hobby
Latest
The Daily Grind: Do you tell people you're a gamer?
I'm not ashamed that video games are my hobby or my job, but reconciling games with the real world isn't easy. I don't volunteer details about what I do to anyone I suspect just wouldn't understand. But sometimes people ask you directly. Earlier this summer, I was in the hospital (having a baby!), and my nurses kept asking what I did for a living -- you know, just polite small talk. "I'm a journalist," I said. Few people inquire further. But one did, and I sheepishly admitted that I write about video games. "Sweet," she said, "we play consoles in my house too!" She wasn't into MMOs, but we still talked about video games for half an hour, and I felt dumb for trying to hide what I do. More than half the country plays video games, so why do we hide it? Maybe you don't, which is what I'm asking you today. Do you tell people you're a gamer? How do you reconcile your hobby with people who still think video games are for kids or weirdos? 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!
The Daily Grind: What do you need to do every day in your games of choice?
My wife and I have been exploring Loot Island (or Timeless Isle, as it's more commonly known) in World of Warcraft as sort of a daily lark. It's not our main game (that honor goes to Final Fantasy XIV) and we don't really need to keep getting more gear, but it's a lot of fun for us to just partner up and clear our way through several Elites without blinking. Actual daily quests are a third or fourth priority for us; we just need to get in that little romp. Pretty much every MMO provides some sort of incentive for logging in every single day, but there aren't many players who actually use that as their to-do list. The question for today is what do you need to do every day? Do you want to get your daily quests out of the way every single day? Do you want to run at least one dungeon? Roleplay? Earn PvP currency? Craft? Even just stand in the center of a city and spam chat channels? 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!
Breakfast Topic: Do you consider WoW a hobby?
Do you find yourself defending (or hiding) the time and effort you put into WoW from family members, friends, or coworkers? If you've ever found yourself backed into that grungy little conversational corner (leagues from the more splendid type of corner shown above), it's almost guaranteed that whoever you're talking with has never stopped to consider your gaming as a bona fide hobby. We've all used the bowling league analogy when trying to explain to people why it's important that we reliably show up on Thursday raid nights when our 24 other guildmates are expecting us. WoW's part of our social life. We love to read about it, putter and plot and theorize about it, dip into it for 15 minutes before dinner or plunge into it for hours on a weekend. It's a hobby -- get it? But despite your presence here at WoW Insider, maybe you still don't consider WoW to be a hobby. Some players consume games (even MMOs like WoW) more like they would a favorite TV series -- worth making an effort to catch, sure, but not the end of the world when a hot date or something else interesting bumps it. Maybe watching TV makes for an odd example, since vegging out in classic couch potato fashion can easily devour more time and attention than WoW yet rarely gets elevated to hobby status. What about something like knitting? Do you devote the same time and attention to raid nights as your significant other does to knit nights, yet find that only one of those activities gets considered a "hobby"? What's the difference? So what about you: Do you consider WoW a bona fide hobby or merely something you do?
iPhone takes flight on a model rocket to capture data using techBASIC
Back in the 1970s before the advent of personal computers, I was a model rocket geek. Using thin tubing, balsa wood, plastic, glue and toxic paints to build lightweight rockets that could soar thousands of feet into the air, I never thought that some day people would be able to actually launch small data-collection computers into the air. Now the folks at Byte Works -- the developers of techBASIC for iOS (US$14.99) -- have done just that, using an iPhone 4s and a custom-designed model rocket. This was more than just flying an iPhone on a rocket, though -- Mike and Patty Westerfield, the proprietors of Byte Works, used a TI Bluetooth Low Energy Sensor Tag (officially announced today) to capture acceleration and gyro information and send it to a techBASIC program running on the iPhone 4s. Immediately after flight, the information was available for viewing in the techBASIC app. Should you decide that launching your brand new iPhone 5 is in your future, Byte Works has a full writeup of the project here. The iPhone launcher (AKA ST-2) is now on its way to Norway to be exhibited by TI at a conference, but it sounds like the Westerfields have plenty of plans for ST-2 flights with higher powered engines in the future. Enjoy the launch video below!
