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Paragon releases heroic Ragnaros 25-man kill video
Earlier this month, Paragon earned the high honor of world-first heroic Ragnaros kill, downing the Firelord after over 400 attempts on his fight. Heroic mode encounters add something new and difficult to the mix, but it is rare that we see an entirely new phase to an encounter. Paragon's heroic Ragnaros kill video shows the final stage of the heroic fight, in which Ragnaros submerges in his lava pool and emerges at full strength on new legs allowing him movement all over the encounter room. The final stage of the fight involves Archdruid Hamuul Runetotem, Malfurion Stormrage, and Cenarius assisting players in dealing with the entirely new mechanics this new heroic mode phase presents. If you've been trying Ragnaros or have killed him, you already have experienced the hilarious Living Meteor ability. In that new phase, meteors must be kited over patches of ice on the ground to freeze them, and then players must DPS down meteors to control the number up at any time. At that point, players are also frantically running around extinguishing ground fires and trapping Ragnaros in roots on the ground. All in all, it looks incredibly fun and challenging, and it's very nice to see Ragnaros putting his new legs to good use kicking the crap out of guilds across the world. My favorite part of the video has to be the end, with the custom death animation for Ragnaros. Watch until the very end -- it's worth it. Congratulations again to DREAM Paragon for their heroic first kill and for this awesome video of the accomplshment.
Broadband claims another: France Telecom putting the kibosh on Minitel
'Tis a sad, sad day for fans of all things retro. In a developed nation dominated by high-speed connections, near-ubiquitous 3G and sub-$€300 computers, it's more than a little astounding that the Minitel is just now being axed by France Télécom. Originally, the aforesaid machine was ordered by the French government in the 1970s "as part of an initiative to get people to share information and, eventually, reduce the consumption of paper." In a bid to rapidly increase adoption, the terminals -- complete with a monochrome screen and bantam keyboard -- were actually doled out to denizens free of charge, with access billed on a per-minute basis. It obviously required a phone line, and things were kept understandably simple; users rarely did more than shop for train tickets, check the occasional bank account and peruse the phone directory. Astonishingly, France's precursor to the internet still raked in €30 million in revenue last year, but the time has finally come to push existing users onto more sophisticated solutions. As of June 30, 2012, "the Minitel will die." 'Course, the service itself will be the only thing shuttered -- those memories are bound to last a lifetime.
Zune Originals shut down, humans revert to being average and uncreative
Hard to believe that Microsoft's been offering consumers the ability to customize their Zune purchases for the better part of four years now, but as they say, all unbelievable things must one day face reality. Er, something to that effect. Without so much as a heads-up, the designers in Redmond have apparently decided to shutter the Zune Originals storefront. As of this weekend, no new orders for highly personalized Zunes are being taken, with interested Earthlings encouraged to throw creativity to the wind and opt for a mass produced alternative within Best Buy or Walmart. So, you're looking at two tidbits of import: if you placed your Originals order at 5PM PT on July 1st, you likely have quite the coveted device headed your way, and if you ever needed evidence that Microsoft was making WP7 its next Zune, well... you're welcome. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Palm.com quietly replaced by HPwebOS.com, no wake to follow
It goes without saying that funerals are a downer, but we all deserve a proper sendoff, -- unfortunately for Palm.com, there will be no tearful goodbyes. We reported just a few months ago that Palm was on its way out, and now HP's unceremoniously given the brand's URL the boot. You can still find the Palm logo at a number of related URLs scattered about the internets -- the brand's support page, twitter account, and official blog are still up and running -- but try typing Palm.com in your address bar, and you'll be swiftly redirected to HPwebOS.com. And here we thought our aunt Pearl moved on quickly.
