fan
Latest
Club Nintendo fans for Nintendo fans
Nintendo of Japan has unveiled the latest prizes to tempt people out of their Club Nintendo coins: a series of Japanese folding fans in Mario and Animal Crossing motifs. For 150 coins each, the service has four surprisingly cool-looking fans: one featuring Mario on a monochrome background, one with Bloobers on blue, an Animal Crossing fireworks scene, and another Animal Crossing image with a pink color scheme. These will be available through June 30. Nintendo also put the Mario poster set on the Japanese site. We used to see things like these and lament the fact that they'd never be available outside of Japan. But North America's Club Nintendo actually brings over a lot of stuff from the Japanese club now!
NVIDIA pulls 196.75 driver amid reports it's frying graphics cards
One of the discussions that arise anytime we bring up a new graphics card from ATI or NVIDIA is about which company has the better drivers. Well, this should help sway the argument a little bit. It would seem StarCraft II Beta players were among the first to notice low frame rates while using the latest drivers from NVIDIA, and further digging has uncovered that the automated fan-controlling part of said firmware was failing to act as intended. The result? Overheated chips, diminished performance, and in some extreme cases, death (of the GPU, we think the users will be okay). The totality of it is that you should avoid the 196.75 iteration like the plague, and NVIDIA has temporarily yanked the update while investigating the reported issues. Shame that the company hasn't got any warnings up on its site to tell those who've installed the update but haven't yet nuked their graphics card to roll back their drivers, but that's what you've got us for, right? [Thanks, Shockie] Update: Credit where it's due -- NVIDIA has dutifully put up an alert on its site advising users to roll back to the 196.21 driver while it investigates the root cause of the reported fan problems.
First look at Final Fantasy on the iPhone
Now that Plants vs. Zombies is out on the App Store, the new hotness to wait for is going to be Square's Final Fantasy. Courtesy of the guys over at Touch Arcade (who I'm disappointed I didn't get to meet at Macworld), here's the first trailer and screenshots of the retro RPG running on the iPhone. The games are definitely updated (the original game ran on the NES, and clearly the graphics above look better than that), but as for exactly what the differences are, or how they'll be released (will we get both in the same purchase?), we'll have to wait and see. No date yet either -- all Square-Enix says right now is "soon." Still, if you're a Final Fantasy fan and the video above doesn't get your blood pumping, time to check your pulse. Can't wait to replay these old favorites on Apple's much newer handheld devices.
Sonic Spinball coaster coming to UK theme park
Sonic fans have to be the most hardcore fan base out there right now. Who else would have been able to survive all of the disappointments over the last decade? But don't worry -- Sega is rewarding your everlasting fandom with ... a rollercoaster ride. Rumor has it that the UK's Alton Towers is rebranding its Spinball Whizzer ride as "Sonic Spinball," and a rep from the park says that the retheme will "coincide with the relaunch of Sonic" in 2010. A 2010 relaunch of Sonic, you say? Color us interested. The teal structure of the ride is apparently being repainted a nice Sonic blue, and this isn't the first time the hedgehog has appeared in the park, either. Here's an old appearance in the park's "Toyland Tours" ride. The coaster is scheduled to be ready for running again in February, so if you happen to be in the UK, you can queue your way up for it then. [Thanks Michael!]
Farewell and thank you, WoW.com
I've told this story a few times before: I actually started out on WoW.com as a comment troll. A few years back, Jennie Lees was the lead blogger here, and she posted something silly about a wallpaper or a plush doll, I don't remember. I was also reading the forums at the time, and Blizzard had just dropped new priest patch notes. "Why are you posting this junk," I commented angrily, "when the priest notes just dropped?" She was nice about it -- she actually emailed me and said that the priest updates post was coming soon. And I felt so bad about it, I never activated the comment. But a little while after that, when WoW Insider posted that they were looking for some new writers, I applied, and said that I was sorry for that comment, but that I was working on becoming a writer and could help out with posting on the site when needed. When I started writing for WoW Insider (now WoW.com, obviously), I was working retail in Chicago, writing part-time in the evenings. The site itself got only a few thousand hits a month, with one or two weekly features and maybe ten comments per post. Now, over three years later, I'm a fulltime freelance writer, I've been to three BlizzCons, I've written over 1.7 million words in over 3,300 posts here about everything in Azeroth, and the site itself rivals some of the best blogs on the Internet, routinely garnering millions of hits a month. I helped build this site with my own two hands, and while I definitely can't claim all the credit (there was and is a huge team of people who keep this thing running), it's with a fair amount of sorrow that I'm here to tell you today will be my last day on WoW.com.
