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Zombieland Blu-ray includes dynamic theme for PS3
Nine out of ten film experts agree that Zombieland was the best movie to come out last year, and expect it to make a strong showing at the Academy Awards. It should already be a no-brainer that you're going to purchase the film when it's released next Tuesday, Feb. 2 -- however, the Blu-ray version of Zombieland includes an unadvertised bonus that might influence you to drop the extra cash for the HD iteration. According to High Def Digest, if you pop the Zombieland Blu-ray into your PS3, you'll have the option to download a dynamic theme based on the film through the XMB's Game tab. The theme turns the browser's icons red, and changes the background into a rotating gallery of promotional art for the movie. It sounds like a really neat feature -- one that might influence us to purchase more Blu-rays should it become more popular.
Drag and drop your windows into tidiness with Cinch
I'd never heard of Cinch, just mentioned over at Cult of Mac, but it's such a great idea I thought I'd check into it. Basically, Cinch does what all great Mac software does: it works in the background and lets you do what you want to do, skipping completely all the usual nonsense you usually have to do in between. Basically, it's a window helper -- all you have to do is drag any window on your desktop to a side of the screen, and it'll put the window maximized in that space. Drag it to the top, and it'll maximize it across the screen. When you're done, drag the window away, and it returns to its original size. There's a great screencast on the Irradiated Software website that shows some of the possibilities. One idea that really appeals to me is dragging two Finder windows quickly to either side of the screen to both browse two folders at the same time, and then pass files back and forth between them. Cinch reminds me of this old chat by Quicksilver creator Nicholas Jitkoff, where he talked about software that didn't worry about what you wanted to do and just let you do. Cinch serves its purpose in that same way. It's available over on the website for US$7.
Multifl0w project teaches Apple a thing or two about iPhone multitasking
Though it's relented on MMS and copy / paste, Apple has stubbornly, steadfastly continued to hold the line on the multitasking issue throughout the iPhone's two and a half-year career. Though it has a point about traditional multitasking burning through power, competing smartphone platforms -- scratch that, every competing platform -- has proven that it's still plenty possible to get a full days' life out of a battery while running a full host of apps in the background. Of course, the jailbroken iPhone community knows this full well, which is why there are a number of utilities available for backgrounding apps, but maybe none quite as slick as the just-released multifl0w. Taking a cue from the Pre, multifl0w adds backgrounded apps to a horizontally-scrollable gallery of cards; the only thing it's missing is a swipe gesture for quitting, but it's a minor point. Apple, we know you're seeing how good this is -- is there a defensible reason for why we still have to h4x0r our handsets to get this? [Thanks, Jai]
The early days of the World of Warcraft
It's been five years since this game launched, and it's changed so much that you might have forgotten what life was like back then. But thanks to the magic of the Internet, those times are saved in clear HTML. Let's dig up some memories of the early game. It's interesting to think what Blizzard was like before World of Warcraft. Today, the two are almost synonymous -- while they have two other major franchises (and one secret IP hiding in the works), it's almost impossible for anyone to think of Blizzard without thinking of WoW, and vice versa. The company has become almost solely defined by what they've done with this game. But of course, before the release, that wasn't the case.
