events
Latest
European midnight launch events
And the Europe-themed news keeps on coming. The Blizzard Europe team will be having some events of their own to celebrate the expansion, with copies to sell and developers signing. Locations are as follows: UK: HMV 150 Oxford Street London W1D 1DJ Phone: 020 7631 3423 Doors open: 11:00PM, January 15 FRANCE: FNAC 74 Ave des Champs ElyséesParis 8e Phone: 0153 53 64 64 Doors open: 0:00 - 04:00, January 16 GERMANY: Media Markt 10627 Berlin-Charlottenburg Krumme Straße 48 Phone: 030 31992 0 On sale: 0:00, January 16 SWEDEN: EB Games Gallerian Hamngatan 37 Stockholm Phone: 08 411 21 51 Doors open: 0:00, January 16 WHEN: Monday, January 15/Tuesday January 16, 2007 | On Sale at 0:00 As much as I won't be going to California for the US events, the extent to which I won't be going to Europe is even greater. What about you guys? Any of these convenient for you?[via Kotaku]
Keane to play London Apple Store on Tuesday
This Tuesday, London's newly refurbished Regent Street Apple Store will host Keane playing a stripped-down acoustic set for Apple Store customers. This is the first concert in a series of "Live From London" events hosted in the Apple Store. The show, which begins at 9PM, will be broadcast around the world to every Apple Store according to SoundGenerator.com Tickets are limited. Only 350 people will attend. The Times newspaper has 50 pair of those tickets to give away to competition winners and an event video should hit iTunes around January.
YABI: iCal birthday and anniversary alarms done right
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger's iCal introduced a 'Show Birthdays calendar' option which automatically adds an all-day event for any contacts who have birthdays listed in Address Book. It's smart, but it isn't very flexible - there is no option for alarms and no way to add extra information like age or details of an impending party. Enter YABI: yet Another Birthday Importer, which aims to bring power and flexibility to the way iCal imports birthday events, as well as anniversaries (scroll down a little on the page). Tim Gaden at Hawk Wings has a nice writeup of key features, but to summarize, YABI can: display a person's age in the event title add events to the calendar of your choice set a configurable alarm chose exactly which contacts to import events for decide how many years to repeat the events and more YABI strikes me as another one of those 'shoulda been in Tiger' apps, as it fills so many holes left by iCal's paltry implementation of this feature. Fortunately, it's a Universal Binary and free at least while in beta.
Full synchronization of iCal and Google Calendar coming via Spanning Sync
Spanning Sync looks to be the holy grail of true, two-way calendar synchronization between Apple's iCal and Google Calendar. Yes: by 'two-way' I mean 'you can edit the same calendar in either place and the changes will synchronize.' Nasty translation I know, so maybe you should go watch their demo video to really get your mouth watering. In it, one of Spanning Sync's creators shows off how easy it is to link iCal calendars with equivalents in Google Calendar (bonus points for the ability to chose exactly which calendars shake hands), as well as moving an event in one calendar and having the change sync to the other. If this doesn't have you excited, please excuse me while I go check my blood pressure.Spanning Sync's blog has more details, and its release is billed as 'coming soon.' Stay tuned to TUAW as well, as I was fortunate enough to get my name in on the private beta before the signup list closed, and I'll have a screencast and a review for you as soon as possible.
Your GoW Emergence Day planner
Here's what Microsoft has scheduled for Gears of War fans on November 12, otherwise known as "Emergence Day": A 24-Hour Leader board Tournament. The tournament winner receives a one of a kind "Gears of War" branded guitar as well as an automatic bye to the finals of a Global "Gears of War" Tournament planned for 2007. Hourly sweepstakes drawings and prize giveaways including the chance to win one of several Samsung HT-P29 Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound Systems An exclusive free "Gears of War" Gamer pic and theme only available on Emergence Day Game with Fame sessions with legendary heavy metal band and "Gears of War" fans Megadeth, the game's lead designer Cliff Bleszinski and other members of the Epic Games team Never before seen videos including a special Emergence Day transmission from Cliff Bleszinski An MTV "Gears of War: The Road to Launch" Sneak Preview Not a bad culmination to two years worth of hype. Do you plan on paying attention to this stuff, or will you be too busy actually playing the game?
