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App allows citizen scientists to track monarch butterfly migration
If you've ever pulled out your phone to take a picture of a butterfly, researchers want your help. A team from the University of Maine is using an app that lets citizens scientists along the East Coast take photos of monarch butterfly migration sites and log details about where they're found. The responses will be compiled in an online database and help researchers determine if their monarch migration predictions are accurate.
RuPaul's biographical series will stream on Hulu
2017 has been very good to RuPaul. The ninth season of Drag Race notched eight Emmy nods, including for Reality Competition Host which he won last year. RuPaul's streak continued on Wednesday as Hulu announced that it has optioned Queen, a fictionalized half-hour dramedy chronicling his rise to fame, to be produced by JJ Abrams' Bad Robot.
Google Express delivery expands along the East Coast
East coast residents now have a new way to shop online. Google announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its Google Express online delivery service to a dozen states throughout the Northeast. Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont are all now within Google Express' delivery range.
AmtrakConnect free WiFi added to 12 East Coast routes, snack car will still cost ya
Remember when we noted the existence of AmtrakConnect WiFi on the Adirondack train (number 69) about two weeks ago? Although it wasn't official at the time, it is now -- and it turns out that was just a sliver of what to expect. Amtrak recently announced that the free service is currently available on twelve of its East Coast routes, which should please many a railway commuter accustomed to WiFi deprivation. Eight of those routes (Northeast Regional, Keystone and Empire services, Carolinian, Downeaster, Ethan Allen Express, New Haven – Springfield Shuttle and Vermonter) feature full wireless connectivity from head to caboose, while the others (Adirondack, Maple Leaf, Palmetto and Pennsylvanian) have designated cars that allow for internet access. Factor in its Acela and Northwest Regional lines, and Amtrak says 60 percent of its fleet is now WiFi-capable with more additions due in California before the year's out. Better yet, "4G speeds" are also in the cards for the future, but we won't hold our breath waiting for an equally swift rollout. Full press release after the break.
Trion extends RIFT half-birthday bonuses because of Hurricane Irene
"Trion, you should extend the birthday celebrations due to Irene," one East Coast player wrote on the forums. "They did," came the next reply. The many, many half-birthday bonuses that came with RIFT's kooky in-game party were set to end tomorrow, September 1st, but are now being extended until September 6th so that players affected by last weekend's hurricane can enjoy it as well. Subscribers are still expected to receive their in-game gifts tomorrow that include bonus potions and a reusable birthday cake. James Nichols delivered the happy news: "We know many of you have been weathering out the storm on the east coast -– so we're keeping the subscriber bonuses turned on an extra week. You now have until September 6th to enjoy all the bonuses to XP, Guild XP, Favor, Prestige, Planarite, and dungeon & raid currencies. Have fun!"
APB Reloaded rolls out new patches, East Coast server move
Looks like we have ourselves a convoy... of patch notes! As All Points Bulletin continues to truck down the highway toward open beta and re-release, the APB Reloaded dev blog continues to deliver the news of progress, and today that includes two sets of patch notes and word of a server move to an East Coast location. APB Reloaded's East Coast server move to Washington, DC will be taking place later this week. This should help improve latency times for those playing in the eastern half of North America. The blog also lists the nitty-gritty details of Releases 79 (May 5th) and 80 (May 10th). These changes include exploit fixes and tweaks to several weapons to bring them in line. GamersFirst is saving the really big bullet points for the May 18th update, which will coincide with the open beta. The blog hints that we should hopefully be hearing about the features for this mega-patch soon. You can read the full details over on the APB Reloaded dev blog.
Criminals constructing ATM skimmers from DAPs
A recent article from Brian Krebs highlights a new trend in ATM skimmers: by using parts from cut-rate audio players and spy cams, criminals are able to construct something called an audio skimmer that records the data from the magnetic strip for later playback. Also included in the device is a miniature spy cam, which captures the user's PIN. The basic methodology behind the device is nothing new (for instance, it could be found in an issue of Phrack dating back to 1992) although the use of DAPs means that the whole thing is a lot more elegant than it was in the days of the portable cassette recorder. According to a recent report by the European ATM Security Team (EAST), devices of this type have been found in five countries, two of them "major ATM deployers" (with 40,000 active ATMs or more). Please guys, don't get any ideas. PR from EAST after the break.
Microsoft opens PC lounge in Saks Fifth Avenue for holiday season
We all know Microsoft's feeling pretty smug -- and with good reason -- about Windows 7 right now. In an effort to drum up yet more hype for its latest OS, and perhaps to try and gauge customer interest in an East coast Store, Microsoft has decided to open up a cozy "PC lounge" inside Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship New York store -- you know, the one that actually is on Fifth Avenue. As part of the agreement, Windows 7 will be used to drive Saks' window displays, and opportunities will be provided for customers to interact with the new software throughout the building. The lounge itself will be populated by Windows 7 laptops and Microsoft experts, who'll probably answer your questions in the sort of overly peppy, commercial way that makes us wonder why anyone goes to offline shops in the first place.
