independence day
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TUAW Talkcast: Exploding Edition!
Ka-booooom! Ka-blammmmm! OOOOOH! AAAAAAAAH! Our US readers were probably treated to the first two, and said the last two during fireworks shows held coast-to-coast (and of course in Hawaii and Alaska as well!) on Independence Day. Tonight on the TUAW Talkcast we're sadly marking the end of the holiday, which for some of us actually lasted four days! There's some interesting news regarding iPhone production that we'll talk about, we'll chat about the growing consensus that the iWatch might not be just a bad rumor with a lot of nice-looking mockups, and anything else that happens to come up. Reminder on new-style talkcasting: With some help from the fine folks at Fuze, we're using the Fuze Meeting system to record the show. This should let everyone listen in live -- and, if you want, raise your hand as you would in the Talkshoe room to get unmuted and chime in. You can join the call in progress (meeting # is 20099010) at 10 pm ET from any computer via this link; if you download the Mac or Windows Fuze clients ahead of time, you'll get better audio and a slicker experience, but browser-only will work fine. Just click the phone icon to join the audio once you're in. Using an iPhone or iPad? Grab the native clients from the App Store and get busy. (Even Android users can join the party). Still feel like using the conventional phone dial-in? Just call 201-479-4595 and enter the meeting number 20099010, then press #. While the Fuze web and native clients have a chat channel, we'd like to reserve that for host participants, requests to talk and other real-time alerts... so the full-on chat for the show is already in this post, and we'll be popping in right at 10 pm tonight. You'll need Twitter, Facebook or Chatroll credentials to participate in the chat. We'll remind everyone to check back in at that time.
Massively's Fourth of July weekend MMO event roundup
It's Independence Day in the U.S., the day when gamers scarf down BBQ and try to flee family events so they can log back into MMOs. What? You know you do it. Here's a few of the events and sales and promotions MMO players can look forward to this weekend. If you know of one we missed, shout it out in the comments! Marvel Heroes is boasting a "Red, White, and Loot" boost to rotating game modes, including increased loot drops. Neverwinter has unleashed the Celebration of Lliira event, complete with fireworks and rewards. Star Wars: The Old Republic is granting double experience all weekend. The Guardians of Gaia event returns to The Secret World in honor of its anniversary. EverQuest II features a summer rebate sale on holiday items and more; classic EQ turned on double XP last night. Age of Wushu has 10 different events going on this weekend. TEN. TERA's gone live with a double-drop weekend. World of Tanks celebrates Canada Day and Independence Day with discounts on cash-shop stuff and experience bonuses. Fallen Earth is running sales and a new summer combat patch. Champions Online has introduced Stars Tights and new Liberty Grav Bike. Vrooom. The Brits behind RuneScape are hosting an in-game BBQ and offering Uncle Sam hats. Enjoy a holiday bonus weekend in Dark Age of Camelot. Black Gold Online has dedicated an in-game monument and promises streams and contests. War Thunder offers discounts and RP boosts for USA victories. DUST 514 is running an accelerated SP week. Dungeons and Dragons Online has a double bonus point promotion in the official store. SMITE still has the Ramerica eagle skin we can't stop giggling over. Wheeee. Pirate101 has a Red, White, & Blue sale going on mounts, pets, and teleporters.
