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Netatmo's Welcome connected camera recognizes who's home
Whether you wanna keep an eye on your pet, kid or reception room, there are plenty of connected cameras for the job. Netatmo, best known for its quirky weather station and smart thermostat, thinks there's still room in this swelling product category, today announcing the "Welcome" home-monitoring camera. Through iOS, Android and PC/Mac apps, users can remotely tap into a live 1080p broadcast from the camera, which has a 130-degree field of view and infrared LEDs for night vision. By far the most interesting feature, however, and one that's becoming more common to smart home gear such as cameras, is facial recognition.
Apple gives Beats a big ol' public hug
Anyone with even a casual interest in the tech world, Apple products, or personal audio knows that Apple and Beats are BFFs now, but for everyone else, Tim Cook and company have now made it official with what the kids would call a public display of affection. A new page on Apple's site is devoted to welcoming Dre, Iovine, and the Beats brand into the fold. Predictably, the welcome heaps praise on Beats and what the company has accomplished thus far while promising great things in the future. The blurb wraps up with "We can't wait to hear what's next." Get it? Get it? Apple can't wait to hear what's next. Because Beats is a music brand. Oh, what a bunch of rascals they have in Cupertino, eh?
We're live from CTIA 2012!
The International CTIA Wireless show is a magnificent showcase of the best in the mobile industry every spring, and we've got a full team of editors ready to scour the show floor in the hopes of finding some precious gems. Unlike last year, we won't expect the show to be mired by news of major acquisitions, but we're still anxious to see what goodies await us here in New Orleans. Are you as excited as us? Stay tuned right here for the latest and greatest! Tip: check out our CTIA Wireless 2012 event hub and our CTIAwireless2012 tag for all of the action. Sean Cooper contributed to this report.
The Daily Grind: How welcoming should a game be?
In the old days, games started you out in a few tattered rags, and if you were very lucky, you had a weapon after character creation. The tutorial was "try not to die." You learned where things were by asking other players or blindly stumbling from place to place. In many ways, themepark games like RIFT can be seen as a direct counter to that playstyle, giving players a clear sense of purpose and a direction so reliable it can feel like handholding. But there's another side to the discussion: the fact that how easy it is to figure things out at the start of a game contributes to how welcome you feel. There's a rush when you realize you're in a hostile world that won't hand you what you need to survive, but there's also a question of whether or not you want to carve out a niche in a world that doesn't seem to want you anyway. So how welcoming should a game be to new players? Should it be gently guiding at the risk of over-protectiveness, or should it throw you in the deep end and let you sink or swim? 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!
Worgen /welcome video from IgroMir 2009
So we wanted to be sure that you all got to see this before Blizzard has YouTube pull it. You probably have about 30 minutes at best. So go at it! The video below the break shows some introductory worgen moves from the recent Russian IgroMir 2009 demonstrations Blizzard had setup. Video is typically against the rules at these things, but a leak is a leak, and this should give players a good view of it. Of particular note is the animations at the end of the video. The /welcome animation is a worgen pointing, waving, and then getting down on all fours to sniff the air in-front of him; as if to smell the nether regions of the person being greeted as canines are prone to do. There is some discussion if this it worgen idle animation at the wrong time, or if this is part of the overall /welcome animation sequence. Unforunately we don't know, but we're all having a good laugh over it. And now you can do. The goods after the break, while it still exists.
Is this thing on?
Hi there, my name is Brett Kelly and I'm one of the new bloggers here at TUAW. My first Mac was a second-hand G3 PowerMac that I received as a birthday gift about 5 years ago, which has since been upgraded to a white MacBook that I use for absolutely everything (and my kids use as a coaster). I have a first-generation iPhone because I've convinced myself that EDGE is just fine -- or something. Apple stuff aside, I'm a husband and dad, a web developer, tattoo collector and coffee enthusiast (meaning I roast it myself in my garage). I'm also something of a recovering productivity nerd, so don't be surprised if you see my name at the top of posts ogling over the latest list management application. Yes, it's a sickness. I've been doing various blogging bits for a few years now (mostly in the realm of personal organization and "lifehacks", as it were), but nothing quite as high profile as this, that's for sure. I'm very excited to be a part of this stellar team and I look forward to presenting you with many thought-provoking, interesting posts, as well as more than a little poorly-executed humor. Like most of the cool kids, I'm on the Twitter and would love it if you'd say hello. Thanks for having me!
So you just got your first Mac -- now what?
All day on December 25, TUAW presents "Now What?" We've got first steps and recommendations for all the Apple gifts you (hopefully!) found under the tree today. Happy holidays! If you're a Mac veteran, send a link to this post to the switcher on your holiday list. Merry Christmas, new Mac owner. First of all, congratulations! Welcome to the family. There's some eggnog on the table, and feel free to put your coat on the bed. Setting up your new Mac is a famously easy experience. It should take about 10 minutes, depending on the kind of Mac you bought, and where you want to put it. Once you have your new Mac on your desk, it will take you through a short setup process to personalize your new machine. You'll choose a username, a password, and will be given the option to register your Mac and sign up for MobileMe, if you want. (You can register and sign up for MobileMe later, if you don't do it now.) If you bought any applications along with your Mac (like Microsoft Office, for example), you can install them very easily. Just insert the disc, and either drag the application to your Applications folder (on your hard disk) or double-click the installer application. You can eject the disc when you're done by dragging it to the Trash, or pressing the eject key on your keyboard. For Windows compatibility, get your Windows XP (SP2 or SP3) or Windows Vista disc ready, and double click the Boot Camp Assistant in the Utilities folder (it's inside your Applications folder). Boot Camp Assistant will walk you through the process of installing Windows on your Mac. It's not difficult, but it will take a little time. Once Windows is installed, you can hold down the Option key before your computer boots to choose which operating system to run, or select a permanent preference via the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences. You can read more switcher-specific tips in our Switchers category. If you're switching to the Mac platform from the PC, I might humbly suggest you read Part 1 and Part 2 of my experience introducing my dad to the Mac. He was a hard-core PC user until he fell in love with his Mac mini. Continue reading for a few best bets about how to extend and protect your new Mac.
