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Paris votes to ban e-scooter rentals
Paris residents have dealt a blow to e-scooter rental companies Lime, Tier and Dott, voting in an 89 percent landslide to ban "trotinettes" from streets.
Pocket Casts will give existing desktop customers Plus for life
Earlier this week the popular podcast app Pocket Casts announced some big changes. In addition to making the mobile app free, Pocket Casts unveiled a new paid subscription tier, Pocket Casts Plus. It said customers who previously paid for desktop access (a one-time fee of $9) would be given three years of access to the new Plus version. That didn't go over well with existing customers, so Pocket Casts has backtracked. Now, the company says anyone who paid for the desktop version will be given lifetime access to the new Plus tier.
Netflix’s pricier ‘Ultra’ tier is inevitable
Netflix took Hollywood by storm with insights on customer data, bold decisions and a blank checkbook. But if the streaming service is going to spend as much as it does, it's either going to have to significantly grow its audience or find a way of making more money out of its existing customers. One way might be to get users to pay an additional €3 ($3.50) each month in order to view the streaming service's growing library of HDR content.
Netflix raises the price of its basic HD plan (again) in the UK
Netflix is investing heavily in new TV originals, and maintaining the standard set by House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Daredevil doesn't come cheap. With that in mind, it should come as little surprise to hear that Netflix is raising the price of its basic HD subscription from £6.99 to £7.49 per month in the UK. Subscribers are being notified via email, and it's worth noting that the increase only applies to new customers. When the rate was last changed in May 2014, Netflix promised a two-year price freeze for existing subscribers paying £5.99 per month. It's not yet clear, however, if those paying the £6.99 rate will be offered a similar deal. At least for now, it seems Netflix is keeping its cheapest plan (one device at a time, SD only) at £5.99 per month and its premium plan (four devices at a time, HD and 4K) at £8.99 per month. At face value the price rise is bad news, but maybe it'll give Netflix the money to hire Clarkson and friends for House of Cars.
Tinder's paid service launches with a pretty sleazy catch
If you didn't think that your opinion of Tinder could go any lower, something new pops up to make you change your mind. The hookup app has reportedly launched its long-awaited paid tier, but in Europe, users will have to overcome something worse than left-swipes: ageism. Tinder Plus users who are under 28 years old will be able to subscribe to the service for just £3.99 ($6.39) a month, but users over that age will be asked to spend £14.99 ($23.03) -- nearly four times as much for the same thing.
The Soapbox: Old content should stay relevant
The archetypal themepark MMO model, as popularised by World of Warcraft, is a race to the level cap in order to unlock the best content on offer. New content is tacked onto the endgame regularly, accompanied by improved gear and perhaps a higher level cap. It's a system that's designed to keep people playing by keeping them on a progression climb that's constantly getting steeper. As a consequence, endgame activities render older content obsolete since these outdated activities carry little real benefit for fully leveled characters. Exploring old content for the sake of experiencing it is not enough of a motivator for many players since this content simply cannot present the same challenge as it once did. Although you can technically go back and play through old dungeons, they will never be as fulfilling when tactics become optional and you can solo once-formidable opponents. In this week's Soapbox, I will mourn the loss of fantastic older content that was rendered obsolete through vertical progression, using WoW as a key example. I'll go on to suggest a solution that I think might allow for both old and new content to exist together in relevancy without significantly compromising the themepark MMO's existing progression mechanics.
How do you like your armor sets?
It's been a long, long time since the days of Magister, Dreadmist and Devout. With each expansion, we've seen the release of new tier sets of armor -- but the design style has changed a little from the days of old. There was a pretty interesting thread over on the EU forums regarding tier sets and their progression over the years, pointing out that earlier armor sets were far more visually distinctive and iconic, something that seems to have waned with each successful armor set. The original poster suggested that perhaps the transmog feature has made the artists and devs unwilling to push the boundaries of dazzling creation. This prompted several responses to the thread by Community representative Vaneras that shed some light on how armor design is looked at.
