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The UK considers tougher prison sentences for whistleblowers
The UK government is considering new proposals that would drastically increase prison sentences for individuals and journalists found guilty of obtaining or sharing state secrets. In a bid to modernize the Official Secrets Acts, a new espionage-focused law could lead to sentences of up to 14 years, which currently sits at two years and an unlimited fine, for coming into contact with "sensitive information," whether they've acquired it or have been passed it in secret.
How to stretch your iPhone's battery as far as it can possibly go
We've all been in this situation before: You haven't plugged in your iPhone in a couple of days and now you have just a sliver of battery life left. Your phone has been warning you that it's near death, but you have nowhere to charge it. At this point, you don't care if your phone is the fastest or most powerful; you're waiting for an important call and you just want it to live as long as possible before it faints to a black screen. Are you ready to sacrifice almost everything that makes your iPhone a fantastic device for a few more precious moments of power? Then let's get to it! You'll be doing all of your work in the settings menu, so once you've got it open, here's what you need to do: WiFi = Off Bluetooth = Off Cellular -> Cellular Data = Off (this will also turn off LTE automatically) Privacy -> Location Services = Off Wallpaper & Brightness -> Auto-Brightness = Off (Slide your brightness all the way down as well) General -> Background App Refresh = Off (Keeps apps from gobbling power in the background) General -> Accessibility -> Reduce Motion = On (No need to waste juice on 3D flair) Sounds -> Vibrate on Ring = Off Sounds -> Vibrate on Silent = Off Messages -> iMessage = Off (iMessage can require more data, and power, than texting) Mail, Contacts, Calendars -> Fetch New Data -> Push = Off Mail, Contacts, Calendars -> Fetch New Data -> Fetch = Manually (No data use unless you say so) With these settings tweaked, your iPhone won't be able to send or receive data either by WiFi or cellular connection, so keep that in mind. Your iPhone can still play games that don't require an internet connection, send texts, take photos and video and, of course, make and receive calls. And with nearly every bell and whistle removed, it should live as long as physically possible.
Storyboard: Secrets that aren't helping
Roleplaying characters are often secretive sorts. This is understandable; a lot of people are secretive sorts. Sure, you're not deceptive, but you harbor a secret affection for Lady Gaga that you don't want to tell anyone about, or you secretly did forget to feed the cat that one time she broke into the cupboard and ate an entire bag of cat food, or you're secretly cheating on your girlfriend (but it's fine because she's cheating on you, you think). The problem is that in roleplaying, some secrets are just plain better than others. Keep in mind that I'm talking about specific secrets here, not just things that people might not know yet. There are certain secrets that are just plain counterproductive, and it's better to have these things stated outright rather than held in reserve for the future. Even if it's supposed to be a secret, some secrets are better revealed than kept because keeping 'em isn't doing you any favors.
Revisiting Single Application Mode in light of Mavericks' App Nap feature
I have known about OS X's "Single Application Mode" for a long time, but a new feature in Mavericks has me testing it out again. According to an article on TidBITS, Single-Application Mode was introduced in 1999 with the (then) new Finder in Mac OS X. "Single-Application Mode" meant that when you switched from one app to another using the Dock then the new application that you had selected would come to the front, and the other applications would automatically hide. According to the TidBITS article, this was initially intended as the default behavior for the Finder, but public reception was so bad that so Apple dropped it as the default. However, the feature has continued to exist ever since. Now, 14 years later, Single-Application Mode brings a new benefit for people using Mavericks thanks to the new "App Nap" feature which will reduce the CPU/energy/battery usage of applications. The easiest way to take advantage of the App Nap feature is to have all of the windows of a background application completely hidden. (For a fuller description of the App Nap feature, see Siracusa 9:13 and 9:14 over on ArsTechnica.) These two features seem like a match made in Timer Coalescing heaven. To enable this feature, you have two options: The easy way is to download and install the Secrets preference pane and search for 'single' in the Finder preferences. Check the box, and then restart the Dock. The nerdier option is to go into Terminal.app and enter these commands: defaults write com.apple.dock single-app -bool true ; killall Dock which will enable the feature and restart the Dock (which is necessary for the new setting to be registered. If you later decide that you do not want to use this feature, use defaults write com.apple.dock single-app -bool false ; killall Dock or defaults delete com.apple.dock single-app ; killall Dock to disable it. If you enable this and need to see two different apps at the same time, use ⌘ + Tab to switch between the apps instead of clicking on the dock icons. Keyboard Maestro offers the same idea for those who prefer to switch apps using the keyboard instead of the dock. There is another way to do this