Christmas
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RIFT brings Fae Yule back with new mounts and sweaters
What could be better than riding around on a festive squirrel while wearing awful holiday sweaters? Why, doing so on your way to fight a boss, of course. You'll get your chance to do just that in the latest incarnation of RIFT's Fae Yule event, running until January 7th. Players can send their minions out to find the missing Grandfather Frost, take on the new Golden Devourer boss, and take part in several new quests and special events during the event period. And what do you get out of it? Aside from a new mount to carry you into battle, you can earn new pets, minions, holiday-themed weapons, cloaks, decorations for your home Dimension... lots of stuff, in other words. So get in-game and get moving because if you have an urgent need to deck yourself in all the holiday gear available, you've got only a little time to pick it all up. And who wants to miss out on horrible sweaters? No one, that's who.
Step up your ugly Christmas sweater game by employing your phone
Still searching for the perfect ugly sweater for your holiday festivities? You may want to consider using your phone to help with the task. A collection of ten sweaters available from the folks at MorphCostumes have a built-in pockets for that trusty handset. But wait, there's more! With a free app for iOS and Android, the garment's design becomes an animated piece of seasonal art. Of course, "Peeking Santa Claus" (pictured) is a bit on the creepy side, but I digress. It turns out an ex-NASA engineer helped with the project's first round of goods last year, and the series was so popular a reboot was in order. If you're anxious to animate your office party attire, the sweaters are available now for $60 each.
Guild Wars 2 season 2 to continue on January 13th
The living world episodes for Guild Wars 2 are taking a month off for the holiday season, as ArenaNet announced today that Season 2 will reconvene on January 13th for "moments that will forever change the course of Tyria." That doesn't mean that Guild Wars 2 will go silent during this time, however. Wintersday is scheduled to return on December 16th, although this time it will take place in Divinity's Reach. ArenaNet is also hosting a test of its ladder season from December 16th through January 13th, allowing players to compete for various rewards, and a WvW Sneak Attack event during this same period. Finally, there will be the game's "first-ever" ESL monthly championship on December 10th.
White House photographer uses iPhone 6 to catch people off-guard
Christmas at the White House means a whole lot of camera flashes, poses, and smiles, and that usually means plenty of fancy camera equipment. For one seasoned photographer, Apple's iPhone is the tool of choice this year. As Time reports, photographer Brooks Kraft -- who has spent over a decade covering events at the White House, decided to take a different approach to capturing this year's Christmas festivities. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are his go-to tool this time around, and in addition to the fact that it's a fast-shooting, all-around capable photo gadget, one of the reasons he's doing so may surprise you: It tends to catch people off guard. "I notice that people just don't react the same way [when you're using an iPhone]," he told Time. "If you are looking to capture something candid, people are so used to seeing mobile devices that their reaction time is slower. You have a better chance of getting the shot, and that was the case at the White House." Of course, being a professional photographer, he notes that his DSLR is still his primary tool of choice for more, shall we say, important events, but the iPhone 6 twins performed well during the holiday photo event. [Photo via Time/Brooks Kraft]
Ugly Christmas sweaters sink to new low thanks to the iPhone
If you are going to wear an ugly christmas sweater, you might well take it to the extremes with one of Digital Dudz' iPhone-enabled versions. The hideous sweaters double the ugly by allowing you to insert your phone into the holiday decoration. Fire up the compatible app and watch your friends get blown away by your animated garb. These ugly christmas sweaters are not the figment of an overactive mind. They are an actual thing, and you can order one for US$60 + shipping. [Via Laughing Squid]
GAME's festive shopping simulator is equal parts hilarious and awful
It's safe to say Goat Simulator has become a cherished part of video game culture. Now GAME is hoping to tap into some of that indie magic with a parody simulation title of its own. It's called Christmas Shopper Simulator and, well, it's a bit rubbish. The game dumps your rag-doll character in a generic British shopping centre, filled with pun-riddled shops such as "Scroungeland" and "Texas Raincoat Massacre." Sprint to the top floor and you'll even find an "Amazombie" store with the slogan "powered by a heartless algorithm." There are missions and barmy achievements to complete, but GAME knows you'll probably have more fun hurling presents at unsuspecting shoppers and generally running riot. That's why it's a free download for PC and Mac, meaning you can save your hard-earned cash for a proper video game this Christmas.
