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Engadget giveaway: Win an outdoors package with goTenna and more!
As we shake off the shackles of winter and ease into the more clement weather of spring and summer, it's time for travel plans to take shape. Enjoying the outdoors doesn't mean you have to ditch all the mod cons, though. This week, we have a trio of outdoors items for two winners that will let you keep the tech while you head off-the-grid. The goTenna Mesh communicator lets you stay in touch with others without a cell signal by sending texts and GPS details over radio waves. The radius of communication is a few miles when you're in the sticks, but can expand when there are more devices around. BioLite's Charge 20 is a rugged portable battery to help keep your phone and other devices topped up. And if you're out capturing footage with a camera, the GNARBOX storage unit and mobile editing software can turn some of those quiet hours in the outdoors into casual productivity without needing a laptop (iOS / Android). It even supports editing of 4K video and RAW photos. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to five chances at winning one of these outdoors tech packages including the goTenna Mesh, BioLite Charge 20 and GNARBOX editing set up. Good luck! Winners: Congratulations to Arin W. of West Lafayette, IN and Francis K. of Depew, NY!
Biolite's SolarHome 620 provides power for everyday essentials
BioLite has been leading a dual existence. While the Brooklyn-based company's been delivering off-the-grid accessories to your average camper, hiker and explorer, it's also been serving emerging markets where power may be scarce and clean cooking tools are life-saving essentials. Now, for the first time, the company is releasing a product for both markets at once following on-the-ground research in India and Sub-Saharan Africa. The BioLite SolarHome 620 provides power for lights, device charging, radio and music by harnessing the sun's rays. For some regions, this may be a game changer, but it's not without its uses in developed areas, either as an energy-saving alternative or a backup plan in case of power failures. The $150 product is being released today in limited quantities for the holidays, with a proper rollout planned for Spring/Summer 2018.
BioLite's new off-the-grid gear doubles down on power and light
BioLite released most of its 2017 product line today, spearheaded by the new and improved CampStove 2. All the products share common design features, centered around either battery improvements, expanded lighting possibilities, or both. Along with the redesigned stove, which now includes onboard power storage, there's a double-wide solar panel, heavy duty portable batteries and, in the spirit of keeping you charged up, a coffee press. The company has also expanded its NanoGrid lighting system by adding a collapsible and hangable diffusion light, a scaled-down version of the daisy-chainable SiteLight series and the long-awaited arrival of the BaseLantern.
GoTenna's new communicator crowd sources for a better signal
If you're a fan of exploring the great outdoors, especially in areas of devoid of cell service, you may have already sought out a GoTenna. These walkie-talkie-like enablers pair with your mobile device via Bluetooth so you can send messages and GPS data to others in the area using radio frequencies. Today the company is pushing the off-the-grid envelope even further with the introduction of GoTenna Mesh, along with a new premium subscription service and an SDK for developers to play with. The addition of mesh networking makes it one of the first devices of its kind, providing mobile (not fixed point), off-the-grid, long-range communication to users -- so long as there's a smattering of devices to help leverage its capabilities. This is also the first time GoTenna is launching its product internationally, utilizing available public radio spectrums in each area. Early birds can pick up a set starting at $129 on Kickstarter, but if you wait for the retail launch it'll run you $179 per pair.
BioLite's new lantern doubles as a campsite power grid
After rolling out a slew of new gear earlier this year, BioLite is ready to announce their next piece of outdoor tech. The BaseLantern is a 500-lumen, flat-packing LED lantern that lights your campsite while also creating "a mini smartgrid" you can control from a smartphone.
'All Together Now' is a Fox sitcom about friends who unplug
Time spent with friends is supposed to be cherished. Nowadays, however, the existence of things like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter make those moments a little less special for some people, namely because they keep their eyes hooked to whatever device they have near them. To that end, according to Deadline, Fox has green-lit a TV sitcom called All Together Now, which features a plot based on six friends in their late 20's who are keen to unplug from their mobile devices and interact with one another "for as long as they can stand it." All Together Now is set to be produced by Alec Sulkin and Julius Sharpe, who most recently worked with Fox on Dads, a show canceled last May, after only one 19-episode season, due to very bad reviews. The new sitcom still hasn't begun production, so it'll likely be a while before it premieres -- hopefully it's enough time for you to gather your thoughts and realize that this is really happening. [Image credit: Associated Press]
How to Disappear (almost) Completely: living off the grid
Your day begins at dawn. After all, you are lying in a sleeping bag under the open sky grateful that you haven't: a) been stabbed by a grifter, b) been trampled by a herd of animals or c) contracted hypothermia and frozen to death. Then it's off for a morning routine that involves foraging for food from the land or dumpster diving for edible scraps. If things are pretty tight, and oftentimes they are, then you might even have to rely on your fallback for food-gathering: the five-finger discount. Sound like fun? Maybe not, but that's what life is like for some people after they've willfully crossed over into the digital darkness. Welcome to what it's like living life off the grid.
