Ambassador
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Translation gadgets in 2020 are nearly as good as Babel Fish
Hundreds of thousands of attendees from every corner of the globe descended upon Las Vegas last week to see the latest and greatest in consumer technology trends. However, with so many people from so many places in a single space, language barriers can be an issue. Thankfully myriad companies were onsite with their own tech-based solutions to address these communication breakdowns. We were able to check out a few and see which are best placed to become the babel fish we were promised.
Nikki Haley gives up 1.6 million followers to satisfy the State Dept.
Thanks to social media rules created during the Obama administration, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley has been forced to surrender her Twitter account and all 1.67 million of its followers. Haley grudgingly announced the news herself: "Due to State Dept rules that were changed by the outgoing administration, I have had to clear my personal Twitter account that I have had for years," she tweeted from her new account.
Nintendo has 'no plans' for Wii U Ambassador program
Nintendo has said there are "no plans" to implement a 3DS-esque Ambassador program on the Wii U, according to a statement made to Wii U Daily. Nintendo recently announced a $50 price change on the Wii U deluxe bundle, which made Wii U Daily question if the company might offer an Ambassador program, as they did when the 3DS dropped from $250 to $170. According to a Nintendo rep, however, the Ambassador program is "only available to any Nintendo 3DS owner who purchased their system before August 12, 2011 and there are no plans for a similar program for Wii U." The representative also apologized, stating that, "I know this isn't what you were hoping for." Oh well, at least there's that snazzy-looking The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Wii U bundle coming soon! Update: The text of this post has been edited for clarity and flow.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online pleases and teases
I have had more fun in Star Trek Online in the past week than I have had in the past six months! Part of the reason has a lot to do with the fact that the game's third anniversary has delivered something that many of us have been craving since the release of last year's featured episode, The 2800: a story-based mission. And it wasn't just any story-based mission; it was a doozy! The team at Star Trek Online also released a third anniversary trailer, which contained a very big surprise at the very end. The teaser sent shockwaves through the loyal player community. There's a lot to go over, so join me past the jump as I touch on the anniversary celebration and ruminate on what the game will bring us in May 2013!
PSA: How to un-ugly your GBA games on 3DS
Nintendo Ambassadors now have 10 free Gameboy Advance games on their 3DSes, which is wonderful. Some of these games look like they were thrown onto a freeway during rush hour in Freight-Truck Town, which is not wonderful. The 3DS' screen is 400x240 pixels, while the classic games are set at GBA standards, 240x160 pixels. When loading a GBA title normally, it will stretch out to fill the 3DS screen and look like the elastic on your 30-year-old "lucky" pair of tightie whities -- but never fear, because you can revert the game to its standard size, as provided by 1UP. Launch a GBA title on the 3DS and hold down the select or start button until the boot screen disappears and the game begins -- the playable screen will shrink down to standard GBA size, with black bars filling in the extra space around the smaller area. Think of it as a frame for your nostalgia.
Verify your Ambassadorship with Nintendo's eligibility checker
As one of the first 4 millionish people to buy Nintendo's 3DS prior to its dramatic price drop earlier this month, you've no doubt assumed the role of Ambassador with pride, dignity, and a frantic, ever-present anticipation for all of the dope swag in your near future. We get the feeling that you already know whether or not you successfully connected to the Nintendo eShop before the deadline, but just to make super double sure, Nintendo has launched an Ambassador eligibility verification tool on its support site. Our eagle-eyed tipsters have informed us that including the last digit of your serial numer (the one in the box) may return a false ineligibility error, so 3DS owners looking for absolute peace of mind regarding their free games should be sure to try the tool both ways. [Thanks, Sonny!]
Caption Contest: Samsung hires David Beckham as a global brand ambassador
David Beckham is a man that needs no introduction. Indeed, Samsung hopes he'll be the one making the introductions, as it's just signed up the English footballer to act as its global brand ambassador. Mr. Becks will be responsible for disseminating the news that Samsung is one of the major sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics, and we can see he's already received the first tranche of his remuneration in the form of a Galaxy S II. Lucky him. Thomas: "I'm sorry, I got the Spanish version, this one says 'Sii' on it." Vlad: "At 8.49mm, this phone's almost as thin as my wife!" Tim: "I don't know who you are or what this is, but I'm sure Victoria will love it." Amar: "Finally, a Galaxy that won't bench me!" Darren: "Man, this thing crushes my Aura." Richard Lai: "As part of the deal, Samsung will also be announcing the Galaxy S Beckham. OK, it's just a golden dual-core." Myriam: "So you want me to drop-kick this in front of the cameras, right?" Zach Honig: "Maybe in this Galaxy I can win a World Cup."
