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Senator proposes law to safeguard journalists’ data from the government
Senator Ron Wyden proposes a federal shield law for journalists that would prevent their records from being seized.
The Rosinbomb Rocket is a panini press for weed
While medical cannabis is already available in more than half of American states and recreational cannabis nears the cusp of national legalization, cannabis culture still strongly values self-sufficiency. Even though this generation of stoners likely won't have to worry about MacGuyvering their bongs together from household implements or growing their own herb instead of buying it from the corner dispensary, there are still plenty of DIY projects that they can take on.
Juicero will refund unsatisfied buyers of its WiFi-connected press
We never bought the hype on Juicero's $700 connected cold-press machine, but the company's CEO says anyone who did pay for one can get their money back. In a blog post on Medium, CEO Jeff Dunn responded to a Bloomberg report that pointed out the company's produce packs can be squeezed by hand, without buying the juicer at all. According to Dunn, for the next 30 days any Juicero owner can return their machine for a full refund (since it launched, the price has dropped to $400) -- this courtesy presumably doesn't extend to any of the investors who backed it.
White House adds four 'Skype seats' for press briefings
Starting this week, the White House will open up four so-called Skype seats to reporters outside of Washington, DC. Press secretary Sean Spicer announced the move in a briefing today, one that he says will "open up the briefing room to journalists who live beyond 50 miles" of the DC area. Spicer also explained that the virtual access will give news outlets that don't have press passes or the financial resources to travel a chance to attend White House news sessions.
Korean press miffed at lack of flagship Apple Store
South Korea really loves Apple's new iPhones. The company managed to outpace pre-orders of the Galaxy Note 4 -- which comes from South Korea-based Samsung -- more than three times over. Unfortunately, the South Korean press hasn't been quite as charmed by Apple, and as Patently Apple points out, some reports coming out of the country are taking an oddly envious tone in regards to other countries getting official Apple Store treatment. "Apple announced on Oct. 26 that it is going to set up 25 more Apple Stores in China within two years in addition to the 15 already open," reads one report. "However, the company is not running any Apple Store in Korea, although it has done business in the country for five years," it continues, adding "Even Zimbabwe has one." The reporter cites an unnamed "industry insider" who claims that Apple would only consider a store in a couple of locations in South Korea, and that the cost of renting a space is a key factor in Apple not having set up shop in the country yet. The report wraps up by questioning "when Apple is going to take proper care of Korean customers."
State-sponsored hackers are attacking news outlets on a massive scale
It's not hard to spot instances of state-sponsored hacking against dissidents and terrorism suspects, but it now appears that these attacks frequently target the press -- and more often than you see in the news. Google security engineers report that 21 of the top 25 media outlets worldwide have faced some kind of government-backed hacking attempt, with many of them flying under the radar. In Vietnam, for instance, attackers have tried to discourage coverage of human rights issues by tricking journalists into compromising their PCs. Google argues that awareness is the solution. The more press organizations recognize the online threat, the better they can lock things down and make sure their stories get heard. [Image credit: European Union 2012 - European Parliament, Flickr]
Vietnam decree prevents social media posts from linking to outside news reports
Unfortunately, decrees such as the one just approved in Vietnam are seemingly becoming more common, not less. Similar outcries were voiced after both Iran and Belarus laid down draconian laws about how their citizens were to interact with the internet, and now Vietnam is being shelled by residents and outsiders alike for a new decree that essentially bars the sharing of outside news. The specific verbiage states that "personal electronic sites" (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) "are only allowed to put [sic] news owned by that person." In other words, sharing of information from "press organizations or government websites" is now outlawed, as is the act of providing "general information" on profiles and blogs. Exact punishments are apparently still being drafted, but whatever arises, you can bet that the Vietnamese government is going to take a huge amount of flack for crossing this line.
Mobile Miscellany: week of June 10th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, the Lumia 925 touched down in Germany, a popular RSS client for Android broke free of its Google Reader shackles and BBM Channels received some sorely needed features. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of June 10th, 2013.
Ask Massively: The irony of media and betas
It's a running joke on Massively that some readers believe our lives are glamorous and that we sleep in beds made out of free video game swag. The truth is that video game bloggers are working in this field because they love the job. At least that's how it is around here. Or maybe writing in our pajamas is too posh to pass up. But people still believe we are loaded with perks just because we get to wear fancy hats that say "PRESS." Just kidding. There are no hats. Here's a recent example from a reader named Will6: Lucky you, getting to test drive the game. Everyone knows the press get instant invites because they are a free way [for studios] to advertise their game and get the word out. It's time for "everyone" to be disabused of that notion.
NVIDIA's CES 2013 event now available to watch online
Assuming you've already caught up on Samsung's press event from yesterday, now may be a good time to see what NVIDIA unveiled at CES 2013 from the comfort of your own home, office or any other internet-connect place you might be. Naturally, you'll catch a glimpse of all of NVIDIA's unveilings, including that shiny new Tegra 4 processor and the company's Project Shield gaming console. Surely there will be a few more for you to watch in the coming days, so head below to catch the chip maker's event in its entirety and scratch that one off your list of things to watch.
