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How to stream New Year's Eve 2019 countdowns
If you'd rather stream New Year's Eve celebrations in North America than venture outside, you'll have plenty of options... including a novelty or two. The most notable example comes from Times Square itself, which will show the New York City ball drop for 2019 in all its glory. However, you can also watch well-known game streamer Ninja play in Times Square using Twitch. You're covered if Fortnite is more to your taste than champagne, in other words.
'Fortnite' New Year's event forces players to dance when it turns 2019
If you're spending New Year's eve playing Fortnite, be prepared to party. Epic Games has set up an in-game event to celebrate the changing of the calendar by dropping a giant disco ball from the sky and forcing everyone on the map to dance. The event occurs every time the clock strikes midnight in a new time zone, so don't panic when you see the ball drop and you don't have a glass of champagne ready to go.
NYPD will deploy a drone at Times Square on New Year's Eve
Security at Times Square tends to be extra-tight on New Year's Eve, but it's now poised to have some robotic support. The NYPD is deploying one of its new camera-toting drones at the event for the first time, giving it an aerial surveillance tool that's decidedly closer to the action than a conventional aircraft or helicopter. The machine will not only watch for trouble in the crowd, but wield "counter-drone technology" to keep potentially hostile vehicles at bay.
Apple Watch goads you into getting some post-holiday exercise
Guilt over holiday eating might just convince you to hit the gym in the coming weeks, but Apple wants to offer some motivation of its own. On December 28th, the company pushed a notification to every Apple Watch owner encouraging them to participate in a Ring in the New Year Challenge starting January 2nd, 2017. If you complete all three of your activity goals (Move, Exercise, Stand) every day for at least one week in January, you'll get a special achievement medal (above) and an iMessage sticker pack to help you brag about your performance.
Flywheel has an answer to Uber's NYE surge pricing: $10 rides
Getting to and from your New Year's shindig can be an expensive hassle, even if you're not driving: you're either competing for a conventional (and thus costly) taxi or bracing yourself for the surge pricing of ridesharing services like Uber. Flywheel may have a relatively cheap solution for that night on the town, though. The app-based taxi service is running a promotion that charges you a flat $10 to get to or from your New Year's party in Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco or Seattle. The only stipulations for this low fare are that you travel between 8PM and 3AM, and that your ride wouldn't normally cost more than $50. You may not get from one end of the city to the other on the cheap, then, but the deal could save you from starting 2015 with a gigantic credit card bill.
Add your new toys to your Engadget profile
Throw out all the wrapping paper, finish eating the leftover turkey and have the last of the eggnog, because Christmas has come and gone. It's time to take stock of all your fancy new loot. Yesterday, you told us what you received. Today, you should show all of it off. Head over to your Engadget profile and add the new gear to your have list. If you're not sure how to do that, check out this helpful primer on the new Engadget.
So, what did you get?
Everything unwrapped? Everything you ever wanted? We'll admit, our own present pile has a certain tech trend, but how did you fare? Did you manage to snag one of those next-generation consoles? Perhaps you've landed your first ever tablet. Happy? Excited? A little confused that your micro-USB cable doesn't fit? Let us know what you found under the Christmas tree in our forum -- or in the comments below. And if your gifted gadget isn't quite working how it should, have you tried turning it off and on again?
Skype gifts NYC with NYE WiFi, so you can miss the ball drop while Skyping the ball drop
Those kind folk at Skype already served up plenty of glorious WiFi waves across US airports this Christmas, and now it's New York City's turn. From noon on the 31st until January 1st, if you spy a "Skype WiFi" network, those tasty bytes are yours for the taking. The VoIP don has teamed up with WiFi provider Towerstream for the give-away, and recommends you load-up on the latest version of its famous software to make sure you don't miss out. If you pack an iDevice, then it's the Skype WiFi app you'll be wanting updated in the lead up to midnight. Just make sure you don't miss that kiss, just for a festive freebie.
Gameloft fends off winter blues with dollar sale on Android Market
The French game publisher already sprinkled 99¢ allspice on its iOS and Amazon Appstore titles, plus a two-for-one deal on the Xperia Play, but soon it'll bring that volume-not-margin recipe to the Android Market too. Almost all of its paid titles will reportedly go for less than a dollar between December 26th and January 5th, so if you're about to click 'Buy' on a premium purchase like Asphalt 6: Adrenalin, 9mm or The Adventures of Tintin, then it might be worth relaxing your trigger finger. The notable exception is Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation, which will apparently only be discounted for a single day sometime around New Year's Weekend -- though hopefully not while you're still preoccupied with running around in yesterday's clothes and hugging random strangers.
Google's Androidify holiday wardrobe update lets your bot ring in the New Year
Ready to celebrate the holidays this year? Google has gone and refreshed its free Androidify app with some season-appropriate gear for your avatar. The new virtual wardrobe selections should certainly please a variety of tastes, whether you're itching to fit your robo with an ugly Christmas sweater or just a pair of New Years party specs. You can catch our bot's new winter threads below, and snag the update for yourself by hitting up the Android Market link below.
Chinese Apple Stores plan special New Year events
While India's Krishna Kalyan ate an iPhone 4 cake to celebrate the New Year, Apple's four retail stores in China have something else in mind to celebrate the Chinese New Year. According to ifoAppleStore, Apple has emailed an invitation to their customers in China to visit the retail stores between January 26 and February 13 for select events such as workshops, One to One training and shopping specials on Apple and third-party products. Apple currently has stores both in Beijing and Shanghai, but we here at TUAW are partial to the first one to land in Shanghai back in July of last year. With the four stores already under its belt and a growing online presence in China, it seems that Apple heard Lenovo loud and clear when it was declared that Apple hadn't stepped up efforts in the Far East.