IDG unveiles Macworld 07 event highlights including Kevin Smith, David Pogue
Get your frequent flier miles ready boys and girls, cuz IDG has just announced the event highlights for the Macworld 07 (of course, if you're a lucky SF resident, you can probably hang onto those miles). Key speakers include Kevin Smith (yea, the), as well as the New York Times' own David Pogue. Of course, Mr. J's keynote has been confirmed again, and let's not forget it should shape up to be quite the event considering IDG added a second hall.Personally, I'm with reader boom bam boom bam bam's comment: I think we should turn Steve's 'Boom!' into a drinking game.
TUAW Podcast #12: Quicksilver and iCal
There wasn't much podcast-worthy news to chat about last week, so we thought it was the perfect time to do something different and bring you the first TUAW screencast evar! In this podcast (netcast!), I demonstrate that trick we covered last month of how to add iCal events and todos from Quicksilver, and I've ironed out a few details for a much more usable process. I figured this would be a great way to demonstrate some of Quicksilver's unique power with purty moving pictures, instead of the typical non-moving pictures. This screencast clocks in at 7:32, and it's 21MB of H.264 goodness.Speaking of goodness, we're soliciting feedback on this screencast (as if you need to be asked). This is my first screencast, so it's a little rough around the edges. I sound a lot better podcasting-wise, though I'm still working on picking up a Samson USB mic that reader Jules Stoop recommended, especially since I've seen it written up as *the* killer podcasting mic (I'm trying to find a good deal, since $80 is a little steep right now). But let us know what you think: too fast? Too slow? Do I sound like a muppet? I have a lot to learn about moving video between the big suites, as I have some good After Effects skills I could've used to spice this up, but I couldn't find a decent codec to preserve the quality when exporting the edited video out of Final Cut Pro (I especially am accepting workflow feedback on this topic). Rest assured, this is at the top my todos (pun intended!) for the next screencast, so I'll be able to add all sorts of flying text and 3D space aliens.But that's enough chatter for now: here's a direct link to TUAW Podcast #12, another link to our iTS podcast feed, and of course: our good ol' fashioned raw RSS feed.Update: Our iTS feed had a little bug that prevented this video from making the list, but it has since been fixed. Podcast #12 is ready to roll from the iTS Podcast Directory, so head over and grab a copy!
And Boom
I'm not sure which is more classic: Steve's "scrolls like butter" comment, which I think he used in reference to iPhoto '06's transparent pop-up for month and year when scrolling through albums, or this YouTube compilation of his tendency to use a particular adjective onomatopoeia at the climax of a demo gone well (as opposed to poorly). Enjoy. [via Daring Fireball]
How To: Add a new iCal event from Quicksilver
A while ago we covered Quicksilver plugins for Gmail and Google Calendar, allowing you to send an email or create a new event (respectively) right from within Quicksilver's interface. If you aren't a Google Calendar user though, Quicksilver also offers the same kind of plugin for iCal. Somehow I lost this in my bloggable bookmarks, but last month Tim Gaden at Hawk Wings broke down the syntax for adding an event to iCal with this plugin, and it's really pretty simple. When entering text, the event is written like so: name of event - date and time name of todo - date and time !!! name of todo - date and time (exclamation points add priority. Two for 'important,' three for 'where's the panic button?!') Tim's post says to type the date and time first, but I've found that this plugin also includes the date and time in the event/todo's title. However, it can still properly place the event if you simply swap the two pieces and type the name first, which allows you to keep more legible event names. Also, this plugin has the handy ability of specifying a calendar to add the new event/todo.Here's an example of how to make this work in Quicksilver if you're a little confused. Obviously, you need to install the iCal plugin if you don't have it, and you can get it from QS's plugin preference pane. Here's how this breaks down, and I have the steps pictured above: Invoke QS, press period to get a text entry pane, and type something like: "dinner and a movie - 9/30/06 6:00 pm" (sans quotes) Tab over to the second pane where you must specify you want to turn this text into an iCal event. I type 'ic' to find an iCal event, and 'ict' for a todo, but as always with QS, YMMV Tab over once more to have your choice of calendars, and press the right arrow key to get a drop down list of all your calendars, or simply start typing to find one of their names. Fortunately, since you've already chosen a specific action in the middle pane, only your calendars are listed in the third pane That's it; if you're an appointment and todo junkie, this should take a sizable bite out of your daily mousing. The one catch so far is that it doesn't seem possible to add reminders through this method, but if you find a way, feel free to share with the class.