Palm Pre finds fan off the grid
Alright, so you've no doubt seen plenty of Palm Pre reviews by this point (even if there's only one you really need), but we're guessing you haven't seen one quite like this one from PreCentral forum user Michael Bunker, who has been using the phone completely off the grid for the past three weeks (if you don't count the cell service, that is). Among other things, Bunker found that the Pre was particularly helpful for selling cows over the internet, keeping watch on any oncoming tornadoes, checking for the cheapest gas prices in the nearby towns, and catching up on the odd TV show (since he doesn't have an actual TV). Of course, he does also have a few complaints about the phone, including the familiar refrain of hoping to "see some more apps." Hit up the link below for the full review.[Via PreCentral.net]
Off the Grid Special: Game Design 101
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.For nearly two years now, Off the Grid has introduced (and reintroduced) Joystiq's readers to some of the best board and card games on the market. The relationship between our modern video games and their non-digital counterparts is very clear-cut. As Gamelab CEO Eric Zimmerman puts it: "a game is a game is a game."So for those readers who aspire to create games of their own, it should come as no surprise that non-digital games are a great starting place for honing the craft of game design. With no programming skills required, non-digital game design is an easy way to begin thinking creatively about interaction, without the complicated prerequisities of digital game development.The best leaping-off point for non-digital game design is with the tools. Most gamers probably already have some fantastic equipment in their closets. So let's look at the basic tools of the trade.
Off the Grid reviews Power Grid
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.In real life, scarcity isn't fun. Scarcity is the rising price of gas, or the difficulty of finding a job. In a game, however, scarcity can be incredibly compelling, and make for a very unique play experience. Enter Power Grid, a board game by German designer Friedemann Friese which uses scarcity at every level of its design to produce one helluva strategy title.The player's task in the game is to power as much of the country as possible (United States on one side of the board, or alternatively Germany on the other). As heads of various power companies (think Montgomery Burns or whoever runs PG&E), your tasks are to buy power plants, purchase resources, and allocate those resources to control as many houses in as many cities as possible. Money's not the deciding factor here; players will be judged and ranked solely on the amount of power they're pushing.
Off the Grid: The new roommates
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.One of the most exciting parts about moving to a new place is having new people to play with. One week ago I arrived in California, and moved in with my new roommate and his girlfriend. Jet-lagged, and achy from spending nearly twelve combined hours in airplanes and airports, I still excitedly busted out the board games from my luggage once I arrived at the apartment.I unboxed Risk: Black Ops under the pretense of showing them how pretty it was. Realistically, I was prodding, waiting for one of the new roomies to say "cool, let's play!" They sure did think it was a nice-looking game, but neither said boo on the subject of playing. I packed it up and passed out.Of course, over the past week I've learned that this was not merely a single case of cold feet. Compared to the relative ease of playing video games, or watching television or YouTube videos, or renting a film, playing a round of Carcassonne or Kill Doctor Lucky apparently just isn't worth the effort.And thus, even with a small contingent of possible opponents living in the same space, it's still surprisingly difficult to get my game on.
Off the Grid: Risk Black Ops and Hasbro's wrong direction
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.Risk: Black Ops is one of the most beautiful board games you'll never play. In anticipation of the newly updated release of Risk, Hasbro produced only 1,000 copies of this special edition game, distributing them to bloggers, journos, and gaming hobby sites for perusal and easy publicity.The response was unanimously positive. The updates to the rules -- handled by Risk 2010 designer Rob Daviau -- lower the game's initial barrier to entry, and make it possible to play through in under two hours (which is significant for Risk). Most media attention, however, was lavished on the slick, modern redesign, devised under the command of art director Lindsay Braun and visual designer Jason Taylor.Risk has always wanted to be taken seriously, but Black Ops is the first version of the game to look deadly serious. A matte black finish on the box is accented by imagery of barbed wire, dog tags, and the faintest hint of blood spatter, all rendered in a subtle gray. "History is written by the victors," the box declares in a modest sans-serif font. The game board itself is designed to look like something out of our modern war-rooms, with a visual style not unlike Introversion's apocalyptic strategy game Defcon. This is not the Risk you remember.%Gallery-20806%
Off the Grid: Travel edition (part two)
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.Last time we boarded a trans-continental flight, we discovered that non-digital gaming options for solo flyers were sorely limited. The feasible solution? Invent new games! Here are some (questionably) fun, single-player activities to occupy your time on those lengthy jaunts across the ocean.The Newest Steward(ess)Carefully watch the various flight attendants as they perform the synchronized pre-flight intstructional dance (you know, the one with the seatbelts and air masks). Try and spot the newest additon to the flight staff, based on which attendant is least in sync with the others. Bonus points if you eventually ask him/her how long he/she's been on the job.What you win: A smug sense of self-satisfaction and superiority. Not to the mention the chance to flirt with a potentially cute flight attendant. Which is a game in and of itself.