without using the Dock method if you use Keyboard Maestro. One of the default macros that comes with Keyboard Maestro is a ⌘ + Tab replacement. It has several enhancement options as shown here. "Hide other applications when switching" is the feature that relates to our main topic here. With that enabled, any time you switch between apps using ⌘ + Tab, Keyboard Maestro will hide other apps. That gives you effectively the same functionality as Single-Application Mode without changing your dock settings. If you use this feature, you can see multiple app windows by switching between apps by clicking on the dock icons instead of using ⌘ + Tab. Just be careful that you don't enable both of these options at the same time unless you always want to use Single-Application mode! Keyboard Maestro gives you some other useful features such as: "Place switcher under mouse" means that the icons will appear wherever the mouse is, so you can easily choose one of the apps with your mouse if you prefer. You can also choose some applications which will always appear in the ⌘ + Tab list, even if they are not running. For example, I have added BusyCal, BBEdit, Messages, and MailMate, which means that I can switch to those apps, and if they are not already running, Keyboard Maestro will launch them. So now I no longer have to keep apps running just because I might want to use them again later. In fact, after trying both methods, I decided that I preferred to use Single-Application Mode via Keyboard Maestro instead of the dock, because I switch between apps using ⌘ + Tab much more often than by clicking on the dock icons. On those occasions when I do need to see more than one app at a time, I find it easier to just click the necessary dock icon. How much battery life does this save? The answer is that I really don't know. Trying to do comparisons of real life battery usage would be nearly impossible, and probably a waste of time. So far, I find that I prefer this "Single-Application Mode" most of the time, and so the energy benefits are just a nice fringe benefit. Then again, I spend most of my time using a 13" MacBook Air. If you use a 27" Cinema Display or multiple monitors, it might not be as useful for you, but as Apple's emphasis on energy usage shows, they are seeing a lot of growth in the number of MacBook users. If you're one of them, especially if you are trying to squeeze as much battery life as possible out of your MacBook, maybe it's time to give Single-Application mode another look.
Armature Studio has non-Arkham game coming 'this Christmas'
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate developer Armature Studio is developing an additional game to be released "this Christmas," the studio's Twitter feed announced yesterday. Armature's account clarified this morning that the project is "not a phone game" and doesn't involve an HD port of the God of War series for the Vita. Beyond that, however, Armature seems keen to let us wonder what the project could be. With a little under three months left before the day where a magical stranger breaks and enters homes worldwide, there's not much time left for the studio to build hype for their mystery present.
Behind the scenes as a [REDACTED] Game Master
Once upon a time, I worked as a game master for a very popular MMORPG. My duties were relatively simple: help players out of sticky situations and enforce the rules of the game when it came to cheating, harassment, and general player behavior. A game master's role is to protect the player from any and all potential game dangers, up to and including the player himself. In my work as a GM, I saw many amazing things. I saw guild members contact support staff because they were worried about another player's real-life wellbeing. I saw incredibly complex scams across multiple players and accounts that, while infuriating and exceptionally against the rules, were astonishing in their genius. And of course, I saw lots and lots of cybering.
The Daily Grind: What out-of-the-way secrets have you found?
We all know that the cardinal rule of exploration in any video game is to check under every waterfall for a secret passage. That's a given. But true exploration shouldn't stop with a wet dip and a slow-motion hair flip as we emerge sparkling into the sun. Developers have been hiding funny or interesting little secrets in out-of-the-way spots for years -- and MMOs are a prime example of this. I recently read a piece on Warhammer Online that reminded me how the developers used to watch beta testers do all sorts of acrobatics to get to hard-to-reach locations in the game. Instead of stopping them from doing so, the devs put special bosses or other secrets in these locations to reward exploration. I'm sure you've discovered many secrets when you've gone off the beaten path in MMOs. I, for one, would love to hear about them. Share, please? 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!
Officers' Quarters: State secrets
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. Privacy and information security has never been a more relevant topic than right now. With the revelation that the U.S. and British governments have been engaged in unprecedented worldwide surveillance of our Internet communications and phone calls, the threat to our privacy is very real. As an officer, you are on both sides of such situations. It's up to you what information to collect about your members and about other guilds. It's also up to you what to keep to yourself, what to share with your guildmates, and what to share with the world. Let's look at some of the privacy issues that officers must face.
