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Know Your Lore: Nazgrim and Taylor, faces for their factions
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. Don't panic, I promise we'll get back to the naaru fairly soon. But this week, with patch 5.0.4 a mere week away and the Mists of Pandaria a month after that, I wanted to cover two figures who rose to prominence in Cataclysm and who you'll be seeing more of soon. There will be few spoilers for the upcoming expansion -- just a discussion of Captain Taylor and Legionnaire Nazgrim, who in many ways exemplified their respective factions in the expansive questing of Vashj'ir. I don't want to give too many spoilers for Mists of Pandaria in this post, but some are unavoidable. Be warned now that the video linked in this article and some of the discussion at the end will touch upon Taylor and Nazgrim's roles in the Jade Forest and beyond.
Long live the Samsung Taylor: prototype device to receive Mango?
Keep looking at Microsoft's "where's my Windows Phone update" page, concerned that Mango may never make it to your WP7 device? You may be comforted to hear that even the Samsung Taylor -- the beta device awarded to devs last summer that got left in the dark when NoDo came around -- is reportedly receiving the refresh to Windows Phone 7.5, inferring that the range of devices covered by the annual overhaul is pretty wide. It hasn't been made official, but the above screenshot was posted on the Facebook Wall of a Microsoft employee (which has since been taken down), offering a solid indication that the idea isn't too far-fetched. If you're one of the lucky few to have the prototype handset in your possession, be on the lookout and keep us apprised if Mango comes knocking on your door. Everyone else should feel at ease knowing that if the Taylor can get it, it's likely that every other Windows Phone can too.
Microsoft suggests WP7 dev prototypes won't get NoDo, upsets someone
Looks like it's out with the old and in with the new for Windows Phone developer handsets, with Microsoft announcing it has no intention to provide NoDo (or any future updates) to beta devices such as the Samsung Taylor. Even though test units were given free to many devs, a few poor saps have reported buying them from third-parties. Without eulogizing, we'd like to remind everyone that these phones were born from the greatness of the i8910 only to give coders early access to the platform. Considering what's coming in Windows Phone Next, perhaps it's time to shed that prototype hardware and move boldly forward. That commemorative Taylor will look mighty fine in a display case, don't you think?
Samsung's Windows Phone 7 prototype slipping out to Imagine Cup finalists
You thought about shipping off to Warsaw for the Imagine Cup 2010 finals, didn't you? 'Tis a shame you didn't, because Microsoft is fixing to hand out Windows Phone 7 prototypes to every last finalist at the show (around 400, we're hearing). The winning team has already received their handsets after receiving a mighty round of applause from developing Beastware, and while it's impossible to tell from images so far, the phones that they acquired look to be the same as the Samsung device we toyed with back in June. Funny -- we reckoned the finalists at a show like this would be in that elusive Kin generation. Update: Microsoft just pinged us with a clarification. Only the Rockstar Award winners are getting prototype devices today, with the rest of the finalists on a list to receive "a retail Windows Phone 7 device when and where they become available." [Image courtesy of artificialignorance]
New-fangled digital measuring cup actually improves upon the original
Now, there may not be a whole lot to this one -- it's simply a measuring cup with a backlit LCD on the handle that tells you the exact volume of the liquid you're measuring -- but it's a step forward in the culinary world, where it still feels like it's 1917 a lot of the time. The Smart Measure -- which started out as a concept on Yanko Design and has been picked up for distribution by kitchen giant Taylor -- boasts a bunch of preset measurements for ingredients in common recipes, and it can also do conversions for you, as well. There's no word on pricing, but we're expecting to see it hit shelves this fall.
Former MPAA PR man Rich Taylor joins the ESA
The ESA has a new head PR man, and he comes with some credentials. Rich Taylor is the new senior vp of communications and research at the ESA. Taylor was previously the head of the Motion Picture Association of America's communications department under former president Jack Valenti. The MPAA is well known for creating a very solid shield for the movie industry with its rating system and behind-the-scenes maneuvers.Taylor's MPAA experience will probably serve him quite well during those video game culture war flare-ups. It should also be noted that the man went from the movie industry to the video game industry -- oh how times are changing. The funny thing about Taylor's job, if he's doing it right, you'll hardly hear from him or uppity politicians in the press.[Via GamePolitics]
