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Guest Post: What will be Patch 4.0.1's legacy?
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. As the dust begins to settle in the wake of the great patch-aclysm of 2010, it's time to look back with a little perspective and see exactly what we've been left with. The most immediately visible effects revolve around the drastic changes to many of our favorite classes, but frankly, a bit too much hubbub has been made over these already. The WoW community is -- to put it delicately -- a rather passionate bunch, so we tend to react strongly to the need to relearn our classes. Realistically, though, it's just a matter of figuring out which playstyles suit us the most, adapting to them and hoping we don't lose any friends and guildies as casualties of evolution. Damage numbers are also relatively meaningless at this stage in the game. While we're sure to see some frustratingly unviable specs in Cataclysm like we have in the past (*cough* PvE subtlety), for the most part, the developers can tweak code through patches and hotfixes to ensure that we all eventually see appropriately-sized numbers flashing before our eyes. Since the order of buttons we press to succeed is in a constant state of flux anyway, we'll eventually forget that X skill or Y talent even existed. But some things will stick with us longer. I believe Patch 4.0.1's legacy depends more on permanent game changes that we'll one day take for granted.
Garmin's Foretrex 301 and 401 navigators are like pixelated breadcrumbs
Get lost easy do ya? Then you'll find Garmin's new Foretrex 301 and Foretrex 401 navigators more handy on the switchbacks than a sack full of Wonder "bread." These wrist-worn GPS navigators feature a rugged, waterproof design and the ability to store up to 500 waypoints and 20 routes that'll help keep you from getting lost in the great outdoors. See, each Foretrex can remember up to 10,000 points of your journey displayed as a dotted trail on the screen. When you've reached your limits, just turn on the TracBak mode and easily double-back to camp or to your vehicle. Both devices are powered by a pair of AAA batteries for about 18-hours of use -- a bit less on the 401 which needs the extra go-juice to power the electronic compass, barometric altimeter, and wireless link back to compatible Garmin devices including heart-rate monitors and cadence sensors. Both incorporate a trip computer, sunrise/sunset and hunting and fishing information with USB tethering to PC or Mac. No word on pricing or release yet but we'll update you when we get it. Foretrex 401 and full press release after the break.
Force Dynamics' 401 simulator chair is pure abuse
Sure, your racing games are exciting... we guess. Though when you think about it, they don't really deliver the kind of visceral, knock-about action of an actual race, do they? That's where the Force Dynamics 401 comes in -- a simulator chair which features a "direct transfer of information," i.e., you get bruises if you drive poorly. Judging from the video (which you can see after the break), you'd be hard-pressed to get a more realistic experience... unless you were actually driving a race car at breakneck speeds around tight chicanes whilst passing speeding, desperate competitors.
