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The Daily Grind: What's your favorite archer class?
I've never been one to gravitate toward bow-and-arrow classes in MMOs, although I've dabbled in them from time to time. I guess I fear that archers and their ilk are far too popular and feature mindless, straight-forward mechanics (shoot... one arrow at a time! Now two at a time! Now a whole bunch rapidly!). But if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be Dungeons and Dragon Online's Bard. I equipped her with a heavy repeating crossbow, and being able to man the medieval equivalent of an automatic rifle was strangely satisfying. Plus, crossbows do not get a lot of play in MMOs for some reason. Do you have a favorite archer class, and if so, what was it? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Hunt Hardcore works for beginning and experienced hunters
Hunt Hardcore offers a variety of social media type features that allows hunters with all levels of experience to share their adventures and seek help to become better hunters. The free universal app requires iOS 7.0 or later and requires users to register an account or use their Facebook account to login. The app contains a lot of the same information as the hunthardcore1.com web site. As with most social media apps, Hunt Hardcore allows users to make friends through the app and follow the new friends' postings. As users submit comments, trip stories, photos and video they receive activity points and the app then ranks users based on their point totals. You can also search users by name or get a listing of all members. Users will find a section devoted to photos posted by other users. The section contains lots of photos showing hunters in a variety of locations. Some show the hunters' kill while others show the animals the hunters were stalking. The one issue I had with this section was that none of the photos had any details about the photo such as when and where the kill took place or any other specifics about the actual hunt. The most information users will find is in the app's forum. Here the section is broken down into six different sections: Big Game Hunting, Bird and Small Game, Weapon Specific posts, State Hunting regulations, Taxidermy, and Hunting Products. Each of these segments contain numerous posts from users dealing with those specific areas. For example under the Big Game Forum you will find sub headings for Elk, Whitetail Deer, Bears, Wolves and other predators, and more. As you move deeper into the forum you can get details of hunting trips including some with photos and videos. Another section is devoted to classified listings where hunters can sell all types of weapons, tents and other camping gear, GPS devices, and a few listings for hunting trips posted by outfitters who specialize in putting hunters in a position to take down a particular species such as a New Mexico cougar, or Wyoming elk. Hunt Hardcore has some other features posted but these did not include a lot of information. One labeled Quizzes had no content, another had a blog but it had not been updated since December of 2012, and a third for polls had just three or four polls listed and just one of those dealt with a hunting issue. The others sought input from users on site logos and features. Overall if users stick to the forums and utilize the apps huge member list I think they will find Hunt Hardcore useful. Making friends with other hunters in different parts of the country or state you live in can be especially helpful. The photos and videos make interesting viewing but I wish they offered more specifics about the hunting trips.
Teen archer launches cellphone-laced arrows into Brazilian jail
Sometimes we sit around at Engadget HQ and do informal, anonymous surveys of our favorite gadgets of all time. Cell phones are unsurprisingly always at the top of the list. But the bow and arrow always comes in a close second -- call us closet traditionalists. Anyway, seems like a gang in Sao Paulo trained a 17-year-old to shoot arrows with cell phones strapped to the tips over a prison wall to communications-starved inmates. Apparently the misguided teen got at least four phones in before he fired one at a cop's back. Whoops! Still, dang. We much prefer this practicality of this old-new mashup to, say, steampunk flash drives. [Image credit: Robert van der Steeg's flickr]