Ring in the New Year on your iPhone with the official Times Square Ball app
Ever wanted to be in Times Square on New Years Eve instead of in your buddy's basement? Well, good luck with that. In the meantime you can download the first official Times Square Ball app. The app lets you live vicariously through those that are there and features the countdown clock (synced to your time zone), and it also includes a commercial-free, mobile stream of the webcast event. For those that are actually going to be there, the app offers news, weather, photos, maps and schedules for the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration. Additionally, you can check-in via Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter, and you'll be shown exactly how many miles you are from the festivities. Times Square Official New Year's Eve Ball is a free download.
TUAW wishes you a Happy New Year
From everyone at The Unofficial Apple Weblog, we wish you a Happy New Year! May the new year bring you happiness, and plenty of Mac and iPhone goodness.
Breakfast Topic: Resolutions
Veronica Belmont recently thought of some New Year's resolutions she felt would be firmly within reach. (If you remember, she was the lovely lady who interviewed Leeroy Jenkins at Blizzcon). Number 2 on her list was to reach level 70 in WoW. Have you made any New Year's resolutions related to WoW? Or are resolutions a "strictly real-life" sort of thing to you?
TUAW wishes you a shiny, bright New Year
From all of us at The Unofficial Apple Weblog, we wish you a warm, bright, wonderful 2008.
Texting delays a given on New Years, celebrate accordingly
It probably doesn't come as much of a shock to you that plenty of texting goes down midnight-ish tonight, and naturally the carriers are gearing up for just such an onslaught. Palm isn't so optimistic about the proceedings: according to a study it commissioned in the UK with lpsos MORI, 70% of people who send messages at midnight experience a delay in delivery, with places like London experience 77% delays, and 23% of Britons waiting over six hours for their text messages to arrive. Palm suggests an IM or email might be in order, and smartphone users will have better luck getting their messages delivered over the comparably unclogged data networks. Verizon seems more excited about the prospect, expecting the 284 million text messages sent last year on its network between 12pm New Years Eve and 4am New Years Day to rise to 300 million. Telstra expects to process more than 53 million messages across Australia, and will have a "small army" of techs on hand to monitor network performance. Canadians are expected to send 50 million texts this year, according to Virgin Mobile Canada, with the average canadian sending two text messages each -- double that of last year. However and wherever you party, stay safe out there -- friends don't let friends drink and text their estranged exes. Read - Palm study warns of delays Read - Verizon predicts 300 million Read - Canada doubles in texts Read - Telstra's small army in Australia
PSP Fanboy's New Year's resolutions
Now that the holidays are over, things are slowly going back to the full swing of things. There's sure to be tons of PSP news to come this year, and PSP Fanboy will be all over it like Kryll in the darkness. Our readership has grown a lot over the past few months, and we want to make sure that you get the best experience from us. Therefore, we've made a few New Year's resolutions that we hope you'll enjoy:1. A new writer: Steven BaileyIt's no longer a one-man show here on the Fanboy. Steve loves the PSP just as much as I do, and he'll ensure that breaking news always appears on the site, even if I become infected with the plague. Unlike our previous writer Chris, he isn't so enamored with the N-Gage, and that can only be a good thing, right?"When I'm not playing or writing about video games, I like to bore friends and family by talking about them. Someday I hope to make my own video game and I have big aspirations, just like David Jaffe. Except instead of crying, my PSP game will make them vomit."Expect his big PSP Fanboy debut later today!2. A new feature: "Ask PSP Fanboy"Confused about what your PSP can do? Need an update on a certain game or development? The PSP Fanboy team is here to help you! Our new weekly column will feature YOUR burning questions.To ask a question, simply send an e-mail to andrew @ pspfanboy.com with the subject line "Ask PSP Fanboy."3. A new feature: "PSP Fanboy Theatre"Your PSP can play videos ... take advantage of it! Every weekend, we'll post special PSP-formatted versions of the hottest game and movie trailers for you.I hope you're excited about the upcoming changes to the site--I know I am. Feel free to leave us your comments and YOUR suggestions for the site. Thanks for reading PSP Fanboy ... expect a great 2007!
What do fanboys do on New Year's Eve?
Just a quick note to all the fanboys (even the Wii fanboys) to have a happy and safe New Year's Eve! What are your plans tonight? Going out with that special someone? Rolling in the new year with family? Headed to New York or sompleace exotic to watch the ball drop? Inviting the gang over for some hot PS3 mult-player action? Let us know.And remember, don't drink and game.
TUAW Resolutions
Christmas is over, and you know what that means: New Year's is just around the corner. When the calendar turns to yet another year people around the globe make promises to themselves, promises that they will better themselves by doing a number of things. These 'promises' are known as resolutions and everyone knows that they are often difficult to keep.TUAW has got your back this year. Today we start a series called 'TUAW Resolutions' in which we gives you ways to accomplish this year's resolutions with a little help from your Mac (or iPod).
New Years Marathons INHD
The New Years day marathon has become a bit of a tradition, with my favorite always being all the Twilight Zone episodes on the SciFi channel. But today I've been switching back and forth between the Lions game and the two INHD channels.INHD1 is currently running all their "Fields of Glory" episodes where the explore different sports facilities and their history, great stuff. On INHD2 they're playing all-IMAX all day, from 8 this morning till 7 tomorrow morning. So far I've explored ice caverns at the North Pole, climbed sequoias in California, surfed, played w/ sea otters and rode along in an Indy car all from the comfort of my couch.
