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Carbon ring storage promises 1,000 times higher memory density
Terrifying news, kids: we're growing seriously close to maxing out the density limits of present magnetic memory technology as it becomes increasingly difficult to shrink the necessary grains used in the process. Thankfully, there's a team of German scientists devoted to doing more than standing around and watching the inevitable happen. Cobalt, the element responsible for keeping your precious data intact, typically requires a 50,000 atom fleet for each grain, but boffins from Dresden have found a way to shrink that to a measly flotilla of 50. Without trampling you with technological details, attaching carbon rings to the cobalt reproduces the requisite hexagonal close packed structure, which leads to reduced space requirements. Should this technique prove viable, we can expect yet another race among hard drive makers as they strive to make each other's most capacious drives look downright diminutive. Hit the read link for all the grisly details.[Via Graphene-Info]
Insider Trader: Farming recipes in Northrend
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.This week, Insider Trader will be listing the locations and mobs that will drop recipes to help you complete your collection and expand your knowledge to boost sales. Because this list is meant to be a reference for planning out your next farming expedition, I will not be including "world drops" that can drop from nearly any mob in a given zone or from a specific level of mobs across zones. UlduarThere are several epic crafting recipes that will drop in Ulduar. They have a chance to drop from each of the bosses on Heroic mode (25-man), although 10-man groups can also acquire them by downing the bosses on Hard mode. Currently, there are two Enchanting formulas, six Blacksmithing plans, eight Leatherworking patterns and four Tailoring patterns that fall under this category.Given Ulduar's close associations with Engineering, many people have been quite vocal about the lack of schematics in the dungeon, although many of the mobs can be harvested for parts and vendor junk.
Breakfast Topic: Your favorite routes
Vince sent us this tip from Just my Two Copper: a quick Cobalt circuit in case you're a high level miner and want to spend a few minutes making some ingame money. Truth is, everyone has this various routes that they take in game, whether they be your recent run of dailies, a gathering run (I used to know the Swamp of Sorrows by heart when I was leveling up Herbalism, and even now I've got my own places to go in Sholazar to pick up as much leather as possible), or even a run around to see if you can find some of the rare spawns (the Time-Lost Proto Drake or maybe the spirit beast).What are some of your favorite, most ingrained (in your mind), or most profitable runs in game? They aren't really a trade secret -- AHs tend to change from server to server, and even if a certain ore or item comes into demand, it's usually because no one wants to farm it, not because it's not out there to find. But we do get set in our patterns -- what are some of yours?
Evolve your 3D avatar
Evolver (currently in alpha) is an interesting service. It allows you to build a 3D avatar either from scratch and components or from a photograph of yourself, and export that avatar as an image, a functional 3D model in a couple of different formats (presently Maya [MA] or Kaydara 3D Data Exchange Format [FDX]), or a ready-made avatar for a number of 3D virtual environments. They've got more planned it seems, like the ability to potentially embed a little animated 3D avatar in places where you might today be using a 2D image. Think Gravatars only in 3D.
Loken the most dangerous mob in the game
The Top Lists on the official World of Warcraft website are endlessly interesting and fascinating. The last time we looked at them was well before Wrath launched, so we decided to take a look again now that we've been in Northrend for awhile.The first list I looked at was, of course, the Most Dangerous Creatures. What's more fun than seeing what's destroying your fellow players? Nothing. Nothing at all. It looks like Loken of Halls of Lightning is topping the charts right now, followed by Sapphiron of Naxxramas. I can see that. Loken can be pretty deadly, especially on Heroic. Most players will probably wipe to him at least once their first time seeing him, assuming they don't know the strategy ahead of time. Sapphiron is just plain painful.
Insider Trader: Gather in Northrend
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.As more of the player base steps into Northrend, the demand for goods and services rises. Craftspeople are especially concerned with developing their skills, and for this to be possible, there needs to be a decent supply of gathered raw materials available. This is where you gatherers will shine. Of course, you will have to level your skills as well, and this week's edition of Insider Trader will have you maximized and making cash in no time.
Lichborne: Gear upgrades for Death Knights in the starting zones
Welcome to Lichborne, where Daniel Whitcomb really needs a bigger boat. And maybe a more imposing minion to steer it. So by now, I assume a good chunk of us are managing to get through Outland again and are hitting the 68-70 level range, ready to jump onto a boat or zeppelin and head to Northrend. Now, up til now, I'm sure a lot of you have been sticking with your Death Knight quest gear, hoping to avoid the clown look of Northrend, or have been leveling so fast through Outland that you haven't had time to replace most of it anyway. But we're in Northrend now, guys. The difficulty is ramped up a bit, and you're really going to have to start replacing stuff pretty quickly. No worries though, Blizzard's art team has done a pretty decent job of making most of the Northrend quest rewards look like something you'd be willing to be caught dead wearing, so to speak, especially if you're into Norse mythology and imagery like I am. Today, we'll be discussing some of the best quest upgrades for a Death Knight in the first few zones of Northrend, but before we do that, I'd like to mention one more gear-related thing from our tanking column last week: The Cobalt "set."
