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Dear Veronica: Facebook follows and ghost girlfriends
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-744454{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-744454, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-744454{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-744454").style.display="none";}catch(e){}We kick off the show today with a great question about the creepiness factor of the Facebook "follow" button. Does it bother you when random strangers comment on your Facebook posts? Well, it shouldn't, and I'll tell you why.We also cover the best alternatives to TweetDeck, and how to deal with an unruly ghost girlfriend. You know the type. Send in your questions to #DearVeronica on Twitter, and please send me in some holiday tech support horror stories! I'll be reading them on the show for the rest of the month!Subscribe in iTunes, RSS or YouTube!
Turn your home into a haunted house with AR game 'Night Terrors'
You're home alone. It's the dead of night and all of the lights are off; you creep down the hallway with one hand dragging along the wall, your phone serving as a makeshift flashlight. You hear a young girl's voice whisper from the bedroom in front of you and the hair on the back of your neck stands up straight. You pause. Your heart pounds. A dull ringing assaults your ears. You creep forward, holding the phone higher, when suddenly -- a high-pitched shriek as your phone's light starts rapidly flashing and a deformed, undead monster barrels down the hallway directly toward you. You drop your phone. Game over.
Pocket ghost detector may be as hard to find as its targets (update: details)
Let's get this out of the way: ghost detection is based on junk science. It's trying to prove something that's unprovable almost by definition, using theories that have little connection to the real world. But if you are going to chase phantoms, you might as well have the best technology at your disposal, right? GhostArk certainly thinks so. It's developing a pocketable ghost detector that supposedly has everything you need to track down supernatural beings, including an electromagnetic field meter, high-sensitivity microphones, radio frequency sweeping and sensors for both atmospheric pressure and temperature. Think of it as an audio recorder on steroids -- you can even add white noise to "bolster the spirits' strength." It's a clever concept, even if none of its findings would stand up under academic scrutiny.
Ghosts in the room? It's just your frazzled brain
You know that "chill" in the air that makes you feel as if someone -- or something -- is watching you, lurking behind your back? It's referred to as a "feeling of presence" (FoP for short), and surprise: It has nothing to do with paranormal encounters and everything to do with your brain. In fact, it can even be induced by a robot.
'Accidental' drownings skyrocket as The Sims 4 adds pools
Making good on its earlier promises, developer Maxis has added much-requested swimming pools to virtual life sandbox The Sims 4. According to EA, the build options for pools have been greatly expanded, allowing players to build pools not just in the backyard, but also on the second and third floors of their virtual homes. The update also brings with it a new swimwear line so that your virtual people can look sharp as they lounge near the water. Eventually, all Sims players develop a sadistic streak and decide that maybe the Sim universe would be better off if their virtual people met a watery demise. The pool comes in handy there too, though EA notes that any ghosts created by drowning may carry a fear of water with them to the afterlife. It's unknown how this might affect a ghost's actions beyond the terrifying spectral neuroses seen in the above screenshot. [Image: EA]
Gamer discovers deceased father's ghost car, gets to race him again
YouTube comments typically fill one with shame and disappointment in the human race, but here's one that just might make you cry. Below a video from PBS about video games as spiritual experiences, a user going by the online handle 00WARTHERAPY00 has written a touching story about the time they spent gaming with their dad. 'THERAPY00 says that when he or she was four years old, they'd play Xbox with his or her father and had tons of fun up until a few years later when their dad passed away. It was ten years before the commenter could bring him/herself to boot Microsoft's first game console and when they did, there was a surprise waiting for them. Rally racer Rallisport Challenge features a function that records the best lap-time for a given circuit with an apparition-like version of the car used. Meaning that, quite literally, there was a ghost of 00WARTHERAPY00's father waiting to compete against him or her.
Call of Duty Ghosts limited edition headset design and price revealed
Turtle Beach limited edition Call of Duty-themed headsets have become an annual treat for CoD fans looking to get some serious audio from their game, and this year is no different with Call of Duty: Ghosts. This time around, the headsets feature a black and white design with blue highlights and the Ghosts mask logo. Spooooooky. Turtle Beach is releasing three models this year: the Shadow, Spectre, and Phantom. The Shadow is a wired, stero headset with an in-line amp and will cost $99.95; the Spectre is a Ghosts-branded version of the Turtle Beach SEVEN series headset with an in-line amp and will run $199.95; finally, the Phantom is a wireless Dolby surround sound headset with a programmable audio processor, and costs $299.95. You can read more about each headset by checking out the Turtle Beach website, which also offers pre-orders if you're ready to throw down some cash.