Hanwha SL-888 laptop cooling stand for casual, classy blogging
We've seen a laptop cooling stand or two in our day, so we'll try not to belabor the point here: Hanwha -- which may or may not be the same conglomerate responsible for the Shin-Gung surface-to-air missile and the Duo for Laptop -- is proud to debut the evocatively named SL-888, a portable table for your notebook. Want to sit in a chair? The legs extend to about 12-inches off the ground. Want to sit on the floor? You can do that, too -- the legs collapse. Want to rest it on your lap? Hope you have a big lap, but that too is an option. Featuring a mousepad, a cup holder (perfect for that Whiskey Sour), and a cooling fan for your notebook du jour, all this can be yours for ¥3,980 (roughly $44). Hit the source link to order -- or get a closer look after the break.
Dyson's Air Multiplier is the overpriced bladeless fan you never asked for
We can't fault Dyson for chutzpah. After putting the company's spin on vacuum cleaners and then hand dryers, we probably should've guessed that a revolution in table fan engineering was next up. When we first saw an image of the Dyson Air Multiplier "bladeless fan" a few spurious theories popped into our heads as to how it works, but it didn't take long to figure it out: it has blades in it. It's just that these blades are inside the lower canister, rather similar to, dare we say it, how a vacuum cleaner is set up, with the air then routed through the ring up top. The benefits of this tech are that there are no nasty blades to get fingers caught up in, but also that there's no "buffeting" -- that on-off gush of air caused by fan blades unceremoniously chopping up the air into inelegant segments. Unfortunately, the downside of the Dyson method is that you can't make Darth Vader voices through the backside of the fan, and the whole assembly is closer in noise pollution to that of an actual vacuum cleaner than a regular table fan. And then there's the matter of price: $300 for the 10-inch model, $330 for the 12-inch, and neither of them offer nearly as much wind as a regular fan this size -- quite a steep entry fee for the gentle breezes that emanate out of this plastic wind tunnel. Full PR is after the break. %Gallery-75354%
Auto refresh any web page
Last night when the Apple store went down, I got tired of hitting refresh in Safari every few minutes while waiting for it to come back up, and went searching for something that would do the job for free. Now, this is not for coders who will laugh hysterically at my incompetence, but for those of you that are either lazy or don't program at all. I fit both categories. Back in 2005 someone going by the moniker of Biovizier posted the solution on Macosxhints.com. It's a little html snippet that will refresh any web page as frequently as you'd like, and its easily customizable for any page at all. Here it is: <html> <head> <**** **********="refresh" content="60"> </head> <body> <FRAMESET> <FRAME src="http://www.tuaw.com"> </FRAMESET> </body> </html> Copy this into TextEdit and save it with an .html extension. Then just double click it. You can change the refresh time from 60 to the amount of seconds you want to wait before the page refreshes, and you can change the URL to anything you want. I was using: http://apple.com/store and having it refresh every 20 seconds which must make me a certifiable fanatic. Since I saw this I've found a ton of uses for it, like refreshing eBay auctions in the last few minutes, or just leaving it set for TUAW to see new stories coming up when I'm doing something else. At present I have four or five of these snippets in a folder on my desktop for different purposes. Give it a try and see if you don't find a handful of uses for it. Okay, you coders can stop laughing now. Note: TJ Luoma just let me know that this tip won't work with Twitter which intentionally blocks this sort of thing. Thanks to macosxhints.com and Biovizier wherever you are.