Storyboard: Hobbyists
When was the last time that one of your characters did something fun? I don't mean something that amused you or a night of roleplaying that made you smile. I'm wondering about the last time that one of your characters got to cut loose and enjoy himself or herself. The equivalent of you having a night to just sit down and play your favorite game, except tailored for that character's particular interests. My guess is that it wasn't all that recently, partly due to the fact that you've probably never been terribly clear on what your high-level paladin likes to do for fun in the first place. And it's something I've mentioned in passing before, but generally hobbies take a backseat to personalities and relationships in roleplaying. Not that there's no merit to all of that... but there's a lot of merit to figuring out what your character finds fun and working it into your roleplaying.
Raspberry Pi's new turbo mode boosts performance by roughly 50 percent, doesn't void warranties
Giving a Raspberry Pi extra voltage is a quick way to squeeze out additional processing power and void its warranty, but the folks behind the tinker-friendly board have devised a turbo mode that boosts performance by roughly 50 percent while keeping warranties intact. After studying the effects of temperature and voltage on the hardware's lifespan, the team found that dynamic overclocking and overvolting doesn't affect the Pi's health appreciably. As a result, speeds can be pushed from 700MHz to 1GHz only when additional horsepower is needed, and things are reined back in when the CPU grazes 185 degrees Fahrenheit (85 degrees Celsius). Benchmarks show the extra computing oomph makes the Pi 52 percent faster on integer, 64 percent speedier on floating point and 55 percent snappier on memory tasks. The new mode is available in the latest firmware update, which also includes temperature and frequency widgets, better analog audio, improved USB performance and support for WiFi dongles out of the box. For the technical nitty-gritty and more details on the upgrade, hit the source link below.
Digispark, Arduino's unofficial kid brother, takes Kickstarter by storm (video)
Hobbyist Erik Kettenburg was concerned that the size and cost of Arduino stifled his ability to craft, so he set about developing Digispark. It's an Arduino-compatible board, the size of a quarter, that offers a few pins at around a third of the cost of an Uno -- so you don't have to worry about taking projects apart when you're done. Designed to be fully compatible with the Italian standard, it's packing six I/O pins, 8k memory and a full USB connection amongst other things. The aim is to retail the gear for $12 a piece, and has been so popular that it's made nearly $100,000 in Kickstarter pledges, smashing its original goal of $5,000. We've got video for you below, and you can still throw some cash Mr. Kettenburg's way if you fancy getting your hands on one quickly.
Club Jameco borrows from Etsy and Kickstarter, lets DIYers design, sell and buy project kits
Though electronics hobbyists may not have the same resources that the Maker Sheds of the world have to design, package and sell do-it-yourself kits, electronics component distributor Jameco plans to change that. With Club Jameco, enthusiasts can pitch their kit ideas to the electronic component wizards in Belmont, CA and if a project is deemed viable for production, they'll be provided with feedback and have their idea posted for public comment. After the creation of step-by-step kit instructions, a list of materials and undergoing final approval, kits will be sold to the adoring masses. Once projects roll off production lines and into garages, creators will be paid royalties anywhere from five to ten percent based on quarterly sales. Aside from giving DIYers another sales avenue, it's also an opportunity for those who've been wary of piecing together projects to finally dive in sans the added fuss. Hankering to propose a bundle of your own? Per usual, all the particulars can be found in the source link below.
Phi: a wireless re-routing card that puts you in control of the airwaves (video)
For all the talk of convergence in mobile devices, there's relatively little chatter about the coming together of wireless signals themselves. In other words, why should we have a separate device to interact with each type of wireless signal? And so, with that intriguing question, begins the pitch for a new device call Phi. It's a $750 antennae-laden PCIe card that slots into a desktop and gathers up wireless signals that are flying around the home -- so long as they have a frequency below 4GHz and don't involve bank-busting neutrinos. The card then allows custom apps to re-direct those transmissions as you like: potentially acting as a "base station" so you can make free calls from your cell phone, or receiving over-the-air HD transmissions which you can play on your tablet, or doing whatever else hobbyists and devs can cook up. Phi is still version 0.1 and Linux-only while the startup behind it -- Per Vices -- looks for a Kinect-style blossoming of third-party interest, but with nothing less than a deity-like command over the domestic ether on offer, how could it ever fail?
