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Microsoft details its plan to become ‘water positive’ by 2030
Microsoft plans to replenish more water than it uses by 2030.
'The Wonderful 101' remaster smashes Kickstarter goal in hours
If anything demonstrates that gamers love a bit of cult nostalgia, it's the eye-watering success of Kickstarter campaigns pledging to bring former hits back to life. And that's absolutely the case with former Wii U title The Wonderful 101, the remastering of which obliterated its Kickstarter goal in less than an hour.
Cleer promises 60 hours of listening time with its latest ANC headphones
Competition in the headphone space is fierce these days, but San Diego-based Cleer got our attention at CES this year by announcing the Enduro ANC, a pair of over-the-ear headphones with 60 hours of battery life. That's impressive enough, but Cleer says that's with active noise cancellation enabled. Naturally, it's impossible for us to test those claims yet, but I did get a chance to hear the headphones and check out its noise cancellation capabilities at a noisy press event.
GM won't deliver self-driving cars by the end of the year after all
General Motors and its self-driving car subsidiary Cruise will miss their goal of rolling out driverless cars by the end of the year. According to Financial Times, Cruise said more testing is needed. "Delivering self-driving cars at scale isn't just about winning the tech race, it's about winning the tech race and the trust race," Cruise chief executive Dan Ammann wrote in a blog post today.
Tesla made 5,031 Model 3s in a week
Tesla's ultimate fate, and Elon Musk's reputation has hinged on being able to produce 5,000 units of the Model 3 in a single week. Once that goal was hit, the company could finally shrug off the accusation that it was a billionaire's plaything, out of its depth and unable to compete with Big Auto. Now, at the end of its second financial quarter, the company has confirmed yesterday's rumor that it produced 5,031 Model 3s in seven days.
Set healthy goals with iHydrate
Despite the numerous studies about how drinking more water keeps us focused and energized and does things like help us fight off colds and stave off migraines, most of us fail at drinking the recommended eight glasses of water a day. iHydrate, US$1.99 in the App Store, helps you to get your daily 64 ounces through reminders and goal setting techniques. Before you start tracking your beverage intake, iHydrate asks you simple questions about your sex, age and weight so that it can set your water intake for each day. The app set my daily intake to 80 ounces of water. This seemed a bit ambitious to me, so, with the custom setting option, I reset it to 64 ounces. While iHydrate's goal is for you to drink more water, you can enter in any type of beverage. There are options for water, milk, soda, coffee, tea, juice, plus energy and sports drinks. Each of these is associated with a color so that you can track how much of each beverage you drink. Simply click on your drink of choice and enter in the amount of ounces to add it to your daily tally. Ounces are the default measurement, but you can change this to milliliters in the settings. Once you've added the drink, it shows up in the pie chart and iHydrate tells you how many ounces you have left for the day. The only flaw in this app is that it does not account for the variations in hydration levels of beverage types. When you drink a cup of coffee, the app counts that toward your daily 64 ounces of water. If the app's goal is hydration, then a diuretic like coffee shouldn't count the same as water. The more coffee you drink, the more water you need to consume to offset coffee's negative effects. The app should increase your recommended daily water intake based on how much coffee, tea or soda you drink. Maybe that will end up in a future update. Still, the pie chart clues you in to how much of your fluid intake is actually good for you. That's important for those of us who don't realize how much we subsist on coffee and soda. There is a reminder feature, which I never used because the idea of the app itself was motivation enough. You can set as many reminders as you need and make them recurring to help you build healthy habits. Other than the one flaw mentioned above, iHydrate is a great app that I plan to keep using. It's perfect for anyone who wants to make a small change that will have a big impact on their overall health.
France is the first team to benefit from goal-line tech at the World Cup
Well, the above image might look pretty straightforward, but when the shot from France's Karim Benzema bounced off the far post and deflected off the keeper into goal, in the midst of a World Cup match, there was more than a little confusion. The referee asked for clarification through the newly instituted goal-line technology, which initially (and confusingly) ruled 'No goal'. However, that was for the initial rebound, not when it bounced off the Honduras keeper and apparently crossed the line. For anyone that considers themselves a soccer fan, see if you would've called the goal yourself in the Vine clip after the break -- for as long as it remains up. (Even if FIFA isn't particularly technology friendly when it comes to the beautiful game itself, the association is surprisingly fast to act on copyrighted video uploads. Funny huh?)
