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Man plays Mario Kart with real motorists in France
While we'd never suggest doing Mario Kart in real life like this yourself, we have to admit that it's pretty darn hilarious. Even though a minivan or truck could squash young prankster Rémi Gaillard with ease, we commend him for coming up with such a great idea. Oh, and for having the kind of friends that aren't too concerned with his safety so that such a thing could be filmed and put on the internet for all to see.%Gallery-4772%[Via Game | Life]
Nokia Build website lets your dream 7310 Supernova come alive
Nokia's 7310 Supernova isn't a half bad looking handset straight from the factory, but you know you're champing at the bit to destroy any and all resell value by slapping a pixelated image of your mum and pop on there. Regardless of how wild, tacky or fashionable your ideas, users in France with the requisite coin can order up a 7310 Supernova with practically any design they want. For the less imaginative, there are a few templates that should still do the trick, but we wouldn't let the opportunity of being able to upload your own JPEG pass you by. The whole Nokia Build concept is still in beta at the moment, so we're anxiously hoping to see it hit other markets in short order.[Via UnwiredView]
TNTSAT expands reach in France, going HD in February 2009
TNTSAT, a digital terrestrial free-TV offer via the ASTRA satellite system, has just found its way into 750,000 domiciles across the beautiful French countryside. For those unaware, the service targets regions where TVs cannot receive signals from terrestrial transmitters, and it offers viewers the "full range of French digital terrestrial free-TV channels over the ASTRA satellites, allowing a 100% coverage of France." But that's not all that's being announced today: TNTSAT HD is being launched on February 15, 2009 alongside the launch of free DTT channels in high-def being available on ASTRA; those eager to get a jump on things can expect around ten more SD / HD TNTSAT receivers to become available before the year's end. And to think, we heard that France wasn't exactly rushing to adopt HD back in May -- guess there's nothing like a little kick in the pants to get things going.
And the first World of Warcraft player to reach level 80 is...
Nymh, Human Warlock of the EU server Drek'thar (and the real-world country of France) became the first World of Warcraft player to reach level 80 by working with an out-of-group Priest to spam area-of-effect attacks against rapidly-spawning mid-70s mobs, inspired by the technique of another World of Warcraft Warlock player named Jynxx, who eloquently explained the concept in a video (Note: probably won't make much sense if you're not a WoW addict already).Time from 70 to 80: 27 hours.Nymh did a lot of research and trial-and-error exploration of options in the Wrath of the Lich King beta test in order to be ready for the gauntlet after the EU launch, which of course came a little bit before the North American one. We'll note that the first-to-level-70-after-launch trophy went to another French player last year. Vive la France, no?[Via WoW Insider]
Zut Alors! Canadian Gears 2 LE ships with art book in French only
Ayoye! Les joueurs Canadiens qui parle pas le français sont en criss. D'après les bonhomme des forums d'Epic, ceux qui ont acheté l'édition limitée de "Gears of War 2" ont découvert les manuelle d'instruction ont été écrits completement en français. Capoté, osti! C'est vraiment pas cool, pis ya pas un mot d'Epic.Update: New, more "Quebecan" translation thanks to Lysdexia. Original post, translation and another translation after the break.[Thanks, Jeremy]
Prototype artificial heart unveiled, expected to cost $192k
Far from being the first artificial heart we've seen, the latest iteration unveiled by a team of French scientists is easily the most sophisticated. Built from technology used in satellites and airplanes, the prototype heart is said to "beat almost exactly like the real thing using electronic sensors to regulate heart rate and blood flow." Reportedly, the device boasts "the same tiny sensors that measure air pressure and altitude in an airplane or satellite," enabling it to theoretically react in an instant if the patient suddenly needs more or less blood. Thus far, the heart has only been tested in animals, and now gurus behind it are hoping to net approval from authorities in order to forge ahead with clinical trials. Of course, a "lifelike" heart made from polymer and pig tissue won't come cheap, with initial pricing estimates putting it just south of 200 grand. Or, just enough to give you a heart attack.[Via DailyTech, image courtesy of AP; thanks, Allislost]
Four French national channels going HD over-the-air this month
Apparently all that's necessary to get a lagging country to hop on the high-def bandwagon is to talk bad about 'em, or at least that's the case here with France. After we heard that the nation wasn't exactly rushing out to adopt HD, in comes word that four major French channels will soon be available in high-definition on digital terrestrial TV (DTT). TF1 HD, France 2 HD, M6 HD and Arte HD will all begin broadcasting OTA in HD on October 30th, and while all of these are already available on other platforms, we can only imagine that beaming 'em out gratis will greatly increase HD awareness. Any other nations want to follow suit? Oh, and France, way to be a role model out there.
