beer
Latest
The MMO Report: Shut up and take my money
This week on The MMO Report, Casey cheers for the Double Fine Kickstarter effort, MechWarrior Online's first gameplay footage, and Guild Wars 2's preorder bonuses. "Shut up and take my money," he commands ArenaNet. He also heckles TERA for its new level cap and discusses Star Wars: The Old Republic's free play weekend before getting a bit confused about just how World of Warcraft's revamped scroll of resurrection works (it does not, in fact, work on fresh accounts). The Beard ends with a dip into the mailbag and a geeky commercial that involves "8bit animation, puppets, and beer" and must be seen to be believed. And you can do so after the break!
Runner2 development fueled by 744 beers (so far)
How do I know? I consulted the "beer count" note on the title screen of the in-progress build I played. Gaijin Games has implemented a counter to track the number of beers drank by the team during development of Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien. Eventually, it'll be automated -- and keeping track live even after the game is released -- but for now it's a manually updated spreadsheet."We have a whole system," co-director Alex Neuse told me. "We have a spreadsheet; we're thinking of developing an iPhone app just to use internally. Then if you drink wine or something, we have a conversion, so it converts it to beers for the beer count." There was talk of a bottle opener that automatically logs every cap it opens.At this point I began to think that I was being told a very fanciful tale about programmers drinking programmatically, but Neuse assured me otherwise. "We are completely serious about this. This is a real thing."
TUAW TV Live: The 2nd anniversary show
Yep, as noted in the promo post earlier today, this is the second anniversary of the TUAW TV Live show. Over those 104 weeks, I've managed to demonstrate hundreds of new Mac, iPhone, and iPad apps and accessories, have a bunch of fun visitors, and have enjoyed the rantings of the regulars in the chat room. Sometimes, technical issues can make the show a bit of a car wreck. Today's show is going to be more of the same, but with beer. Feel free to join in with your favorite beverage of choice, and we'll have one heck of a party. I'm going to do a lot of demos today -- you can see the list of possible items right here. Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat. We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.
Ring in the new year with Warhammer Online's Keg End
Amidst the news of server merges, Warhammer Online fans could probably use something to celebrate, something to lift the spirits a bit. So it's fortunate that the annual Keg End celebration is just around the corner, giving everyone a chance to get drunk and rowdy even by the already aggressive status of the world's inhabitants. Running from December 14th until January 4th, Keg End is a chance to celebrate in style in the Dwarven tradition. The rewards for the event haven't changed much this year, with the usual assortment of Party Kegs, Keg Taps, and Battlebrew Backpacks. There are giants roaming the field looking for their own ale and a handful of sporting battles, and there are plenty of special drinks to be sampled just for the event. So get yourself ready to log in tomorrow and take a nice roll through fields filled with blood, beer, and battle. Especially beer.
The Road to Mordor: Party planning committee, assemble!
Considering that Fellowship of the Ring begins with a huge party -- thrown in honor of Bilbo Baggins' eleventy-first birthday -- I think it's appropriate that Lord of the Rings Online is conducive to parties. I'm not just talking about dev-designed festivals, although those are great; I'm referring to parties that the community whips up from time to time. Part of the appeal of LotRO to me is that it isn't just all about killing and leveling; it's also about exploring and living in this virtual Middle-earth. Life for the Free Peoples means celebrating even in the midst of oppressive evil, and it's in keeping with the spirit of the enterprise to throw a shindig now and then. Turbine's given us quite a few tools and resources to use when assembling a party, and I thought that today we'd take an unusual detour from the Road to Mordor and go through the steps of throwing a memorable and enjoyable soirée. Ready to cut loose? Footloose? Good! Let's tear up the dance floor!
Beeri: Siri's new best friend cracks open a cold one (video)
We already know that Siri can send texts, check the weather or find you a restaurant, but did you know she can also fetch you a beer. Well, sort of... with a little hacking. The folks at Redpepper dreamed up Beeri, an RC truck that cracks open a can of brew whenever it receives a tweet instructing it to "pour." Since you can text updates to Twitter (40404) and Siri can text, that means it's perfectly simple to tell Beeri it's Miller time. Whenever the Arduino embedded in the truck detects a mention with the word "pour," it drives forward, slamming a beer can into a puncture wall that drips into a funnel, filling a cup beneath the table top. It's a pretty ingenious system, and you can see it in action after the break. We just hope Beeri has a day job -- looking at all that head, it's clear she wouldn't last a day as a bartender.
Siri can pour you a beer, perfect for Friday Afternoon Club
I think I may have to make Siri my mistress, since she (well, it does have a female voice in the U.S.) can now pour a beer at my command. That's more than my wife of 32 years will do for me! The folks at redpepper, an ad agency in Nashville, Tennessee, had a little time on their hands, so they rigged up a way for a Siri command to open and pour a beer. It's a bit messy, and it doesn't look like the entire contents of the 12 ounce can make it into the glass, but it's certain fun to watch. The redpepper blog explains the entire process of setting up what they call "Beeri," including creating a special Twitter account, outfitting an R/C monster truck with an Arduino Uno with Wi-Fi Shield, and building a special beer opener. The entire process is more fun if you watch it in action. Enjoy, but remember to get a designated driver if Siri is too generous with the beers this afternoon. TUAW urges you to use "Beeri" responsibly.
