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Ayn's Odin is the retro gaming handheld to beat
Retro gaming handhelds come in many shapes and sizes, but the Odin from newcomer Ayn might be the most impressive to date in terms of form, function and price.
This tiny robot head replaces your mouse with a laser-projected one
If you don't want to be reliant on (or still don't really like using) a trackpad, and tire of dragging a full-sized mouse around, then the Odin, a laser-projected mouse, might be worth a look. You've seen (even very recently) laser projected interfaces that cover keyboards, but the team that made Odin says it's the world's first laser-projected mouse interface. Which sounds pretty cool... as long as you're willing to carry around the disembodied head of a tiny Transformer when meddling with spreadsheets. We just gave it a cursory web browsing test, and while it lacks, obviously, the physical feedback of either mice or clickable trackpads, it behaves a whole lot the former. We just wished it looked a little, well, subtle.
The Mog Log: (Over)analyzing the Final Fantasy XIV trailer
Sadly, January 7th did not see the release of the new Final Fantasy XIV benchmark. It did, however, see the release of both the beta tester application and the full trailer for the new version, both of which are relevant to the interests of any Final Fantasy XIV fan. The trailer is likely of greater interest, seeing as how most current fans are likely already flagged as Legacy players and thus don't need to apply for testing, but the point is that both are out there. Of course, the new opening movie is the only piece of information we've had about the game for a little while, but it seems worth analyzing and examining even on its own merits. No, I'm not talking about speculating as to whether or not the guy on the horse who looks exactly like Odin is in fact Odin or not (spoiler, doy). I want to talk about what this means for the lore, what the overall effect is, and whether or not this monster of a trailer succeeds at what it's meant to do.
Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II now open to pleasures of the rooted kind
Shame you can't do anything about that obnoxious home button branding, but thanks to the folks over at XDA you can now squeeze some root juice onto your VZW Samsung Galaxy Note II. As per usual with Sammy's Android devices, the process involves the use of Odin to flash an image before you can enjoy the perks. Do note however, the hackery only gives you superuser access -- there's no way to cram in a custom ROM just yet. Early users have reported a few issues, including busted mics, broken signal strength indicators and general slow-coach behavior, but it sounds like updates have now plugged most of those holes. You'll find the payload and instructions waiting at the source link -- just be careful not to orphan that S Pen.
Galaxy Note 10.1 just hitting shelves, already said to be rooted
Only two days after Samsung announced the availability of the Galaxy Note 10.1 (and its source code), it appears to already have been rooted. An XDA user named Zedomax claims to have pulled off the feat by injecting root into the stock European firmware, then installing the superuser'd version in conventional ODIN fashion. With the usual bricking caveats, that'll let you start installing unsanctioned apps to the pen-enabled beast, while apparently still getting OTA updates from the mother company. We'd love to verify it ourselves with our own GT-N8000, but we don't have one yet -- and neither does hardly anyone else, so you may want to wait for some other brave soul to confirm it before going ahead.
Odin the All-Father's Diablo 3 account hacked
Someone has had the audacity to hack Odin's account, and He is demanding that Blizzard restore His items immediately. In a post on the Diablo III general discussion forums, Odin insists that not only should His items and gold be returned immediately but also that a human sacrifice be performed. He blames Blizzard for giving his data away, since his system is completely secure, and therefore it must follow the rules, else be cursed. Here's an excerpt of the All-Father's complaint: So I'm Odin, the All-Father; I am Iron Grim, the One-Eyed. I'm the Longbeard, Lord of Ghosts, Wise One... you get the idea. My gaming rig is engraved with protective runes, and my firewall is a wall manned by Heimdell, who sees and hears any threat to the residents of Asgard. Every day at sunrise, my entire system is massaged with a poultice of angelica, burdock, comfrey, dill, and moss provided by Eir while a healing galdr is chanted over it. My ISP is two ravens that bring me news of all the happenings in the world and is always 100% stable and secure, personally watched over by the birds. Don't ask me how they do it; I'm not spending another day on that damn tree just to find out. It's powered by human sacrifice, although I have no idea how this could be relevant; I've just seen others with the same problem posting it. Given that personal info has never been leaked by Blizzard before, it seems unlikely the hackers got the All-Father's info from anywhere but Him or one of his subjects on Asgard. He describes a seemingly impenetrable system, however, protected by magic, herbs and faithful creatures. Someone with access to His computer must have responded to a phishing email or was otherwise careless with His login info.