EU battlegroups experiencing language problems after mergers
Tipster Nimm writes in to let us know that several EU battlegroups have been having serious issues after mergers that occurred post-patch 3.02. The mergers have seen a number of battlegroups acquiring servers with other language-dominant populations, which has resulted in a number of French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian-dominant servers (among others) all in the same battlegroups. While this is probably necessary to a certain degree to guarantee equal Alliance/Horde populations for quick queue times, it's become something of a communication nightmare in battleground matches, particularly those with lots of players using Cyrillic characters. As the player Thoughtless from the Karazhan realm asks, "Can you imagine how hard it is to organise any sort of teamplay in AB with player ???????? from <????????> guild cha(t)ting "?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????" in BG chat?" Nimm also notes that differentiating between ??????? enemy players is a nightmare.We knew that Blizzard was closing four EU realms (Stonemaul, Molten Core, Shadowmoon, and Warsong) and transferring remaining players to other realms in response to Russian player migration to Russian realms opened late summer 2008, and the problem's partially the result of that (which has already resulted in the inevitable "In Soviet Russia, battlegroups merge you" joke). A few amused people are rising to the occasion by translating such phrases as inc 5 schmiede (inc 5 blacksmith in German) or proposing a revival of Esperanto, but the Russian language pack would be the only possible solution for the ???? problem. There's been mention made that this is only a temporary fix on Blizzard's part to faction imbalances on battlegroups, but if you're on an EU realm that's seen a recent battlegroup merge, just be aware that Babelfish might be a useful tool in the near future.
Zut alors! MacBook announcement doesn't translate well
Thanks to what appears to be a character encoding problem on a French version of the Apple website, the MacBook announcement -- meant to say "perfectly designed" in French -- came out reading "perfectly dumb" (or as one of our tipsters said, a more vulgar version of "perfectly poopy"). That wasn't the only problem: according to Macenstein, a Macgeneration article noted that the announcements were replete with spelling and grammatical errors. (Link is en français.) The pages have since been updated with better grammar. Unfortunately my decade-old high school French can't tell me what about the grammar is wrong, but hopefully our commenters can let us know by leaving a comment. Thanks, Bertie and Fabrizio!
MDI's Airpod runs on compressed air, challenges Segway for dork gold
While outfits like Lightning and Tesla are attempting to make eco-friendly cars sexy, MDI is taking things in a completely different direction. The recently-made-official Airpod looks practically nothing like anything seen on American roadways today, which is probably why it's apt to hit the streets of France and New Zealand first. The oddly shaped automobile will reportedly reach a top speed of 70kmh (44mph) and cruise 100-kilometers (62 miles) on just $2. The secret? A minuscule compressed air-powered engine on each of the rear wheels, both of which get instructed by the car's joystick (Atari fans, rejoice!). We're told that reloading the engine with hot air takes less than two minutes, and if all goes well, the first of the urban vehicles will hit the cobblestones in the spring of 2009. Is that the sound of Tata's NANO feeling threatened, or what?[Via EcoGeek]
Numericable plans 5 new HD channels this month
With enough bandwidth to support 1080p video on-demand, France's Numericable has apparently found space left over in its MPEG-4 DOCSIS 3.0 network to add five new channels. All due before the end of the month, Melody Zen and Brava HDTV jump into the Premium Plus channel lineup, while Euro 1080, i-Concerts HD and Ushuaïa TV HD head to the premium package. No MTV Networks?
Stargate Worlds level cap to increase every three months
Stargate Worlds France conducted a very substantial interview with Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment/Firesky Studio Head Dan Elggren at the Games Convention in Leipzig. We say it's substantial because it includes a few new revelations about the game.The most notable of those revelations: CME/Firesky will be raising the game's level cap (50 at launch) by two levels every three months to coincide with new content updates and episodes. The second most interesting tidbit is about teams. Teams are a social unit smaller than commands (guilds); think of them as persistently existing and organized groups/parties. Anyway, the big news about teams is that players will be able to name their regular groups. Cool! Other topics included various Stargate inside jokes, Elggren plugging the gas-guzzling Hummer promotion, and some stuff about the Asgard, Archaeologist, Jaffa, and Go'auld classes that has already been floating around for a while. Watch the video for all that. Note that most of the video is in French with English subtitles, while the interview itself is in English with French subtitles.