Ask A Beta Tester: Spirit, AoE, and raid loot
I'm going to start off this AABT by stealing a question that Alex actually took last time, mostly because I started laughing when I read it yesterday. I have, oh, conservatively, billions of Wrath screenshots on my hard drive at this point, but there's one I remember all too well.Marathan asks... Some time ago, there was a talk about new player character models for Wrath - and even some bugged pictures. So the question is, are they going live? Are we finally going to get improved graphics on our characters?As Alex wrote, Blizzard used one beta build to test the ease of implementing new skins and some of them...didn't turn out too well. Imagine you're me and you get a beta key. Budget a few hours of anticipatory excitement while your main copies over. She's a 70 Tauren Druid who has been with you since day one, your sole 70, and you think she's the most beautiful thing in the game even if to everyone else she's an ungainly 8-foot heifer. Now imagine booting up the Wrath beta for the first time and being horrified to see your beloved character with a Glasgow smile, like the developers had seen the Joker in The Dark Knight and thought, "Hey! We could make that work!"Holy water did nothing. Neither did crucifixes, garlic, a wooden stake, waving the Bible in the direction of the laptop, or sobbing quietly in a corner.On the plus side, here was finally something in the game to which Tauren cat form was an actual graphical improvement.
Ask a Beta Tester: Spectral gryphons, prospecting, and portals
Only six-ish days of Ask a Beta Tester left! Whatever will we do!? Well, we'll go on with our lives probably. I mean, we'll have Wrath of the Lich King. Who cares? ahmed ahmed asked...Have you heard anything about ghosts being able to go through mountains in WotLK, so they can reach their destinations faster? My friend told me that is what is going to happen, and I hope that it will go live!Nope, that's not the case, sorry. However, in some zones (Icecrown, Storm Peaks) you get to ride a ghostly gryphon when you're dead, so you can fly to your corpse. Both of those zones have a huge emphasis on mountainside base camps and tall cliffs and places you can only get by flying, so the gryphon is very nice. No running through mountains though.
Scattered Shots: Wrath of the Hunter
Welcome to Scattered Shots, where Daniel Whitcomb is totally making plans to walk with rhythm so that he can attract the worm.So with Wrath less than a week away, we got our work cut out for us, so to speak. Luckily, 3.0's early release has given us time to learn to handle our pets and respec to take advantage of new talents, but now the big push is upon, as 10 levels and a whole slew of new zones opens up for us. When you step off the boat or zeppelin in Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord, where will you go? What will you do? Here's a few quick Hunter specific tips to getting started in the Wrath of the Lich King.
Rumor: Australia to get two more DS colors
If those of you in the Land Down Under are tired of the same old DS Lites, some new colors might be on the way to freshen things up a bit. It's true that they aren't "new" in the purest sense of the word, as the two-toned crimson and cobalt colors have been around in the U.S. for a while now, but they'd be new to Australia.Yet, if you're reading DS Fanboy, there's a pretty high chance you already own a DS, so new colors like this are nothing more than evil temptations. With that said, do any of you in the Australian region want this rumor to be true, or for the safety of your wallets, are you hoping otherwise?[Via Go Nintendo]
February NPD: Natural order restored
Sales were up across the board in February, which is really the best kind of news (yes, even better than the kind that lets us be jerks to consoles with falling sales). Even bester is that our old friend the DS is back on top of the charts, having sold a remarkable 336,000 more units in February than in January. If pressed, we would guess that this is because there are now DS Lites in stores. Some of those Lites were in a fancy new color, as well, which may have driven some repeat sales. Software sales were ... not awesome for the DS, unfortunately. Only Mario & Sonic represents the handheld on the charts. At least its sales went up. DS Lite: 587.6K 336K (134%) Wii: 432K 158K (58%) PS2: 351.8K 87.8K (33%) PS3: 280.8K 11.8K (4%) Xbox 360: 254.6K 24.6k (11%) PSP: 243.1K 13.1K (6%)
DS Fanswag: And the Cobalt DS Lite goes to ...