Google pinpoints shutdown dates for Wave, Translate APIs (amongst others)
'Tis a sad day in the world of Google... at least for developers who use any of a handful of ill-fated APIs. As the search giant's API list has grown in recent months, it's making the decision to cull a few in the effort of "spring cleaning." In fact, a grand total of seven new APIs were launched during Google I/O alone, but it looks as if the end is nigh for the Blog Search API, Books Data API, Image Search API, News Search API, Patent Search API, Safe Browsing API (v1 only), Translate API, Transliterate API, Video Search API and Virtual Keyboard API. Of those, Wave is most unsurprising, but Translate likely hurts the most -- particularly for jetsetters who relied on those baked-in services to wrap their heads around various tongues. According to Goog, the Translate API has been officially deprecated "due to the substantial economic burden caused by extensive abuse." A pretty ominous phrase, to be sure, and further proof that a few rotten apples can ruin things for the whole of us. Hit the links below to get a glimpse of the full damage -- we're warning you, it ain't pretty.
Cox ditches 3G network infrastructure, sticks with airwaves borrowed from Sprint
Cox Communications had some grand designs on the cellular market, but they're not panning out quite as the company planned -- FierceWireless reports that though Cox already poured cash into rolling out 3G equipment, it's going to scrap the whole thing, in favor of continuing to pay Sprint for borrowed airtime. Cellular service in the original three launch markets will reportedly continue, though a quick peek at Cox's website shows the current phone selection is getting a bit stagnant. While we've yet to hear any particular reasons why Cox would want to stick it out as an MVNO, we imagine that mandatory roaming agreements make it a tad easier to offer those "Unbelievably Fair" contracts. There's also the possibility that with all the 4G fervor, Cox has decided there's no point in moving forward with CDMA equipment when LTE is ripe for the picking -- and when Cox has $304 million worth of 700MHz spectrum waiting for such a network. [Thanks, Phil]
Droid Charge shows its colors in Verizon training docs, Droid Bionic gets killed off?
Samsung gave us the basic specs on day one, but Verizon's sparing no detail this week, as it trains employees how to effectively sell the LTE-packed Droid Charge to those of us who live and die by how many devices we can connect to our hotspot (10) and size of our bundled microSD card (32GB). Droid-Life brings us those revelations, while Phone Arena has a rumor somewhat upsetting if true -- that site's anonymous tipsters claim that the Droid Bionic is no more. They say that the Atrix-alike's Tegra 2 processor wasn't playing nice with Verizon's LTE baseband chips and had overheating issues too, and rather than expend more effort to fix the incompatibilities, Motorola simply gave it the boot. However, Phone Arena's quick to mention that the "Droid Bionic" name may live on, as Moto will allegedly be grooming the top-shelf Targa to replace it. We're reaching out to Verizon right now, and expect we'll have an official "we do not comment on rumors and speculation" before long. Update: Motorola tells the Wall Street Journal that the Droid Bionic has been delayed.
Cisco's axing of Flip had an additional casualty: the unannounced FlipLive streaming camera
So Flip Video's last offering wasn't terribly amazing, but we had faith that the USB pocket camcorder would get back to its simplistic roots -- you know, until Cisco axed the whole division, along with 550 souls. Well, the truth is that the company was indeed working on something rather cool, and though we'd only heard whispers until now, the New York Times' David Pogue says the day after Cisco brought down the guillotine is when the FlipLive was due to hit shelves. It would have been a livestreaming camera, connected with WiFi to the cloud, allowing users to share johnny-on-the-spot videos with the entire world in real time. Instead, the camera and its little red button are off to that great big server in the sky.
Cisco killing Flip line of camcorders, axing 550 employees in restructuring effort
Oh Flip, how far you've come. And, of course, how far you've fallen. Once a spunky upstart with oddly shaped camcorders, you got snapped up by Cisco in Spring of 2009 for a hefty $590 million in stock. Now, according to Pocket-lint, you (and your moustaches) are done for. Cisco CEO John Chambers says the brand is being dispatched as the company refocuses, done in by the proliferation of high-definition sensors into smartphones and PMPs and the like. We had been waiting for the company's next products (if you'll recall, a WiFi-enabled Mino HD hit the FCC just a few months back), but at this point, it looks like those hopes and dreams will remain unfulfilled. We're awaiting comment from the company, and will update as it flies in. Update: Looks like the "exit of some consumer operations" will lead to 550 employees being left out of work. If you'll recall, the outfit reported in February that sales of consumer products sank 15 percent, while profits slipped 18 percent as margins slid for a fourth consecutive quarter. Meanwhile, Umi will be integrated into the company's TelePresence product line and operate through an enterprise and service provider go-to-market model. In other words, Skype just ate Umi's lunch.
