frozen
Latest
TUAW's Daily App: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Much like all of that snow outside your door, the App Store's top lists are currently frozen -- Apple will release what's in the top spots on the marketplace tomorrow (after the holiday), but until then, everything's staying exactly where it is. While we haven't seen a lot of numbers just yet, it's clear that EA was a big winner on the App Store this year. The company dropped prices on lots of its titles earlier last week, then claimed a good bit of the top 10, top 20 and the top 200. The rumor is that as soon as it can, EA is going to raise prices back up on these apps, so if you want to grab this recently-released port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 at just a buck, now's your chance. Some of the reviews on this iOS version of Mortal Kombat are iffy. The port suffers from the usual fighting game problem of having no buttons on the iPhone, so controls don't feel responsive. Often the controls actually aren't responsive, though there is an S button to make some of the more common moves easier to pull off. But for just a dollar, playing UMK 3 right there on your iPhone is pretty awesome. Whether or not you agree with EA's stunt -- some say it was a cheap way to get some attention, while others say apps are worth what people will pay for them -- I do think it's pretty impressive that a big, traditional gaming company found an interesting way to take advantage of Apple's usually eclectic marketplace. We'll have to see if other bigger studios pick up on this kind of thing in the future, or if indie developers can find a way to take advantage of it.
Suspended animation shocker: lack of oxygen could be the key to surviving a deep freeze
Researchers in Seattle are coming closer to discovering the secrets of suspended animation. Experimenting with yeast and worms, Dr. Mark Roth has been able to determine that a significant decrease in oxygen before the deep freeze of an organism makes surviving the thaw much, much easier, and may account for several cases where people have appeared to be frozen to death but were later revived. Dr. Roth's aim, he says, is not to be able to freeze people for long periods (such as is the case in the classic film Encino Man), but to help medical professionals "buy time" and advance their understanding of the effects of freezing on the human body. Sure, but if it means we might get to meet up with Pauly Shore in like, a thousand years, why don't we just shoot for the stars on this one? Video is below.
Frozen orbs to be greed only in patch 3.3.3
Well, this is a welcome change -- now that Frozen Orbs are going to be the new crafting tokens, exchangeable for Frost Lotus and Eternal Fire, among other things, Wryxian announced that they will be greed only in the upcoming patch. Wryxian No, you won't be able to exchange Frozen Orbs for Emblems of Frost. Yeah it just takes one person to press Need after everyone's pressed Greed on the Frozen Orbs and you miss out. But the good news is that in patch 3.3.3 this won't be the case anymore -- the roll for Frozen Orbs will be an automatic Greed roll. Rejoice! source I wonder whether this is now some sort of flag in their database that they could use for other items. Like Books of Glyph Mastery. Nothing is more annoying than someone ninja looting jerk looting something that everyone gains equal benefit from. Edit: Ninjas are cool. People who steal from their peers are not. Stop calling them ninjas. Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!
Frozen Orbituary: The Death of Rolling 'Greed'
Frozen Orbs matter again. Come Patch 3.3.3, Frozo will be exchanging your frozen orbs for crafting materials used in some of the better Pre-ICC craftables. It is prudent, then, in my mind, to inform the greater playerbase at large about this development. Most people know about the new value of frozen orbs. If you read WoW.com, you've already been exposed to some pretty comprehensive coverage. This post is to address a growing trend I personally see in random heroics -- rolling need on the orbs ahead of the patch. No one should fault people for rolling need on frozen orbs at this point in the game. They have new value. Technically, we all can use them. Frozen orbs are directly convertable into some better cash items. While the items you can buy currently with frozen orbs on the PTR are not set in stone, and their costs are subject to change, we know that they will be useful. Two different solutions to the frozen orb situation present themselves: 1) Blizzard removes the need roll from frozen orbs so everyone gets a chance to get the orb or 2) change the behavior of the populace and everyone roll need on frozen orbs and educate the masses on the new, impending value of frozen orbs. If you've ever been upset at a random pick up group player rolling need on a frozen orb, you have a weapon to fight it -- just roll need, and tell everyone else to roll need as well. Do everyone a favor and educate -- let people know frozen orbs will have a new place in the economy. Now you've got a random chance for frozen orbs and of avoiding the end of instance standoff.
Frozen iPod returns from the grave
Andrew sent us this great story -- he found an iPod classic in the melting snow of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It had apparently been there "since early winter," and was frozen solid... as is the case, we'd imagine, with most things left outside there between September and April.Incredibly, though, once taken home, cleaned up, and given a warm cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese, it started right back up again. Everything was completely intact -- he says it even displayed the correct date. Pretty impressive for Apple's little music player (and mine's even stuffed in a Vaja case, so I know it'll always run for me -- assuming I don't drop it in a pile of snow somewhere). He says there is a name on the iPod, so if you've been around the Whitehorse area and have recently dropped your iPod near a place called Takhini School, leave him a note and he will probably be able to get it back to you. But do it quick -- he's giving things about a week, and then it's finder's keepers. We don't blame him: who wouldn't want an indestructible iPod?