Call of Duty: Ghosts Prestige Edition will include a 1080p action camera
Activision and Infinity Ward have bundled expensive gadgets with the last few Call of Duty special editions, and they're keeping up this recent tradition with Call of Duty: Ghosts. Buy the Prestige Edition of the game on November 5th and you'll get a 1080p, water-resistant "tactical camera" with a 4GB memory card. While it's not clear which company makes the wearable cam, Activision claimed during its Ghosts multiplayer unveiling that the device should hold up against counterparts sold in stores. The Prestige Edition is appropriately expensive at $199, although you're getting a lot for your money -- besides the camera and game, the box also includes a carrying case, a Season Pass for downloads and a paracord strap. If you've ever wished you could record your adventures beyond your game console, this is certainly the bundle for you.
Grave Digger may have all the grave-robbing, ghosts you ever wanted
This trailer for The Grave Digger has everything – Inception horn, a Dark Knight voiceover, spooky graveyard sound effects, Holmesian investigation music and a funny teaser after the credits. The PC game itself – a third-person grave-robbing romp through ghost-infested cemeteries – might just have everything, too. It's free to find out now with the demo, or buy the full game for $6 (£4, €4.75). The Grave Digger comes from Home Groan Games, a two-man team in the UK. It features 18 Dickensian graveyards and five ghost types, each with individual AI to outsmart in the labyrinths. See what all the fuss is about right here – but don't be too scared when the trailer auto-plays.
WoW Archivist: WoW's most terrifying secrets
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Last year, Alex gave us a thorough look at the hidden Karazhan Crypts area, with its massive pile of bones where hundreds of people were thrown down a well, and humans drowned by chaining them upside-down underwater. The crypts were never meant to be explored by players, but WoW has had plenty of other terrifying secrets through the years that are just waiting for us to discover them. The C'thun Kids Club Above the leatherworking shop in Goldshire, something is amiss. If you venture there, you will sometimes discover six children, arrayed in a strange pattern. They stand there, silently facing each other. The light music of Elwynn changes to an ominous low rumble or a creepy hum. Every so often you will hear ghostly noises, or even the voice of C'thun himself. Outside of the house, two tiny children's skulls are hidden in the grass. They have been called the "creepy children," the "demon children," and the "evil children." They also run around Elwynn to Stormwind and back, always in formation. Sometimes they will stop and stare at each other again, or all look in one direction for no apparent reason. Presumably this is just to creep us out even more.
Kinect can track Paranormal Activity in the home
Paranormal Activity 4 comes out in October and looks to uphold the series' legacy of gritty camera work and terrifying jump-scare moments. As with its predecessors, 4 adds new reasons an otherwise normal house would have 24-hour demon-tracking technology in every room, including one piece of hardware that isn't out of place in a modern suburban home: Kinect.The latest trailer for Paranormal Activity 4, viewable above, shows the family in a darkened room explaining the projections of Kinect's tracking dots. Creepy. Later on the dots pick up something that isn't human, which is also pretty scary, we guess.Since Kinect is obviously the latest tech trend in ghost hunting, we expect to see it pop up on Ghost Adventures soon, alongside that audio box that spits out random words, that thing that analyzes "energy" in mysterious units and that guy who always gets sick. Science.
Team Fortress 2 needs your spooky Halloween designs
Valve has issued a call to arms for all amateur Team Fortress 2 item designers, charging them with the responsibility of filling the game's Steam Workshop with as many spooky, gross or otherwise Halloween-y items as possible before the scaring season officially begins on October 1.Incidentally, this means that there are already a whole bunch of adorable/icky new items floating around the Workshop, such as this cute lil owl or the Cortex Command exposed-brain Pyro mask seen above. We're especially fond of Sir Spooky, a rather fancy ghost who actually seems quite friendly, rather than terrifyingly macabre. He reminds us of another "friendly ghost," in fact.Yes, you know who we're talking about – The Ghost of King Hamlet.
This is the Modem World: So where are all the ghosts and aliens?
Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology. I love movies and books about ghosts and aliens, especially the older ones from an era when technology didn't allow too many special effects. For me, it's what you don't see that freaks me out.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier asks if you Believe in Ghosts
We don't always believe in ghosts, but when we do, they don't carry high-powered sniper rifles, automatic weapons, or travel in packs. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier has begun its Believe in Ghosts series with the above video, where it compares real-life spec ops missions with in-game tactics.
