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PaPeRo gets blogging software; Engadget one step closer to full automation
Now we were always under the impression that a personal blog is supposed to be just that -- personal -- so we're not sure that we see the advantages of bringing a robot in to automate this process by filling your site with multimedia content that it thinks you'd want to share with the rest of the world. Nonetheless, NEC has done exactly that with its little cannibalistic PaPeRo bot (you know, the one that thinks humans taste like bacon), endowing it with AI software that recognizes certain keywords uttered during a conversation with its master and then scours the net for seemingly-related pics, vids, and tunes. Scheduled to be unveiled at 13th Annual Conference of the Association of Natural Language Processing later this month in Japan, the newly-spec'ed PaPeRo will be tasked with listening to you talk about your boring day at work ("So I commuted the eight feet from bed to desk, blogged all morning, ate lunch, blogged some more, ate dinner, and then blogged until bedtime."), and then turning your page into what we can only imagine will be a blinking, flashing, slow-loading lookalike of some teen's gaudy MySpace. Just be careful what you talk about from now on, because PaPeRo may be listening, and the last thing you want on your blog is a visual representation of that thing you've been doing to your coworkers' coffee every morning for the last eight weeks.[Via Digital World Tokyo]
Rogue Amoeba offers teaser and sign-up to test new mystery app
Oh Paul Kafasis, you clever Rogue Amoeba. What with your two-punch post of a teaser and sign-up offer for a new mystery app dubbed "AHT." What could this new app from the makers of Audio Hijack, Fission, Nicecast and Airfoil be? Is AHT simply a code name, or an acronym? Will AHT complement Rogue Amoeba's presence in the audio space, or will it be some new venture into RSS, video or even GTD? No one knows yet, but Paul said they'll be picking their first pool of testers on Wednesday, February 28th, so head on over and toss your name into the hat to test what I'm sure will be an excellent new offering from one of Mac OS X's much-respected 3rd parties.[Update: Rogue Amoeba has filled their list of testers for now, so the submission form has been closed.]
286-day-playtime character deleted on Christmas
Whoever writes this blog is saying that his 3/8 Tier 3, full GM, level 60 human Warlock, with over 6,800 hours played, was deleted from his account by means of a stolen password, and on December 25th, no less. He tells a fairly compelling story. He contacted Blizzard as soon as he found his character missing, assuming it was an error on their part; they got back to him and said his password had probably been compromised via a phishing scam. Our protagonist looked back in his email and found a likely candidate from December 23rd that had asked him to "update his credit card info".Understandably ticked off, and apparently possessing considerable financial resources, he hired an investigative firm to look into the matter and track down whoever had done this to him. (On a side note, why would the scammer want to delete the character? I can see why he'd want to steal the character's gold, but deleting a character is just sadistic.) He now plans on finding a lawyer and suing this scammer for, presumably, whatever he can get out of him (the blogger hopes for prison time, but that seems unlikely to me; however, IANAL).
Develop a WordPress theme on your Mac
I'm going to tell you a secret, that I hope we can keep between us: I am a big fan of blogs and blogging. I love to write and I love to read, so blogging is a natural extension of that (and I hope my level of enjoyment makes its way into my posts here). WordPress is the hottest blogging tool out there. It is open source, dynamic, and all the cool kids use it. Sadly, while content is king, people also love a pretty face.Circle Six Blog has a great post up that outlines Brett's workflow for designing WordPress themes locally on his Mac. He lists a number of useful apps that we have covered on TUAW and includes some good general web design tips.