Mists of Pandaria news coming in March with press sneak peek
Blizzard has announced that some information is coming about the highly anticipated Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's fourth expansion -- well, information with regards to when there will be information about Mists of Pandaria. In the middle of March, Blizzard will hold a special press event for members of the media to see what kind of progress has been made, in showable form, since BlizzCon 2011's impressively far-along demo. As Nethaera posted, information is coming, and we now have a date. This feels like Blizzard's taking a page from the Apple book. Pressers and hype events like these work incredibly well for a company like Blizzard that is very much an Apple of its industry. By calling its own press conferences, conventions, and press trips rather than announcing information amongst the rest of the gaming industry at conventions like PAX, the message is much more focused and clear -- the cacophony is removed. I'm excited to know when new information will be available. Of course, I'd rather have the information, but a day to hope for is better than nothing. It's gonna get busy in March.
How the iPad is succeeding in healthcare
Wired has posted a profile of one Afshad Mistri, an Apple employee whose goal is quite focused. As the medical market manager, he's tasked with connecting medical professionals and Apple's technology. Mistri couldn't chat with Wired for the article itself (Apple's less-than-press-friendly reputation is upheld), but according to medical personnel he's working with, Apple is pushing hard on the healthcare industry by setting up iPads and other brand new tech in medical workplaces. That's interesting, as Apple traditionally hasn't aggressively pursued the enterprise, leaving most offices to companies like Microsoft and RIM. But the medical market is different. In addition to Mistri's behind-the-scenes work and stories about organizations using the iPad, Apple has featured medical apps during several public presentations. It's not a big surprise, since the medical industry is tech-friendly (which is right where Apple wants to be) and has deep pockets to fund upgrades. But it is interesting that Apple has chosen to actively pursue medicine. We can probably expect to see more universities and hospitals embracing the iPad and Apple's devices moving forward. [via gigaom]
EVE Online press conference answers vital questions, transcript inside
After what should have been the celebrated release of the long-awaited Incarna expansion last week, the EVE Online community erupted into flames. The controversy began when players realised that the vanity clothing items in the game's new cash shop were ridiculously overpriced. The $68 monocle became a centerpiece that the media latched onto, in the same way that World of Warcraft made the headlines when Blizzard had the audacity to sell a $25 mount. The story should have ended there as a piece about a crazy Icelandic game company selling virtual clothing for more than real clothing. Unfortunately, some conveniently timed leaks from inside CCP caused this simple issue to escalate to the point of panic, causing in-game riots and a significant number of subscription cancellations. The company's silence on the simple question of whether non-vanity microtransactions would be introduced was seen as an admission that gameplay-affecting items would end up in the cash shop. CCP flew the Council of Stellar Management, EVE's democratically-elected player representative body, out to Iceland for an emergency meeting last week. The result of the meeting was a joint statement between CCP and the CSM addressing all of the major concerns players had. Last night, CCP ran two press conferences over Skype to give EVE fansites and the gaming media a chance to ask additional questions that weren't covered in the official statement. Skip past the cut for our in-depth three-page transcript from the gaming media press conference, including answers to several pressing questions sent in by Massively readers and some great issues raised by other participating members of the press. Comments can be posted on page 3.
The Soapbox: Game "journalism" is not journalism (yet)
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Hey folks, welcome back to the Soapbox. Before I get started, let me add a personal disclaimer onto the Massively disclaimer you just read: I don't hate game devs. On the contrary, I hold a couple of them in pretty high esteem. What does annoy me is the way that most of them get a free pass when it comes to tough questions. Another thing that sticks in my craw is the way readers sometimes confuse journalism with game journalism. The two aren't often the same thing, and in fact the latter term is a complete misnomer. So, when you throw together my disdain for PR-soaked reporting and my facepalming at any mention of the phrase "game journalism," you end up with this week's Soapbox. In it, I'd like to take a crack at educating the folks who erroneously refer to both me and other game bloggers as "journalists." To do so, I'll spend some time examining "game journalism," and I'll start by defining journalism itself. Then we can look at how applicable the term is to the current landscape of MMO-centric media (and really, game media in general). Merriam-Webster defines journalism as "the collection and editing of news for presentation through the media." So far, so good, right? Well, look deeper. A more thoughtful, thorough, and instructional definition is provided by the folks at Journalism.org. Rather than quote the entire nine-point synopsis here on my front page, I'll highlight what I consider to be the second most important principle of journalism (the first obviously being truth). Not coincidentally, this principle is one that game "journalism" utterly fails to uphold on a daily basis: "[Journalism's] practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover."