Background downloader enabled
According to Eyonix, the background downloader for patch 3.3 will begin its work soon. There were some reports that it was turned on yesterday for a short time, when it began to deliver a roughly 450mb pre-patch file. However this time, Blizzard is turning it on for good. Eyonix points out that the background downloader should provide a faster download than normal. Go into the preferences of the downloader and check "Don't throttle background download" to see the new speed in action. However, this option has often been known to interfere with WoW and other applications accessing the intertubes, so I recommend you only turn it on when you're not going to be doing a lot of online activity. This does point to patch 3.3 coming soon. Whether or not that soon is next week is too early to tell, but usually Blizzard runs the background downloader for a couple of weeks before rolling out a patch. But who knows -- we haven't heard anything yet on (or off) the record. Update: Many readers are reporting that the downloader is now active. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Q-Games: Dynamic themes won't make money on PS3
One of the cooler features of firmware 3.00 is the ability to load dynamic themes onto the PS3. Unlike traditional wallpapers, these custom XMB downloads feature animated backgrounds that respond dynamically to the time of day, analog stick movement and SIXAXIS tilt. While these backgrounds are cool, they're also quite expensive. So far, each theme has cost $2.99.Yet, in spite of the high price, Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert explains that developers are unlikely to recoup the cost of making a dynamic theme. "Remember that we'll be lucky to sell even a few thousand themes and so the cost of developing the theme (3-4 weeks of coder/artist time, checking, testing etc) will still far exceed any money we make from it," he explained.We have a solution for Cuthbert, though. Drop the price, and we're certain far more people would be willing to download a dynamic theme as an impulse buy.%Poll-34212%%Poll-34215%[Via Gamasutra]
Gary Whitta worked on a Warcraft screenplay
You'll notice that I surreptitiously left the question of "screenwriter" out of the other day's Breakfast Topic. That's because, quite frankly, I have no idea who I want writing the Warcraft movie. The folks I really like in Hollywood are probably too quirky to write an epic movie like this, and the folks who usually write these epic movies are too lame to handle a world like Warcraft. In my mind, only someone like Metzen should wield the pen for this one, and even then, his strengths lie in creating universes, not dialog. So I have no idea.But apparently there's already a screenplay being worked on: with the news that Sam Raimi is taking the helm, screenwriter Gary Whitta (who's written both for games and movies) says he'd been working with both Legendary and Blizzard on crafting a screenplay that included both the sprawling world and a story that would resonate with non-players. But he says that since Raimi took over, it's likely the whole thing will go in another direction, as "his own pretty specific vision of what he wanted to do story-wise." Whitta does say, however, that, from what he's heard, "Raimi is the best possible director for this." Sounds good to us.It'll be quite a tightrope to walk: depending on what Legendary actually wants out of the film, they've got to make the story interesting and pressing enough that even non-WoW players will get into it without ruining and/or ignoring the reason why there are so many players in the first place: the lush and intriguing universe we've all enjoyed playing in. Anyone tasked with putting together a script that uses all of those blocks to build something great will have quite a job ahead of them.[via Blue's News]
Apple may (or may not) be mulling background apps for the iPhone
Whether it be case materials and design, native iPhone app development, or video support on the iPod, Apple's not a company to apologize for drastically (and suddenly) changing course. Strategically that's to the company's benefit, since it keeps the competition guessing; for consumers, though, it's a nightmare trying to figure out whether the device you buy today will be dismissed as passé in a heavily-liveblogged Jobs or Schiller press conference the next week. iPhone OS versions 2.0 and 3.0 have gone a long way toward addressing some of the iPhone's well-publicized shortcomings -- clipboard support, MMS, better orientation change support, notifications, the list goes on -- but one biggie that Apple has so far refused to take out of the penalty box is background app support. A number of sources this week are reporting that Apple is now investigating ways to make background processes work, though it's apparently early in development and the company is still investigating options; one would be to limit background apps to a total of two, another would require that background-capable apps meet certain criteria (presumably to limit processor utilization) before getting App Store approval. The company has invested a lot of time -- way too much time, actually -- crafting its push notification infrastructure designed specifically to get around the need for background processes in many common cases, which makes it seem terribly unlikely that they'd reverse so quickly. While it's true that every other modern smartphone platform supports them, Apple has all but perfected the art and science of ignoring its competitors' game plans. Any way you slice it, it's a near certainty that the next-gen iPhone will bump processor and memory specs, which makes background processing a more palatable concept -- thing is, battery technology has barely evolved in over a decade, and that's ultimately the roadblock to letting an iPhone (or any other cordless device) run wild. What's more, requiring the user to choose their own two background apps seems totally counter to the "it just works" mantra that rules the iPhone's dumbed-down interface. Hell has a tendency to freeze over in Cupertino, though, so we can't rule it out. [Via Daring Fireball]