The Hidden media reminds us that we're not alone
You must be so content in your quiet, oblivious state of ignorant obliviousness. You probably think that you're all alone right now, don't you? You've carved out a tiny bit of solitude from the hurried, bustling activity of the modern world, just long enough to read a website about video-games, when little do you realize that you're sitting on a ghost right this very second. See, human beings are constantly surrounded by the tormented souls of our loved ones, as these new screens and trailer for The Hidden are so quick to remind us. Now, it's possible that these are actually squishy cartoon ghosts, rather than the eternally damned apparitions of our tortured ancestors, but we can never really be sure.%Gallery-137137%
Choose My Adventure: Ghosts
If any of you have been following me on Twitter, then you know that I have been extremely active in RIFT this week. However, I did not gain the levels I had hoped. I am currently level 17, which is nice, but I had hoped to be level 19 or 20 by now. I will definitely get there this week. I cannot say this enough: Visually, RIFT is stunning. Below you'll find the gallery of my adventures; I included 19 new screenshots this week. They complement Seriia's story throughout Freemarch and especially the Scarred Mire. The gallery includes some excellent screenshots of Jakub the Tyrant, Alsbeth the Discordant, and March Warden Eliam. My new mount and the Abyssal visions from the daily half-birthday quests also make an appearance. After the break, Seriia dreams of ghosts and tyrants. Eliam Fields seems to be a home for her; she loves the place. Also, I need your help with invasions -- I am not exactly performing the way I would like to in large group activities. Maybe a new soul will help. Let me know what you think after the break. Let the Telaran adventure begin! %Gallery-131417%
ArcheAge Lillet Meadows location previewed
It's been a few weeks since we've heard tell of any ArcheAge news, but fortunately our friends from AAportal have come through with a new article on XL Games' upcoming sandpark title. Ordinarily we'd describe this sort of piece as a zone preview, but given that ArcheAge is an open world the phrase "location preview" seems more appropriate. The location in question is the Lillet Meadows, an area designed for players between levels 10 and 15 and situated near the Elven and Nuian starting areas. The meadows lie in a lush, fertile valley far from the hustle and bustle of the nearest city, and AAportal spends a good bit of virtual ink describing the natural surroundings. Despite the tranquil setting, enemies abound in the area, most of them variations on undead that include wraiths, ghosts, and a new type of zombie that apparently features broken weapon fragments instead of limbs. Head to AAportal for all the details, and don't forget to click the image links to see all the Lillet Meadows screenshots.
In the beginning: Guild Wars 2 shows off Ascalon Catacombs intro cinematic
Dungeons without context tend to just blend in with the other 55,000 instances we've run in our MMO careers, so a gripping backstory can make all the difference in how memorable a good dungeon run can be. ArenaNet has released a new introductory cinematic for Guild Wars 2's Ascalon Catacombs that helps bring players -- those both unfamiliar to the Guild Wars lore and heavily steeped in it -- up to speed. A Charr narrates a slice of history from the first game, leading up to how this dungeon was created and why it's so full of teed-off ghosts. In an attached developer blog, Horia Dociu tells us why these cinematics aren't just window dressing but essential to the experience: "These cinematics play at the key moments of the story mode in each of the eight dungeons in Guild Wars 2, setting the mood and delivering valuable info. Stylistically, we're pushing the concept of a visual storybook as a form of communicating to the player -- we want the cinematics to feel like moving paintings." You can watch the full intro to Ascalon Catacombs after the jump!
Disney World's Haunted Mansion gets interactive upgrade, digital spooks (video)
It may not be as scary as Walt Disney World's Hall of Presidents, but the Florida theme park's Haunted Mansion just got a ghostly upgrade. The ride's grand finale, which previously positioned hitchhiking ghosts -- by way of half-silvered mirrors -- alongside unsuspecting visitors, is now reportedly using a series of digital mirrors and sensors to make things more interactive. As opposed to just popping up next to passengers, Disney's Ezra, Gus, and Phineas are now equipped to rip your head off, blow it up balloon-style, and send it flying. Sure it sounds scary, but this is Disney, the same company that didn't see the nightmare-inducing capabilities of a robotic Obama. For a peek at the new creepers, peep the video after break.
The ghosts of Azeroth
I love ghost stories, and one of the nice things about WoW is that Azeroth is full of them. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that one of the nice things for us is that Azeroth's full of them, because lore-wise it's hard to argue that the existence of any ghost is a happy occurrence. While I could (and probably should) turn this into a giant feature cataloging all the ghosts in the game, I have my personal favorites: Caer Darrow The inhabitants of Caer Darrow are my favorite ghosts, not least because you can't see them at all until you've done a bit of work on their behalf. The island seems utterly deserted barring the Sarkhoff couple...until you realize that it's not, and that there's an entire town full of people trapped on its "happiest day," going about its business, oblivious to how the world's moved on. That there's a ghostly vendor you can't otherwise talk to without a Spectral Essence is even better.