Oh, Canada Wii's home and native land
Hey, grab a Molson and pull up a comfortable ice block and listen up. The AP is reporting that the Wii has become the first system to reach a million units sold in Canada. That's like one system for every two people or so you've got up there, eh? We're guessing it's because the pearly white exterior of the system matches the decor of your igloos (not to mention the polar bears roaming around outside).According to NPD statistics, the Wii has sold 1,060,000 Candian units through July, meaning the upcoming Wii version of NHL 2K9 can count on at least 1.5 million sales up there in the frozen North (some Canadians will buy an extra copy for their pet moose, you see). Microsoft and Sony are rumored to be planning competing lumberjack simulations and marketing tie-ins with popular maple syrup makers to increase their systems' appeal to the Canadian market, but as the Quebecois say, this might be "trop peu, trop tard."(Apologies to all Canadians, who we're sure are too polite and respectful to get mad about this, right?)
WWI '08 Death Knight Demo: Frost spells and talents
The Frost tree was originally designated the tanking tree, and the Frost Presence will likely still be the presence of choice for tanking Death Knights. Interestingly enough, very few of the other spells and talents in the Frost tree -- with the exception of Icebound Fortitude -- really scream "tanking." However, some of them do scream "crowd control," which may amount to the same thing in the end -- just freeze, slow, or silence extra mobs until you have a chance to focus on tanking them. The "frozen" bonuses in some of the talents also suggest that Frost Death Knights may have a lot of good synergy with Frost Mages as well, assuming their frozen status afflictions are identical to each other. Below is a listing of some of the Frost spells and talents shown in the WWI Death Knight demo: Frost Spells: Icy Touch:Requires level 55Costs 1 Frost Rune Instant cast, 6 second cooldown20 yard rangeDescription: Deals 217 to 235 Frost damage modified by attack power and reduces the target's ranged, melee attack, and casting speed by 15% for 20 seconds.Chains of IceRequires level 56Costs 2 Frost RunesInstant cast, 16 second cooldown20 yard rangeDescription: Freezes the target in place for 3 seconds. the target regains 10% of their movement speed each second after breaking free of the chainFrost Presence Requires level 57Instant castDescription: The death knight takes on the presence of frost, increasing armor by 45% and threat generated by 25%.Mind FreezeRequires level 57 Requires Runic Power10 second cooldownDescription: Strike the target's mind with cold, dealing 100 frost damage modified by attack power and interrupting spellcasting while also preventing any spell in that school from being cast up to a maximum of 4 seconds. Obliterate Requires Level 61 Costs 1 Blood Rune, 1 Frost RuneDescription: A brutal instant attack that deals 100% of weapon damage plus 330 and 122 additional damage for each of your diseases on the target, but consumes the diseasesEmpower Rune WeaponRequires level 68 3 Minute cooldownInstant castDescription: Empower your rune weapon, immediately activating one of each rune typeIcebound Fortitude Requires level 72Requires Runic Power1 minute coooldownDescription: Consumes all available runic power, causing the Death Knight to become immune to stun effects and increasing armor by 50% for up to 12 seconds. Does not remove existing stun effects.Frost Talents:Frozen Rune WeaponRequires 10 talent pointsCosts 1 Frost RuneRequires melee weaponInstant castDescription: Imbue your rune weapon with frost, causing 29.9 to 92 additional frost damage, based on the speed of your weapon. Also has a chance to cause your target to be vulnerable to frost damage. Lasts 10 minutes.DeathchillRequires 20 talent points2 minute cooldownInstant castDescription: When activated, increases your critical strike chance with frost spells and abilities by 100% for the next 6 seconds. Howling BlastRequires 30 talent pointsCosts 1 Frost Rune30 second cooldownInstant cast20 yard rangeDescription: Blast the target with a frigid wind, dealing 278 to 302 frost damage to all enemies within 10 yards. Deals triple damage to frozen targetsMerciless CombatRequires 35 talent pointsCosts up to 3 talent pointsDescription: Your frost spells and abilities do an additional 20% damage per talent point when striking targets with less than 20% health.Frost StrikeRequires 40 talent points, Merciless CombatCosts 1 Frost RuneRequires melee weaponNext MeleeDescription: A strong attack that deals weapon damage as frost damage. Has a 10% chance to freeze the target.Hungering ColdRequires 50 talent pointsRequires runic power1 minute cooldownInstant castDescription: Unleashes all available runic power to eradicate all heat from around the Death Knight, freezing enemies within 10 yards and preventing them from performing any action for 2s per 10 runic power. Enemies are considered frozen, but any damage will break the ice.