Off the Grid: Gygaxian game design
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.The passing of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax means the passing of one of gaming's most notable and influential designers. The legacy of Gary Gygax, however, is more difficult to discern than most realize. After all, the evolution of D&D is credited to both Gygax and co-designer Dave Arneson -- not to mention Gygax's other games, both before and after the golden age of his company Tactical Studies Rules. So what kind of designer was Gary Gygax?Gaming was already social when Gygax came on the scene. He was only one of a growing force of war-gamers. But it was Gygax that made gaming personal, with his own designs uniquely focused around the role of the individual. Instead of controlling the army, Gygax wanted to control the soldier. Instead of manning the fleet, Gygax wanted to man the ship.
68% of Americans suffer disconnection anxiety, should probably go outside
Sure, we'll admit to a certain unhealthy super-fun fascination with gadgetry, but a new study out this month by the Solutions Research Group says that overall, we're borderline obsessed -- and that 68 percent of Americans in general feel anxious when not connected in one way or another. The study used research collected on almost 5,000 people over two years, and found that feelings of "disconnect anxiety" affected people of all ages, triggering sentiments like "dazed," "disoriented," "tense," "inadequate" and even "panic." Interestingly, however, the reasons for disconnect anxiety changed as subjects got older -- teens and young adults worried about social communications being cut off, while older adults mostly fretted over work and safety issues. The study is backed up by all kinds of humorously embarrassing data like the percentage of BlackBerry users who've sent a message in the bathroom (63%) and the average number of Facebook friends a 12-24 year old has (159) but what we found most surprising is that just 37% of laptop owners frequently use their machines in the bedroom. That seems awfully low to us -- what if you miss something while you're asleep?[Warning: PDF link]
Off the Grid: Le Festival des Jeux
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.Every May, the French Mediterranean city of Cannes hosts the world-famous Cannes Film Festival, centered around the beautiful ocean-side Palais des Festivals building. In February however, the Palais is home to another type of event: Le Festival international des Jeux, or the International Games Festival. As in non-digital games.I had the good fortune to be living in France during this year's event, and took a day to walk the floors, snap some photos, and take in the atmosphere of a major event dedicated almost entirely to gaming off the grid. %Gallery-17077%
Off the Grid reviews Ghoulash
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.Last time on Off the Grid, we looked at the über-complicated Universal Fighting System. Attempting to ward off a headache, this week I've decided to look at Ghoulash, a dungeon-crawling 2-player paper game that doesn't do much in the strategy department, but makes up for it with easy-to-learn gameplay, and a stylish means of publication.Ghoulash is best described as a pared down version of Dungeons and Dragons, where both players are DMing for each other. Game boards are sold in Ghoulash "Scenario Pack" magazines, each featuring three unique scenarios, with four copies each. Each scenario features a map of the 2D terrain, and special instructions on top of the basic rules. Both players use copies of the same map at the same time, making the game a race to see who can complete the objectives first.
Off the Grid reviews Universal Fighting System
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.Chun Li versus Seung Mina; Nightmare versus Morrigan; Akuma versus Tycho Brahe: Ultimate showdowns we're likely never to see outside of crudely-written fan-fiction and our own fevered dreamings. Luckily for us, Sabertooth Games has devised the Universal Fighting System, a collectible card game that allows players to mix and match licensed decks to create legendary one-on-one battles.There's one problem, or maybe I should call it a caveat: UFS isn't going to be for everybody. Beyond the gorgeous illustrations, and clear appeal to video game fans, this is most definitely a gamer's game; cards are littered with special icons, point values, and ancillary functions that dwarf the relative simplicity of CCGs like Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon. Of course, the reward for this technical complexity is depth, with an incredibly strategic experience waiting to be unlocked by the hardiest of players. Not to deter you, but let this be a warning: A casual card game this is not.
Off the Grid reviews Horse Fair Card Game
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.We're not supposed to judge books by their covers, and the same can logically be applied to games. We are, however, supposed to judge books by their content -- the story, the writing, and everything else that falls between the first and last pages -- and here is where games are slightly different. While sharp writing, or a good story can often strengthen a non-digital game, ultimately it's the design that determines whether it's any good.So yes, Custom Game Co's Horse Fair Card Game has a pretty bland cover. And yes, the story is pretty much explained by the title. And yes, it does come with plastic horsies. But the only thing that really matters is the gameplay, and there Horse Fair Card Game proves that it's a lot more than just a game for little girls.
Off the Grid: Long-distance gaming
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital."Non-digital games are awesome" is the line I usually insist upon in this column. But even awesome analog games have their faults: namely, if you don't have anyone to play with, you can't really play.So, as an end-of-year treat, let's look back at the last year+ of games reviewed, and find some ways to play those suckers against some internet folk:Settlers of CatanI still haven't gotten around to reviewing Settlers, but I did chat with Brian Reynolds about the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game, which is probably the best bet for consistent, high-volume net play.For those who don't have an Xbox 360 (like, well, me), Aso Brain Games hosts an unofficial, Java-based version of the game called Xplorers. After a free registration, the site allows users to player ranked and un-ranked versions against other users and bots, and features a number of expansion and additions to the base rules, which can be toggled on or off. Don't let the low-fi look of the site dissuade you; Xplorers is a well-put-together Settlers clone, with a solid interface and a consistent number of users online at any time.