Crapgadget: 'Hopefully USB 3.0 can avoid this path' edition
With USB 3.0 on the horizon, we can only hope that the world's purveyors of crap have a little respect for the forthcoming standard. By and large, USB 2.0 is plenty fast to handle the awful data transmissions between USB hand grenades, alien flash drives, moody card readers, Japanese fans and your PC, and frankly, we're not sure if the world can handle oodles upon oodles of SuperSpeed rubbish. Have a peek at the latest roundup from the worst of the worst, but please, not while you're eating.Read - Bear hand warmersRead - Solar cap fanRead - USB hand fanRead - USB moody card readerRead - Alien flash driveRead - Mosquito repellent USB dongleRead - USB hand grenade %Poll-34621%
Fan releases trailer for feature-length Sonic film
Sonic fans are notoriously devoted to Sega's hedgehog mascot, sticking with the franchise in spite of Sega's best efforts to run it into the ground. However, it's arguable that no one is more dedicated to Sonic than Rich Kuta. Why? He's making a feature-length Sonic film -- and paying for it with his own money.It sounds absurd; impossible, even. However, Kuta has recently released a trailer to prove that he's got the know-how to make it work. The project is currently in the "storyboarding stage," with a planned crew of nearly 60 people. The film will be hand-drawn using a program called ToonBoom, and will be animated by an unnamed studio in Miami. Kuta plans on releasing the film in 2011, in time for Sonic's 20th anniversary, for free. Granted, he may come into a pretty major hiccup, as he admits, "We do not have SEGA's endorsement, permission, or authorization to do so, and it is a clear violation of copyright laws."Should Sega avoid slamming a C&D on Kuta and co., then this film may become one part of the rebirth of the fastest thing alive. We're going to grab our Sonic PJs and dust off our DVDs of SatAM while we join the legions of Sonic nerds that are now anticipating this film in addition to Project Needlemouse.
Become a fan of Massively, win cool stuff
If you're a fan of this website -- and I mean seriously, who isn't? -- then we have a special new group for you. Our brand new Facebook fan page has been created, and we want you to be a part of it!Why should you join this group? Simple: free stuff and exclusives! As a fan of our Facebook page (not to be confused with our Facebook group), you'll get special beta keys, in-game item codes and other offers earlier than anyone else! We'll also be able to alert you to special exclusives and discussions aside from what goes on in the comments of this website.Head on over to this link to join the fan page and thanks for being a fan!
LED cooling fans steal sexy back from liquid-based solutions
Skipping the air cooled approach in favor of some fancy water-cooled rig? Think again, chum. Over at Computex, a smallish company going by the name of Fresh-Tech was on hand to demonstrate the absolutely howling device you see above: a LED-infused PC cooling fan. The fans can be programmed to display nearly anything you wish, and obviously these have the greatest impact on observers when installed in clear or translucent PC enclosures. Ghetto fabulous? Maybe. Nerdalicious? Totally.
What's your best BlizzCon memory?
Did you manage to get your tickets? I'm sure there will be plenty of folks who are returning to BlizzCon. I wasn't able to go but I followed WoW Insider's coverage of the event from the opening ceremonies to the final concert. It was an awesome time for fans to get insight on some of the behind the scenes aspects of WoW, including an art gallery, a sound panel, and an introduction to Ghostcrawler.I have to admit that even with the massive amount of information on classes and mechanics, my favorite part was the goofy fan stuff. I love how some people really get into their costumes and dances. I think I missed out most by missing the WoW Insider meet up. It's amazing that real people get so into our favorite game franchises.For those of you who went last year, or even were following along with me, what's the best BlizzCon memory that you carry with you?BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
Apple firmware update aims to fix vertical line issues on 17-inch MBP
Apple's latest firmware update for the recently shipped 17-inch MacBook Pro sure is light on details, but one thing's for sure: it reportedly nixes those weird vertical line issues that have plagued so many. Unfortunately, the "MacBook Pro Graphics Firmware Update 1.0" doesn't point out whether it was an overheating problem or a GeForce 9600M quirk that was wreaking havoc, but so long as it works, we guess it matters not. Hit up your Software Update when you get enough courage to suck down 770KB of problem-solving goodness.[Via MacRumors]
WoW Insider Show Episode 82: Knock it off? Get it on!
