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How gadgets could open the potential of lucid dreaming
Recent experiments show we can learn in our dreams. What else could we do with the right technology?
All the news you need to know from the final day of E3 2015
From Day Minus-1 to now, it's been one of the most exciting E3s in recent memory. No new consoles, but lots of actually exciting sequels, ideas, games and cos-players. As we rub lotion into our lanyard rashes, we present our picks from the last day of madness. We'll be delivering our final doses of gaming news today from LA, but we'll all be talking about what was announced this week for at least the next year. Check out everything that game from our LA stint right here. Thanks for following along -- now hit it!
The Think Tank: One MMO wish for 2015
Every year when we roll out our prediction articles with anything negative (because of course something negative is likely to happen in this industry over the span of a year), a commenter invariably accuses us of wishing for the negative thing to occur. It just ain't so. Predictions aren't wishes. In many cases, we're hoping to be wrong about our suspicions and hunches and dread. We're crossing our fingers that the wind turns and statistical likelihoods are flukily wrong. Can't bet the ranch on hopes and dreams. But wishes can be fun too. That's what we're doing in this first Think Tank of the new year. This, my friends, is what wishes look like.
Proteus launching on PS3 and Vita this month with new world generation options
Curve Studios' "video dream" Proteus will launch this month on PS3 and Vita. The exploration game will include new world creation features on the Sony platforms. Players can generate their worlds using the Vita's location-tracking option and by using the current date on both PS3 and Vita. Also, players will have the chance to "remix" their worlds by using the Vita's back touch panel, and can still let the game randomly create their pixelated dreamscape. Proteus first launched on PC and Mac in January. For those that can't wait for the PS3 and Vita versions, it is available on both Steam and DRM-free through the game's official site DRM-free for $10.
A New Year, a new iPhone 5 ad -- 'Dream'
A new iPhone 5 ad has just shown up on YouTube. "Dream," oddly enough, highlights the one feature of the iPhone 5 that wasn't working properly this morning -- Do Not Disturb. In this case, Do Not Disturb is being used to keep a nice dream going ... a dream in which the narrator is playing table tennis against the Williams sisters, and winning. Thanks to Andrew for the tip!
Meizu MX resurfaces, home button gets a nip-and-tuck, turns into optical trackpad?
It's been a while since we've seen the Meizu MX, but these latest shots from Mr. Blurrycam reveal that the phone could see a substantial tweak to its main home button. These photos are likely to be of a work-in-progress handset, with plenty of bizarre cutaways presumably obscuring details of the mole. In the leaked drawings, Meizu's upcoming smartphone looked an awful lot like its M9 predecessor, albeit with a bigger screen, running on a superior A9 Cortex processor. The main button apparently doubles as an optical trackpad, with the two flanking capacitive buttons rotating depending on orientation. While it still remains uncertain whether this nub will replace the squarish button found on the MX mock-up earlier this year, hopefully CEO Jack Wong will still manage to meet the December launch date -- if only for the sake of all those loyal Mei-yo. Fans of severely obscured photography can catch another glimpse after the break.
World First: Paragon defeats heroic 25-man Ragnaros
After just a few weeks of Firelands raiding, DREAM Paragon has defeated Ragnaros on 25-man heroic mode, earning them the world first and the Firelord title. DREAM Paragon announced the news on their website, promising their kill shot and comments in the near future. Congratulations to Paragon for this world first. The heroic version of the Ragnaros fight adds a whole new phase to the encounter in which Ragnaros regains his full Firelord strength, steps out of his swirling molten pool, and becomes mobile around the platform with his new firelegs. Cenarius, Hamuul Runetotem and Malfurion Stormrage assist the players in tackling Ragnaros' many abilities in this new phase, finally putting out the Firelord's lights for good. Heroic modes for the Ragnaros fight and others in the Firelands were also not available on the public test realm, making it that much more difficult for these hardcore raiding guilds to get time in on these encounters. I am excited to hear about Paragon's time with these bosses in the Firelands. At only seven bosses, the Firelands is one of the more accessible raid zones, with a time commitment that feels far smaller than the monolithic endeavors of the past, like ICC or Ulduar. Has Firelands presented enough of a challenge to the top of the top guilds? Whatever the case, congratulations again! I hope that my guild will be at heroic Rag's door in the near future.
The Road to Mordor: Dungeon-running with Turbine
As we talked about last month, Turbine's toting around a double-barreled shotgun full of content that it's preparing to unload. While the biggest blast will undoubtedly be Lord of the Rings Online's third expansion, Rise of Isengard, the team is working hard to provide us with plenty to do between now and then. Part of that effort is directed at Update 3, which is currently scheduled to go live on May 23rd in North America and after June 1st for Europe when the LotRO Global Service takes effect and all of the accounts are moved under Turbine's purview. I eagerly sat down with Turbine's Aaron Campbell and Joe Barry for a play-through of Update 3's two new three-player instances, Halls of Night and Inn of the Forsaken. Both of these scalable instances will be available to a wide swath of players, and they feature mechanics and sights never before seen in the game. Also, they're wicked cool. So join me today as I take you on a brief tour of horrors and adventures beyond imagination. Has everyone used the restroom before we go? Are you sure? It's a long article; I don't want you leaving in the middle of it. OK, let's ride!