Untappd releases iOS app, out now
As you may already know, I am a big fan of the hops, barley and yeast drink that's the world's oldest alcoholic beverage -- that's right, beer. And I've always been intrigued by the idea of Untappd, a social network built around sharing and discussing all of the various varieties and microbrews of beer out there. But of course no social network is complete without a mobile app that allows users to update while out and about, and that's exactly what Untappd's new iOS app does. You can of course track and rate the various beers you're drinking and buying, and because it's all social, friends can see what you're tasting and share what they're tasting as well. Everything is of course geotagged (so you and a group can conquer the same bar's draughts, even if you're not there all together), and there are even badges to earn in the app itself. I'm sure a lot of badges were earned this weekend at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. I really like the look and feel of the app, and while we've seen this kind of thing tried before, Untappd seems to have another thing all strong social networks need: an actual network of people to follow. If you're also a fan of the pint and the brew, definitely check it out.
Adorable CanBot chills in your fridge, quietly biding its time (video)
What's the point of a robot disguised as a tank or, uh, a clothes dryer? If you really want to infiltrate human society, you need robots that can hide in plain sight. Thankfully for would-be robotic conquerors, Ron Tajima brings us the aptly named CanBot, which hides batteries, an embedded control board, and three RC-servo legs beneath its beer-can exterior. Tajimi controls it with a Wiimote, and in the video above you can see it walking and rolling. His son seems less than impressed, but he probably sees this stuff all the time. We're mightily excited, and look forward to picking up a six pack. Of robots. [Thanks, Robotbling]
No comment: WWDC wristbands
We're pretty sure that these are for WWDC attendees who will be at the annual beer bash tonight, and not meant to be attached to devices that are loaded with REDACTED (iOS 5)... Somebody at Apple has a very good sense of humor. Overheard at WWDC: "How do I know if I'm drunk enough to wear it?" "As long as you can still redactulate, you're fine..." Thanks to everyone who sent in a photo, especially @shnhrrsn who volunteered his arm for this photo shoot.
London Apple fans can watch the WWDC keynote and drink beer
That's it. I'm moving to London. The London Mac User Group is meeting up at the Wood Marylebone NW1 Pub at 17:45 BST on Monday to watch the WWDC keynote, which sounds like a wonderful idea to me. What could be better than quaffing a pint or two, listening to "one more thing" from Steve Jobs, playing Keynote Rumor Bingo, and sitting down to a plate of curry? To find out more about the festivities, visit the London Mac User Group Facebook page or go directly to the event listing here to RSVP. If anyone else is planning on a keynote watching party, use our handy new "Tip Us" button to let us know about it. And if you need a place to watch the keynote all by your lonesome, don't worry -- we at TUAW will be covering it and all of the news from it as usual, so you can come join us. A tip of the TUAW bowler hat to Steve N.
Lord of the Rings Online anniversary bringing double XP, beer
The 2011 version of Lord of the Rings Online's Spring Festival may have passed into legend, but hope remains for Hobbits, Men, and fair folk when it comes to having a good time in the month of April (OK, Dwarves are invited too). Beginning this weekend, Turbine is offering double XP on monster kills to celebrate LotRO's four-year anniversary (yes it has been that long) as well as a number of events designed to put even the grumpiest denizens of Middle-earth in a festive mood. In addition to featuring horse races, new cosmetic items, and anniversary tokens galore, the event marks the return of the much-loved beer fight -- sorry, the Battle for Glorious Beer -- wherein players are tasked with clubbing their fellows around an ale-soaked arena in Thorin's Hall. The official LotRO website has a few details, as do the folks at A Casual Stroll to Mordor. The celebration runs from April 19th through May 2nd, while the double XP event runs from April 21st to the 24th. You can check out some new anniversary shots in our gallery below. %Gallery-9579%
The Gamerator: An arcade cabinet with a built-in tap and refrigerator
What's better than having absolute, unrestricted access to two of life's greatest pleasures? We'll tell you: When both of those pleasures are combined into a single, brilliant machine. The Custom Bar Guys have created just such a mash-up with The Gamerator: An arcade cabinet that contains a refrigerated chamber, in which you can store a pony keg of your favorite beer. You can hook said keg up to a built-in tap, and enjoy a frosty beverage while playing one of the machine's 100 emulated arcade classics. We guess you could enjoy several beverages, though after a while, that's going to throw off your Sinistar game. It will run you $3,500, which is a substantial sum of money. However, we're talking about an arcade cabinet with cupholders and a built-in tap, upon which you can actually play Root Beer Tapper. We dare you to find a better way to spend three-and-a-half Gs.