Submerged camera holds functional memory card two years after accident
After capsizing in the partially frozen waters at Kejimkujik National Park, the Collins family was far too busy being alive to worry over a silly sunken camera. As fate would have it, the ole Canon Powershot that was lost eventually turned up, as a park maintenance worker managed to spot the device sitting aimlessly upon a rock. Granted, the body was in fairly deplorable shape after braving the elements for two solid years, but the memory card tucked within seemed to be relatively unharmed. Upon testing it out, the employee found some 300 pictures taken on the day in which Mr. & Mrs. Collins nearly perished, and apparently, the card was still in tact enough to be read. Eventually, the couple managed to pick up the camera / card and bring home those slightly eerie memories, but no one ever found the loner who snapped up the couple's misplaced cellphone and ran up calls to Zimbabwe 'til the battery died.[Via FarEastGizmos]
iPhone Troubleshooting: How to Restart, quit frozen apps and Reset iPhone
I'm starting to think there is some sort of bad luck attached to my iTunes Store account, as tonight I experienced the third iTunes Store song that completely locked up an iPod - only this time it was my iPhone. While listening to 'Again with the Subtleties' from the Yppah album You Are Beautiful At All Times (US iTunes link) in my iPhone's iPod app, the phone completely locked up at the end of the track with an almost-faded out display. What was worse, the iPhone became completely unresponsive - the display wouldn't accept any of my taps, and even the external buttons were ignored. Momentarily wishing I could simply yank the battery to cut the power and reset the phone, I realized Apple must have some sort of a contingency in place for lock-ups like these.Fortunately, I was right: The iPhone troubleshooting section of Apple's main iPhone support site contains a walkthrough for situations like this, complete with instructions on how to restart the phone, force quit a frozen app or reset the phone in cases like mine where it has completely locked up. Here are these steps in a nutshell: Restart your iPhone: Most people probably already know how to do this, but just in case, you can simply hold the sleep/wake button on the top for a few seconds to bring up a red slider at the top of the display which allows you to power off the phone. Quit a frozen iPhone app: I know it's a crazy thought, but it is entirely possible that Apple's wondrous iPhone apps can lock up from time to time. In this case, simply hold the Home button when in the app for about 6 seconds to kill the app. You should be able to jump back into the app without restarting the phone itself. Reset your iPhone: Note that this is not Restoring your iPhone; that's the button in iTunes that wipes the iPhone and all your information on it. Resetting an iPhone is nothing more than a hard reset or a forced reboot - you're simply cutting the power and making it reboot. To do this, hold the sleep/wake button and Home buttons simultaneously for a few seconds; the display will quickly wipe itself and you should see the black background and white Apple logo, signifying a reset well done. Fortunately, that reset fixed my problem and I'm jamming again with my iPhone as I write this. Still, you can be sure that I'll ping iTunes support to find out what's going on with these files, as this is the third one I've downloaded from the iTS that's caused an iPod to stop dead in its tracks. Anyone else experience something like this? You know where to sound off.
Australian LG plasma / LCD TV owners forced to "reboot" frozen sets
It's not exactly unheard of for DVR, PC, and PPC-6700 owners to have legitimate complaints about "freezing" issues with their gizmos, but we can't say the average television was on our list of devices we look forward to "rebooting" every day hour or so. Apparently, a horde of Aussies are facing such a quandary, as the digital TV tuner in a myriad of LG LCD HDTVs and plasmas (hit the read link for the full list) is going on the fritz whilst tuned in to broadcasts on the Nine Network. Currently, the only answers irate owners are getting revolve around "reception issues with digital transmissions in Sydney and Melbourne," but LG has also stated that it expects to rollout a "way forward" for customers quite soon. Currently, the only way to solve the seizures is to unplug the set from the wall, give it "two to three minutes to reboot," and flip the power back on, which can quickly erode any meaning found in your average half-hour drama. Regardless of how irritating we're sure this is, at least a (promised) fix is supposedly on the way, and trust us, things could be much, much worse.Update: Oh man, what a disaster this is turning out to be. LG has now admitted that the problem affects 17 different models sold nationwide and stems from certain "digital TV processors and decoders had difficulty dealing with the way that the data signal is packaged." Even worse, the company is going to have to deploy hundreds of technicians to make tens of thousands of house calls, as an in-home repair is the only way to upgrade the components. Sorry, Aussies, until you can make an appointment, it seems like you're gonna be stuck with this annoyance for awhile -- and not only on Nine, as LG claims the bug could affect other OTA channels as well.[Via Core77]