BlizzCon in the rearview
BlizzCon 2009 is behind us, and over on the forums, Irhabi has reached the conclusion that he won't be going next year. He says that with everything streaming out onto DirecTV and the Internet, and with no beta access included, and (what he thought was) a less than stellar performance by Ozzy Osbourne, he might as well stayed at home. I don't particularly share his opinion -- there are lots of great reasons to go to BlizzCon, from getting to try out the latest builds of Blizzard's upcoming games, to meeting vendors and other fans on the floor, to getting the chance to ask your own questions of the devs (and maybe even meet some of them at the various parties around Anaheim). If you're just bummed that BlizzCon was lame because you didn't get a beta key this year, maybe you should have wandered the show floor a little bit.On the other side of it, the folks who bought the DirecTV stream at home are a little more split on the subject -- we twittered to get some responses, and they run the gamut from "yes, it was worth it with the pet," to "no, they should have covered WoW more" (not only did the feed cut off halfway through the contest on Friday night -- we later heard from DirecTV employees that they could only broadcast a certain number of hours over the weekend, and that's where they made the cut -- but they also skipped a few big WoW panels for Starcraft coverage on the main stage instead). And don't even get us started on Jo Garcia, lovely and well-meaning though she may be (though Jay Mohr doesn't deserve the crap he's getting -- he did a respectable job this year). Fortunately, there were lots of other outlets to get your WoW news from, and odds are that Grunty will soothe your pains from the $40 you might feel you've wasted.
DISH Network transitions 11 East Coast markets to MPEG-4
Back in late August, DISH Network ripped a theoretical hole in the universe (okay, not really) by claiming that it would deliver 100% of its content via the MPEG-4 delivery system. Today, the satcaster is expanding its MPEG-4 reach to 32 markets by converting 11 more locales in the Eastern half of the US. For the whole rundown of new regions, just give the read link a visit, and rest assured that you'll begin receiving every bit of SD and HD content via MPEG-4 if you're listed. Riveting, isn't it?
PlayStation Blog heads to Orlando and wants you to meet them there
Details for the third PlayStation Blog meet up have been revealed. After swapping the Mexican cuisine of King Taco in Los Angeles for the sophisticated morning coffee and doughnuts of Seattle, the menu has moved on to southern style BBQ in Orlando, Florida. But you won't be attending for the food alone, obviously. You'll be meeting up with the PlayStation Blog staff, other fanboys (and maybe some fangirls, if you're lucky) and, who knows, maybe some other journo type people (though, sadly, we won't be able to attend this time). Not to mention more competitive gaming for, no doubt, awesome prizes.So now we've got you interested you'll need to know the wheres, whens and whyfores. The meetup will be taking place near downtown Orlando at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy next Friday, the 26th of September, between 7pm and 9pm. It's free, so just turn up, and you'll probably need your PSP. Chances are there'll be an after party at a local bar, by the looks of things. For full details, including funny maps, check out the PlayStation Blog post and RSVP on Facebook.
GameFly East Coast distribution center adds states
When GameFly's East Coast distribution center opened last month it was apparently still working out the kinks in the system. Readers pointed out that not all the states on the East Coast were served. GameFly sent us an updated list of states served by the new center (full list of states after the break). As time goes on we can probably expect to see a couple more states added to the list.As GameFly told us before, the Pittsburgh, PA center is intended to "serve East Coast and midwest members." We've noticed a significant reduction in turnaround time compared to the week and a half that used to plague East Coast members and have been able to better order the queue since the availability listings were made clearer. Less than a week turnaround time is the mark and it looks like GameFly is on the path.Update: GameFly contacted Joystiq and said NY will be added to the states serviced by the East Coast center. A GameFly representative says, "NY will be added to PA [distribution center] in the next 4-6 weeks. As we've mentioned previously, we would be adding states as soon as we had the inventory and operational capacity to do so."
GameFly East Coast distribution center opens
On the heels of revamping their system, making it easier to understand for customers, GameFly announces the official opening of their East Coast distribution center today. We reported last month that Gamefly was planning on opening an East Coast distribution center in the next couple months to cut down on the week-long turnaround for East Coast members.The new center is located in Pittsburgh and is intended to "serve East Coast and midwest members." This means that members within three states of Pittsburgh,PA can probably look forward to Netflix-style turnaround now. It's also worth repeating that GameFly really does have some of the most ridiculously good deals in used games on the market. Nothing wrong with good service and reasonable game prices.
Gamefly opening East Coast distribution center ... finally!
In a move that should bring much rejoicing by Gamefly members, compounded by their distance from Inglewood, Calif., Gamefly is finally opening up an East Coast distribution center. The site is located in Pittsburgh, PA. An official announcement has not been made by Gamefly about this new hub because they are working out the kinks to "supply the best experience possible."Part of the email sent to certain members read, "Initially, we are launching this new distribution center for only a small subset of our members so we can complete our testing and training efforts. Over the next several weeks, we'll broaden the reach of this new distribution center to more members." Gamefly says the official announcement of this new center is not expected for a month or two.East Coast members of the service have become accustomed to week and a half long waits in receiving their next game. Gamefly's fast return, which was meant to recognize when a member dropped a game back in the mail and then send out the next title on the queue, has been a hit or miss system. This new distribution site should cut down shipping times and alleviate traffic in the West Coast center, meaning faster turnaround there. All good consumer news. Gamefly also has some of the best deals in used games, they'll even ship the buyer the "new" case and manual.
Heavens herald the arrival of the Wii
Okay, Nintendo. You've gotten millions of hardcore gamers excited for your new, upcoming system. You've already managed to convince people who have never even held a game controller to invest in your product. But now, you're really done it. The skies themselves are clamoring for a new Nintendo Wii.Check this: at approximately 11:45 PM on Saturday, November 18th, there will be an brief yet intense meteor shower easily visible from the eastern coast of the United States. So long as the night skies are crisp and clear, all those people camping out should be able to enjoy the show. The cause? Leonid meteors caused by dust left by the small comet Temple-Tuttle will strike the Earth's atmosphere, incinerating in flashes of bright light.We know not if the Wii is celestial in nature, but it's one hell of a coincidence. Wii-lovers and star-gazers alike, here comes launch day.[Thanks, Brent!]