Bringing holiday cheer, Blizzard-style
We know that Blizzard celebrates the holiday season in-game with plenty of decorations and tacky sweaters, and as it turns out their real-world celebrations aren't that different. For this holiday season, the famed orc statue in front of Blizzard HQ has gotten its own special holiday makeover -- and, yes, it now sports its very own tacky sweater. On the plus side, the orc and his wolf mount both look like they're better suited to brave the cold months of (California) winter... and they've managed to be festive while still supporting their faction with horde-logo holiday gear. Of course, this begs the question: what can we do to get our own tasteful winter gear? (And does it involve learning to crochet?)
Steve's 2014 holiday gift ideas
It's that time of year when even the most imaginative of us come up short with ideas for gifts to buy our family and friends. So the TUAW team is going to be providing you with some of our personal favorite gift ideas. Now, just because I've listed it here doesn't necessarily mean that I actually own an item or have even tried it out; in some cases, these are gifts that are on my personal wish list. Here we go! Cambridge Audio Bluetone 100 My favorite Bluetooth audio system of the year was the Cambridge Audio Bluetone 100 (US$299.99), a system with 100 watts of room-filling sonic power that sounds and looks great. During my review earlier this year, I found the Bluetone 100 to have the best Bluetooth connectivity of any speaker I've tested. With its two patented Balanced Mode Radiator speaker drivers, Class D amp, and built-in digital sound processing, the sound quality is incredible. It's not cheap, but the Bluetone 100 would be well worth the money. Fit Brains Trainer The next item on my list is an app from Rosetta Stone Canada. Just about everyone knows how important it is to keep their body in shape, but what about your brain? Fit Brains Trainer is a free app, but requires an in-app purchase for continued use. The app runs you through a set of fun and challenging games designed to improve memory, processing speed, concentration, problem solving, and visual-spatial skills. Play it once a day, and who knows? You may find that your brain is working a bit more clearly. goTenna This thing isn't even shipping yet, but it's already on my wish list. goTenna is a Bluetooth-equipped "stick" that fits into a bag or hangs from a backpack. If you're in a location with no cell phone service, it allows you to talk and text your friends by creating a point-to-point network between goTennas. What's it good for? Well, think of being able to communicate with others when you're in a foreign country out in the middle of nowhere, or talking to loved ones during an extended power outage when cell phone towers go down. Range varies, but can go from a half mile in cities or up to 6 miles on water. You can pre-order a pair of goTennas for $150 (half-price) right now. Logitech Keys-To-Go Keyboard If you start using an iPad to do work of any sort, you're going to want to use a keyboard. There's a problem with that, of course - just when you find an iPad keyboard that works perfectly for you, Apple changes the size of the iPad and you have to buy a new one. Well, maybe just using an external Bluetooth keyboard that works with any device is a better idea. That's where the Logitech Keys-To-Go Keyboard ($69.99) comes in handy - it works with iPad, iPhone, Mac, and just about anything else that has Bluetooth and can use a keyboard. It's big enough to comfortably type on, yet tiny enough to slide into a bag with your tablet or computer. Check out my review of it here. Nest Dropcam Pro This wouldn't be a list from me if it didn't have an "internet of things" tie-in. My winner is the Nest Dropcam Pro ($199.99), which is hands-down the best web/security cam out there. It takes no time at all to set up, has an amazing wide angle lens, and features a zoom mode that gives you the details when you need 'em. It's the best way to see what's going on at your home or office when you're not around. Those are my picks for some fun and useful Christmas presents. My colleagues will be putting in their choices here soon; keep an eye open for what they pass along for some great gift ideas.
Spotify's offering you three months of premium for 99 cents
It's the festive season, and one company that's in a generous mood is Taylor Swift's favorite streaming service. If you're not already a Spotify user, then the outfit is hoping to lure you in by offering three months of its premium service for just 99 cents if you sign up before the end of the month. It's a bit of a no-brainer, given that you get better sound quality, offline playback and, best of all, no ads. At the same time, Spotify has revealed the most popular music of 2014, showing that Pharell's Happy was the most streamed song, while Ed Sheeran and Katy Perry took the gongs for most popular male and female artists.
