Barb Dybwad
Articles by Barb Dybwad
Video: WowWee Bladestar takes to the (indoor) skies
We caught up with the WowWee Bladestar in the wild to snag some video footage of this Cylon killing machine battery-powered flying wonder. Hat tip to Veronica Belmont and the Mahalo Daily team for the special CES video coverage, after the jump.
Video: Logitech Squeezebox Duet
We got some hands-on time with the new Logitech Squeezebox Duet, the device that ensures Daddy never sleeps at night. Veronica Belmont and the Mahalo Daily team provide the eye candy after the ever-lovin' break.
Microbial fuel cell insights bring practical poo power closer to reality
It's been a while since we had an update from the exciting frontier of microbial fuel cell technology, but researchers at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute report a recent breakthrough in understanding exactly why bacteria seem to enjoy donating their electrons for the potential betterment of gadgetkind. The ASU team developed an equation that describes the relationship between the rate of bacterial metabolism and the electrical potential of the fuel cell, enabling a much more accurate model of how an MFC actually works. The researchers are working with this information to optimize fuel cell performance and power output, which to date has been disappointingly inefficient. Before long, we could totally be taking it for granted that our robotic underlings are powered by beer and poo.
Rock Band mod uses real drum pedal
Real skin pounders will appreciate that the Rock Band drum pedal controller lacks a certain finesse you find in a real foot pedal. After a friend trashed his pedal in a frenzied late night jam, Justin Kistner let necessity mother the invention of a mod allowing use of a real kick pedal on your next Band World Tour. Details of how to replicate the setup are after the jump, helping you prevent those unsightly double kick flubs on Expert. [Via digg]
Ask WoW Insider: Do you tip your tank?
Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery. Last time we discussed identification with your virtual self, and this time we turn our attention once again to an issue of instance etiquette; James wants to know if it should be customary to tip your tank after a run: Hey guys, I was wondering if there is some standard etiquette for tipping your main tank after instances. The repair bill for our much-loved meat shields is usually much higher than the bill for me and my clothy brethren, so I'm curious if most PUG's will throw the MT a few gold after a run. To be honest, I don't normally tip the MT (and in my experience, they don't expect one) but is this something we should do? If so, what's a good amount? What's the verdict: do you tip your tanks, or do they not deserve the special treatment? Are there any circumstances in which you'd feel more likely to tip? What's a reasonable amount, and does it vary by instance? Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.
Massively weekly highlights
You'll have to forgive us for a couple of days' worth of lag time on the weekly highlights -- we were waylaid by an acute case of food coma (it wasn't pretty). But without further ado, here's what you don't want to miss from last week's Massively feature coverage (check out all the weekly highlights and daily roundups for the best of Massively at any time): Tabula Rasa Remembrance Day Tabula Rasa: A time to remember, part one Tabula Rasa: A time to remember, part two Massively special feeds Massively special feeds: SL-free, WoW-free, and WoW 24/7 Guides Yule-tide quest guide for non-Hobbits, by Dan O'Halloran WoW gift guide, by Marcie Knox Holiday goodness WoW gifts? I has em!, by Marcie Knox WoW holiday eats and treats, by Barb Dybwad Winter Veil coverage at WoW Insider Gift guides for MMO gamers, by Barb Dybwad
WoW Insider and Massively special WoW 24/7 feed
As many of you know, our new sister site Massively is also in the habit of covering this little game we know and love. Some of our readers have expressed concern about missing any potential WoW news across the two sites, and we are nothing if not concerned with what our readers want. So by popular demand we are pleased to offer this special "WoW 24/7" feed that includes all post from WoW Insider as well as all posts in the World of Warcraft category at Massively in one handy RSS feed. That's all WoW, all the time, folks. Enjoy! WoW 24/7 feed This feed is a combination of the WoW Insider feed and all posts from Massively in the World of Warcraft category. If you're looking for a one-stop feed to get all the WoW news we're covering on either site, this is the feed for you. Warning: this feed may contain occasional duplicate news stories that are picked up by both sites -- although they will often contain different levels of analysis. Warning 2: this feed may occasionally miss a feature column that mentions WoW tangentially but is not categorized specifically WoW. You can still check out any of Massively's regular features in one convenient spot. Subscribe to the WoW 24/7 feed We hope you enjoy the custom feed -- let us know if you're experiencing any problems with the feed. If you have a special request for another feed remix, you can also send it our way and we'll do our best to add any popular requests to the special feeds offerings.
Massively special feeds: SL-free, WoW-free, and WoW 24/7
We aim to please here at Massively. While we're still dedicated to bringing you all the best of both MMO and virtual worlds news and views, we recognize that in the age of customization some of you might appreciate even more finely tailored information. We've also had several requests for specific feed remixes, and we'd like to do our best to accomodate your requests. We're using the excellent service at Feedrinse to bring you a few specialized feeds. By popular demand we're offering the following filtered feeds: Second Life free feed World of Warcraft free feed WoW 24/7 feed Hit the break to find out more or subscribe to any of the special feeds.