The OverAchiever: Combining The Ambassador and Mountain o' Mounts
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we contribute to Azeroth's obesity epidemic by refusing to walk. Mounts: They get your ass from point A to point B, and if you're lucky, they'll do it as stylishly as possible. They're the most immediately visible status symbol in WoW and often give you a one-glance note on the kind of player at whom you're looking. People astride Invincible can be counted upon to be hardcore raiders from the Wrath of the Lich King era, someone riding a Violet Proto-Drake is never new to the game, and players rocking a White Stallion are seriously old school. Players who have been around for any length of time almost inevitably accrue a stable's worth of beasties to cart them around, but some folks go the extra mile for the Leading the Cavalry and Mountain o' Mounts achievements. In Cataclysm, these are a lot easier than they once were, although you should still be prepared to dump a ton of gold and time into them no matter what. Fortunately, the first part of the Mountain o' Mounts trek should also net you The Ambassador achievement and title.
Euro Wii 'Ambassadors' to receive keys to the Virtual Console
Eager to show its disconnected patrons that their Wiis can do more than Wii Sports -- you don't even have to eject the disc! -- Nintendo has appointed pretty much anyone in Europe savvy enough to visit Wii's Connection Settings menu an "Ambassador." Here's how the "Connection Ambassador Promotion" works: Beginning in October (as seen in Japan), if you help another Wii owner establish an online connection, you and your incompetent friend will both receive five Nintendo bucks (500 Wii Points). (Presumably, when connecting for the first time, there will be an option to credit an Ambassador.)And if you extend your services to the maximum of twenty previously offline console owners? You're looking at a 10,000-point payout ($100 worth of old games you probably have tucked away in cart form, plus all those WiiWare options) -- not bad, eh?But wait! There's a more tempting perk to this promotion. As Ambassador, once you connect ten users, you'll achieve "gold status" and be free to download all first-party NES titles on Virtual Console. Oh, but it gets far better: Hit your twenty connections and -- you guessed it -- you've attained "platinum status," essentially granting you the keys to Nintendo's Virtual Console catalog. That's right, all first- and third-party NES, SNES and N64 games -- for free.Quick! Google map the twenty nearest old folks homes and get ambassadoring!
Samsung turning 50 peeps into 'Omnia HD Ambassadors' ahead of launch
Most of us will have to wait a few months to get a crack at spending untold hundreds of dollars on Omnia HDs of our own, but for a lucky few -- fifty, to be exact -- the opportunity is just around the corner. Oh, and the phone is free, too. The catch? First off, you've got to convince Samsung you're special enough to get one of the rarefied prerelease units, then you've got to be an "Omnia HD Ambassador" -- that is, you've got to show the world why the phone is so freakin' awesome (and considering the dreamy specs, that shouldn't be too big of a challenge). The contest to be become an Ambassador runs through the 27th of the month, with winners announced in early April -- so polish your resume, comb your hair, and have a shot at it.
Ask a Beta Tester: Leveling, the Taunka, and mounts
All of us here at WoW Insider are staggering around somewhat zombie-like in the wake of BlizzCon with the patch (probably) coming tomorrow and the amount of information we're hoping to get out in the next 24 hours. So in all truth I don't know whether the answers to today's questions are completely factual or just stuff that started swimming in front of my eyes at 1:00 this morning. Arthas is actually a girl underneath all that armor, just like Samus Aran. The zone music to Icecrown is "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. The Hateful Gladiator cloth belt is a pink tutu. Flying bunnies will be available in the next expan-(Sound of a short scuffle in the background, followed by a whip crack)Thank you, Dan, a little perspective is always useful in these difficult times.Jason asks...Will Northrend be accessible at 68 like Outland was accessible at 58? Or do I need to be a solid 70 to quest and instance in Northrend?Technically, Northrend will be accessible to anyone with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion installed; you can hop a boat or zeppelin on any character of any level. There's no "You must be THIS HIGH to cross through the portal to Outland" restriction, but you won't be able to pick up any of the quests available in Northrend until level 68. Could you grind your way to 68 in Northrend from the mid-60's? Maybe, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Ambassador title was added per player request
We asked for more titles, and darned if Blizzard didn't give them to us. Just in case you missed it over the weekend, there are tons of new titles in the latest beta build that all revolve around Achievements and Feats of Strength, from titles for the first people to level to 80 (and 450 in professions) to titles for obscure reputations and even holidays and fishing. Blizzard really delivered on the title front -- no matter what you do in game, odds are there is a title for you to aim for.And here's the best part: this is a direct result of reader requests. Zach linked to this the other day, but he forgot to point out that when Tigole posted that the Ambassador title (for earning Exalted with all five core city factions for Alliance or Horde) was coming to the game, it was in direct response to a player asking for it.Kudos to Blizzard not only for fulfilling their promise to have lots and lots of titles for players to choose from, but for doing it in a way that came straight from players themselves. These seem so simple to implement, we're glad Blizzard is being generous with them.