Cook: iCloud has 100 million users, 3 million Apple TVs sold last year
Tim Cook spoke at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, and he's shared a few up-to-date numbers about a few of Apple's platforms and services. iCloud is probably where he shared the most fascinating insight: The service now boasts over 100 million users, which is a very sizable user base. I don't know offhand how many Apple accounts are out there, but that seems like a significant amount of growth for a service that's not all that old (although MobileMe customers were obviously migrated). Apple TV is also growing -- we've already heard this year that it was big, but Cook says that Apple sold over 3 million set-top boxes last year, and a million last quarter already. He confirmed that the Apple TV was still just a "hobby" for the company, but noted Apple still wants to see more mainstream acceptance of the streaming media device before really dumping in. We'll leave it up to your imagination as to what the Apple TV would be like if Apple decided it was a real market instead of a hobby. Finally, Cook also pointed out that Apple is growing at a gigantic rate in the developing world, earning twenty times the income from previous years in developing tech nations like Asia, India, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It certainly sounds like Cook has confidently moved into a leadership role at Apple -- not only are things going great, but he definitely has a plan for the future.
Roland's iModela 3D milling machine: it's a crafty tool
3D printing. Sure, that's pretty neat, but there are other ways to make three dimensional objects at home. Roland's new iModela, for example, is an "affordable" ($899) digital hobby mill that can carve 3D shapes, jewelry, textures and prototypes out of balsa wood, foam, modelling wax and plastics. Projects definitely need to be more on the petite side, but the 3.39inch x 2.17inch x 1.02inch milling area should be good for a wide range of small craft creations. The iModela comes with all the cutting tools, software and materials you need to get started, but if you've already been tinkering with ideas, there's also compatibility with other "popular" CAD software. Want to get making right away? Tap the source, or hit the PR after the break for more info.
Open source controller framework lets you add the finishing touch
There are plenty of off-the-shelf controllers out there, but what if you fancy something a little more... you? How about fully customized, with a good seasoning of affordability and style? Design student Alex S has built a framework to help you build just that. The units shown above are for DJ-based programs, but you can create interfaces for any software that takes HID or MIDI input, and as they're modular, create endless ultra-custom set-ups. Keen to dismantle any technical barriers, Alex created a step-by-step Instructable, but you'll still need to get your hands dirty with Arduino and some circuitry. The whole project is open source, and while it's a step up from Lego, until we can just print these things, it seems like a great option to us.
Insert Coin: BoardX is an open-source, modular motherboard for prolific prototypers
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. We're more than a little enamored with Arduino and its DIY microcontroller ilk. But we'll admit, there are a few limitations that the compulsive prototyper might find bothersome. Chief amongst them is the lack of modularity, Now, sure, you can easily add all sorts of sensors, ports and radios to your Uno (or Duemilanove if you're old school) but that generally requires piling shield, upon shield, upon shield, until you've got a stack of boards three-feet high. And, if you want to use an ARM chip instead of an AVR for a project? Well that's a whole other set of boards. Kevin Greene has decided to address these perceived "weaknesses" with BoardX -- a modular, open-source prototyping platform.
Autodesk adds DIY site Instructables to its stable
Autodesk has really decided to embrace the DIY community recently. First the company launched 123D, a free design tool for hobbyists, now it's snatched up Instructables, an online repository for everything from quadrocopter plans to bruschetta recipes. There's no need for amateur inventors out there to worry about the acquisition, though -- it doesn't sound like much will be changing at the site. Makers will still own the copyright to their creations and the brand will be keeping its focus on user submitted projects, but the site's blog does promise that improvements are on the way thanks to the deeper pockets of its new owner. Most of the finer details of the purchase are still unclear, but there's some more info in the PR after the break.