WoW holiday eats and treats
'Tis the season to be hungry, friends. Looking for WoW-themed treats for a gamer Decemberween? WoW Insider will keep you well fed this holiday season. Hit up the WoW gift guide and treat your loved ones too, won't you?
Massively wins a Gnomey for Best MMO News Source
If you twist our arm just right, you can get us to toot our own horn. We're humbled and surprised to have been selected by the inimitable Nerfbat as the winner of this year's Gnomey for Best MMO News Source in the 2007 Nerfbat MMO Blog Awards! Though we've only been around for a short time, we plan to continue bringing you hot and fresh (and frequent!) news about all the MMOs already out there, new games on deck, and especially the rumoured titles around the corner. We're going to do our best to live up to our Gnomey! A big thanks goes to all of our readers who contribute great enthusiasm, insightful comments, intelligent feedback and timely tips -- thanks for helping us make this site a fun place to hang!
Massively on Twitter
For all you Twitter fiends out there, you can now follow Massively right in line with all your friends' "what I had for lunch" tweets. It's powered by Twitterfeed and set to poll the site every 30 minutes for updates, but still appears to miss the occasional post -- so for mission critical updates you should still hit up our RSS feed (or category feeds, to follow a particular game or games). For the MMO-loving Twitterholics among you, enjoy the boost to the size of your infocloud.
Gift guides for MMO gamers
What do you get the gamer who has everything? Our vote is for a Legolas navel ring. But don't just take our advice (please!) -- have a gander at the gamer gift guides we've prepared for you and your MMO-besotted loved ones. And of course, don't forget we're also celebrating this holiday season by giving you lots of presents -- enter each day's sweepstakes for some easy "just-leave-a-comment" free stuff, or try your hand at our holiday postcard contest and engage your creativity for a chance to win a Plantronics DSP-400 headset, a Logitech G15 gaming keyboard, a Logitech G9 laser mouse, or, if you're our grand prize winner, all of the above. Merry Festivuhannuveilmas from all of us at Massively! Holiday gift guides WoW gifts? I has em!, by Marcie Knox Christmas gifts for your Second Life resident, by Akela Talamasca Gifts for the City dwellers, by Jonathan Northwood Holideals: Tabula Rasa stocking stuffers, by Chris Chester Massively's gift guide for the Star Wars Galaxies player, by Michael Zenke Second Life holiday shopping guide - December 8th edition, by Moo Money Unusual holiday gifts for LotRO players, by Dan O'Halloran
Massively weekly highlights
Along with bringing you all the MMO news that's fit to print, we at Massively also strive to bring you a healthy dose of original features. You can always find the complete features collection at massively.joystiq.com/tag/featured, but we'll help you catch anything you might have missed (including the top breaking news posts of the week) in our weekly highlights roundups. You can also find the Massively highlights from each day in our daily roundups. Live events Richard Garriott talks MMOs at GWU lecture, by Chris Chester Age of Conan press event Age of Conan Product Developer interview, with gameplay video, by Akela Talamasca Age of Conan artwork for your drooling pleasure, by Akela Talamasca Top 10 MIA MMOs of 2007 Top 10 MIA MMOs of 2007 - part 1, by Chris Chester Top 10 MIA MMOs of 2007 - part 2, by Chris Chester Hit the break for more highlights from our regular columns, podcasts, original comics and a roundup of our holiday gift guides!
Ask WoW Insider: Are you who you play?
A hearty howdy and hello and welcome to this week's edition of Ask WoW Insider, wherein we humbly beg your forgiveness for going AWOL for a few weeks. Last time we got together we talked about who should pull in groups and instances, and this time we turn our attention to a more philosophical conundrum. Reader skoh-fley has a question about how we conceptualize character identities: I often hear my friends talking about their characters, saying things like "my mage is 42 now", or "he just got a new cloak", when I would normally say something more like " I'm 42 now on my mage", or " I just got a new cloak". To me, it seems weird that some people reference their characters in third person, as if they're another real person; it's like they're telling a story and their character is the protagonist. But I'm sure some people think I'm a little weird for talking about my character like I am them; maybe I'm a little too emotionally deep in the game and have been treating it the same as real life. Is it normal to talk about your character as if they're you, or are they two separate entities? And what can be said about people who treat their character as themselves -- are we too involved in WoW, or do we simply see it more as a part of life than a game? How do you talk about your characters to those curious "real people" out in the "real world"? How closely do you identify with your character(s)? Is it normal to grow emotionally attached to our virtual selves? Have you got questions? The truth is out there! Send us what's on your mind and we just may choose your question to publish for Ask WoW Insider. We need your submissions at ask AT wowinsider DOT com!