EVE Evolved: Fitting battleships for PvP in Odyssey
Tech 1 ships in EVE Online used to be arranged in tiers that determined the cost and power of the ship and what level of the appropriate skill was required to fly it. This gave a sense of progression back in 2004 when all we had was frigates, cruisers, and battleships, but developers have since filled in the gaps between ship classes with destroyers, battlecruisers, strategic cruisers, and tech 2 ships of all shapes and sizes. In a recent game design initiative, CCP has been removing the tiers from within each tech 1 ship class by buffing the lower-tier ships up to the same rough power level as the largest ship in its class. The recent Odyssey expansion saw the humble battleship buffed beyond all recognition. The Megathron, Raven, Tempest, and Apocalypse all became extreme damage-dealing powerhouses, but the Dominix, Scorpion, Typhoon, and Armageddon were buffed the most. Each of them can now fit several monster setups, dealing upward of 1,000 damage per second or completely disabling enemy ships with energy neutralisers and electronic warfare. The build costs of these tier one battleships were more than doubled in the expansion, but prices are only slowly rising due to the existing stock on the market. That makes the tier one battleships incredibly cost-effective PvP powerhouses at the moment, and players are beginning to take advantage of it. In this week's EVE Evolved, I experiment with PvP setups for the newly revamped Typhoon, Armageddon, Scorpion, and Dominix battleships.
EVE Evolved: Get ready for Odyssey
With just two days to go until EVE Online's exploration-focused Odyssey expansion goes live, players have been scouring the test server for information that can give them an edge. Some have been practicing moon surveying techniques for the upcoming redistribution of tech 2 minerals, and others are hoping to get rich quick by speculating on battleship price changes. Explorers are kitting out new exploration ships, theorycrafters are working on new setups for rebalanced ships, and pirates are setting up base in lowsec areas that are about to become fertile hunting grounds. Odyssey isn't quite the Apocrypha-level expansion I've been hoping for, but it certainly seems set to shake things up. Changes to moon minerals will throw nullsec into chaos and hopefully ignite some big territorial wars, and battleship buffs may change EVE's popular fleet compositions. The Discovery Scanner Overlay will make exploration much easier for new players to get into, but will also give pirates another tool with which to hunt down explorers. A new co-operative hacking minigame will also make exploration more of a team sport. But how can you make the most of the expansion from day one, and what can you do today to prepare for it? In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the new exploration system and other changes you can expect when you log in on Tuesday, and what you can do now to make the most of them.
AT&T to offer increased data plans for business
AT&T has announced that it's rolling out new, large data plans meant for businesses. Starting on March 22, businesses will be able to sign up to data plans covering either 30, 40 or even 50 GB of data per month, which can be shared across a number of phones on one plan. There is a standard charge per month for each tier, and then AT&T charges per phone on the rest of the plan. If you'd like, the business can even sign up other tablets or devices like laptops to the plan, allowing one plan to cover all of the devices your company uses. In addition to the new plans for businesses, there are also new data only plans for customers, which you can hook up to tablets, laptops or other devices, without paying extra for any phone charges. And finally, for businesses that need more than these larger plans, there's a Business Pooled Nation plan, which allows for up to 10 GB per device if you indeed need more bandwith or more devices than the standard plan allows. The limit is 25 devices for a 50 GB plan for businesses, or 10 devices on any of the plans for customers. But then again, if you have more devices than that, you're probably using more data every month anyway, right? The new plans, again, will go into effect on March 22. [via iMore]
The beauty of classic WoW's Molten Core
Back in the days of WoW's original release, Molten Core was, in many ways, the raid. It wasn't the only raid, and it certainly wasn't the only raid that left a lasting impression on the consciousness of WoW players. Nonetheless, if you were raiding in classic WoW, you started with Molten Core, and that experience inevitably shaped the way raiding has been perceived ever since. What was it exactly about Molten Core? Was it the sprawling, maze-like dungeon (which didn't have a map at the time)? Was it the memorable boss fights and quotes? Was it the iconic gear drops? Was it dealing with the reality of trying to organize 40 players into their different roles and individual responsibilities? I'd say all of the above, to an extent. The first time you do anything new, be it visiting a city or raiding in a video game, there is a certain significance to the occasion that can never truly be replicated. As the first big raid most classic WoW players experienced, Molten Core has had a special place in our collective hearts for a long time now. Let's take a trip down memory lane with a look at some of the unique and fun aspects of Molten Core, many of which I miss but honestly would not want to have to deal with again.