iPhone developers will need servers to push
Former TUAW blogger Erica Sadun has a cautionary post for developers regarding the pending push notifications coming to iPhone OS 3.0: better get yourself some reliable servers. The implication, delivered via headline, is that smaller developers won't be able to afford push notification. Indeed, as Erica says, coding for an app that can run in the background is one thing -- you may need to scale things down a bit for resource management -- but deploying a reliable push notification system is a tall order by comparison.Instead of coding once and deploying, developers will now have to manage servers to handle the load of users who will be receiving push notifications. This ongoing server maintenance issue is the sort of thing we used to laugh about when digg first started, or Twitter, or MySpace, or any number of services that grew a little ahead of server capacity. After speaking to one of the network engineers at Twitter during SxSW this year, I don't envy the task of staying ahead of these curves. But push, in my opinion, isn't as onerous as that. Push notifications aren't serving entire pages. The difference in data throughput overall is much slimmer than even the light pages Twitter serves. Erica correctly points out that in aggregate, the push server might be hit pretty frequently; however, and there's more of a concern with reliability for a finance or medical app than something like Twitter or digg. But even when you throw in the added hurdle of security I'm guessing the resources for this are available at a reasonable cost. I get that this is more work for developers, but Erica makes it sound a little threatening, like developers' only resolution will be to cobble together a mighty datacenter from spare computer parts. My assertion is that developers who wish to play the push game will simply need to look for outside resources and factor that into their price. Maybe fewer $.99 apps is a good thing? You certainly don't need 30 apps trying to alert you during the day -- how would you get anything done?In the end, push notifications are welcome, and I'd rather have that than a one-hour battery life for the day. Plus, I would agree that some smaller developers will have to forget push because the potential costs are too high. Guess what? That's as it should be. If your product requires it, your cost should reflect it. There's no shortage of service providers out there, and as we've seen in the past (look at the podcast services that popped up when that blew up a few years ago) the market will fill the needs of the developers if they aren't in the business of making their own server farms. It's certainly a new twist to the iPhone dev game, and it's an opportunity for someone who can deliver a reliable push framework at a reasonable price -- perhaps one running atop Amazon's EC2, Google's App Engine or even Microsoft's Azure cloud service.
iPhone rumor roundup: New handsets in June, background tasks, and more
Possibly thanks to a chatty Emirates Telecom/Etisalat executive, we have some more details about when we might see a new iPhone handset: June. While not directly attributed to Mark Davis, iPhone program director at Etisalat, a quote in the report reads that the "next version of the device, which is due out in June, will be launched in the UAE at the same time." Analysts had been hoping for a new iPhone handset sometime during the first half of the year. [Via AppleInsider.] Nokia is apparently readying smartphones that contain touch technology, advanced 3G connectivity, and multimedia functions in a bid to regain control of the mobile phone market. The devices, so far named "IP08" and "Eitri" will have touch capability, but it's unclear if either device will raise Apple's ire when it comes to protecting its intellectual property surrounding multi-touch gestures. The "Eitri" model will allegedly feature haptic feedback, as well. [Via Electronista.] Finally, MacRumors.com has some tidbits about what Apple is doing to replace the so-far-missing Push Notification System that Mike mentioned this morning. Instead, Arnold Kim hears that Apple may allow one or two "user-selectable background processes" on current hardware with a software update, and more processes on new hardware (thanks to hardware improvements). [Via MacRumors.]
GC on the Deterrence change and the future of Hunter melee
When the Hunter changes dropped earlier this week, I understood the Volley change, and I even got the Kill Shot cooldown drop, but the one I really didn't understand was the Deterrence change. Like BRK said, it seemed pretty useless: sure, becoming immune to damage for five seconds helps survivability in the Arenas, but what's to stop people from just continuing the kill after that. And the directional effect was just perplexing as well.Now, Ghostcrawler has provided some background on the change, and while it still doesn't make much sense, at least we have an idea of where Blizzard is coming from. First things last, the directional ability is still being tested and may not make it to the live game. But the ability itself is designed specifically for Arena, as we'd guessed. And even more strangely, he says the reason they wanted to change the spell was to make it different visually -- letting the Hunter see themselves parrying every single attack while their backup helps them out. That argument may not find much ground in the numbers-driven Arena crowd, but GC says lots of times, a strong visual can give what seems like a useless spell a lot of use. Interesting look into Blizzard's design philosophy -- they don't program the numbers, they program how it plays.Finally, he says that Hunter melee damage is being looked at -- they are primarily a ranged class, but the problem now is that it's all or nothing. Either you're in a Hunter's barrage or you've closed to melee and they're not a threat. If they can put the sting back in melee, GC says (within a few patches -- this is long term), then they'll give them more viability "to flee or stand and fight." We'll have to see what Hunter's think about that one when we get more specifics.