Tell everyone what you want for Christmas with Instalist
Without wishlists, your holidays will be full of gifts that you don't like but are forced to say that you love so that you don't offend your loved ones. Instalist, free in the App Store, attempts to avoid holiday gift-giving debacles. You pick the items you want and then send the list to your friends and family via SMS, email, Twitter or Facebook. The app is fun to use, but not very practical. It's based on Tinder's concept of swiping right to like and left to dislike. This makes it easy to use, but creates several drawbacks. There were a few times where I had gotten into the habit of swiping left and accidentally disliked an item that I wanted to put on my list. While you can remove items from your list, you cannot undo a dislike. Another negative is that you cannot search for subcategories. Everything is a random mashup of items. If you know you want a pair of jeans, you may have to swipe through dozens of items before even one pair shows up, and it probably won't be a pair that you like. This makes the app a bit of a waste of time. Then again, if you're bored and feel like doing something mindless, Instalist isn't a bad way to kill some time and possibly find some interesting gift ideas. All of Instalist's items come from Amazon. There are the standard categories of toys, clothes and gadgets, but it also has a large selection of books, both Kindle and paper. Books often get left off of lists like these. As an avid reader, I was glad to see so many of them pop up in my recommendations. There were some movie selections, but they did not show up often. Unfortunately, no home décor items popped up, neither did any shoes. I'd like to see the developer add those. There were a few kitchen items, like coffee makers and other small appliances, but not much else. There are some customization options. You can view gender specific gifts, or view gifts for both men and women. You can also omit all toys from your search, shop only for toys or include them along with the rest of your items. I first tried out the app with both genders and all toys selected. Then I switched to only women and toys. I wanted to see if Instalist would still give me the same tech and toy recommendations as it would if I included men. It did. If you're like me, you know how frustrating it is to click on "gifts for women" and discover that there is zero tech, comic book or gaming related merchandise. Major kudos goes to the developer for giving me tons of tech items and accessories, plus plenty of dresses and the like. Special thanks for giving young girls a range of toy options from Barbie to LEGOs and even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (Of course, some of the LEGOs went on my list, too.) I am so happy to see an app avoid gender gift-giving stereotypes. Instalist is worth downloading for that reason alone. But, if you're looking to create a comprehensive wishlist to send to your friends and family, you would be better off creating a regular Amazon wishlist.
EverQuest II plans bug bash and preps Frostfell celebrations
The EverQuest II team isn't going silent during the last month of the year; on the contrary, a new producer letter outlines several events that are scheduled throughout December and into January. The holiday event of Frostfell will go from December 11th through January 8th and promises "new content, rewards, gifts, crafted, and merchant items." The team's also coding in Ethereal armor adornment drops into Altar of Malice instances starting on December 6th and will be making past expansion house items available on loyalty merchants beginning January 6th. While it's not the sexiest item on the list, a December 9th Bug Bash is planned to stamp out pesky issues and implement player feedback, such as creating shared bank space for exile characters.
RuneScape kicks off Christmas events early
It's only the first of December, but RuneScape is already cranking up its Christmas event machine with the first batch of activities for players to enjoy. Starting today, players can deliver presents for Santa (and get points to spend on rewards for doing so), work with others to open a giant cracker full of goodies, and go on a tinsel snake hunt. RuneScape is also triggering a 50% XP bump for a half-hour each day to those who use free festive auras. On another topic, Jagex announced that it's bringing back the Premier Club for the MMO, allowing players to sign up for a multi-month subscription to secure a discount and other rewards. This might be a good strategy to offset the looming increase in sub prices in 2015. If players choose to pay through PayPal, they will receive a samurai outfit and kirin pet in addition to the other bonuses.
Monitor Santa's pre-flight prep with a little help from Google
If you're looking to keep an eye on ol' St. Nick ahead of his annual journey, Google can lend a hand. This year's version of Mountain View's Santa Tracker is live and ready to help keep tabs on all the prep work. Up until the red-clad fellow departs later this month, games and scenes will be added to his village regularly -- including location-specific bits so you can read up on traditions in other places. Of course, on December 24th, you'll be able to follow Mr. Kringle's globetrotting in real time. If you happen to be away from a computer, monitor the latest happenings via Android app, mobile site or on your Chromecast-equipped TV.
Global Chat: Gamers Secret Santa
One of the yearly traditions in the blogosphere that I always look forward to is Stargrace's Annual Gamers Secret Santa. Currently in its sixth year, Gamers Secret Santa accepts any and all who want to sign up to be a part of a gift exchange. You'll end up sending a gift ($20 maximum) to someone and will receive a gift from another person during the month of December. There's even a digital exchange for more remote locations. It's always a blast to see what gifts I end up getting (and they are always geeky), and I wanted to encourage others to be a part of this. You'll need to sign up by December 1st if you do, however! It's grown every year, but this year I'm giving a bit of Massively publicity, so let's see if we can make this the biggest year ever! Another blogger-driven Christmas initiative is Syl's Blogosphere Xmas Countdown, during which she's assigning various blogs a day to write about the theme of positive gaming and community. Keep an eye on MMO Gypsy to see this advent countdown progress!