Meizu MX to be Jack Wong's next dream phone, coming with HDMI-out by year's end (update: HSPA+)
It's only been 109 days since Meizu's remarkable launch of the M9 Android, but as we all know, there's nothing stopping our man Jack Wong from teasing his next flagship phone on his forum. Previously known as the M9II, Wong has now renamed this 4-inch handset to MX -- apparently short for "meng xiang" or "dream" in Mandarin Chinese, though X can also cunningly double up as the Roman numeral for 10 here. Also shared is the above real-life shot of an MX mock-up -- not far off from the earlier render -- which is appropriately seen chillaxing on the CEO's bed. In a separate forum thread, we're told that HDMI and coaxial digital audio outputs will be present on the MX, and a 16GB model will be released by the end of the year probably for ¥3,580 ($548). While this is a significant jump from the M9's ¥2,699 ($413), Wong insists that both phones share the same profit margin, and frankly, this will still be a pretty good deal for some Cortex-A9 goodness under a larger screen. We'll be right here waiting for you, Meizu; or we could just pop by your factory again some time. Update: Jack Wong's also confirmed HSPA+ support for some sweet 21Mbps download speed. The phone's getting better by the minute! Update 2: And we now have an 8 megapixel camera with flash.
Cyanogen Mod 6 -- the one with Froyo -- hits target list of devices, first stable release
If 6.0.0 RC1 just wasn't cutting it for ya, CyanogenMod-6.0 has released what's being touted as the "first stable release based on Android 2.2" and has hit the target number of supported devices, which by our quick count includes EVO 4G, Slide, Nexus One, Dream / Magic, Aria, and Droid -- and we might be missing a few.. You know the drill; if you need a bit of Froyo in your mobile life. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Cyanogen squeezes Android 2.2 Froyo into G1, MyTouch 3G
Earlier this evening, we took the plunge -- now, we're rocking Froyo on our formerly old-and-busted T-Mobile G1. That's because Cyanogen's team of ROM hackers has come through once again for the little handset that could, serving early adopters with HTC Dream and Magic phones (as well as the Nexus One) with the first fully-functioning, stable build of CyanogenMod 6. Based on Google's famous frozen yogurt, the release candidate's got more fabulous tweaks than you can shake a stick at, but sadly doesn't seem to include Flash 10.1, and though WiFi and the camera are working great (as well as SurfaceFlinger and Chrome to Phone) many would-be shoppers in the Android Market are finding themselves faced with the dreaded force close. As usual, you'll find instructions at the source link if you understand the risks -- if you're not careful, you can easily brick your phone. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Study explores link between gamers and lucid dreams
So, you know that recurring dream you've been having for the past three weeks? You know, the one where you're riding cross-country in a hot air balloon in the shape of Ed Asner's head? And then the balloon-face looks down upon you, frowns with disappointment, detaches the basket, and you fall into a volcano made of knives? According to a study conducted by Grant MacEwan University researcher Jayne Gackenbach, you might be able to take the fate of dream-you into your own hands. Gackenbach's survey concluded that gamers are more prone to reporting "lucid dreams" or "control dreams," in which they view themselves in a third-person perspective with complete control of their actions and the world around them. When faced with a nightmare, participants of the study claimed to have a proclivity to "turn and fight back," according to Gackenbach. So, next time you're falling, remember: There's been a jetpack under your sweater the entire time. [Via Fidgit]
Android 2.2 wastes no time getting hacked onto HTC Dream and Magic
Though we're not even a wee bit shocked to see a "usable" version of Froyo already available to owners of the G1 / Dream and Magic, we're definitely heartened to see that phones running 2008 specs can handily run a mid-2010 version of the platform. There's plenty of stuff that doesn't work yet -- WiFi and GPS, just to name a couple of biggies -- but we suspect that this is one dev community that won't give up until everything is working to their satisfaction. Motivation to hang on to otherwise outdated hardware for a few more months, perhaps?
Cyanogen 5.0.7 experimentally brings Eclair to G1, myTouch 3G -- caveats apply
After a brief delay, looks like CyanogenMod 5 is now out for the HTC Dream, Magic and Sapphire, also known as the T-Mobile G1 and myTouch 3G. The release is labeled as experimental, so take care not to flash it onto your work phone, and G1 owners should back up their data as they'll need to install a little something called the DangerSPL (which has phone bricking potential) and perform a full wipe. If you're the kind of individual who doesn't shy away from software explicitly labeled "danger," get cracking on that rooted Eclair at the source link. Update: Can't get through? That's because the sheer willpower of Android early adopters is crushing websites hosting the CM5 ROM like so many stale pretzels. Cyanogen is retweeting alternative options if you simply can't wait for things to quiet down.