The PowerBook 5300: The laptop that halted an alien invasion
In August of 1995, Apple launched a computer that would change the fate of the world: the PowerBook 5300. This 5.9lb fusion of black polycarbonate and capacitors had a modest debut, but little did anyone know that less than a year later, on July 4th 1996, it would save the world. It was on that fateful day that, David Levinson -- a cable company employee and MIT alumni -- took to the skies in a refurbished alien spacecraft, leaving behind an Earth ravaged by ongoing attacks. Once docked with the massive alien mothership, Levinson pulled out his trusty PowerBook 5300, equipped with a staggeringly powerful 100 MHz processor and a ridiculous 64 MB of RAM, and (somehow) began to interface with the ship. Nobody is really sure how he did it, as presumably the aliens' computer infrastructure was far different from the Mac OS 7.5.2 operating system of his lowly PowerBook, but at the time we didn't ask questions. We simply waited as the chunky laptop uploaded some sort of nondescript computer virus to the mothership. The totally realistic and absolutely not fake virus took down the shields of the powerful City Destroyer ships hovering around Earth, and also for some reason started a countdown which ended with a funny little laughing skull and an exploding nuclear missile. Despite this amazing success and the PowerBook 5300 being heralded as the savior of the entire human race, Apple discontinued the computer less than a month later, on August 3rd, 1996 -- because, I mean, just look at the thing.
gdgt's best deals for July 3: RCA 55-inch LED HDTV, Canon EOS 60D
Ready to save some cash on your tech buys? Then you've come to the right place. Our sister site gdgt tracks price drops on thousands of products every day, and twice a week they feature some of the best deals they've found right here. But act fast! Many of these are limited-time offers, and won't last long. Today's hottest deals include a 55-inch LED HDTV and Canon DSLR available at prices worthy of fireworks-like oohs and ahs. Want the latest deals delivered to your inbox? Join gdgt and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your "Want" list. Every time there's a price cut, you'll get an email alert!
Celebrate Independence Day with a special iPhone case
If you like to display your patriotism, you'll be happy to know that Apple plans to carry red, white and blue iPhone cases, including an American flag case starting next week. According to Mark Gurnan at 9to5Mac, select Apple stores will carry a choice of four polycarbonate cases with "ultra high resolution designs." One Apple Store employee with which I spoke could not verify this information, but did say that stores which reside in malls that are open on the July 4th holiday, will indeed be open. [Graphic courtesy of 9to5 Mac]
Automated message from absent Joystiq staff: Happy Independence Day!
Happy 4th of July to our US friends, and happy whatever date it is in your time zone to everyone else! The Joystiq team is celebrating Independence Day by declaring independence from writing about video games. Fireworks may be shot, grills may be lit, fireworks may be used to light grills, and grills may be used to light fireworks. However, we've lined up some great original stuff for you to read between your own pyrotechnics shows and savory charred foods. Enjoy it! We'll be enjoying our day off! We love writing news for you of course, but day off.[Image via Shutterstock]
All MW3 and Black Ops maps half off for Independence Day
Activision is hosting a half-off sale on all Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops map packs, running July 3-9. A portion of the sales will benefit the Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit organization that helps veterans with job placement and training.Take the burgers out of the freezer and get ready to snag the complete map collections right here.
Faxion Online celebrating independence with wings
If you're not American, the fourth of July might not mean a lot to you -- but if you are a resident of the United States, it's a holiday of some significance. Of course, it's also significant if you're an angel or a demon in Faxion Online, as it turns out even the celestial realm will be celebrating the event. After all, every time a pyrotechnic display goes off in honor of a country's culture, an angel (or fallen angel) gets its wings, which should account for just about all of the festive appendages being dispensed for the holiday. Throughout July 4th, players who log in to Faxion Online will receive the special wings for the holiday. If you're a little too busy with cookouts and parades to get online, however, there's still hope -- the wings will be available for players through July 6th. It's not a full-fledged holiday event, but it's a chance to get a little extra something out of the long weekend, and who could say no to that?
EA celebrates Independence Day with a massive sale
Rather than watching your grandma mouth along the words to Lee Greenwood's timeless Americana classic "God Bless the USA" one more time this Independence Day, wouldn't you rather giver her a run for the money in one of the many Hasbro Family Game Night games? EA's offering just such a possibility, putting nine of its Hasbro titles on XBL up for sale at 50 percent off, and offering a swath of deals on other platforms on July 4th. Perhaps you were looking to freedom-ize the necromorphs of Dead Space on iPad during your independence celebration? That's also on sale for .99 cents, alongside a handful of other iOS titles. And if you're more of the PC type, everything from Mass Effect 2 ($12) to Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit ($18) is marked down on Origin.