The Road to Mordor: 10 things to do in the Shire before you die
A couple of weeks ago I decided to embark on a long-planned project to play through the entirety of Lord of the Rings Online -- or at least a whole heck of a lot more than I ever have previously. My thought was that in the rush to level and progress, I had been skipping much of the content that makes LotRO so unique, and I wanted to force myself to slow down, take it all in, and get over the desire to hit endgame as quickly as possible. Thus, I created Slyppi, a brand-new level 1 Hobbit Burglar with the intention of experiencing the game in full. My rules with Slyppi are thus: She will clear out every solo quest in a zone (including the epic storyline but excluding tasks) before moving elsewhere. She will go through all three newbie zones and ignore the fact that the quests aren't giving her much XP. She will take detailed notes, package them up, and send them back to me for the purposes of turning them into a guide to the interesting out-of-the-way quests and places in Middle-earth. If you're anything like me, you probably die a lot, usually in very embarrassing ways (hey, that cliff wasn't there a minute ago...). Since we all have a death warrant on our heads, we might as well get the most out of our journeys, which is why I've come up with 10 things that you should do in the Shire before the inevitable occurs. Why 10? Because it's two in computer-speak!
Plick hitches an elastic ride on the DIY robotics train (video)
Man, we hope Gumby's collecting some royalty checks for this one. One part incredible-stretching toy, and one part DIY robotics kit, the Plick project takes the traditional hobbyist approach to brick-building your own bot and slaps a little rubber all around it. The industrial design prototype from Brazilian engineer Gabriel Paciornik combines programmable robotic parts with an elastic wired connection suitable for strapping your mad scientist creations to everyday objects. So, what can you make? The kit packs a variety of sensor-based circles that react to distance and sound, giving your mod-jobs the power of movement and light. It's safe to say this not-for-market toy veers far from LEGO Mindstorms NXT territory -- and that's exactly the point. Far out video demo and its 60s beach music soundtrack after the break.
Spy satellites become reluctant space celebs, get their own paparazzi
Not only do American military satellites have to put up with the constant threat of ultrasonic space droppings, now they must also suffer the prying lenses of a couple of Frenchmen. Thierry Legault and Emmanuel Rietsch have spent the past two years turning consumer-grade components into a system that can keep up with the zippy and supposedly secret movements of craft like the X-37B space plane and the NROL-49 low-Earth orbit spy sat. Hit the source link and you'll see videos of the International Space Station, which they also managed to capture with steady-ish focus as it hurtled through space-time. Looks like nothing will thwart these guys, except maybe nano-satellites.
Autodesk 123D solid modeling software hits beta, hobbyists cheer $0.00 pricetag
If you've spent any time whatsoever in SketchUp, there's a better-than-average chance you'll have a ball within Autodesk 123D. The new Windows-based program -- which quietly slid into beta a couple of weeks ago -- is a gratis, stripped-down version of Autodesk's famed Inventor application, but it still offers a plethora of design tools for something that's being given away free of charge. We're told that just the basics are here, and sadly, it's not open source; that said, it does have an option for exporting to STL, and you will find support for assemblies and constraints. Eager to toss something else in your 3D modeling toolkit? Hit the links below to get started, and feel free to check your wallet at the door.
Fully working Super8 film projector built totally out of Lego, well almost (video)
Projecting Super8 film is a largely unnecessary hassle these days, but those words are clearly meaningless to camera nut Friedemann Wachsmuth. His painstakingly constructed Lego projector runs at a rickety 24fps without mangling celluloid, and with only the most minor use of non-Lego components (lens, lamp, spindles, bah who's counting?). The contraption serves no purpose other than to hurl photons of pure geek passion at white-ish walls, and previous Lego viewfinders and shutter releases are mere pecks on the cheek by comparison. Turn up your volume before you hit the video because the rattliness of this thing is all part of the love.
Drama Mamas: Is WoW cool? Should you care?
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. Drama Mama Lisa got a letter from a fan, and we've stolen it for this week's drama. Hi Lisa My name is Joe. I'm a 15 year old student from the UK. I've been a reading of your blog for a long time now and have been enjoying it for just as long. I'm writing to you today with a WoW related issue that I need advice on and I've come to you as not only do I want a experienced professional but also long-period, friendly WoW gamer. I played World of Warcraft for around 2 years, then I quit but got back into it. Last December I quit my subscription again and haven't played since. I have only recently began reading Wowinsider again and have been engrossed with the posts for 2 weeks. Now, I'm also watching cinematic videos, gameplay videos and anything recently on Wowinsider. This has confused me about whether or not to re-join the World of Warcraft community. I really need some advice.