Rogers rolls out fixes for 911 problems with Dream and Magic, cuts off data for non-upgraders
So Rogers and HTC have worked with the kind of hustle you don't normally see from carriers or manufacturers to fix a rather dangerous glitch in their branded versions of the Dream and Magic causing calls to 911 to fail with GPS enabled -- and needless to say, you're going to want to apply the upgrade on the double. Why? Well, the problem's so dangerous that Rogers has taken the unusual step of vowing to disable internet access altogether for anyone failing to apply the "mandatory" patch by 6AM today (but don't worry, you should get it back as soon as you've upgraded) which actually allows emergency calls to go through. For their troubles, affected customers will be credited one month's worth of data -- and Magic owners will be delighted to discover that their phones have magically received HTC's Sense UI as a result of this whole ordeal. All's well that ends well, right?
Rogers yanks HTC Dream from shelves for urgent emergency call fix
Some of you Rogers subscribers have probably already taken your carrier up on its offer to upgrade your Dream to a Magic, but if not, pay very close attention here: calling 911 doesn't work right now without making some changes. Basically, there's an issue that prevents emergency calls from being completed if location-based services are enabled, which means you've got to head into Settings and disable GPS -- not an optimal solution by any stretch of the imagination. Rogers and HTC are said to be working on a patch as we speak, but in the meantime, don't expect to waltz into a Rogers store and pick up one of these bad boys.
Rogers HTC Dream upgrade plan is official, still free
We smile when carriers do us a kindness, and we'd expect a few of you HTC Dream owners will agree that Rogers momentary lack of reason offer for a free upgrade to an HTC Magic is just that. So, the rub you ask? Well, that's the magic here, there all but isn't one, simply hop online or call customer care -- Rogers brick and mortar shops won't be doing this upgrade -- between the 12th and 26th of January, re-sign -- yes, to a new 3-year, but we're told that should be no more than 7 months for most users -- your contract and you walk away with a $599 handset for nothing. No added fees, administrative charges or anything, heck, Rogers is even eating the $79 upgrade fee and the $35 admin fee for the new set. Oh, but check this out, it gets better: it is an upgrade and as such Rogers doesn't even want your old set back, so you'll have a day phone and an evening phone, one 2.1 -- at some point, anyway -- and a nice 1.5 set with Sense. So, what are you waiting for? From any angle this just looks too fantastic to let slip through your fingers. Update: Well, the good deal from Rogers just got better -- as if that could be possible. It seems the lucky upgrading masses are also receiving a bonus $50 rebate on checkout. So not only do you get a free Dream and get to keep the Magic, Rogers is now paying you $50 for the privilege.
Rogers and HTC give up: Magic will see Android 2.1, but Dream gets a pass
Seems that all your cries out in Rogersland have forced somebody to rethink the official company line on updates from OS 1.5 for the Rogers HTC Dream and HTC Magic. The message was simple: there would be no updates for the devices beyond 1.5. MobileSyrup's now heard directly from HTC that there will indeed be upgrades to both devices, with the first scheduled in the next weeks. Bump one will apparently see "a number of benefits for these devices, including bringing the HTC Sense experience to the HTC Magic" though the OS version will stay at 1.5 -- in other words, you'll basically get a current-gen Hero. While that's cause for celebration, mid-year is when we'll get to the meat of the tweaks as we'll apparently see an upgrade to 2.1 for the Magic, but the lowly Dream -- due to "certain limitations," likely meager internal storage if we had to guess -- will stay at 1.5. So there you have it, your sets may get better in the near term and much better -- at least for some -- half way through the year.
Huge stash of HTC Android codenames found within 2.1 ROM
You know that leaked HTC Sense ROM with Android 2.1 underneath? Well, somebody did some digging and found a wild stack of HTC Android handset codenames buried within. It starts in the realm of the familiar, with mentions of Dragon, Passion, Dream and Hero, but then it starts to get a little wild. Here's the full list: Bahamas, Bravo, DesireC, Dragon, Dream, Espresso, Halo, HeroCT, HeroC, Hero, Huangshan, Incredible, Legend, Liberty, Memphis, Paradise, PassionC, Passion, Sapphire and Supersonic. Pretty wild, right? There's no telling what exactly this list implies, other than the fact that Passion and Dragon are indeed on the books, and that HTC's naming department can really let the superlatives fly, but we're sure all will be made clear over the next year or two.
Stats show Motorola Droid is the new elephant in the Android room
Remember back in the day when the West was still wild, the gold rush was still in full effect, you owned whatever land you could manage to fence off, and tycoons were being made and broken on a daily basis? No? Well, some of you whippersnappers might be too young to recall it, but trust us, it happened -- and it seems like that's the kind of frontier mentality we're getting again today in the nascent Android landscape. Just a couple weeks after launching, mobile ad clearinghouse AdMob reports that the Motorola Droid is already accounting for a whopping 24 percent of all its Android-based traffic -- no small feat, considering that the then-unreleased device didn't even move the needle in their October report (pictured in the left graph). The HTC Dream -- the world's first retail Android device, you might remember -- still reigns supreme at 36 percent, but it's amazing that the entire Android space is still volatile enough to register nearly a 25 percent shift with the launch of a single new device on a single carrier. For comparison, the CLIQ clocks in with a lowly 6 percent -- proof that Verizon's aggressive advertising has been working some magic. Question is, what'll be the next device to completely screw up this pie chart again?