Realms Online celebrates the 4th of July in style with zombies and unicorns
The British are coming! The British are coming! And they want to... eat your brains? In perhaps the oddest holiday event we've ever heard of, Realms Online is featuring a Redcoat zombie invasion that starts today. Redcoat zombies are swarming over the warzone, and it's up to you to fight for independence from brain-noshing. Participating in the event will give players the chance to earn special Independence Day costumes until July 15th. Zombie invasions aren't the only things going on during the Dawn of Freedom event -- GMs will be throwing firework shows, banners will be playing the American national anthem, and other fun activities will be available. Realms Online is also selling 4th of July-themed items in its item shop for those with particularly strong patriotic persuasions. And what 4th of July event would be complete without... unicorns? Unicorns? OK, we'll roll with that. GameSamba is going to post a code on the Realms Online Facebook page that will let players use a unicorn for free for a week before it goes on sale in the store.
Five app ideas for the Fourth of July
Whether you're just hanging around your back yard, going to the beach, or waiting to set off a huge cache of fireworks, there are always a lot of fun things to do over the Independence Day holiday in the U.S. Here are some apps that can help you enjoy the fun during the holiday. Grilling: Weber's On the Grill (US$4.99 - separate apps for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad). One of the staples of the holiday weekend is the family barbecue, with friends and family enjoying the outdoors and stuffing themselves with grilled delectables. The app has 250 classic recipes, an additional 40 recipes for rubs, marinades, and sauces, and more. You can store ingredients from any recipe in a grocery list for quick shopping, send the grocery lists to others (good if you're sharing the picnic duties), read tips on grilling, and even watch short grilling videos. Last, but not least, there's a grill timer right in the app that tells you when to flip that steak. I personally use this app with my Weber Genesis gas grill and it's a winner.
Global Agenda mo-caps U.S. soldier before he deploys for tour of duty
We hope our U.S. readers have been enjoying their Independence Day celebrations. Clearly most everyone working in the MMO industry has been chowing down on BBQ as there hasn't been much in the way of major gaming news stories breaking during the holiday. However, we did come across a Global Agenda story that we think is fitting for the 4th of July weekend. Hi-Rez Studios VP of game operations Stew Chisam writes that the Global Agenda team received this from the wife of U.S. Army Captain Chris Ficquette: "My husband is in the United States Army and will be re-deployed for his second tour of duty this summer. To date, I have not yet found a bigger fan of video games than him. Is there any way that I could have my husband involved in motion capturing so that he could be immortalized in your video game?" It turns out Hi-Rez Studios was willing to oblige.
Happy Fourth of July from WoW.com
It's that time of year again -- Summer is in the air, baseball is well underway (I'm still pulling for the Cubs, even though it's a rollercoaster as usual), and things are grilling on the, um, grill. Here in America, today is Independence Day, and we're celebrating our independence from you EU folks -- don't take it personally, but we'd had it up to here with your taxation without representation, and we just wanted to spend some time on our own for a while. So while most of our bloggers are relaxing and lighting explosives on fire, posting might be a little slim around here today. Just in case you need something to read, you can always catch up on all the amazing Patch 3.2 details, dream about going to BlizzCon (or just ogle the costumes), or finish up your Midsummer Fire Festival achievements.And if the last few years are any indication, there'll be some celebrations in Azeroth this evening as well (yes, even on the EU servers), with fireworks aplenty (we're pretty sure they do them on the hour every hour this evening -- Booty Bay always has a nice display, not to mention that the bruisers are drunk there today), and free beer and food outside the capital cities. So if you're here in America with us, be sure to have a very happy and safe Fourth of July from all of us here at WoW.com!