Beer cooler built in the shape of Google's Android... just because (video)
The bounds of Android fandom, will we ever know them? The latest exhibition of one man's love for his mobile OS is this here beverage (we know it's only going to house beer, let's be honest) cooler, which has been lovingly recreated in the form and proportions of the Android logo. Standing somewhere over four feet tall, it's really a fantastically well executed DIY project, and its maker has taken the time to document it on video for us as well. You'll probably find the unfinished droid a little disturbing to see, what with its unpolished skin and rough edges, but maybe that's a fitting metaphor for the constantly evolving operating system anyway. All we know is that the end result is at least as sweet as Gingerbread, if not more so. See it all just past the break. [Thanks, Tony]
iPhone-controlled beer cannon is the robot friend of our dreams (video)
If your morning's been running low on a little thing called awesomeness, hurry past the break and gorge yourself on the stuff in the embedded videos. For the more patient among you, we'll set the scene. A young chap by the name of Ryan has repurposed an old mini-fridge from his college days into a beer-firing drone, which can accept instructions on beer brand, temperature, and destination, before launching it at the target with a force of 50psi. An embedded webcam assists the iPhone user in aiming the throws, while it's also said to record every toss and tweet it out for posterity as well. If this thing could slice bread, we'd probably offer to marry it.
Beer cannon fires beer out at your iPhone's demand
We've seen an iOS device used to control a soda machine before, but here's a setup with a more, ahem, practical application for New Year's Eve: a beer cannon controlled by an iPhone. You can see a video of it in action after the break, and the creator even has it set up to post videos of fired beer cans straight to Twitter. The whole thing is controlled using what looks like a web app on the iPhone (or it might just be a normal app fitted with some web views), and it allows you to select what kind of beer you'd like, as well as look through the cannon's web cam, and then shoot your beer across the room to you. The app can also control and monitor the temperature inside the mini-fridge, so this is quite a setup. Unfortunately, we don't have much information on how it was all made (though we're told that's coming soon), but it's all connected up using an IO-204, and the cannon itself is air-based. Pretty wild. I wouldn't advocate using this on New Year's Eve with a room full of people, though -- someone's going to end up with a concussion. Thanks, Hans!
The Road to Mordor: Luck be a lady tonight
During this past week in the wild world of Lord of the Rings Online, we were treated to a snippet of exceptionally good news: The LotRO lotteries are back. Some of you might be indifferent to this news, some might be overjoyed, and some -- I'm guessing -- are totally puzzled about what this all means. Considering how many new players have immigrated to LotRO this year and how long the lottos have been out of commission (several months now), it wouldn't surprise me if a player hadn't even heard of these at all. Simply put, the lotteries are a "for fun" bonus that Turbine implemented to give all players a chance to win some nifty in-game items. These winnings can include anything from beer to gold to housing items to mounts. It really depends on your luck and how generous the devs are feeling any given week. Some of the lottos have huge payouts, while others deliver prizes as silly and paltry as a single lump of coal. So if you're new to the LotRO lotteries -- or just need a refresher course -- hit the jump and let's suss this thing out!
TUAW's Daily App: onTap
A little while back, I wrote about an app called Corkbin -- it helped you track and share the various wines that you tasted while out and about. A few commenters asked for something similar for beer, and onTap is exactly that. It's made by the same company, and it serves the same purpose. When trying out a brand new beer (or an old favorite), you can snap a picture of it with your iPhone, log it, and even share it across Facebook or Twitter. Just for fun, the app also has a dictionary of some beer terms, and you can also browse and view brews from around your area in order to see what people are drinking nearby. Just like Corkbin, it's a solid app, especially for those of us who enjoy a tasty beverage and trying some new variants from time to time. Plus, you know, it's completely free. It's a great app to help you get the most out of exploring your favorite beers around town.
iPad-equipped kegerator knows how much you've had to drink
Those wily engineers at Yelp have combined a scary amount of the things I love into one device. They've taken a keg and tap, an Arduino, an RFID reader, and an iPad and turned them into an amazing kegerator. The device not only tracks who's been drinking but also tracks information about the beer as it's poured, including the temperature and ratings of recently poured drinks (so you'll know when the keg is on a roll). They even put together a bookmarklet to monitor and track the keg remotely. And as if all of that wasn't enough, this was all designed during the Yelp Hackathon, which takes place over a 24-hour period. During that 24 hours, the company allows the engineering team to put together whatever they want. So yes, all of this was designed and assembled on official company time. OK, now you guys are just bragging. That's just unfair! [via Dvice]
Found footage: Maroon 5 rocks the Apple campus
Sure, you may be working 80 hour weeks, sleeping at your desk, and be completely stressed out from working on a series of secret projects, but at least Apple is providing you with free beer and a band on-site to relieve a bit of the stress. And it's not just any neighborhood garage band (no pun intended) -- it's Maroon 5. The video above, posted by goulartem on YouTube, was one of many posted by Apple workers who attended a company beer bash on Friday, July 9th. The Apple employees in the crowd seem to be having a great time, with a lot of iPhones being waved around capturing the free mini-concert. See if you can spot what looks like a white iPhone 4 on the right side of the crowd near the front.