Apple is the most-covered tech company
Here's a bit of news that's no shock to us. According to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, Apple receives more coverage from the press than any other tech company. The research center recently concluded a year-long study, which found that a full 15.1 percent of all tech articles were about Apple. Google commanded 11.4 percent of articles while 3 percent were primarily about Microsoft. The study used data from 52 newspapers, broadcast, and websites from June 2009 through June 2010. What's powering Apple's popularity? Its computers represent only a fraction of those in use. However, the iPhone and the iPod's meteoric rise to stardom, and infiltration of popular culture, has caught the attention of journalists across the globe. But there's more to it than that. Amy S. Mitchell, the deputy director of the Project, notes the hype that precedes a new release, as well as Apple's "very public way of releasing products," is powerful. As I said on a recent podcast, even the local news station in my little Podunk town covered the recent iPod updates. As I said, telling us that Apple gets a lot of press coverage is like telling bees that honey is popular. But anecdotal evidence is one thing; empirical research is another.
Shocker! Tech media loves Apple
Study confirms that Apple commands an inordinate amount of the technology media's attention as demonstrated by this post about the Apple study. [Thanks Mrinal, original image courtesy of Lyina]
Apple played favorites with iPad access
Boing Boing's Rob Beschizza has an insightful look at something that no one's really noticed yet: Apple definitely played favorites when it came to sharing the iPad. Here's the list of outlets and writers that got access to the iPad for an early review. You'll note that Boing Boing is on there, as is PC Magazine. Engadget and Gizmodo (along with TUAW, though we got one anyway) are not. Time is on there, Newsweek is not. Clearly, Apple's being careful about who's given access, and there's no one reason why an outlet might be on the list or not. And it might be even more confusing than that -- Fake Steve Jobs (a.k.a. writer Dan Lyons) tells a story about how Apple sent word out that they were unhappy about Newsweek officially hiring him after the FSJ reveal. Apple isn't just controlling access -- they're doing their best to control the entire media perception of the company. One thing that Beschizza doesn't mention (he goes on to gloat a little about Boing Boing's history with Apple) is that, in those first few days of iPad app reveals, it was pretty clear which developers had gotten an iPad early. Firemint, PopCap, MLB, EA -- there are hundreds of thousands of developers on the App Store, and Apple came to only a few to offer them a development iPad to play with early. Unfortunately, again, we'll never know the criteria for selection there other than Apple's whims (and I presume the whole thing is wrapped so tightly in an NDA that we won't even know when and how the offers were made), so we don't have a full picture of what access was offered and how. But there's no question that Apple made specific choices about how and where to send the iPad -- some people and companies got in, lots didn't.
Tons of iPad app releases on the App Store now
Embargoes on every app in the iPad's app store broke this morning, and there's almost too many new iPad apps to write about. But worry not, dear readers -- we've sifted through the flood of press releases in the inbox this morning, and we're here to bring you the brightest and best iPad app news we've heard so far. Board game maker Days of Wonder is releasing Small World, a virtual board game for the iPad, for just US$5. Telltale Games craftily dodged telling us about any development for the iPhone or the iPad at Macworld this year, but they've gone ahead and released the latest episode of Sam and Max on the platform anyway, as a $10 app. SugarSync has released a version of their remote data sharing app for free on the iPad. Diner Dash has gone "HD" with Diner Dash: Grilling Green, a new $5 version of the game "designed from the ground up exclusively for the iPad." See Here Studios has a 3D storybook called The Wrong Side of the Bed available for $2.99. You'll need red/cyan glasses, but you can actually order them (with free shipping in the US) inside the app itself. Chillingo has launched a lineup of fourteen different apps (which is probably the most we've seen from any single company so far) including Cogs HD, Minigore HD, and Sword of Fargoal Legends. Impressive launch lineup. Zen Bound 2 has finally arrived as an iPad app -- it features those revamped graphics for $7.99 on the new device. Freeverse has four different apps running, including Flick Fishing HD and their new game CastleCraft, a freemium MMO. Smule has released Magic Piano, a virtual piano/game/musical experience that's launching for $2.99. Lots (and we mean lots) more iPad app releases after the break. What a launch lineup this thing has!
GDC 2010: Backflip Studios' year in the App Store
He revealed that a full $1m in that actually came straight from ad sales -- he's made deals with AdMob and other companies to put ads in his popular Paper Toss app, and he uses those ads both for straight revenue, as well as to promote his own games (more on that later in the talk). Farrior offered up a frank and honest look at what it was like to run an iPhone app company for a year.
Chinese World of Warcraft project chief resigns
Just when it seemed that NetEase had finally gotten things under control to operate World of Warcraft in China, it's hit another potential road bump. The company released an official statement to Chinese press announcing the resignation of project chief Li Riqiang, according to JLM Pacific Epoch, a research firm that focuses on China. The statement did not give a specific explanation for Riqian's departure nor did it name a possible replacement to fill the seemingly important vacancy. Since taking over World of Warcraft operations in China from The9, NetEase has faced a series of difficulties. It seemed like the company had finally gotten back on track, however, as NetEase was recently approved to run World of Warcraft and the Burning Crusade expansion. It's as yet unclear how Li's absence might sour that good fortune. [Via GI.biz]