Employees dish on what it takes to keep Apple's big secrets
As a former Apple employee, I know just how seriously Apple takes its secrets. Even today, years after my NDA has expired, I'm reluctant to talk about things that Apple flagged as confidential. One reason for that reluctance is because of the respect I have for the company and my friends who still work there, but of course another part of it is I don't want to make anybody there angry. But not all past employees are like me. And over at Quora there's a very interesting thread where past Apple employees talk about what it takes to keep the company's secrets. Interested readers should check out the thread in its entirety, but here's one of my favorites (this from an anonymous Apple employee): All prototypes are laser marked with serial numbers and tracked by a central tracking system (called iTrack). Physical security is also highly prioritized, with prototypes required to be locked up when not in use. Access to prototypes is also restricted, and the default assumption within the company is that your coworkers do not know what you're working on. Physical access to the areas of certain groups (product design, industrial design and reliability) is highly restricted by badge access. The most sensitive areas, such as the Industrial Design Studio, have receptionists, external cameras to screen guests, and require an escort to vouch for you. Within these areas and groups, knowledge of the product pipeline and access to prototypes is widespread, but that knowledge doesn't leave the group. And here's a rather humorous story that puts Apple's secrecy in perspective. This is from Adam Banks, editor of MacUser UK in the late 1990s: I was editing MacUser (UK) in 1998 when rumours surfaced that Apple was working on a completely new kind of Mac. By a series of flukes, we became the first magazine to print what turned out to be a pretty accurate description of the machine a couple of months ahead of its launch as the iMac. We got the details from someone who worked at a third-party site where Apple had seeded a test unit. Probably safe by now to mention what the site was. It was the Pentagon. Compared to the real secrets they were keeping, when it came to some plastic PC they'd been asked not to talk about, I suspect nobody gave a shit.
Halfbrick teases a new game called Fish Out of Water, more coming at GDC
Halfbrick Studios has posted a quick teaser for a brand-new game on its website, but here's all we know. It's got something to do with fishing. As you can see above, the creators of Jetpack Joyride and Fruit Ninja have something wet and colorful planned for their next title, but outside of a fishy pun (and a title, "Fish Out of Water"), they're keeping the title submerged for now. The buoy floating by says the game will be fully revealed in six days, which means the company will be telling us all about the game at a meeting during next week's Game Developers' Conference. Which is convenient, since TUAW's already got a meeting with them all planned and ready. It's hard to believe it, but Halfbrick hasn't released a completely new game since Jetpack Joyride, which originally appeared on the App Store way back in 2011. So Fish Out of Water, whatever it is, should be exciting to see.
Storyboard: Hint, hint
During the last several months of Final Fantasy XIV, my main character did the unthinkable: She went to work for her old mentor alongside the Garlean Empire. Everything she was doing outside of personal ventures, up to and including rejoining the mercenary company she had previously helped found, was based around collecting information. She had quite the dossier by the time she was finished, too, having flushed out a number of secrets regarding both Eorzea's defensive plans and the Ala Mhigan resistance. Not that anyone knew this because it simply never came up. Part of how I screwed this one up came down to both my choice of roleplaying groups and my own work-based schedule in the game. But another part of this was the simple fact that I didn't make it clear quickly enough just what she was up to. I dropped some hints here and there, but they were lost in a rush of other events, and as a result that whole subplot never got explored, which is a shame, especially because I like to think I'm usually pretty good at dropping hints and getting others to catch on. So as I reflect on what I did wrong, let's talk about how to do it right.
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.
WRUP: Special secret WoW cheat codes and trikks(TM) to the x-treme
Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too! Welcome to WoW Insider, your source for all sorts of Tips N Trikks(TM) for the World of Warcraft game for your PC or Mac entertainment console. Are you ready for the coolest tricks? And the hottest cheat codes?! We won't tell Mom you're cheating if you don't! (Radical!) But hey, enough delay. Let's get to those Tips N Trikks(TM)! (Tips N Trikks ... to the x-treme!) In the mystical world of ... Azeroad ... you're tasked with beating all the bad guys and saving the princess. But do you know the best way to kill those bad guys? Use spells to attack. Spells cause damage! (Awesome!) Use physical abilities to attack. Use that sword, bro! (Whooooooooaaaaaaahhhhhh!) And when you need to pause the game, just press the power button! (Coooool Trikks ~) What's your favorite Tip and/or Trikk? Let us know by writing us at "WoW Insider Tips N Trikks," P.O. Box 20283-B, Alameda, CA 94502. Or you can just leave a comment after the break telling us what you're playing this weekend. And you can read what all these other WoW Insider folks are playing, too! (Maxi-tota-rad!)
