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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.
EverQuest patch switches up hot zones, nerfs some Ancient Heroes rewards
EverQuest has just been updated, and it's time to say goodbye to the ironically freezing set of hot zones that have provided icy experience bonuses for the past few months. This isn't a bad thing, as the new list of hot zones includes a number of popular areas for people to do their leveling in -- the full list can be found after the break, along with the rest of the patch notes. One of the hot zones, Howling Stones (also known as Charasis) has been altered to be more inviting for potential visitors:Apparently while performing some end-of-the-summer cleaning, the doors within Howling Stones were left unlocked. It may be some time before a maintenance crew can be sent there again to lock the doors up tight. Use this knowledge as you will. In addition, the spells protecting the entrance to Howling Stones have weakened, and adventurers of lesser skill and strength may find its halls now accessible.The other big change with this patch involves some tweaking of the Ancient Heroes missions from the previous update. The rewards from these missions have been the subject of much controversy ever since their introduction, and this patch has made many of them worthless (though they can still be refunded by handing them to the quest-giver). Having said that, some of the group-level rewards were actually improved. Hit the jump to see the patch notes in their entirety.