By way of introduction...
Hi all. Dan Fellini here to introduce myself as one of TUAW's newest team members. Glad and honored to be here. I live in sunny Portland, Oregon, and work as the executive producer for an online video network. I love my job, love my city and love technology, social media, the outdoors and, of course, my Macs and my iPhone. In previous lives I've been a reporter, editor, sysadmin, programmer and, way back, I was an EMT. Lights and sirens baby! The first time I touched an Apple computer was back in elementary school, when I programmed Logo to act like Joshua from Wargames. Oh yes. My 6th grade teacher freaked. We were supposed to be making cute designs with the turtle, and there I was bringing our classroom to the brink of global thermonuclear war. How about a nice game of chess? Not so much. Now, as an adult, I spend 8, 12, sometimes 16 hours a day in front of a MacBook, a MacBook Pro, or my iPhone. I'm not saying I couldn't live without Apple, but my quality of life would definitely not be as good. And that's the point. That's why I'm here, writing about a company I don't get a paycheck from. Writing about a company that (let's be honest) charges a bit too much for their products. Writing about a company that doesn't know I exist. I'm here because Apple products contribute to my overall quality of life, in a positive way, and when a company or product does that, it's a special relationship. There are so few companies like that these days. I'm not a fanboy. Let's get that cleared up straight away. I'm not of the 'Apple can do no wrong' mentality. What I am, though, is a big fan of products that are well designed, well built and that inspire me to do good work. I'm thrilled to be part of this team. I've been reading TUAW for a long time, and have always considered it the blog of record for the word on Apple. To be a part of it now is something I'm quite proud of. Now, on to more pressing issues...
May I introduce myself?
Hi y'all! I'm Megan Lavey and I'm one of the new bloggers here at TUAW. I've been writing off and online in one form or another from the time I could hold a crayon. I've been using a Mac ever since my classmates and I engaged in the first-grade version of smackdown brawls in 1986 over the right to play The Oregon Trail on the two Apple IIs with color monitors while the rest of us were stuck with the gray monitors on the Macintoshes. My first personal Mac purchase was an iMac G3 in graphite. The latest (and first Mac I ever bought new) was a MacBook, late 2007 Santa Rosa model. I am still on the first generation iPhone and I'm trying to justify the eventual purchase of an Apple TV.I'm a 28-year-old journalist, involved in both the reporting and design side of the newspaper industry, who has currently gone freelance. Some of you may have read my review and critiquing work for AnimeonDVD (now part of Mania) and Visual Editors. I am a voracious reader, spend my time convincing family and friends that the cult of the Mac is the best thing that will ever happen to them, enjoy candlelight dinn... oops, wrong introduction. I am excited about being part of the TUAW team and look forward to contributing to the site and hearing from you as well!
And now for something completely different...
Greetings, TUAW readers. Allow myself to introduce...myself. My name is Kent Pribbernow - a freelance web designer and tech writer hailing from Fort Wayne Indiana - a land of corn fields, lake resorts, Amish buggies, and deadly turnip bombs. As a long time blogger, I have written about all things Apple with passion and enthusiasm, minus the Kool-Aid and mock turtleneck. Now I join the TUAW team in delivering you the best Apple coverage anywhere. I look forward to your comments, and most of all filling your RSS reader with lots of great content. Keep reading.
PC World welcomes Apple to their charts
In a move that's causing many to check out their window to see if the sky is falling, PC World has laid out a welcome mat for Apple's hardware into their Top Power PCs testing charts, thanks to Boot Camp. So far, no Macs have made the charts due to some policy quirks (they typically only test stock PCs - Macs don't ship pre-installed with Windows) and test compatibility hiccups, but from a blog entry covering their initial tests, the iMac running Windows XP fared pretty well.We certainly live in interesting times with Macs running Windows, rumors of virtualization in Leopard and now Apple's hardware being put to the test alongside its now (let's face it) PC brethren hardware. We'll keep our ears out for more results on just how well these new Macs stack up.
Welcome, one and all, to PS3 Fanboy!
Whether you're here because you saw the related post on Joystiq Central or because a link was flashed elsewhere online, we wish to warmly welcome you to PS3 Fanboy, the site that loves Sony's next console with all its heart (even if it ends up with that batarang prototype as a controller).For a few more details on the wild 'n' crazy guys responsible for bringing this site to you, check out our unofficial welcome post with its shameless bios and boastful claims.We couldn't be happier to join the Joystiq family of fanboy blogs (especially our dearest brother Gizmondo Fanboy), and we certainly hope you enjoy your stay here. Just six weeks till the E3 overload... are you all ready yet?
