Beer Goggles
Latest
Google Goggles image recognition debuts on iPhone
Android users have been enjoying Google Goggles for a while; now, the image recognition feature has made it over to the iPhone. The first hints that GG would make the leap to iPhone came back in August, and we're glad to see it here now. Google Goggles delivers the kind of visual product search and recognition features found in SnapTell (now owned by Amazon) and Kooaba. While it's a separate app on the Android Market, on iPhone it's bundled in with the existing Google Mobile app. As the video shows, with Google Goggles (not to be confused with other, similar sounding technologies), you can use visual recognition to search for information with your iPhone's camera -- even translate text from other languages into English on demand. The service works best on copy, logos, book covers, landmarks, wine labels and other easily recognized images; it doesn't do so well with organic shapes like animals, people or food. Note that since it requires an auto-focusing camera, Goggles will only work on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. If you update your Google Mobile app, you'll see a new camera icon in the top bar. The first time you tap it, you'll have to clear several screenfuls of instructions and accept a new version of the Google mobile usage agreement. You can, at your option, have your image capture history saved to your Google account. More details are available on Google's blog. Get Goggling!
Breakfast Topic: The hangover
Weekend's done, it's back to work. How was everybody's New Year's celebration? I hope everyone's sober and up and running to start your Monday. It's the start of the week, after all, hopefully you're all not still hungover from the very long weekend. Then again, it's not always a bad thing to be a little out of sorts, especially when playing World of Warcraft. Some of my most memorable raids have actually happened when one or (regrettably) more raid members have been, how do we say, ah, rambunctious with the help of a little liquid courage. We didn't necessarily have smooth runs, but they sure were a riot, especially over vent. Did you guys use the long break to play the game? Or did you use it to actually catch up on real life? If you guys played, did you do it with a little more eggnog than necessary? Or maybe you loaded up on sweets like candy canes and played with a little sugar rush? Did you go through the break wearing real life Beer Goggles? With the long vacation over and the new year ushering us all back to work, school, or anything that isn't inactivity, let's use this sobering breakfast topic to talk about what we did over the long holidays. Heck, regale us with tales of inebriated raiding or playing. Since I'm something of a teetotaler myself, reading those stories should be a vicarious treat.
WoW Moviewatch: Some Brewfest highlights from last year
It's been an exciting couple of weeks in World of Warcraft. First there was the Harvest Festival, then Talk Like a Pirate Day, and now, Brewfest. Players are invited to kick back and relax with their friends while they participate in fun activities related to the alcoholic beverage we know and love -- beer. Some of the festivities include the Dark Iron Dwarves, racing rams, and beer goggles. While the special mounts are rare drops now, it doesn't hurt to get out your stein and have a good time trying to get it. If you fail, well, you're still drinking, so that's a plus!If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Around Azeroth: New and improved Shatterspear Village
Reader Sparticatina of Ysera sends us this excellent shot of a new take on Shatterspear Village (otherwise known as the dancing Troll village hidden away between Moonglade and Darkshore). In my humble opinion, the scenery is much improved by the addition of Gnomes, thanks to the Brewfest beer goggles!Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wow.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world! %Gallery-1816%
Gallery: Fun with Brewfest goggles
These images just keep making me laugh. Over the weekend, we posted pictures of people having fun with the Beerfest goggles around famous Azerothian NPCs, and although my original request of Illidan never panned out (he's not a humanoid, apparently, and thus not susceptible to the effects of beer goggles), you readers responded with tons of funny pictures featuring our fearless leaders as Gnomes and female Orcs.So here they are all collected into a gallery, and if you have any more, feel free to drop us a note with links to them, and I'll add them in. Thanks to all the commenters who posted links for these pics: Nate S., myrlin, Haaken, erin, and s02.%Gallery-8945%
Brewfest: The Movie
Blizzard has beat independent Machinimists to the punch with their very own video commemorating Brewfest. I can't embed it here but you can go to WoW's European Movie page. Once there you can watch it directly from the site or download it to your desktop. It's short and I recommend watching it through to the end.While you're at it, head over to You Tube and check out a short video of what happens when you put on the new Beer Goggles you can buy at Brewfest