Sony keynote at London Games Summit, Games Festival hotting up
This October, the London Games Festival will be hitting the UK's capital with a whole bevy of gaming events. (If you're in the industry, or you want to be, that is.) First up, we have the European answer to GDC, GDC London, for the development types -- sessions range from the excitingly-titled-yet-probably-dull "Combat: The Ninja Way" through to a Molyneux special on design inspiration.More a business sort? The Games Summit is up your street, with buzzword-compliant "hard-hitting business content" for all tastes, from ARGs to -- surprise! -- another Molyneux special, this one on Lionhead. The newly-announced Games Summit keynote will be given by Michael Denny of SCEE, focusing on the networked age and digital distribution, which should provoke some interesting thought.Other events in the Games Festival lineup include the London Game Career Fair and the BAFTA Video Games awards (a British Academy Awards, for games, with more swearing). For those of us interested in playing games, celeb-spotting and the slightly offbeat, events throughout the week of the Festival -- 2-7 October -- will hopefully deliver, with a showcase at HMV's Oxford Street branch and a 'fringe' show which both look to be worth attending.
Video Games Live hits London on November 25th
Those of us this side of the pond may have been reading the various Video Games Live tidbits with a detached air of mild interest, but finally we'll be able to get in on the musical action. The concert of videogame music will be hitting London's Hammersmith Apollo on November 25th, and tickets went on sale last week. We'll be there, so watch out for the Joystiq t-shirt amidst the crowds; now, if only the concert would do a UK or European tour for those of us aware that London isn't the only city on this continent.
iTMS movie downloads in September - but only one studio on board so far?
The rumors are flying even faster in the last couple days that movies could appear in the iTMS as early as September. We're hearing that Apple might have an event planned in San Francisco for Sept. 12th, where they could announce iTMS movies, or simply a $300 leather case for their $350 iPod Hi-Fi. Curiously, Business Week is running an article about opposition against iTMS movies from Wal-Mart, of all companies (turns out they're the largest DVD retailer with 40% of the market). Business Week also mentions that Apple only has one studio signed on so far - Disney (of course) - though we aren't sure where they heard that (with studio CEOs dropping their own hints, it seems anything goes right now).So where does this all leave us? Honestly, we're not sure. Rumors are flying, but Apple hasn't officially made any event announcements or so much as sneezed in one direction or another. We wish we had more to tell you, but for now, we'll just have to keep our ears open.[Update: woops, Apple actually has confirmed a special event for September 12th.]
Pics from PAX
John Porcaro from GamerScoreBlog posted a bunch of pics from the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. John praises PAX as a "show for gamers rather than media or industry insiders." He's right, letting a bunch of media and industry types into your event is the surest way to screw it up (see E3).
Engadget Reader Meetup in Boston on Thursday, September 28th?
Looks like Ryan and I might be in Boston around the end of next month, are there any Hub-based readers who'd be down for an Engadget Reader Meetup on Thursday, September 28th? Let us know in the comments if there's any interest and we'll try and get something together. We're also on the hunt for both a venue and a sponsor, so if you can hook us up with either please drop us a line in the comments and we'll get in touch with you. Anyone at MIT, B.U., Harvard, or elsewhere wanna set us up with a space on campus?
More Scourge Invasions?
Remember the huge scourge invasion that accompanied the roll-out of patch 1.11? After a few weeks of undead-slaughtering fun, the scourge invasion points across Azeroth vanished - whether your server had finished the invasion event or not. The "end" of this event was somewhat disappointing, as it occurred without any fanfare, and left me with a heck of a lot of now useless necrotic runes in the bank. However, there's now some suggestion from Blizzard that this invasion won't be a one-time event - though as to how often the scourge may become restless and attempt to invade Azeroth, no one yet knows. Like the invasion or not, it was an excellent way to rack up Argent Dawn reputation, and the rewards (consecrated sharpening stones, blessed wizard oil, +damage versus undead armor), while situational, were useful. And, while I'm glad the invasion isn't a permanent thing, I think having it back on some regular basis will make for an entertaining diversion.