EVE Evolved: Top five tips for new EVE players
I often hear people say that EVE Online is a lot more fun to read about than actually play, and I've even caught myself saying it jokingly to friends and writing it in articles. But the truth is that amazing stories like the recent world record-breaking Bloodbath of B-R5RB are a hell of a lot better when you're a part of the action or have the first-hand experience to put the event into a wider context. All of EVE was impacted by that battle, with its effects rippling through the in-game markets and reshaping the political landscape of New Eden. But to read about it, you'd think the carnage in B-R5RB ended when $310,000 US worth of titans went up in smoke. EVE has seen a huge influx of fresh faces since that colossal battle at the end of January, with thousands of new characters being created and the Rookie Help channel bursting at the seams. Whether you've always been a closet fan of EVE who has finally been convinced to take the plunge or you just want to join the ranks of the warring alliances you've read so much about, starting out can be a daunting experience. The sheer amount of information there is out there to absorb and sort through is overwhelming, and not all of it is up to date. CCP released a great new player guide recently to help newcomers assimilate, but I've still received several emails asking for advice on getting started. In this week's EVE Evolved, I delve into the new-player experience with a 14-day free trial and reveal my top tips for starting out on the road to creating your own sandbox story.
iControlPad 2 reaches Kickstarter goal, shipping later this year
I'll be honest: I thought that US$150,000 as a Kickstarter goal for the iControlPad 2 wireless controller was too high, but it turns out I was completely wrong. Not only was the project funded, but backers have pledged $190k and still counting with a few more hours to go. The impressive response emphasizes the demand for a physical, button-based controller for the iPhone and the iPad, not to mention all of the other platforms iControlPad hopes to work with, including the upcoming OUYA console, PCs and Macs, and any other Bluetooth-enabled device. If you want to back the project, there's still time (as of this writing). If the developers follow the same pattern as the first iControlPad, there should be more units to sell later on as well. The devs say they hope to ship by Christmas, and presumably app developers can start supporting the iControlPad 2 as soon as they arrive. Congrats to the team on a successful Kickstarter project. Here's hoping we see the final product soon.
Paid Twitter wannabe App.net hits $500K target with time to spare
Paid Twitter-style service App.net has achieved its self-imposed $500,000 funding goal with almost two days still left on the clock. The social platform is the brainchild of Dalton Caldwell, who said he wanted to spawn a service dedicated to users instead of advertisers. It was originally pitched to Facebook, but the two companies came to loggerheads when it clashed with the social network's own App Center -- inspiring Caldwell's Kickstarter-style campaign. Though the software is still in alpha, over 10,000 backers have paid $50 for an annual membership or put down $1,000 for support, developer tools and a meeting with the founder. The company will now start working on its terms of service, letting users offer feedback and discover new features -- and if you wanna be @John instead of @JohnFDoe99427 on the new service, you may want to pony up, quick.
Breakfast Topic: That longing feeling
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. Once upon a time in a distant land called Azeroth, a Night Elf druid was born. This little Night Elf was running around being its level 4 self, exploring the world and its purpleness (Teldrassil being the whole world for a level 4.) A hop skip, and a boat ride away, she found herself in Stormwind, city of the humans. "It's not nearly as purple here as it is back home!" Hardly two steps into the great city when all of a sudden the sky darkened and a deafening screech rose. At first startled and then in awe, the little druid looked up to see the silhouette of a great winged dragon. The best part about it ... it was purple! "I must own that dragon!" She thought. After a quick trip to the internet, the goal was set and the journey began, pushing through 80 levels of dungeons and deaths, beginning the rep grind, and finally obtaining the fruit of the efforts: a netherwing drake. Although I don't play that Night Elf druid as much anymore, I still remember the wonder and awe I first felt when I began playing. Have you had similar experiences? Did you ever have a goal that you once thought was unobtainable? If so, did you prove yourself wrong, or does your goal still elude you?
Wings Over Atreia: Are we there yet?
Are we there yet? Are we? Are we, huh, huh? Certain phrases are so embedded into our culture that few can escape the vivid imagery that comes with hearing them. For some, it rings back to memories of yore -- station wagons and long dusty road trips for the family vacation. For others, it can be simply the walk to the ice cream shop with a toddler. For me? I actually envision gaming in Aion. Gaming? Yup, that's right-- this iconic phrase emphasizes a specific mindset in our culture that permeates everything, including gaming: All that matters is the destination. There are plenty of examples of those who rush to endgame, plowing through and bypassing as much of the "unimportant" stuff as possible. For these folks, the game doesn't even start until max-level. However, there is a yin to that yang; there are also those who actually find the journey to be the experience worth having, folks who don't feel any need to race to endgame at break-neck speed and instead partake of the content along the way. Most gamers adopt one of these two philosophies, their real-life views and personalities often steering towards one side or the other. How do these two philosophies manifest themselves and duke it out in Aion? Rush (or mosey, whatever your preference) past the break to see.