Hot MMOs on deck: a roundup
Age of Conan Age of Conan Product Developer interview, with gameplay video Age of Conan artwork for your drooling pleasure Hands-on impressions Heads roll in new Age of Conan trailer Age of Conan video all about scary monsters Age of Conan product director, Jorgen Tharaldsen: "You'll see titties" All Age of Conan news %Gallery-9836%%Gallery-11743% Pirates of the Burning Sea Crafting hands-on Mission preview Tales from the Pirates of the Burning Sea endgame press tour All Pirates of the Burning Sea news %Gallery-11461%%Gallery-11209%
Massively weekly highlights
Along with bringing you all the MMO news that's fit to print, we at Massively also strive to bring you a healthy dose of original features. You can always find the complete features collection at massively.joystiq.com/tag/featured, but we'll help you catch anything you might have missed (including the top breaking news posts of the week) in our weekly highlights roundups. You can also find the Massively highlights from each day in our daily roundups. Guides EVE Trinity premium client patch woes: How-to-fix botched XP boot.ini file, by Matt Warner Guide to the Biotechnician class, by Michael Zenke Top 5 combat tips for Tabula Rasa recruits, by Chris Chester Hands-on Tales from the Pirates of the Burning Sea endgame press tour, by Mike Schramm Massively's Pirates of the Burning Sea character creation videos, by Dan O'Halloran Features Top 10 MIA MMOs of 2007 - part 1, by Chris Chester Hit us up after the break for our Holiday Gift Guides, regular weekly features, live event coverage, original comics and new galleries this week.
Why Second Life belongs at Massively
Or: Why gamers and virtual worlders should care about each other. We're shy of a month in to Massively's existence, and one of the more persistent bits of feedback we continue to receive regards the inclusion of Second Life content on a site about MMOs. There are really two questions to answer here: Does Second Life coverage belong on Massively at all? Is the amount of Second Life content disproportionate to its mindshare? I will herein state a claim for a definitive yes on point 1, and readily admit that point 2 is arguably a matter of taste. Maintaining editorial balance surrounding all of the many, varied games we cover is an ongoing process, and we've selected a suite of "core games" based on many factors including subscriber/member numbers, overall buzz and mindshare in the industry, and input from a secret algorithm I would love to call "interestingness" if it weren't already taken. We are proud to offer in-depth Second Life coverage as one of those core current titles. Overall, we're taking a broad definition of the concept of MMO here at Massively. While the majority of our coverage concerns traditionally "gamer"-oriented titles like City of Heroes, Tabula Rasa, Lord of the Rings Online et al, we're also providing both news and feature content surrounding more casual, often browser-based titles like Dofus, Runescape, and Flyff. Despite popular perception as niche titles, some of these games are rivaling the big dogs in terms of membership and hours played. In an industry toying with the idea of whether or not Facebook is an MMO and witnessing Google almost surely building one, we see projects like MetaPlace further blurring the lines between web-based social networking and Gaming with a capital G. In the middle of those two trends -- hardcore and casual games getting mashed up, and MMOs and the web getting mashed up -- sits Massively; and we're excited to be covering it all as it happens.
Massively weekly highlights: November 19-25
Along with bringing you all the MMO news that's fit to print, we at Massively also strive to bring you a healthy dose of original features. You can always find the complete features collection at massively.joystiq.com/tag/featured, but we'll help you catch anything you might have missed (including the top breaking news posts of the week) in our weekly highlights roundups. You can also find the Massively highlights from each day in our daily roundups. Weekly highlights: November 19-25 Regular columns Behind the Curtain: Sex sells, by Craig Withers Building a better MMOusetrap: Buildings, barrens and beyond (Part 2), by Dave Moss [also see: part 1] The Digital Continuum: Space-tripping with EVE Online, by Kyle Horner Gamer Interrupted: How to turn your wife into a gamer, by Robin Torres MMOGology: Roleplaying is dead, by Marc Nottke The Soloist: Why I do it, by Akela Talamasca Guides The Massively Guide to the Hellgate: London Mini-game, by Robin Torres Massively's Pirates of the Burning Sea crafting hands-on, by Mike Schramm
Wall o' thumbs: new galleries this week
Submitted for your approval: here's a collation of all our new eye candy this week. Galleries Dofus Gallery Exteel Gallery First Impressions: Flyff EverQuest: Secrets of Faydwer EverQuest II: Rise of Kunark EverQuest II: Sarnak starter guide Gallery
Massively weekly highlights: November 12-18
Breaking news Blizzard is not even thinking about making World of Warcraft II EQ2's producer responds to expansion grouping concerns Virtual theft in Habbo Hotel leads to real arrest Rumormill: Marvel Universe Online canceled? Interplay to rez Fallout MMO project, looking for funds Regular columns As the Worlds Turn: Hey, mom! Look at what I made!, by Adam Schumacher Behind the Curtain: Save our bosses, by Craig Withers Building a better MMOusetrap: Buildings, barrens and beyond (Part 1), by Dave Moss The Digital Continuum: Sci-Fi, Looking Back, by Kyle Horner Gamer Interrupted: You can be a great parent, spouse and gamer, by Robin Torres MMOGology: The next big thing, by Marc Nottke MMOG Podcast Roundup: Nov. 1 - Nov. 18th, by Michael Zenke