN, "Who to follow" is HOO 2 FOLLOW and so forth. No, your timeline won't automatically transform into a stream of grammatical and spelling errors and your own tweets won't be magically LOLcat-ified either (for that, we suggest hitting the Speak LOLcat translator link below). Still, it's a fun little weekend distraction if you're not quite tired of the I Can Has Cheezburger meme just yet. You'll find "LOLCATZ" under the language drop down section in Settings, or you can just click on the source to check out your Twitter page in all its LOLcat glory.
Burglar breaks into Microsoft, steals only Apple products
A buddy of mine sent me this link from Google+ user Joshua Anderson. It's a clipping from the Palo Alto Daily Post about a break-in that occurred on Microsoft's Mountain View campus early this month. Despite Microsoft's offices being presumably filled with the best MS tech on the planet, the thieves instead chose to steal only five Apple iPads that were in the office. As the paper notes, no Microsoft products were stolen. Who knew that even burglars could have good taste?
Richard Garriott throws end-of-the-world party, world survives in style
If you've got the means and know-how to throw the world's best apocalyptic party, would there be anything from stopping you doing it? Nothing got in the way of Portalarium's Richard Garriott when he wanted to create one of the most cool- and insane-sounding end-of-the-world bashes on December 21st in Austin, Texas. "We thought this date shouldn't pass without an interactive soiree," Garriott explained. The creator of Ultima Online is famous for throwing strange elaborate parties, including a Titanic get-together where he sunk the boat with the party-goers on it. Garriott created a 30-foot Mayan pyramid as the centerpiece of the event. Around the pyramid were four apocalypse-themed tents, including an alien tent with a Sputnik replica and a hedonism display with naked zebra ladies prancing about. The $1,000-plus door charge for the party went toward the X Prize Foundation.
The Daily Grind: When's the last time an MMO made you laugh?
Laughing is not just good for the soul, it's great for your physical health. Seriously. That's why I'm always open to the possibility of an MMO making me laugh in a non-ironic, non-derisive way. For example, the other day I was running a dungeon in The Secret World when a skeezy succubus at the end drolled, "So sorry... but your princess is in another castle." That was good for a surprised guffaw. I'm also often amused by quest text, especially when it's a little crazy or unexpected. I'm also a fan of black humor if done right. If it's really good or catches me off my guard, I'll find myself laughing out loud and scaring my family just a little bit. So what about you? When's the last time an MMO made you laugh? 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!
NimbleBit holding a fall sale, first episode of Tiny Tower Shorts out now
NimbleBit sent along an email announcing that the company was holding a fall sale, and it made me do a double take: how does a company whose games are all free hold a fall sale? Surprisingly enough, NimbleBit found a way. From this Friday through Sunday, all of the in-app purchases in NimbleBit's freemium hits Tiny Tower, Pocket Planes and Pocket Frogs will be available for half the price that they usually are, so you'll be able to buy Tower Bux, Plane Bux or Potions or Stamps for half price. In other NimbleNews (feel free to use that for your blog, guys), the company has released its first animated short based on Tiny Tower to go along with the Pocket Planes series that was already in progress. This one riffs on Tiny Tower's upgradeable elevators, and how they sometimes tend to go a bit too slow .. or too fast. Enjoy by watching it below.
The Daily Grind: What's been your best recent death?
So the other day I was doing my typical Guild Wars 2 exploration thing when I saw that I was close to a point of interest that I needed. It was down a frozen river, so I started jogging in an Asuran fashion. I was a little distracted, however, and ended up running right off a frozen waterfall to do a fatal faceplant some fifty feet below. You can see the result above. The funny thing is that I landed next to another dead player, whose corpse let out a guffaw when she saw me arrive in the same fashion. Sometimes death loves company, y'know? In the spirit of my many, many boneheaded deaths, I'd love to hear about one of your best demises as of late. Was it funny? Embarrassing? Epic? Futile? 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!