Wings Over Atreia: Endgame = end of game?
It happens. All good things must come to an end... except (hopefully) your favorite MMORPG. After all, the whole idea of the MMO is to keep going endlessly, right? To supposedly ever-evolve -- there is no final "win" that concludes the story as in single-player RPGs. However, what do you do when you hit the level cap and have "been there and done that" with everything in game? I guess that's the disadvantage of not having a sandbox; as much I love the graphics and my friends in NCsoft's Aion, there really is just a finite list of things to do. Now before anyone gets up-in-arms or sneers "I told you so," no, I am not quitting and I haven't given up on the game. I still enjoy it. It just so happens that my mind zeroed in on the topic this week as I logged in over the course a few days and just stared at my screen, wondering what I wanted to do. While I was feeling under the weather a bit (which dampened my endurance and enthusiasm to complete any major dungeons), I started wondering about what there actually is to do in Aion after you reach and sit at maximum level for a while. For me, the two things that keep me interested in my virtual worlds are the community and friends that I find in game as well as exploring and experiencing new things. One involves the company providing regular content updates; the other allows for player-created content. But once there is nothing left to explore or experience, friends can drift away... so what does that leave? Pondering this subject and watching the community around me actually brought up some expected -- and some not quite expected -- answers. Join me past the cut to look at different ways Daevas spend their time in Atreia and how they keep their interest sparked.
Storyboard: Archetype discussion - the Errant
If you've seen The Princess Bride but haven't ever read the book, you have excellent taste in movies but you're missing out. There's a lot that by necessity had to be cut from the film, but the lost detail that stands out is just how much time Inigo Montoya spent training and preparing to hunt down the six-fingered man. It's one thing to be told that he strove to kill this man for years; it's another to be told in detail how hard he fought, how long he quested, and how much effort he poured into his goal until there was almost nothing left. Today's archetype is Inigo Montoya. He is Roland Deschain, he is Alessan di Tigana, he is Captain Nero and James Ford and Depth Charge. He is the Errant, and he is anyone devoted to a singular purpose that drives every second of his actions. And he's probably the most problematic of the archetypes out there, because sooner or later he's going to have to deal with what it means to complete that purpose. So take a seat, and let's go on a single-minded journey.
TUAW's Daily App: Captain Ludwig
I've already exclaimed my love for Dizzypad, and Captain Ludwig is a game in the same vein. You're tasked with navigating a character (in this case, a little man) around a series of rotating platforms. However, while Dizzypad is more of an open-ended arcade game, Captain Ludwig adds some strategy and goal chasing to the mix by emphasizing collection and exploration. The game is a series of stages, and each stage has stars to collect; the overall goal is to explore the entire "system" of spinning planets. There are a few other elements (mines and rockets both hinder and help on the journey), but the biggest innovation is just that sense of exploration. Unlike Dizzypad, where it was all about timing, Ludwig actually gives you someplace to go. You can try it for free with the lite version or pick up the full game for just US$1.99.
Disney wants to take Epic Mickey to 'Nintendo levels' on the Wii
Gamasutra got a chance to speak with the executive VP and GM of Disney Interactive Studios, Graham Hopper, who says that Disney is swinging for the stands on their future game releases. The games division is learning from "pure" gaming studios and their success, and while Hopper admits that the company hasn't always treated their properties correctly on the gaming side, starting with Disney's Epic Mickey, it wants to "give their projects the time and appropriate resources to be successful." In other words, let them stand on their own as games, rather than squeeze them up against a movie's release date. And Hopper hopes for quite the payoff, too -- while third-party titles on the Wii have been hit or miss (mostly miss), Hopper expects Epic Mickey's success to go "to Nintendo levels." He does say that they don't want to turn Mickey into Mario by "simply using him as an icon or an avatar in a game," but Disney's goal in the future will be to make sure that each of their properties' appearances are worth it. Hopper says if they port a film to five different gaming platforms, customers should expect "not the same story five times over, but five different stories, each uniquely suited for the platform they're on." A good plan to have, but much easier said than done.