Microsoft: Surface was developed in an 'underground bunker' at first, we can play the secrecy game too
We commonly associate extreme secrecy around a product design with Apple, but it now looks to be in vogue with all the major technology companies: just days after Samsung revealed the Galaxy S III's secret sauce, Microsoft has explained to TechRadar that it developed its surprise new Surface tablets under a similarly tight watch. A special wing of Microsoft's hardware unit initially worked in an "underground bunker," according to the division's Stevie Bathiche, before moving to a more conventional building with an 'airlock' door -- the company was just that concerned that Bob from Accounts Receivable might spoil the whole thing. As we all know by now, that level of secrecy proved effective almost until the last minute and let Microsoft design to its heart's content; we still don't know if other PC builders were aware. The practice is a sharp break from Microsoft's tendency to telegraph its strategy well in advance, and it emphasizes just how much importance Redmond places on its self-developed Windows 8 hardware.
TF2 in 2012: 'Meet the Pyro' is coming, more secrets
Valve has finally put together its schedule of events for 2012, announcing the big things happening in Team Fortress 2 in the coming months. Most notably, Valve says its final character video, Meet the Pyro, will air in 2012 and it will feature "lots of blood pretty much all the way through."The TF2 team is also working on a secret project that isn't a hat or a map, Valve reports. This leaves speculation open to new characters, a feature-length film, a live-action feature-length film, or a live-action feature-length film starring Brendan Gleeson, Jude Law and Emma Stone. These are the only options.The Steam Workshop has a shiny new blog, and Valve says it plans to unveil another secret at the second annual Saxxy Awards. We're pretty sure this secret will be the announcement of the TF2 movie's sequel, starring Katherine Heigl as Brendan Gleeson and Brendan Fraser as everyone else.
Secret menu found in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Disappointed that your copy of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is collecting dust now that the full title is out? Slip it back in to your PS3, because here's one more secret to find. Mathieu H., on Twitter, has found a secret menu in the budget title that opens up a brand new menu, with images of the Nurburgring Nordschleife, Circuit de la Sarthe, and Tsukuba tracks that supposedly weren't available previously. You can also pull up a secret options menu to toggle availability of various cars and other options, and set up races with certain cars. In other words, this is probably a kiosk mode, used to help set up demo units. Alas, the code doesn't work in the full game, so Gran Turismo 5 owners will have to be satisfied with, you know, the full game. But then again, maybe there are a few secrets still wandering around that game's menus after all.
Call of Duty: Black Ops' Nuketown multiplayer map holds many secrets
Professionial Activision, umm, guy Dan "One of Swords" Amrich has posted nine interesting secrets from Call of Duty: Black Ops' multiplayer map Nuketown. Sure, everybody probably noticed the double rainbow all the way across the sky (what does it mean?), but did you notice the names on the mailboxes, or the fact that the town clock and population board actually count the actual time left and players present in the match? There's also a few secret RC-XD hidey holes (seen above), and apparently Nuketown isn't the only map with a few secret places to send your buzzing remote controlled car of doom. Say what you want about Activision's evil empire or the money-making steamroller that Call of Duty has become, but no one can say Treyarch didn't pack the stuffing out of this game with hidden content.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite MMO Easter egg?
Easter eggs have always struck me as weird. On one hand, the bunny keeps hiding them, so I guess he doesn't want you to find them. But then he makes them brilliantly colored, which blends in with nature not at all. So which is it, Easter bunny? Do you want us to find your eggs or not? In a similar fashion, some MMO Easter eggs are cleverly hidden, undiscovered by most who run on by. Those eggs tend to reward the observant, the meticulous and the just plain lucky. Then there are the eggs that the developers all but shove in your face as if to say, "Hey! Look at this! It is wacky and out of place and breaks the fourth wall!" Those eggs are available to all, usually whether you want them or not. So what are your favorite Easter eggs in MMOs? Are they oblique references to pop culture hidden in item description text? A remote area that's almost inaccessible unless you know the exact trick to getting there? A secret buried inside a quest that unveils itself if you know just where to look? What makes you gurgle with delight when discovered?
Music, audio, webcomics and more: It is super-reveal Friday for SWTOR's fans
With Comic*Con less than a week away, BioWare is passionately preparing for the stellar event. And to tease us into wanting more, the development team threw us a gigantic Fan Friday for Star Wars: The Old Republic. What secrets were revealed in the newest issue of the Blood of the Empire? What can be divulged in a Developer's Blog about audio? How do we discover this secret the SWTOR Community Manager wants to tell us? And music in an MMO? Is that important? The Developer's Dispatch wants to show us. All of these and other important questions will be answered if you click the little "Read more" button below.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Why won't my apps stay deleted?
Dear Aunt TUAW, Darn it, my iPhone keeps re-installing my deleted apps every time I sync. Do you know how to make this stop happening? Is my iPhone possessed? I know I'm not alone. This is happening to other people too. Help! Love and kissies, Dave Read on for Auntie's response...