Epic 4G Touch gets 'experimental' Windows-only root, overclockers and undervolters dance for joy
Since you can't upgrade the GPU or add more RAM to your smartphone, there's really only one way to improve upon an already impressive handset like the Epic 4G Touch -- root it. It hasn't been on the market for very long, but the crafty hackers over at XDA forums have already figured out how to open up the phone to your every whim. The crack is "experimental" at this point, so proceed with caution. You'll also need to have both Kies and Odin 3 up and running, which makes this a Windows-only treatment at the moment. Head on after the break for a pair of videos and hit up the source link for full instructions. Oh, and happy modding.
Massively's tour of Final Fantasy XI's March update
Eight years doesn't sound like a very long time unless you're talking about MMOs. Then it's the equivalent of dog years, only larger. But Final Fantasy XI has been running for all that time, and the game is still running strong -- and more to the point, bringing out a number of updates, improvements, and other positives for the game. Even as a veteran player, I haven't seen all of the content that's out there -- really, I'd be surprised if I've done much more than scratch the surface. I was given the lucky opportunity to get a guided tour of all the improvements and new content that the game had added with the most recent update, and it's certainly one of the more impressive drops the game has seen. Two entirely new summons, a new quest type, the penultimate missions in Wings of the Goddess, new Notorious Monsters, new areas... it's dwarfing to even consider it. I only had a chance to hit the highlights, and even then it was a lot to cover. So jump on past the cut, and see what's there to be seen.
More on Final Fantasy XI's VanaFest prize and March update
Although VanaFest 2010 is moving into the memories (fond or otherwise) of Final Fantasy XI fans everywhere, there are still bits and pieces that remained unanswered questions. For instance, what exactly are the prized Chocobo Berets going to do when players get their hands on them? Thanks to Corinth on the popular fan translation site JP Button, we finally have our answer: they turn players into chocobos. Using the hat turns everyone in the party into an egg which, when hatched (by removing the buff), will temporarily turn a player into an adolescent chocobo that improves their movement speed somewhat. High time to start making friends with attendees or trivia contest winners for that. The translated information also points to the hats being available with the March version update, which looks to be going live on March 23rd. The VanaFest site has a full breakdown of what's due with the update, but in short it's set to include the penultimate parts of the Wings of the Goddess storyline, job adjustments, and the long-awaited Odin and Alexander summon spells. It's also introducing the new "Trial of the Magians" quests. so the end of the month promises to be very busy for Final Fantasy XI -- even if you're not waiting to hatch from a hat-induced egg.
Final Fantasy XI devs threaten players with forced server moves
Server populations in massively multiplayer online games can be a delicate balancing act. Popular servers are very much the hubs of these games, where players can easily forge bonds with one another in a lively social environment. But log into a desolate server and you'll wonder what the point of playing an MMO is when there's no one else around. Many developers try to balance server populations by offering free server transfers, and sometimes bonuses of one type or another as a reward for making the jump. This has been an issue for developer Square Enix with Final Fantasy XI and the overcrowded Odin server. However, their efforts to disperse the crowds have been unsuccessful, leading them to take a more drastic measure: forced emigration. FFXI-centric website Petfoodalpha suggests that Square Enix's deportation solution (or alternately, world splitting) creates more problems than it solves. Fusionx writes, "Surely there has to be a better way to deal with this than randomly distributing people from the server to others. Friendships would be broken, linkshells would be destroyed. More importantly though for Square Enix: They would lose subscribers." When a developer identifies a high server population as being a problem, and when players don't take advantage of free server transfers or other incentives, do the devs really have any other choice but to take away choice?