Cocoa Blogs, by Scott Stevenson
I have to admit right up front that I'm not as familiar with the Mac dev community as I'd like to be. I don't know a lick about developing, and I get a bit intimidated as I know it's one of those trades that has a completely different set of constraints and connotations to manage; there's nothing like trying to swim in the big kid's pool while still wearing floaties. Though, for the record: that's just an analogy; I don't wear floaties when swimming in real life. I got rid of those months ago.That said, I'd like to pass along Cocoa Blogs, a new venture from Scott Stevenson, whose name I only know from its mention on a number of Mac developers' blogs I've stumbled across from time to time. As you might glean from the title, Scott waxes on Cocoa, one of Apple's major (and dare I say preferable?) programming environment for Mac OS X, as well as the world of development and its community. He also wrangles a number of Cocoa developer resources and notable blogs for skills both advanced and new.While much of the language in Scott's code-oriented posts and links might as well be Latin to me (and no, you don't get points for noting that up to 80% of English is Latin-based), this looks like a great new resource for Cocoa developers in all walks of life.[via Gus Mueller]
On Apple, blogging and policies
For some time now, Apple's hush-hush policy on public communication has been the focus of much debate. The discussion escalated, however, with the debut of the Masked Blogger, an Apple employee blogging under the radar (or directly in the middle of it, depending on your perspective). Today, John Gruber linked a couple of interesting posts on the subject, one from Chuq Von Rospach (a recent ex-Apple employee), and another from Dave Winer. The more interesting of the two is Chuq's post, where he discusses at length Apple's policies on communication, the fact that the company and its employees actually *do* communicate and blog (though without affiliation), and why Apple's lack of a blogging-specific policy doesn't matter in the grander scheme of things. Chuq's essential point is that Apple's employees do a lot to communicate and interact with the public - they just do it over traditional systems (like email lists) for the purposes of helping and solving problems. Further, 'blogging' is just one more way of communicating (albeit a new and hyped one); it isn't an end-all solution for these purposes. While I think Chuq makes some great points about the focus of blogging and the importance of considering it as a tool for a company like Apple, I still think the company could use one, especially in light of one of its many facets as being closely involved with creative media (see: iLife, which they even brag about on TV). While blogging doesn't have to become a public focus for the company, it certainly wouldn't be difficult to fire one up, and having a blog or two for anything from pimping new products (see: the Google Blog) to offering an easily accessible forum for discussion couldn't hurt (after all, not everyone likes checking in on forums or having one more email list to organize), and they could capitalize on a popular and buzzing new medium. The blog(s) could be treated with a formal touch (like many company-focused promotional blogs) or have a more personal touch from a company-sanctioned individual, like the Scobelizer. Of course, being powered by iWeb, or having a corporate Photocast (or podcast!) couldn't hurt either. Ultimately though, I think one of the good points Chuq makes about how well (yet quietly) Apple's employees actually are communicating is the true Achilles' heel of the idea of an Apple blog to begin with: most of the communication efforts of Apple's employees are quiet or under the radar - right where the company wants them to be. Apple, like most of its products, has a very shiny, polished exterior, which is exactly the kind that does not lend itself to opening the holes and flaws that blogging would puncture, no matter how personal or cute they may seem. One only needs to glance at the company's quiet handling of problems like battery recalls and MacBook RSS to see what I mean. Apple may be a purveyor of some of our favorite creative and communication tools, but donning a more personal side by *using* them just doesn't seem to be in the cards.
Omni Group confirms OmniFocus, a GTD app in the works
The Omni Group has hinted at new products and teased us with a handy tool and toy. While 3rd party solutions have existed to turn their OmniOutliner Pro into a mean, lean Getting Things Done machine, the Omni Group has finally spilled the quintessential bean in a recent blog post and confirmed that a true-blue GTD app is in the works, and its name is OmniFocus.However, I say the Omni gang spilled one bean - and one bean only - because they have twisted the cruel rumor knife ever so slightly by withholding any other details. No features, no clues, no ETA or price range. Not even a blurry icon. Cursed Omni Group! For now, it seems, you have forced us to suffer in your dungeon of anticipation! Our only salvation is your humbling generosity - some day - offering the warm sunlight of more details. Oh despair - thy name is OmniFocus!
