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New Cooking Recipes!
As mentioned in yesterday's Rogue post, I highly believe in Cooking as a skill that's excellent to have. You save yourself money in regards to buying food, and you have a highly portable and common source of buffs. For those of us who have classes that can't cast buffs, this is a real boon -- although every class can benefit from added buffs! So when I saw the mentioned addition of more new Cooking recipes in the patch, I had to get out there and see what was available. For those of you who haven't gotten time to check into them, here's the lowdown. There are three new recipes available from the lovely dancing barmaid, Kylene, in the bar in the Lower City. The amusing thing about these three new recipes (at least to me) is that they have you cooking the off-hand fish "weapons" that you can catch. (Of course, this means that gone are the days of Monty Python Fish Slapping Dance renditions. Wait... Maybe that's just my guild. )Nonetheless, for those with an eye for fresh fish and sampling the finest in Azerothian Cuisine, check out the Good Eats after the jump!
So it begins: Florida bans touch-screen e-voting machines
If you didn't see this one coming, we'll just assume the glaring sun had you blinded, as the Sunshine State has apparently had quite enough of the e-voting woes within its borders. Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed into law a bill "requiring that all voting districts in the state replace most touchscreen electronic voting machines with optical scan machines." From day one, the state has been plagued with one mishap after another, and while some touch-screen systems will be maintained for "handicapped voters that require its features to vote unaided," the vast majority of the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines will be nixed in favor of a less hackable flavor. Flinging one last blow of frustration at the e-voting curse, Crist went so far as to suggest that ditching them would allow Floridians to "leave the polling place knowing that their vote had been counted and recorded and can be verified." Of course, we're sure the tax-paying citizens of the state are entirely more focused on the $27.8 million he approved to buy all new optical scan equipment.
COBRAAAA sensor bar stand
Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Cobra Command, the once-feared terror outfit that brought nations to their knees, has all but abandoned its plans of total world domination, favoring the sales of cheap Wii accessories in their stead. Gone are the days of Weather Dominators, Synthoids, and dozens of other harebrained schemes plotted by incompetent-but-endlessly-entertaining villains. To take their place, we have an adjustable stand for your Wii sensor bar selling for only $9.99.Distributed by dummy corporation Dragon, the Cobra Stand can twist and turn to position your sensor bar however you want. The suction cup on its base sticks to even the most slippery surfaces (or the most slithery! Har har har!). We've got some photo instructions on how to use this contraption, but that's not all! Our quest to point out bizarre packaging elements continues after the post break!
The pen is mightier than the sensor bar
Having already made a name for himself with system mods for the Wii like the internal GameCube memory card and the internal Wavebird receiver, hardware hacker foobar2k shifted his attention to the Wii remote for his latest creation: a USB Wii sensor bar.There have been other homemade USB Wii sensor bars that take advantage of the remote's "pointing" functionality, but this project wins points for stuffing all of the LEDs and wiring into a pen case. If that doesn't sound classy enough for you, he also secured the bar to his monitor with Blu Tack and branded it by scrawling "Wii" on the casing, off-center.Foobar2k has instructions and a photo guide at his site for creating your own USB Wii sensor bar with cheap and accessible materials. Let us know if you can think of any ways to make the setup even more ghetto than it already is. [Via MaxConsole]
Apple fanboy crafts Mac heaven in ultra-mod home
It's one thing to sacrifice your freedom to snatch 39 iPods from a retail shelf in an act of desperation fanboyism, but to devote a substantial chunk of square footage in one's ultra-modern home to Apple is an entirely different type of determination. Sure, we've seen various forms of collections before, but this edition features no fewer than 74 Mac computers, posters galore, and a dedicated bar to boot. In total, Jeremy Mehrle of St. Louis, Missouri has 30 classic Macs situated at the bar, 18 different CRT-based iMacs, various PowerMacs, a plethora of iPod paraphernalia, Mac OS boxes spanning years of development, Apple printers, Newtons, a PowerBook 165c, a Next Cube, four Apple IIs, and to top it off, a 20th Anniversary Mac as well -- and that's still leaving quite a few out. Although we can't fathom how much time, loot, and resources it took to essentially construct an Apple museum with a modernized style similar to Apple retail locations today, we can't help but give credit where its due, so here's your props Mr. Mehrle, now make sure your security system is in working order, okay? Click on through for a few more snapshots, and be sure to tag the read link for all the Mac mania you can handle.[Via ChipChick]