Well, you've all been waiting patiently today to see who will be the lucky winner in our Cobalt DS Lite giveaway. And, through the power of random selection, we've finally snagged us a winner. Without further ado, let us reveal who it is: Peter, who must've had a heart attack at the excitement, for his only response to our email was "asdfjlfhlasdjfhlasdfhasldfhasljk*." Congratulations, Peter! And, to the rest of you, better luck next time! Thanks for entering and thanks for reading DS Fanboy!*We totally made up his response.
Reminder: Today is your last day to enter for a Cobalt DS Lite
That's right, kiddies. Today is the last and final day at which you can toss your hat into the virtual ring for one free Cobalt DS Lite. We here at DS Fanboy strive each and every day to bring you things you care about. With this contest, we're guaranteed to do that for one person. If you already entered today, don't do so again. You'll automatically be disqualified. For the rest of you, head on over to the contest post and get to entering! We'll be picking the winner tomorrow.
Reminder: Win a Cobalt DS Lite
Oh man, if you weren't here on Friday to check the site, boy do we have a megaton for you. The latest in the long line of sexy and slim handhelds from Nintendo, the Cobalt DS Lite, is up for grabs. So, if you want to get your grubby little mitts on it, be sure to head on over to our contest post and read up on what you need to do.Good luck!
DS Fanswag: Win a Cobalt DS Lite
Oh, you read that right. We're giving one lucky reader a brand-spanking-new Cobalt DS Lite (retails for $129.99). As one might imagine after seeing several giveaways on this blog before, entering to win this sweet handheld is a snap.First of all, you must be 18 years of age or older (kids, ask you big brother or sister or your parents to enter for you!) and currently reside in the United States. So, if you meet those qualifications, all you need to do is tell us why you deserve this Cobalt DS Lite. Have you been reading us for awhile? Do you make your own DS Fanboy t-shirts in your spare time (send us one?) and have one for every day in the week? Whatever the reason is, tell us!But, you can only comment once per day. So, don't go entering more than one comment each day or else you're disqualified. The contest begins as of right now and ends on Wednesday, February 20th at 11:59pm EST. Finally, give our official rules a read. Once done, get to entering.Good luck!
DS Daily: Is color enough to justify a second DS?
Would you ever buy a second DS, solely because you like the color? It sounds silly, but time and again this blogger has come close to shelling out for one of those Enamel Blue Lites that appeared exclusively in Japan, only to back down at the last minute. It may sound like a fairly ridiculous reason to purchase a second version of any gaming system, but then gamers aren't always rational people, and DSes are desirable and just about cheap enough to justify impulse purchases.Of course, some of you might well be purchasing a second DS in the very near future, as the cobalt blue DS Lite hits U.S. stores today. If you are, tell us about it!
Cobalt & Black DS Lite confirmed
That's right folks, it's been confirmed (by Nintendo, not just a Circuit City page) that we're getting a new DS Lite. Much like the "senior edition" DS Lite that initially came bundled with Brain Age 2, this unit has a black base with the clamshell taking on the whole of the cobalt included in the package. Still though, this is one slick-looking unit for those of you who found the red to not be your thing.For another snapshot of the box for the new unit, then head past the break.
Nintendo confirms cobalt/black DS Lite
When you look back over the various colors that the DS has been released in, with the exception of black, the schemes haven't exactly been the best for tough guys like ourselves. In fact, it sometimes seems like they're attempting to do the exact opposite. ("How can we trump pink with paw prints? How about sparklicious gold?") Finally, our prayers for a macho DS have (officially now) been answered by Nintendo, which unveiled the Cobalt/Black DS this morning.We're willing to go on record as saying that this is the the toughest, manliest DS ever crafted. We'd bet it's made of recycled John Wayne VHS tapes and reeks of AXE body spray. If you're ready to look like a total stud while you play Pokemon, you'll only have to wait until Feb. 10.Instead of staring at that pixelated mess we've had lying around, hit up our gallery to check out the nice higher-res shots (a whopping two!) Nintendo released this morning.%Gallery-15143%
Circuit City posts new cobalt blue DS model ... removes soon after [update]
Circuit City was so very kind to inform the populace that the cobalt blue Nintendo DS was ready to pre-order -- too bad nobody called "no take-backsies." GoNintendo reported on the pre-order for the sexy new DS, which looks like a blue version of last year's crimson model. It would appear that Circuit City jumped the gun announcing new model, as the page has now been removed.We've contacted Nintendo for comment, though we don't expect confirmation outside of a potential, upcoming announcement. Update: Buy.com is offering the Cobalt Blue model for pre-order.[Via DS Fanboy]