Background downloader working as planned
Lots of people have been pointing out the activity of their background downloader. Yesterday Zarhym announced that the download would startup soon, delivering the first part of the 3.0.1 content patch.The downloader is running along for many of us – both the North American and European versions. The patch files it is downloading are between 821 and 992 megs. Be sure to let it run only overnight if you don't want any problems while you run your groups or raids. To exit the downloader, Windows users can click the Blizzard icon near the clock on the taskbar and choose "Cancel" when the window appears. Macintosh users can go to the file menu and choose "Quit" when the downloader application is in the foreground. The download will restart the next time you launch WoW.Patch 3.0.1 will bring about a ton of changes in preparation for Wrath of the Lich King. There is no announced release date yet for WotLK, nor is there a date for when 3.0.1 will go onto the live realms. However most people expect 3.0.1 to hit the live realms in a month or so, and Wrath to be released in early November. Some of the major highlights of 3.0.1 include: New class spells and talents Stormwind harbor Barbershops New Arenas A built in Guild Calendar New Hunter pet skills Inscription No more Zul'Aman bears
Terminal Tips: Make your Screensaver a desktop background
Have you ever wanted your screen saver to appear as a background image? Probably not. But if you like to show off to your Windows-using friends, then this tip can definitely help you out. By typing the following command into Terminal (Applications > Utilities), all on one line, and hitting enter, you will instantly see your screen saver displayed as a desktop background:/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine -backgroundTo get things back to normal (which you probably will want to do, as many screensavers will put undue load on your processor), either close the Terminal window, press control + C, or restart your computer. If you are running Leopard and have the clock overlay active, it will appear above all windows, which can get a little annoying.Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
All the World's a Stage: Background story
All the World's a Stage is a source for roleplaying ideas, commentary, and discussions. It is published every Sunday evening.Your character is like an arrow. He was launched from the birthplace of your imagination with the aim of creating spontaneous stories with other creative people. Your character's personality is the particular direction he travels in, and his background story is the bow which set him on his way.The bow-string tension that gives a good backstory its momentum is its lack of resolution. The desire to find resolution propels your character forward into the game, but it doesn't predict with certainty where your he or she will end up. Realizing this can free you of a great burden: your story doesn't have to make the New York Times Bestseller List. In fact, the whole idea here is to purposely leave your backstory unfinished, ready to be resolved through roleplaying. Too much emphasis on a dramatic background leaves you with not enough room for an interesting foreground, and little else to contribute other than the saga of your epic past. Obviously, people aren't logging into WoW to read your miniature novel. They generally won't want to hear your backstory unless they specifically ask you about it (which they might!), but even then they'll care less for its narrative value and more for its ultimate impact on your character as a person. It's best to think of it less as a story in itself (e.g. "How I got to be this way"), and more as a prologue to the story you want to roleplay (e.g. "How do I get out of this mess?"). Its purpose is to set up challenges for your character to overcome with other people, and it should establish a direct line to your character's desires and aspirations.
Forum Post of the Day: How did your undead die?
Yeah yeah, lolRP, but even though I'd never seriously do an emote with my character (though I do enjoy /coughing at inappropriate times), I do kind of enjoy thinking of what my characters did before I started playing them in the game. As I've said before, my Orc Shaman was actually a prisoner in Durnholde Keep along with Thrall (and though I've tried to find him among the Orcs down there, I don't look too hard -- wouldn't want to cause a paradox).But for my Undead Rogue, I've never thought about this questions: What did he die of? Whether it was choking on a gnome, one too many enchantments (never knew those could kill you), or the old standby of, y'know, cancer, every Undead character out there used to have a life (and now they just play WoW, ha!). So how'd your Undead lose theirs?I'd like to think mine was something poetic, like his family was murdered by roving noblemen, and he arose from the afterlife and became a backstabbing rogue to avenge his lost ones. But it's probably more pathetic: like most of the Forsaken, he probably just got trampled underneath the onset of the Scourge. Of course, that'll make an appointment with Arthas more interesting...
