habit
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The Chase Bliss Habit helped me enjoy making music again
The Chase Bliss Habit is an experimental delay, a freeform looper and it's just plain fun.
23andMe, Ancestry and others agree to genetic privacy guidelines
A number of genetic testing companies, including 23andMe and Ancestry, have signed onto a set of guidelines that aim to address consumer privacy concerns, the Washington Post reports. The privacy best practices, drafted alongside the Future of Privacy Forum, state that companies should acquire "separate express consent" from customers before handing over their individual-level information -- like genetic data and personal information -- to certain third parties. It also says companies should disclose how many requests for information they receive from law enforcement. MyHeritage, Habit and Helix have agreed to the voluntary guidelines as well.
Fitbit now gives you credit for VR bike rides
Fitbit will soon log your biking miles even when you're on a virtual road stuck in your living room. The company has partnered with VirZoom, a company that turns dull old stationary cycling into a tank, sports car or Pegasus ride via VR. We thought that gamifying fitness was a nice idea when we tried it back in 2015, but Fitbit makes it possible to incorporate it into your regular routine. The device will not only capture and log your workout duration, distance pedaled and calories, but sync it to your Fitbit account and give you credit toward your goals.
Pavlok is a habit-forming wearable that will shock you
"Wake up sleepy head... it's time to go to the gym." "Put down those chips!" "Stop wasting time on Facebook." If any of the above statements resonate with you, then you're not alone. Maneesh Sethi, author and Stanford alumnus has said all of the above to himself at one point, and wanted to know why. Why, despite knowing the right thing to do, he kept making the wrong choices. His solution wasn't to buy a book, splash out on a personal trainer or go to a professional. Instead, Sethi investigated how humans behave; how they form habits. His research led him to invent Pavlok -- a $250 wearable he's launching later this year. One that will, literally, shock you.
The Daily Grind: Are you a creature of habit?
To some extent, I think that most of us are creatures of habit when it comes to our lives and our gaming. We go through an experimental phase, we learn over time what works for us, and then we settle down into a comfortable routine from then on. There's a reason why adults tend to stick with the same haircut after age 28, kids. Speaking for myself, I definitely have my comfort zones in MMOs. I prefer theme parks over sandboxes, I like hybrid and pet classes most of all, I almost always go with a short race if given the option, and I am quite happy soloing most of the time. But lately I've been trying to challenge myself to try new things, to go through a new experimental phase, and see what I might be missing. I'm giving myself permission to break the habits and enjoy new flavors and new vistas. I'm curious today if there are any others out there that recognize the comfortable routines and choices they've established, and if, like me, you've decided to venture outside of the bubble to lands you've long rejected. Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Visteon's HABIT is a concept infotainment system that puts road trip copilots out of a job (video)
A good acronym also hints at what it does, and Visteon's new intelligent in-car concept, HABIT, is a good example of that. The Human Bayesian Intelligence Technology system -- to give it its full name -- learns the behaviour of drivers so it can automatically change the temperature, heat the seats and drop that Biohazard album just when you need it most. Factors such as weather, time of day and real-time road conditions all play a part, plus, of course a log of all your typical in-car interactions. It promises to go above just warming your behind on a cold morning though, offering intelligence that would be able to divine local radio stations that play your kind of jam when you're out of town. It could also seamlessly mix these with your local / tablet / smartphone library and internet sources. Sound a little too creepy? Wait until you see the computer-generated demo video presenter past the break.
Breakfast Topic: Getting guildies to the website
This is certainly an issue (if not a full-blown problem) in my guild, so I wouldn't be surprised if most guilds have a rough time getting guild members to use some of the outside resources they've put together. Nowadays, there are so many ways to make a guild website and so many different things you can do with one that most every guild has at least one place online to call its own. And those places are usually frequented by one or two people in the guild (usually the person running the site and/or maybe the GM and an officer or two), but in my experience, it's kind of tough to get people to use those resources, just because of lack of interest or know-how or habit. What's the point of having a database of members, a message board, and a blog and picture gallery when no one uses it? Enter Ankie of WoW Ladies, with an intriguing idea to support the guild's website.
You know you play too much WoW if...
I admit it. I play too much WoW. That's alright, if you're visiting this site, you probably do, too. I have found it interesting how WoWisms have made it into my everyday life. I'm not talking about weird things like naming a kid Onyxia or getting plastic surgery to look like a Blood Elf. Some WoW habits just become normal. So here goes, you might play too much WoW if:...words like gank, pwn, and aggro have made it into your regular vocabulary.... you find yourself hitting your push-to-talk key to the person next to you, on the phone, or any other place that's not Vent.... You've had nightmares that involve Death Knights, Murlocs, or *shudder* Gnome Rogues.
Breakfast topic: Little habits
We all have our little quirks and habits; things we do without really thinking, routines we slip into every day. When you first log in, do you run to the mailbox even though you haven't any auctions up? Do you routinely jump on the Stormwind fountain or jump about the Undercity bank? Always repair at the same out-of-the-way vendor? Dance in bear form and wait for the tells to pile up?It's the little habits that make WoW special, so -- what are yours? (All of the above are mine!)Update: Sorry about the comments issue. Fixed-- comment away!