This is what happens when a drone interrupts your Christmas date
You're on a date at TGI Friday's, casually sipping your discount cocktail, trying to ignore the disappointed look on your partner's face as they attempt to cut into their overcooked steak. As if this situation wasn't awkward enough, the smooth sounds of the Billboard 100 playlist are interrupted by a high-pitched whining. A lone quadrocopter hovers above, dangling a collection of stale mistletoe leaves. Looking to make the best of a bad situation, you lean in for a kiss. Before you know it, it's profiteroles for one.
Check out the first holiday widget for iOS
I guess it had to happen -- a widget with a holiday theme, and one that gives you some useful information. I'm talking about SNOWidget, from developer Johnny Ixe who gave us the handy and useful DataMan app. Download the free SNOWidget app, and then load it from your pull-down Today notifications. You'll see a nice animated snowfall, and a quick reminder of how many days are remaining until Christmas. The app allows you to set the size of the widget, the font, and it can measure days or hours until Christmas. What more could you want? SNOWidget requires iOS 8 or later. It's optimized for both the iPhone 5 and 6 series. It's whimsical. It's free. Go get it.
British retailers are using Shazam to hijack rivals' Christmas ads (update)
With just over a month until Christmas, brands are firing up their festive marketing campaigns to extract as much money as they can out of consumers. It looked as if John Lewis had the 2014 ad title all sewn up when Monty the penguin first waddled onto our TV screens, but responses, from Sainsbury's in particular, have made it far from a forgone conclusion. In times gone by, John Lewis would just take out newspaper ads or takeover a billboard to keep its campaign at the forefront of the public's mind, but this year it's utilising a clever, mobile first, strategy.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite holiday event?
I don't typically do MMO holiday events, but last weekend I was roped into checking out Lord of the Rings Online's Winter-home shindig. Most of it was standard grind-for-reward-tokens stuff, but there was one bit set inside a theatre that was pretty memorable. Members from the audience were plucked at random to participate in a dev-scripted stage play, and depending upon how well you engaged the NPC audience with various character emotes, you could expect to be showered with either flower petals or rotten fruit courtesy of the player characters in the crowd. What about you, Massively readers? Do you do MMO holiday events, and if so, what's your favorite? 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!
Chaos Theory: Cramming your Krampus in before TSW's holidays end
Christmas 2013 -- it's quite a different experience in The Secret World than in other MMORPGs. Instead of offering some colorful cutesy characters based on the jolliest aspects of the season, TSW's festivities draw on the darkest parts of our lore to bring you a Christmas devil, a demoness, and undead Mayans. The only carol you hear is a twisted Jingle Bells whispered in the hellish Niflheim dimension, though wave after wave of horny Hel jokes fill the air. But even with all the differences, one thing is definitely the same: the stress of running around trying to get things done in time! As much as I am grateful that a form of last year's End of Days event has returned (I did ask for it after all), the fact that there are three events -- A Mother of a Season, Ever-Ending Days, and Whispering Tide -- happening simultaneously is a bit overwhelming. Add the whole real-life part of the holiday season to the evil RNG, and I am truly scrambling to complete my holiday wish list of pets, achievements, and apparel. I am even struggling to get the lore. (And you know that makes for a very unhappy MJ!) Luckily, the holiday events don't end until January 2nd, so I am going to make a push to finish up as much as I can. If you happen to be in the same boat, here are a few hints to help wrap it all up. If, however, you are one of those people who got everything done early, feel free to skip to the end where I have penned a more appropriate take on a holiday favorite in honor of the season. Hopefully it will become a new cherished tradition!
Norrathian Notebook: EQII's new Frostfell experience
There's no place like Frostfell. No matter how long you've been absent from EverQuest II, and no matter how many expansions come and go, you've known that there was always one thing you could be sure would stay the same year in and year out: Frostfell's Wonderland Village. Well, no more! Like Freeport and Qeynos before it, the staple of Frostfell celebration has undergone quite the transformation. So stepping through the Magic Closet now might be a bit of a shock in a going-back-home-and-finding-your-parents-converted-your-bedroom-into-an-office kind of way. But unlike the parental remodeling, this renovation is meant to make the place more inviting for your return. With a beautiful new setting to go with the year's new quests and achievements, EQII's Frostfell experience is better than ever.