Sandvox 1.0.2 with new features, demo screencast, intro pricing ends soon
Karelia Software has updated Sandvox, their feature-packed WYSIWYG web design app, to version 1.0.2, bringing a few new features to the table such as a much-requested Format menu. Of course, other bug fixes and the like are included, so check out the release notes for the full details.In addition to a one-hundredth of a point update, Karelia Software has also created a demo screencast for Sandvox which takes (potential) users through the site creation process and demos the many features Sandvox has to offer, such as adding weblogs and photo albums, as well as the Pro feature lineup. Along with the screencast, Karelia Software has also updated their online documentation with "How do I?", troubleshooting and reference sections. Last on the Sandvox update is the impending doom of their introductory pricing offer. Presently, a single regular Sandvox license goes for $39 USD, while the Pro version is $69 USD - but only until Friday, June 16th. I couldn't track down what these prices will bump up to, but I'm sure they'll make these look like a good deal. Get it while it's hot.
Overheard on the Blogger Bus: "Maybe it over-heated"
Microsoft's friendly PR staff was briefly chagrined when the Xbox 360 on their E3 Blogger Bus locked up while playing Tony Hawk. Perhaps forgetting he was surrounded by blogger nerds, Online Community Group Manager John Porcaro (who runs GamerScoreBlog) wondered aloud if the unit had over-heated since it was enclosed in a tight space -- the opposite of what tech support recommends. Fortunately for the MS Candy Crew, it appeared to be a false alarm. A reset quickly returned the 360 to playable condition. Moral of the story: Always ensure proper console ventilation before offering free junkfood to the alternative media.
Major Nelson 2.0
Xbox Live Programming Director Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb has ordered a redesign of his must read blog in preparation for E3. Right now it's in sort of a transitional mode, but the Major promises a host of new features once things get rolling (no need to change your RSS feed by the way). While you're admiring the new look, take a minute to get on XBL and download the PGR3 Global Tournament gamer picture he was pointing out before his site went all 2.0.Speaking of the PGR3 tournament, competition kicked off on Monday. How'd you do?
Orgrimmar and Stormwind on a par with real cities?
Seattle, New York, LA, London... Azeroth? The latest addition to city-specific blog site Metroblogs' line-up is none other than our favourite virtual destination. Although there's not much on the site at the moment (watch out for NSFW language in the first link), it's an interesting move to consider.Only a few of Metroblogs' other locales -- including London, New York and Istanbul -- have a higher population than Azeroth, although some would say there are big differences between a real urban population and an online game's subscriber base. We, of course, welcome those who think WoW is diverse enough to merit a dedicated blog, but it's going to be interesting to see how "metroblogging" a virtual world controlled by a single entity compares to a real live city.
Welcome, one and all, to PS3 Fanboy!
Whether you're here because you saw the related post on Joystiq Central or because a link was flashed elsewhere online, we wish to warmly welcome you to PS3 Fanboy, the site that loves Sony's next console with all its heart (even if it ends up with that batarang prototype as a controller).For a few more details on the wild 'n' crazy guys responsible for bringing this site to you, check out our unofficial welcome post with its shameless bios and boastful claims.We couldn't be happier to join the Joystiq family of fanboy blogs (especially our dearest brother Gizmondo Fanboy), and we certainly hope you enjoy your stay here. Just six weeks till the E3 overload... are you all ready yet?
MarsEdit 1.1b6 public beta
We knew that development of MarsEdit was continuing, but the good news of the weekend was that 1.1b6 public beta of MarsEdit is now available: "This release updates the French localization and fixes a few bugs, including a work-around for a time zone problem with some weblog systems. (More details are on the beta page.)" Not much really new about it, but cool nonetheless. Get it.
Where Blogger Fails (or, My Gripe with Internet Companies)
Have you heard the really cool news? There's a new Blogger for Word toolbar that lets you post directly to your Blogger-brand blog via the world's most prevalent word processor: Microsoft Word. However, it's not Mac compatible.