All the World's a Stage: It's not about saving the world
All the World's a Stage is brought to you by David Bowers every Sunday evening, investigating the mysterious art of roleplaying in the World of Warcraft.All those people who say "Roleplaying is dead" simply misunderstand what RP in WoW is all about. It's not at all about stepping into your favorite fantasy novel and acting out an epic story in which you are the great hero, sacrificing everything to save Azeroth from the legions of evil. For that sort of storytelling, there are pen-and-paper role playing games, which allow for a great deal more flexibility than any computer system can. While the majority of fantasy literature uses this "save the world" motif, it doesn't work at all for roleplaying in WoW because things happen in the game that couldn't possibly happen in a story. But that's okay, because when we roleplay in WoW, our focus should not be so grand and epic in scope. Instead it should be more personal and down-to-earth, about our own characters, their hopes and failings, and their relationships with others. For all the game's outward appearances of epic battles and the fight against evil, WoW roleplaying is really all about character development, relationships, and the expression of who you are. Think less of the latest Oscar-award-winning fantasy epic, and more of your favorite sitcoms or drama series. Your character is a savior of the world and a regular nobody -- both at the same time. All of us do exciting, heroic things in the game, but, while Blizzard has put a lot of story elements in there, none of it is actual storytelling. For a roleplayer, most PvE is just background to the storytelling, something your characters do offstage -- kind of like food, paperwork, bathroom breaks, and sleep in the movies or novels you enjoy. Of course any event in life can be an important moment for your character, but in roleplaying, you have to let all the repetitive hero stuff fade into the background while your characters interact with one another.
The Daily Grind: Watching while playing
Let's be honest. As captivating as some of these games are, you can only kill hundreds of boars before the urge to multitask raises its ugly head. And so while many new players probably take in the game on its own merits, listening to the soundtrack and drinking in every clash and yell, I'd guess that the majority of us need something more than the game we've already played for many, many hours.So today's question: what is it you do while playing? Me, I like catching up on television shows while I play-- while a show like Heroes or Lost demands my full attention, there are plenty of sitcoms and reruns that I like to just let roll in the background while I mine for ore or slaughter orcs. I know lots of other people listen to music while they play, and while I personally have never done it, some bloggers even tell me they blog while playing. I will admit, however, to practicing my ukulele while playing-- sitting in the battleground queue (way back when there were battleground queues) doesn't require me to do much with my hands.So what do you find yourself doing most to divert your attention while playing?
Another way to get started with roleplaying
In last Sunday's All the World's a Stage column, we talked about one way to get started with roleplaying, using mainly a character description made of two simple words that highlight the essential qualities of your character, without too much concern for background and details just yet. The idea here is that you can start with a basic character idea, and fill in the details later on as you get involved with other roleplayers.Over at WoWBlues, however, Nairuil has a different way of getting started. She has a list of questions for you to answer that are designed to help you think of your character's background, as well as give you some helpful tips for what sorts of backgrounds would be inappropriate for WoW (such as the cliche "vampire" idea), all before you actually get started roleplaying in game.Which approach do you find more useful to you personally, and why?
The claiming of Frostmourne
Blizzard has posted Chapter 2 of their little "Rise of the Lich King" series on the official Wrath of the Lich King website. It's called "The Claiming of Frostmourne," and it covers Arthas' descent into corruption, the razing of Stratholme (remember that place?), and the finding of the sword Frostmourne in Northrend.If you've played Warcraft III, of course, this is all old news, as all these events are actually shown in that game. But if you haven't played Warcraft III (and its expansion, the Frozen Throne), now might be a good time to do so. While the Burning Crusade reflected more old school lore, including the creation of the Orcs and the opening of the Dark Portal, Wrath of the Lich King's history is pretty recent. Yes, Illidan appeared in the expansion, and others in Outland did as well. But since the beginning of Warcraft III, the story has been all about Arthas, and how bad things are done in the name of believed-to-be-good intentions.With the next expansion, it'll be great to finally return to that story. Of course, my favorite part of Arthas' story is actually the scene that comes after "The Claiming of Frostmourne"-- what Arthas does after he obtains Frostmourne and is corrupted by the Lich King. Echoes of that are still heard (literally) in the world of Azeroth today.
Customizing the iPhone's background
Look friends, an iPhone with a pretty pic of a butterfly instead of the original all-black flavor. The folks at modmyiPhone have posted up a detailed -- 15 steps of detailed -- how-to if you want to express yourself in a new, more colorful way -- of course, as with any involved bit of fiddling, be warned that this could potentially tank your phone, so customize at your own risk. A couple things that we noticed right off about this mod are that the calendar icon seems to be falling off the display and the icon text is missing -- the author notes a few other issues in the article. This is still listed as a work in progress, so if you aren't brave, you may want to sit on your hands and enjoy the oh-so-slick blackness for a little while longer.[Via TUAW]