App.net introduces a free tier, currently invite-only
App.net is a service that's had its fans and opponents -- it's currently used as a microblogging service, similar to Twitter, where users can share files and updates easily. But unlike Twitter, App.net's had a philosophy of staying away from ads, letting users keep all rights to the content they create, and keeping the API as open as possible. Until now, App.net has only had paid tiers of service, but starting today, they've announced a free tier, meaning users can now join the site and the network for free. As you might expect, there are some limits. First, you'll need an invite, and the invites are being given out to paid account holders, so it's not exactly an open door just yet. After you sign up, free accounts can only follow a max of 40 people, and will only have access to 500 MB of storage, with a max file size of 10 MB. App.net is also giving away some extra storage space to those who invite users who stick around and follow others, so if you have a paid account already, there's a chance at a bonus if you invite the right people. If you don't get in on this first run, don't worry -- App.net's devs say they're going to be opening up the process going forward, depending on how it goes. App.net's API is now used by more than 100 third-party apps on a number of different platforms (including apps like Netbot for iPad on iOS), and I expect that number will rise as more and more people join and use the service. In the past, App.net has gained attention (and accolades) for being a very limited, paid-only network, but offering a freemium tier like this is the next step towards really creating the "movement" and ecosystem the team originally wanted.
24 wireless operators agree on data roaming alert mechanisms, do nothing about actual roaming rates
GSMA, also known as the entity that produces Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo each year, seems to be onto something. And by "something," we mean "getting 24 carriers around the globe to agree on a single point." That's no easy feat, mind you, and the latest release from Shanghai asserts that 24 operator groups have agreed to implement new measures in order to better inform jetsetters about data roaming rates when they land. America Movil, AT&T, China Mobile, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom-Orange, Hutchison 3 Group, SoftBank Mobile Corp., Verizon Communications, VimpelCom and Vodafone Group (among others) are all onboard, with the following measures to go into effect by the end of 2012. For one, texts will be sent to remind customers of their data roaming tariffs when they arrive in another country, and there will also be a monthly data roaming spending limit paired with the ability to "temporarily suspend" one's data when usage exceeds said threshold. Of course, alerting users to how they're about to be hosed only seems like part of the issue. Till that's addressed, we'll keep carrying an Xcom Global MiFi or hunting for a local SIM upon arrival.
Sprint reportedly confirms data throttling for 'top one percent' of abusers (update: Sprint confirms no throttling)
So, wait -- is unlimited just unlimited, or is it "unlimited?" Let's ask the man who spent a solid 30 seconds (and countless millions) explaining precisely that back in March of last year... oh, wait. Despite Sprint's claims of keeping its "unlimited" plans "truly unlimited," it seems that there is a special asterisk reserved for those who really attempt to push the boundaries. No real surprise, honestly, but CEO Dan Hesse was quoted earlier today as saying the following in regard to heavy data users: "For those that want to abuse it, we can knock them off." Moreover, he affirmed that throttling can be implemented for "about one percent of users," but did continue to say that there were no immediate plans for The Now Network to follow its contemporaries into the deep, dark world of tiered data. Of course, this is also the man who told us that "nothing is guaranteed forever," so make of it what you will -- particularly with an LTE network going live in around six months. Update: TechCrunch says that Hesse was misquoted, and that the quips only apply to people "while roaming." That'd sure make a lot more sense, but don't go overboard just to find out, okay? Update 2: Sure enough, Sprint has confirmed there is no throttling going on.
The Daily Grind: Is a tiered launch the way to go?