US bars Ciber from testing e-voting terminals due to negligence
Call us crazy, but we had a sneaking suspicion all along that all these e-voting woes were due to a lack in quality control testing somewhere along the approval line, and now it seems the US government has found its scapegoat. Ciber, Inc., the Colorado-based company responsible for testing a majority of the nation's electronic voting terminals, "has been temporarily barred from approving new machines after federal officials found that it was not following its QC procedures, and moreover, could not document that it was conducting all the required tests." Aside from wondering where the oh-so-critical auditors were during this entire debacle (read: federal scrutiny of the testing began just recently), this brings into question the legitimacy of the votes that were actually placed and counted through the potentially faulty machines, but alas, what's done is (presumably) done. Eager to keep that expectedly gigantic government contract money pouring in, Ciber seems to be on top of the issues at hand, and a spokesperson for the outfit even stated that "the company believed that it had addressed all the problems, and that it expected to receive its initial federal accreditation later this month." We just hope that undercover chess functionality somehow goes unnoticed.[Via Slashdot]
Today's hottest game video: A candle in the Wii
Today's hottest game video uses a low-tech wax solution to replace the Wii sensor bar. In a darkened room, light two candles (Tommy by the Who optional), and you've got an instant Wii sensor bar replacement. Simple infrared science at work, folks.You can also replace the Wii console with a block of cheese. The word is out, Nintendo ... sorry.Check out the video after the jump and stock up on fanboy scented candles. If the technical difficulty gremlins are still active, check out the video here.
Sunlight messing with gameplay?
Over at the Nintendo NSider forums, a poster documented their time with the Wii during the NYC event. Yes, late coverage, but it poses an interesting scenario all the same. Turns out, the sunlight affected gameplay for this poster during the event, affected gameplay for the worse. To quote:"We know that the sensor bar goes all wonky when halogen lights are in the room. But did you know that natural sunlight messes it up too? That's right, if you have the sun beaming right onto the sensor bar, it doesn't work. For about an hour or so, the sun shone right into the store, the two MP3:C kiosks had to have curtains above them, and the Wii Sports Tennis and Shooting Game kiosks were unplayable since they were "shrouded" in sunlight. Later the sun went behind a building, and everything was in working order again."Interesting, however does it actually affect most of us? With the advent of curtains (or mini-blinds, if you're that kind of person), we're hard-pressed to believe this will really hurt the experience had on the console. That is, only if you're playing on the front porch or out by the pool.
Apple upgrading online Concierge reservation system
It looks as though Apple's Concierge, their online system allowing for Genius Bar reservations, is undergoing a bit of an upgrade. There wasn't much warning, and we don't have any details of what shiny new goodies are going to debut, but it was an already pretty slick system that is bound to get even better if they're making this big of a deal out of it. Stay tuned.[Upate: Someone (no, literally: "someone") in our comments pointed out that Apple has already rolled out this shiny upgrade to some of their retail stores, and you can already access it at the San Francisco's store site. Looks like a handy new system.]
Colorize your Menu bar
I'm not a huge fan of color in the menu bar, but that probably stems from the fact that I'm not a huge fan of color in the rest of my operating environment (and why I use the graphite visual style). However, it seems that there are a good many people want their OS to look like it was made by Fischer Price, and that's where iColon and MenuPics come in. These two applications both do exactly the same thing; add a dash of color to the otherwise drab utilitarian menu icons sitting in the top-right corner of your screen. The only real differences between the two are universal binary status (iColon is, MenuPics isn't) and how many customization options they give you (iColon only adds color to the normal Bluetooth, Airport, and Battery Meter, while MenuPics gives you the choice to change the icons all together.)