Hoo boy, what a show at our podcast on Saturday. After one of the craziest starts our show has ever had (BRK's house decided to go a little nuts right before we started), we got as professional as we could and got down to business. After answering emails (including more on why you should listen to your mother), we talked about the addon changes and how they'll affect players and developers, Blizzard's plans for a mobile authenticator, and more of the latest news out of patch 3.1. We also brainstormed new flavors for Mountain Dew, and finally, we played what everyone was waiting to hear: Turpster's new WoW Insider song.Yes, because our fans were kind enough to get 4,000 people to join in on our Facebook page, we recorded that abomination of hilarity. You can download it as an mp3 right here, for use in remixes or machinima or whatever you want to do with it, and I've posted the lyrics and liner notes after the break. Enjoy.And don't forget we're currently in a campaign for OVER 9000 Twitter followers. Join up to Twitter and follow us, and please tell your guilds and friends to do the same -- if we can meet our goal there, we'll do a live video version of the podcast that you'll be able to see right here on the site. Enjoy the show as always, and we'll see you next week.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
USB-powered desk fan doubles as 4-port USB hub
Any halfway dedicated nerd already owns at least one desk fan that's either USB-powered or features some sort of dual purpose, but if you're a budding star in the kingdom, this might be the one to get you going. The way-too-loudly-colored Cute Green Desk Cool Fan plugs into any spare USB port, moves a small quantity of air around and doubles as a 4-port USB hub. There's even an On / Off switch for the fan for those times with stagnancy is preferred. Not too shabby for $14.99 delivered, we say.[Via Protein OS]
Brando's 4-in-1 desk lamp completes your workstation
Oftentimes, Brando's assortment of "must-have" doohickeys don't actually do much for your productivity level. This particular gizmo, however, bucks that trend in glorious fashion. The $23 USB 4-in-1 Web Cam is a fairly standard desk lamp with built-in LEDs that also acts as a webcam, voice input device and fan. Best of all, this one's USB-powered, though that could spell disaster (or "USB hub") if your sockets are already occupied with other Brando gear.
Brando's Solar Mini Clip Fan ruins your shot at picking up friends
Unless you're strolling through Disneyland (or Dollywood, we suppose), we can't imagine anyone not giving you an awkward stare when you approach them with this on. Brando has triumphed once more by offering up the Solar Mini Clip Fan, which does a remarkable job of explaining itself. For those who can't understand what's going on here, it goes like this: clip on the fan, get out in the sun, experience a mild breeze on your brow and enjoy the solitariness. Obliterate your shot at being the life of the party for just a Hamilton.[Via Coolest-Gadgets]
USB necktie's much-anticipated followup finally arrives
Admit it, you've spent a good many sweat-drenched months waiting for this moment, when the USB necktie would come into its own. Sure, last year's model was great and all, but it lacked a certain amount of class that you find necessary in any USB-based fashion accessory. So you played the waiting game, and this time it paid off big. Thanko's second-gen USB tie fan has a slip cover, which hides the fan completely when you're going about your day, and slides down to reveal that powerful fan when it's most needed. Also, this year's model is made out of fabric, a huge win over the chunky plastic of last year's version, making this tie the true must-have accessory of the summer. Thanko's selling this in Japan for 2,980 Yen, about $28 US. What a steal.[Via Pocket-lint]
LotRO fans find an official home on Facebook
We've been hearing a lot lately about how Facebook is becoming a big gaming platform. But social networking has its roots in marketing and promotion, not game-playing. It's a great place to promote products of all kinds. MMO juggernaut Turbine knows this, of course.Over at the The Lord of the Rings Online forums, Turbine community manager Patience plugged the official LotRO Facebook page. If you're a member of Facebook, you can "Become a Fan" to communicate with other fans, get regular updates, or just let everyone know you like the game. It's currently sitting just shy of 2,000 fans, but we're sure it'll hit the mark promptly.While it may be Turbine that's promoting its fan page right now, we want to make sure we're all about equal opportunity here. So be sure and check out the World of Warcraft and EVE Online pages too, or search for another game; lots of them have pages. We already reported on NCsoft's Facebook invasion.