I'm sure you know where I'm going with this one. Star Wars: The Old Republic launched earlier this week, and if you pre-ordered the game, you were allowed to play during an early access period before retail launch. This meant that early adopters were rewarded for their loyalty, but not all at once. Early access was granted according to pre-order date... for the most part. We can only imagine BioWare decided to do this to prevent the massive server queues that have recently plagued triple-A MMO launches like RIFT's. While it may have toned down the intensity a bit, server queues are still a problem. After all, those who got in early didn't mysteriously stop playing on retail launch day. The traffic seems to be consistent, but it's the players' locations in the game world that seem to have benefited the most from the tiered launch. So we want to know what you think. Did BioWare set a new standard for MMO launches, or was this whole experiment a flop? 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 Care and Feeding of Warriors: The visual set for warriors, part 2
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host. At present it looks unlikely that other classes are getting dragon-aspect-themed tier 13 sets. This means that as of right now, with mage, warlock, druid, shaman, rogue and paladin sets also revealed, the warrior set is indisputably the best-looking set so far. We look awesome. Warrior tier sets in general tend to always look, at the very least, good and serviceable. One of the innovations moving from Naxxramas' tier 3 to The Burning Crusade's tier sets is that it took the idea of the warrior design aesthetic and branched it out to cover both role warriors could play in raids. When we talked about the visual set for warriors in classic WoW two weeks ago, one of the most glaring notes was that tanking sets got the unified look of a tier while DPS sets were cobbled together from various non-set pieces and had no unifying theme to characterize them. There was essentially one tier set per raid, and it was either tanking or tank-capable. Both Zul'Gurub and Ahn'Qiraj presented warriors with "sets" that were composed of both DPS and tank pieces.
Blizzard reveals mage tier 13 raid gear
Blizzard has been on a spree of patch 4.3 raid information recently, first showcasing the new warrior tier 13 Colossal Dragonplate Deathwing-inspired armor as well as the warlock tier 13 General Vezax/Faceless Ones-inspired set called the Faceless Shroud. Druids and shaman also got to see their new gear. Mages are next up for a tier 13 sneak peek as well as a retrospective on the previous tier sets to showcase all the past mage regalia for transmogrification when the patch hits. This new set, Timelord Regalia, looks absolutely awesome, with crazy explorer goggles and a nice color scheme. Mage tier sets have always been pretty cool, in my opinion, but this takes the cake. I love the goggles. Cataclysm armor design has been top-notch throughout, and this final raid's epic sets really bring home the weight of our actions at the end of the expansion. %Gallery-133939% Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Patch 4.3: Druid tier 13 armor revealed
So far, the final raid of Cataclysm looks like it is shaping up to be one of the most epic tiers of content we have experienced yet. Warriors and warlocks have gotten previews of their new armor sets coming in patch 4.3, as well as associated transmogrification-centric retrospectives on their previous armor iterations. Druids, your time is now. Sadly, the armor set does not yet have its associated name. We originally surmised that the druid armor would be based on the green dragon aspect Ysera, as the warrior tier was based on an aspect. Looks like we were wrong-ish. Druid tier 13 looks great, somewhat inspired by the world tree Nordrassil, and I'm sure all of the resto druids who actually get to see it most of the time will be very, very happy. I cannot wait to see what it looks like on a Troll, to be honest. %Gallery-133474% Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Patch 4.2: Shaman and warlock tier 12 sets revealed
Building on their previews from last week, Blizzard has released sneak peeks at two more tier 12 sets: shaman and warlock. The warlock set is pretty clearly based on Firelands boss Beth'tilac, the gargantuan fire spider queen; the shaman set is a little more general but you can definitely see influences from old Ragnaros gear like the Crown of Destruction. Besides, we all know that the best shaman sets are ones where chains and exploding rocks are involved, so chalk this one up as a win for patch 4.2. Check out the warlock set after the cut, and be sure to check out our full tier 12 gallery below. %Gallery-122557%
WoW Fashionista: Creating that "super" summer look
Patch 4.1 might have just come out, but it's been months now that you've been sporting that same old tier. With the trade chat PUGs finally catching up to you on gear, are you worried about how you're going to get people to inspect you while you fake standing AFK outside the bank? Sure, you could mount up, but you know in your heart that Invincible mount is sooo last expansion. Fortunately for you, WoW Insider is here to get your bags ready for the summer slump with the hottest new look! With Thor already in theaters and several more costume-heavy blockbusters like Captain America and Green Lantern on the way, you can bet your Val'anyr that the superhero look is in. Better start dusting off those classic capes in the bank and hope to Elune you didn't shard that Netherblade Facemask.