Gigantic Ambassador controller built to handle Ableton Live
Some fairly fantastic homegrown controllers have graced our eyes before, but seriously, we have no idea how a human brain could actually keep track of all the possibilities on this one. Regrettably, we have no idea how many square inches (feet?) this thing encompasses, but the aptly-dubbed Ambassador was reportedly built with arcade buttons, an aluminum top panel and a wooden case with the sole purpose of controlling Ableton Live music software. Of course, a custom driver had to be created just to take everything in, and quite frankly, we're not too sure this thing was actually hand built as opposed to being ganked from a UFO's control hub.[Via MAKE]
Alpha moms not sympathetic to hardcore gamers' plight
Jenny Lauck and Stefania Pomponi Butler, both of them "Alpha Moms (influential matriarchs)" and Wii Ambassadors, sat down with Electronic Gaming Monthly's podcast crew to chat about Nintendo's efforts to attract mothers to its consoles. Though they didn't take to the Nintendo DS, both women were eager to talk about how much they enjoyed titles like Cooking Mama, Wii Play, and, yes, Boogie.When asked about the often touted complaint that casual releases like Wii Fit and Wii Sports are pulling resources and funding away from games meant for the hardcore audience, Ms. Lauck reasoned, "I don't think developers are going to start ignoring them. I think there's definite room ... for both markets."She continued the argument on her blog with an analogy that puts these irrational fears into perspective: "I think studios should stop making lame sitcoms and focus solely on new episodes of Lost, for example. But you know what? There's a market for sitcoms, and even though I'm a hard-core supporter of Lost, there are other genres out there that other people watch."Read - She Just Wouldn't Shut UpRead - EGM LIVE 09/03/2007 Podcast
Wii's secret weapon: mom
Remember those Wii ambassadors, the people who got to drag their friends along to top secret parties to enjoy the Wii long before the rest of us got our paws on one? Turns out most of them weren't gamers at all -- which explains why we only heard from a few ambassadors. While one ambassador in each of Nintendo's eight selected cities was identified as a hardcore gamer, the other two were decidedly not. NoA's George Harrison said, "The vast majority of people were not video game players, or had potentially a negative attitude about video games. But we identified them as people who were influential in their community." So Nintendo took the Wii on the Tupperware circuit, spotlighting what they called "alpha moms" and offering them the chance to host Wii parties. They also looked for sprawling, multigenerational families who could show off the appeal of the Wii to all ages. All this to sell the consoles? Not even that, Harrison explained. The parties and press served to get the word out to everyone, not just gamers, and just to get people to pay attention when the advertisements started. It makes sense -- how much attention would the average mom pay to a commercial for the latest game console? Nintendo felt that this unorthodox viral marketing campaign was a good way to fight that and get everyone to pay attention.With the insane sales and subsequent console shortage, we can only say good game, Nintendo ... something's sure working!
The first "Wii ambassador" event
The first of the "Wii Ambassadors" has had their party, and the invitee has written a blow-by-blow runthrough of the event. Though absolutely no recording device of any kind were allowed (seriously...he was actually frisked), he still manages to paint a crystal-clear picture; that is, a picture of awesome. From the last-second delivery of the rendezvous point to the van ride with the taped-over windows, and the absolute chaos of the party itself, it's a hell of a read.Particularly impressive to him were the two new additions to Wii Sports: Bowling and Boxing. Does anyone else think that two player Punch-Out-like boxing action with the Wiimote is heaven on Earth?