DBZ to include extra peripheral?
Of the latest scans for the DBZ game on the Wii, a weird yellow box is shown. Next to the box, little plastic clips that attach to the player's index fingers are also shown. Now, it's fairly obvious that this is so that the player may toss fireballs in the game by going through the motions in reality and the box is designed to sit atop the television, but why would such a large box be needed in conjunction with the clips. Couldn't they just be made to work with the sensor bar? Or is this the first sign of some startling truths delivered via the rumor train? Also, where is the Wiimote? It's nowhere to be seen!Any readers want to take a stab at translating the text surrounding the image in question?
All aboard the rumor train: Sensors, Wiimotes, and headsets
No better way to start off a Monday than with a nice, piping hot cup of rumor, wouldn't you say?Today's is a whopper, actually, in that some pretty interesting comments are made in regards to the Wiimote functionality we supposedly have yet to see, as well as comments that the sensor bar isn't even needed and is there to incorporate some other as-of-yet unannounced form of gameplay. Check your pockets, make sure you've got your grain of salt with you...In an effort to keep you from having to do the work of clicking links, we've included the most note-worthy bits of the rumors into nice, easy-to-read, bulleted format. "Nintendo should show that the movement in 3D space will allow experiences outside of just the TV screen. And its not 3D projection related." "The official launch date has yet to be set in stone but will indeed launch before Sony's PS3" "The first game that will be shown to the public that demonstrates the full scope of Wii controller potential will be Dragonball Z Budokai 4" "The Wii controller can function exactly as we all have seen demonstrated WITHOUT the sensor bar. So ask yourselves, why need a sensor bar?" "Sensor bar was in all actuality in no use at E3 2006" "There is also word that Nintendo in private sessions has big plans for the Wii headset. The headset would be somewhat sensitive to movement that could be translated into the game. Such as if you get up and move to the right of your television something might correspond for that in the game. Such as dodging things, looking around corners etc." "Developer Nibris has received Wii development kits and has partnered with publisher Majesco" That's an awful lot of rumor to choke down. So how do you feel about all of this, fine reader? Some truth buried in there?
Japanese PSP owners never flirt in bars again
The internet is just filled with Japanese PSP gold today! Like I mentioned before, Japanese advertisements tend to teach valuable lessons. We learned that you should always keep your PSP up-to-date. This new advertisement teaches us that you should never use your Talkman in a bar. Or better yet, it teaches you not to slide your $200 white PSP at a hundred freaking miles per hour. Duh.
Ungenius - the other side of the Genius Bar
Beyond a doubt, Apple's retail stores have been and still are making headlines of all kinds - from business magazines hailing the stores' sleek design, to consumer reviews giving the stores high marks for their unique and (ideally) helpful Genius Bar feature. However, as some of you may know - not everyone's trip to the genius bar wraps up with a happy ending, and I'm not just talking about the customers; the Geniuses don't always have it so peachy-keen either.Hence, Ungenius - a blog by "JC" who apparently has some stories to tell of his adventures "aton[ing] for the sins of a multinational corporation during nearly four years as a Mac Genius". JC delves into all sorts of topics surrounding the world of the Genius including QA, the obvious defects that have made headlines as of late, and even some thoughts as to why Class Actions might be bad for consumers.Whether you've made a shrine for the last Genius who helped you out of a pickle or you're putting the finishing touches on a Genius Voodoo doll as you read this, Ungenius might be an interesting read from the other side of the cheery Apple retail store fence.
Sensor Bar port revealed
Wii got back. IGN has posted some near-pornographic shots of a nude Wii, revealing its backside in what we can only assume is some drug-induced lapse of common sense on the part of the console. Really, it's always been such a well-behaved machine! IGN has even been so bold as to post pictures of cables plugging into its backside with reckless abandon. Clearly, the machine has gone wild.