Sega giving away Columns on iPhone for free all this weekend
Normally we'd just send out a tweet about this (that's usually what we do with free app deals, so if you're not one of the almost 40,000 people following us yet, you definitely should be), but this is a good one, and it's a holiday, so we wanted to make sure you knew. Sega is feeling particularly generous this weekend, so they're giving away free copies of their Columns Deluxe, a port of the old Genesis game, for the iPhone. The game is a pretty straightforward port -- it doesn't have any extras, and the accelerometer controls are a little tacked on from what we hear, but if you like the puzzler gameplay of Columns, and you should, it's a fun one to pull up for a few minutes at a time.Plus, it's free -- from July 3rd to Monday, July 6th, Sega says it'll be on sale for the low price of nothing at all. Sounds good to us -- sit back, put a few brats and burgers on the grill, grab a Corona (and lime, of course), and enjoy some old-school dropping block gameplay for no money at all.
Runes of Magic opens new PvE server, will hold Independence Day celebration
It looks like Runes of Magic is getting in on the 4th of July MMO celebrations this weekend. Frogster America has announced that players can usher in Independence Day with bundles of fireworks (minus any fines or risk of bloody nubs), which they can pick up for 1 diamond in-game. They've also said the holiday celebration will bring specials in the item shop with prices on three Power Bundle slashed by 75%. Frogster America also announced they'll launch a new PvE server tomorrow, "Reni", and there will be other summer activities that kick off on July 4th as well: a community screenshot contest; item and prize giveaways; and a leveling contest for players and guilds on Reni. Be sure to see their full announcement for more details on the Runes of Magic Independence Day contests and giveaways.
EverQuest's 51/50 server "Mayong" is live
Earlier in the week, EverQuest's new 51/50 server "Mayong" went live. Pretty much anyone that played EQ around launch will recognize the name as that of the infamous vampire Mayong Mistmoore, a character that was sometimes played by GMs and devs for live events way back in the day. For those not familiar with the special rules of this server type, it's fairly simple: 51 is your starting level, and 50 is the number of AAs you automatically receive upon making a character. To get people in the mood to begin the inevitable leveling races, and also to celebrate Independence Day, there is a 51% experience boost for players on all servers until Monday morning -- that's right, fifty-one percent. See what they did there?
Cinemassively: Happy 4th of July
On this 232nd day marking Independence in the United States, we wanted to feature some of the patriotic videos created in MMOs. They range from quick videos showing off fireworks in platforms such as Second Life, Everquest, and World of Warcraft, to artistic videos set to Bruce Springsteen, all the way to silly safety tips from the Red vs. Blue boys. As you're planning your real life festivities this year, considering taking some time to pop into your favorite game to get in on some of the action. Happy 4th of July!If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.Check out more videos after the jump!
Happy 4th from Wii Fanboy!
For those of us in the United States (a majority of our staff), today is Independence Day. We won't go telling you everything about the holiday, because the internet makes it easy to track down information for yourself. But, we will say that it's one of our biggest holidays, so expect us to be taking it kind of easy around here today. We'll have posts lined up for you all throughout the day, but the space between them will be wider. So, if you find yourself in front of the computer today, check us out periodically, as we'll still have some great content for you. For those of you in the United States, have a great 4th. For the rest of the world, we hope you enjoy your day. Thanks for reading!
Fiesta celebrates Independence Day with themed items
Outspark's Fiesta will celebrate the spirit of independence by holding a special parade for each game server, originating at Elderine and continuing on to OX Field, starting July 3rd. Additionally, there are a number of themed items that not only look festive, but grant bonuses to play as well. For example, the Liberty Hat grants a 7% additional probability for Critical hits, and the Uncle Sam pet boosts stats by +7. Get it? Seven?If you're wearing or using any of these items during the parade, GMs will give you treats in the form of treasure chests. These items will become available on the 1st of July. Check out the site for more information. Celebrate with Fiesta -- After all, the fun's baked right into their name!%Gallery-26337%[Thanks, Travis!]