DISH Network pulls up 30 stations short of 150 HD channels goal
It was a valiant effort, it really was, but unless DISH Network pulls 30 channels out of its back pocket this afternoon, it will fall short of its 150 HD channel goal. If you'll recall, the satcaster proudly proclaimed that it would be offering 150 high-def channels before the year's end, and with just hours to go (in this part of the world, anyway) before 2009 begins, it looks like failure is in sight. Now, there's nothing at all wrong with 120 high-definition stations -- we mean, hordes of cable subscribers would do unfathomable things for that many options -- but it's certainly good to call DISH on the rug in order to get those extra 30 out on the double. Let's make a deal, DISH -- you provide the remainder to the people within 30 days or so, and we'll pretend you meant before Chinese New Year.
Breakfast Topic: Finding motivation to level or grind
Arrowd of the US Cairne server has a question: How do you keep leveling without getting bored, abandoning a character, or rerolling? She says that she's had around 14 characters, and she's never managed to stick with one past about level 45. She always gets bored, and she wonders if there is a way to avoid it. Now as I've mentioned before, I've leveled a lot of characters myself, and have a few 70s, but even I can sometimes get a little bit tired of the grind, and sometimes even I need to make up goals to keep myself focused. Sometimes I even need it for my level 70s if I'm running low on gold or raiding supplies. In that way, I can definitely feel where she's coming from, but I do (usually) manage to keep myself motivated. Sometimes, for me, the Motivation is pretty simple. For example, on that Shaman I'm leveling, what keeps me going is the prospect of getting some sweet Dual Wield action going. I'm actually having a lot of fun with her, so I don't need to focus on it too hard, but the idea of imagining her with 2 axes enchanted with Windfury is a mental picture that is too awesome to put into words. I mean, we're talking cover of a Dragonforce album awesome. So now I turn the question over to the rest of you. Whether it be leveling on a lowbie or grinding on a 70, how do you keep yourself motivation when the going gets tough and you get tired out? Is it the promise of a new skill? A new piece of gear? What keeps you charged up and logged in?
EVE Online: play test factional warfare, June 4-6
CCP Games announced a new series of factional warfare playtests for EVE Online's imminent Empyrean Age expansion, and are seeking help from all available pilots in New Eden. EVE dev CCP Tanis stated that the first release candidate for the Empyrean Age is being put on the Singularity test server, and that CCP is now focusing its attention on the gameplay mechanics of the long-anticipated factional warfare system. The playtest will focus on the offense and defense of capture points and the conquering of solar systems. Players will be divided into either Caldari or Gallente factions; each faction will have an offensive and defensive team. The ultimate goal is to capture as many systems as possible while preventing the opposing faction from gaining any territorial control. CCP developers and ISD will be on hand to answer questions and guide players. When: June 4 to 6 (Wed., Thurs., Fri.) from 11:00 to 14:00 EVE time (GMT).Where: Singularity test serverWhy: "We really cannot stress how important your feedback is to us." Another Why: Each day the players on the winning side will be given a stock of officer modules !! ... *dramatic pause*... on the test server only. (Sorry.) Also the player who submits the best bug report will be given maxed out skills on the test server. How: Join the in-game channel "Faction Testing" for instructions.CCP Tanis also reminds players that the latest Singularity test server patch is required to participate in the playtest. The patch should ONLY be applied to a second copy of the EVE client, and NOT the main client used for everyday play on the Tranquility server. That is, unless you'd prefer to call the test server "home" from now on. Further details can be found in the official announcement; EVE Online account login is required to access this information.
Getting enthralled, or getting to bed?
WoW tends to be a night time activity for most people, many of whom find that it's surprisingly easy to move from one objective to another and lose track of time until the wee hours of the morning. Some people I know sometimes stay up most of the night playing WoW, only to get an hour or two of sleep before whatever they have to do the next day. They're young and they say they make up that sleep at other times, but still, no one would argue that this sort of situation is ideal. A recent study reported by CNN says they're not alone. People who play MMORPGs tend to sleep less and spend more time playing than players of other computer games. It may seem obvious, since MMOs are by nature somewhat of a time-sink, but there is undeniably something more to it; any activity can potentially be a time-sink, after all -- so what is it about MMOs that makes people actually sink time? The answer is up for debate, of course, but one important factor is that WoW's community of players gives the accomplishments within the game a context of reality. The game's goals, dangling in front of us like carrots, would be nearly meaningless if we could only appreciate them in a single-player context, but with a whole realm of other players working alongside us to get them too, they can feel very important. If the choice is between a few hours having dreams you won't remember, or getting a little closer to riding an impressive dragon mount, then certainly sleep can seem boring and useless by comparison.
