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WoW Insider chats with Xfire at BlizzCon
Oh Illidan and Kael'thas, you two are so silly. The folks behind Azerothian Supervillians put together a fun little trailer for Xfire featuring two of Azeroth's most heinous masterminds.But what they're planning is what we're doing-- covering every single second of BlizzCon. WoW Insider has teamed up with Xfire (yes, the use of "teamed up" was intentional there) to cover Blizzard's big event like it's never been covered before. If you haven't checked out Xfire's main BlizzCon page yet, here it is. And if you haven't gotten an Xfire account yet, do that too (it's easy and free), because on Thursday (tomorrow) at 4pm Pacific, WoW Insider bloggers (including myself) will be chatting live on Xfire. You'll have the chance to ask us about our official predictions for the show, check in with what we think of Anaheim so far, and tell us exactly, in chat-room person, what you think should be covered at BlizzCon.Get on Xfire and get online (put the account "blizzcon2007" on your friends list) tomorrow, Thursday August 2nd at 4pm Pacific to chat live with WoW Insider from Anaheim. And of course, stay tuned all weekend for great BlizzCon open-to-close coverage, courtesty of Xfire and WoW Insider.
BlizzCon: Convention Center setup
I just sauntered over to the Convention Center here in Anaheim to see what I could see, and the results are in the first exclusive gallery of pictures from BlizzCon, available right there below!There's nothing really groundbreaking here, unfortunately-- it looks like they're still setting up the banners (so I'll go over and check again later today), and I couldn't get close enough to get a really good look inside the Exhibit Hall. But they're definitely close to being done-- while there's lots of carts and equipment around, not much is coming in or going out. I did see a pallet of boxes, but I couldn't get close enough to read what it said on them. Here's an original size version of that one if you guys want to try to decipher what might be in there.Unfortunately, no "Wrath of the Lich King" banners yet, but I'll keep my eyes open and bring you more when I find it.Update: Added some more banners, because when I stopped by this afternoon, they were done putting them up.%Gallery-5417%
BlizzCon: Welcome to Anaheim
Looks like the gray weather followed me all the way here from Chicago, doesn't it? But no worries-- even as I post this, the sun is breaking through the clouds and haze here in Anaheim, CA, home (in the next few days) of the second BlizzCon.I still haven't quite gotten my bearings-- I'm pretty sure the convention center is north of here, and this picture from my hotel room looks east, so you can't see it there. But later today I'll head over there and see what there is to see, and of course tomorrow all the festivities start with something pretty boring: the picking up of the convention badges, and end with something pretty amazing: our first official WoW Insider meetup.Stay tuned to WoW Insider-- we are here, live in Anaheim, ready to bring you every single second of this show.
A BlizzCon packing list
Elizabeth's guide about what to bring and what not to bring onto the show floor at BlizzCon was helpful, but if you only brought what she suggested, you'd show up naked and without your ID. Those of us packing right now to travel across the country and spend the weekend in Anaheim need a little more guidance than that!And so we've put together a checklist, so you can make sure that from the second you leave your hometown to the second you return, you're well equipped for everything you need to make this BlizzCon perfect. The checklist, perfect for cutting, pasting, and printing as you pack, starts right after the jump.
WoW Insider and Xfire at Blizzcon
You may not have realized this yet (I didn't until just now), but we are only a week and a half away from Blizzcon. On August 3 and 4 in Anaheim, CA, Blizzard will host its second huge convention, and WoW Insider will be there covering every second of it. From top to bottom, from start to end, from sign-in to close, we've got you covered. Whether you're going or not, we'll have exclusive interviews, tons of pictures and videos, and everything you need to know about Blizzard's premiere event.And to make our coverage even better, we're teaming up with Xfire-- they're also going to be at Blizzcon, and they'll be hosting live online chats all weekend long, as well as posting their own Blizzcon coverage as well. Various WoW Insider staffers will show up on their service as well (for a few exclusive chats), and they're even planning to do a live chat directly with the Blizzard team.Things are going to get crazy in the next week, and even crazier as the world of Azeroth heads to Anaheim. If you're coming to Blizzcon, we'll see you there, and even if not, stay tuned for the best Blizzcon coverage on the 'net. Blizzcon is almost upon us-- ready check!
Earthlink's Anaheim muni WiFi getting VoIP phones
Apparently entirely unafraid of being accused of cannibalizing their own MVNO business -- at least in the fair town of Anaheim, California, anyway -- Earthlink's freshly rolled out WiFi network will take on a new charge providing wireless VoIP service, to offered on WiFi-only voice phones with calling plans between $10 and $25 per month. Of course your calling area is limited only to those portions of the Anaheim WiFi rollout currently complete (Earthlink plans to eventually have 50 square miles rolled out when the dust settles), but Earthlink VP says their test handsets are running handoffs at up to 40 miles per hour -- which you know is remarkably fast if you've ever actually driven in Southern California. Still, with wireless Skype handsets, portable Vonage adapters, and all manner of VoIP software for WiFi-enabled cellphones, it seems like the early adopter crowd Earthlink has its sights on in Anaheim might need a little more incentive to drop a couple hundred on a handset that may or may not only make calls on Earthlink's SoCal WiFi rollout.