Groupcal 3: manage your Exchange calendar from iCal
Are you a Mac user living in an Exchange world, forced to trudge through Entourage? (Don't get me wrong: Entourage is fine, but 'trudge' is just a good verb for dramatic effect.) Well trudge no longer with Groupcal 3, an addon for iCal that allows you to access, manage, edit and synchronize your Exchange calendars and tasks. Also on the feature list are: subscribing to coworker's free time, sending/receiving meeting invites, sharing/publishing calendars through .Mac or WebDAV and even syncing with an iPod or Palm through iSync.Groupcal 3 is a Universal Binary, a demo is available and a single licenses costs $55. As you might expect, multi-license packs are available starting at 5 seats, moving all the way up to 500 and 1000 pack licenses. [via MacMerc]
iCalFix: automatically add reminders to iCal events
We've blogged iCalFix before, back when it was just a fledgling 0.1 release that didn't even have a GUI interface (you had to edit a pref file lying around in ~/Library). For those who don't remember: it's a simple iCal plugin that automatically adds a reminder to every event you create.In this latest 0.5 release, iCal has become a true-blue iCal plugin, with its own preference pane and everything (As you can see, Robert Blum, iCalFix's creator, is looking for an icon designer. Check his blog for contact details). Now it's possible to specify your own alarm time for new events, as well as which sound to use, right from within iCal's preferences.iCalFix is donationware and available from Robert Blum's site.[via Hawk Wings]
Summer of XBLA hits San Fran
John Porcaro of GamerScoreBlog is doling out the last few tickets to tonight's Xbox Live Gold Experience event in San Fancisco. Unfortunately he doesn't give an exact location for this particular "lifestyle initiative."If you're in the Bay Area, try wandering around until you find a bunch of people enjoying hi-def versions of Frogger and Pac-Man. Of course, most fanboys would trade their cheese cubes and free booze for some exciting XBLA news -- say a title or two from Rare. Notice I said "most."
New Patch Brings Midsummer Fire Event
Well, it's about time for another holiday...and no, that Children's Week crap didn't cut it. As reported on XGPGaming, starting tomorrow, June 21st, the festival of Midsummer Fire will kick off in Azeroth, with dancing, quests, and a huge fireworks display to close it all off. The report states: * Bonfires have been lit across Azeroth in festival camps to rekindle the spirits of its celebrants and ward off ancient evils. These sacred flames are guarded by flamekeepers and it's rumoured that the myriad powers of the flames includes both cleansing and blessing. * Dancing around ribbon poles is a popular activity amongst friends and fellow celebrants in the many festival camps. Although traditionally a focus for the joyous celebrations, all participants will without doubt appreciate the resulting resistance to heat! * Fire Festival quest givers can be found in the capital cities. As the celebration of the flame is spread throughout the land of Azeroth there will be many new perilous journeys to embark on with exciting seasonal rewards to match those heroic enough. There is no announcement of the event on the official Blizzard page as of yet, and the patch notes don't make mention of it, either, but it sounds legit to me, so I guess we'll see if it appears tomorrow. If so, remember you heard it here first....or, second, rather.
Darkmoon Faire Back in Town
I don't know if it's happening WoW-wide, but on my server, at least, the Darkmoon Faire is back in town this week. Those enterprising little goblins have set up camp outside of Goldshire with the usual host of games & prizes.Personally, I love the Faire, especially the human cannonball...I can never resist giving it a whirl. I always enjoy stopping by the fortune teller, as well, even though I usually wind up with a buff that I can't really use. Last time they came through town, I also got a nice 2-handed sword out of a prize box that I ended up using for several levels...much more useful than that silkscreened Def Leppard mirror that I won at the last real-life fair I went too.What about you guys? Does the Faire live up to the hype? Do you actually go collect the items for the various ticket booths, or do you just buy them on the AH? Have you collected any card decks? Gotten any good prizes? Let us know....