Sony kills A33 DSLR production, auctions off unused birthday cake
If you didn't jump on an Alpha A33 when you had the chance, you'll probably be disappointed when your eyes glaze over the next few words -- Sony has discontinued production of the translucent mirror-packed shooter. On its site, the company has noted that production has halted in Japan, without specific reasoning as to why -- though some might say that overheating sensor was just too much to bear. It's not often that a seven month-old DSLR gets canned, but if Sony's got a refined sensor waiting in a doubly refined successor... well, that'll put a plug in the waterworks real quick.
Gizmo5 shutting down on April 3rd, credits can be transferred to Google Voice
Google may not have offered too many details when it acquired VoIP outfit Gizmo5 back in November of 2009, but it's not like any of that matters now. Gizmo5 customers around the globe are receiving an email today notifying them of the service's impending closure, with April 3rd pegged as the final day that calls can be made. After March 11th, you'll no longer be able to add credit to your account, but you can request a refund or have your remaining credits transferred to Google Voice (if you're in the US). Head on past the break for the full message, and feel free to pour one out. Or, you know, just wipe that FOF off of your face by watching this. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
RIP, Palm: 1992 - 2011
HP has plenty of great new stuff to announce in the phone and tablet space today, but something is notably absent: the Palm brand. It appears to be a casualty of this acquisition and subsequent "scale," and while the brand might not mean much to the modern smartphone consumer, it will be sorely missed by those of us who have been looking to Palm (in all its various forms) for handheld innovation for roughly two decades. HP is keeping the webOS brand around, however, so there's that -- and hopefully nobody will notice when we prefix it with an under-the-breath Palm when we're feeling a little sentimental.
Exclusive: Barnes & Noble phasing out the Nook 3G
Barnes & Noble may be selling millions of Nook products, but it's sounding like the 3G variant hasn't really done its part to help those figures. We've received hard evidence from within B&N that the Nook is being discontinued, with sales to seemingly continue until stock is exhausted. The outfit is encouraging retail partners to not send out any bulk orders for the Nook 3G, as there simply won't be sufficient quantities to fulfill those orders. Of course, we're told that the company never actually received a huge amount of Nook 3G bulk orders to begin with, so maybe WiFi really is everywhere these days. At any rate, grab yourself a Nook 3G post-haste if you've been thinking it over -- once they're gone, they're gone for good. Or, you could wait for a next-gen version with a Pearl display. Just sayin'. Update: We received clarification that the discontinuation isn't due to the lack of bulk sales, they're just the first casualty of a dwindling supply.
Apple's numpad-less compact wired keyboard gets discontinued, few tears are shed
The ultraslim, metallic, chiclet-styled obsession all began back in mid-2007, but a revised iMac in March of 2009 delivered something else: a chopped-down version of the Apple Keyboard. If you'll recall, that one dropped the numeric keypad and gained two peripheral USB sockets, making it one of the more compact desktop keyboards on the market. Just shy of its second birthday, it seems as if the supply chain overlords in Cupertino have seen fit to discontinue it, though a number of e-tailers still seem to have stock for the moment. If you're dead-set on snagging one (we know, stocking's aren't that long), Amazon can make your day for $46.99, but we'd probably pony up the extra $3 necessary to bring one home with a number pad on the right.
InstantAction dies in an instant, future of embedded gaming looks questionable
Well, that was brief. Just a few short months after InstantAction went public with its embedded browser-based gaming platform at GDC 2010, the Oregon-based startup has gone belly-up. If you missed out on what this here outfit was offering, you clearly aren't alone -- but for the historians in attendance, we'd invite you to revisit our hands-on for an overview of what was planned. Unfortunately, the company has yanked all of its Vimeo clips detailing the system's features, and its website now affirms that the service as a whole is "no longer available." We're hearing that it'll be selling the underlying Torque Game Engine (and presumably that fancy "chunking" tech that enabled games to be played in a browser with just a broadband connection), but based on the tepid response so far, we're guessing it won't fetch much. We definitely saw a bit of promise in the concept -- after all, browser-based games like Solipskier are all the rage in some circles -- but bona fide console / PC games simply don't fit that mold, or so it seems.
Garmin officially exits the smartphone business, reports mixed Q3 earnings
Based on our experience with relationships, we've learned that it takes two to tango. It also takes two to produce co-branded wares, and with ASUS already withdrawing (respectfully, of course) from the ill-fated Garmin-Asus smartphone partnership, this here is more a formality than anything else. That said, those worried that Garmin would try to loop in another handset maker in order to manufacturer yet another Garminfone that 3.4 people would consider buying can rest easy. In the company's Q3 2010 earnings, it confirmed that it is "winding down" its smartphone efforts, and rather than continuing on a path to doom and destruction, it'll be ramping up marketing efforts in the aviation and maritime sectors. As for quarterly results, the company did see net income rise to $279.5 million (up from $215.1 million a year ago), but shares fell as it issued a depressing outlook for Q4 amid weakening demand for standalone PNDs. Hate to say we told you so...
Roku 'disallows' PlayOn, cites 'possibility of legal exposure'
Bummer. Just a few short days after PlayOn support was apparently added to Roku's stable of set-top boxes, it looks as if the fun has come to an abrupt halt. Based on quotes from both PlayOn and Roku staff members, it sounds like the PlayOn channel will no longer work on those who try to get it installed, but those who managed to slip in early may be in the clear. Jim, a PlayOn staffer, stated that his company was "contacted today by Roku and told that they were going to disallow this channel," and because neither the Roku channel developer nor Roku "are affiliated with PlayOn, [they] have no control over the situation." On the Roku side, one Patrick has confirmed that "while... many of you are excited about a PlayOn-compatible Channel and may be using it, it unfortunately presents the possibility of legal exposure for us; as a result, the current PlayOn channels have been removed and are no longer available to add to your Roku player." If your bubble has just been popped in the worst possible way, we'd probably start looking into that 30-day return policy -- for you early birds, is PlayOn still working on your Roku box? Hit us up in comments below. [Thanks, Brian]
ASUS officially walks away from Garmin-Asus partnership
Chalk another up to the rumor mill. Just as we'd heard, the Garmin-Asus partnership will soon be no more. After a few arguably valiant attempts to break into the smartphone market, it seems as if ASUS is walking away in hopes of finding greener grass elsewhere. According to Reuters, an unnamed ASUS official has confirmed that it would be "ending its mobile phone cooperation agreement with Garmin." We're expecting the rest of the breakup details to roll tomorrow, but honestly, you'd turn the other cheek and move on if you were classy. But we both know that's not happening, right?
The Daily Grind: What kill gave you the most satisfaction?
"One day, I swear, you'll be the death of me!" our moms promised. While this never happened (and if it did, we at Massively will not be caught harboring fugitives in the comments section), it turns out that we did become the death of many, many things. MMOs are virtual slaughterhouses, full of bloodthirsty warriors and crazy-eyed mages looking to exterminate the local fauna in exchange for a few pieces of coin and an experience point or two. Killing is what we do, and we do it quite well. In the spirit of rat-murdering sprees, we want to ask you: What kill in an MMO gave you the most satisfaction? Was it a major raid boss that you and 39 of your closest friends finally downed? Was it the final death blow at the end of a super-long grind? Was it even a PvP victory in which you finally got even with an annoying nemesis? Today it's OK to admit that you're a stone-cold killer. In fact, we welcome it. Share with us, so that we may admire your savage strength! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our 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 The Daily Grind!
Google plans 1-800-GOOG-411 funeral, asks for an indefinite moment of silence
If you're still using Google's 1-800-GOOG-411 voice search hotline, you're obviously one of only a handful. But you're special nonetheless. To that end, Google's giving you just over a month to speed dial its dedicated local search line, and come November 12th, the aforementioned number will likely lead to a dial tone (or a decidedly unpleasant disconnected message). The Big G isn't pointing to a decrease in use as the reason for its death, but is instead suggesting that the company will be moving onward and upward with "more innovation" in the voice search department. Of course, Google's voice search app can be downloaded free of charge on most any smartphone, but it looks like dumbphone users may have to find an alternative to calling in their search queries. We'd say "going with you gut" is probably a solid choice.