Oh, Canada Wii's home and native land
Hey, grab a Molson and pull up a comfortable ice block and listen up. The AP is reporting that the Wii has become the first system to reach a million units sold in Canada. That's like one system for every two people or so you've got up there, eh? We're guessing it's because the pearly white exterior of the system matches the decor of your igloos (not to mention the polar bears roaming around outside).According to NPD statistics, the Wii has sold 1,060,000 Candian units through July, meaning the upcoming Wii version of NHL 2K9 can count on at least 1.5 million sales up there in the frozen North (some Canadians will buy an extra copy for their pet moose, you see). Microsoft and Sony are rumored to be planning competing lumberjack simulations and marketing tie-ins with popular maple syrup makers to increase their systems' appeal to the Canadian market, but as the Quebecois say, this might be "trop peu, trop tard."(Apologies to all Canadians, who we're sure are too polite and respectful to get mad about this, right?)
Animation Watch: The Mini-Show of Krys
The Mini-Show of Krys is an animated Flash series based on gaming humor. It sports an engaging aesthetic and players will recognize their own experiences mirrored in the antics of the protagonists.Currently, there are six episodes translated into English from the original French, with eight more awaiting the same treatment. Episodes 4, 5, and 6 are connected, and concern themselves with World of Warcraft. If you find that you're bothered by having to read subtitled English, you can watch the original episodes instead. [Thanks, Krys!]
Entropia Universe learns three new languages
Microtransaction-based Entropia Universe is set to expand into new markets, as developer/publisher MindArk has announced the completion of translations of the Entropia client into three new languages -- German, French, and Spanish. Previously, the virtual world was only accessible to English-speakers. The translations were performed by a company called Lionbridge. MindArk rep Frank Campbell said his company made the move to increase market penetration, address users' needs, and increase the company's credibility.Entropia is a Sci-Fi-themed virtual world. It's an unusual combination of MMO-style combat and crafting, and Second Life-esque e-commerce. MindArk suggests to potential users that they can make money -- or even a living -- within the virtual world. Unsurprisingly, though, a substantial investment of real funds and time is required to become competitive.
Funcom hiring community managers, CS reps
Funcom is hiring for seven Age of Conan-related positions -- three in Europe, and four in the United States. The European opportunities are all "community coordinator" positions, and bilingual candidates are preferred. If you're looking for work in the United States, you can apply for one of Funcom's customer service positions. The Durham, NC office seeks CS reps in the English, French, German, or Spanish languages.Funcom is facing some serious community and customer service issues right now, such as exploits and ensuing bans. We don't doubt that the current staff is overwhelmed by all that's going on. Bringing in reinforcements is probably a good call.
iTunes Video Stores coming to France
Over at MacGeneration, Christophe Laporte and his friends have discovered a nearly-live French iTunes Video Store. If you'd like to check it out yourself, search the store for "desperate" and click on Les Saisons TV. France will join the UK and Germany with transatlantic video stores. Episode pricing falls between €1,99 and €2,49, which is pretty steep given the strength of the Euro. More details and pictures are here.
France not exactly rushing to adopt HD
Talk about a let down. According to a new report from Variety, Daniel Bilalian -- France Televisions' director of sports programming -- has announced that "HD transmissions would not be available for this summer's Olympic Games on any of the pubcaster's channels." The article also notes that French networks in general have been slow to move towards high-definition, with only Canal Plus putting forth a proposal for premium HD transmissions (from pay-TV providers). Still, it's noted that private networks TF1 and M6 have "committed to airing at least 80-percent of their content in HD by the end of 2012," but it's not like we're really down with twiddling our thumbs for four more years waiting for it to happen.
Wowhead says Bonjour, Hola, and Guten Tag
The good people at Wowhead, WoW database extraordinaire, have just warned me that the French, the Spanish, and the Germans are invading! OK, not really. Actually, the site is set to go live with localizations in those three languages, which will appear in the next 24 hours. You will then be able to read descriptions of quests, spells, and items, and everything else on that marvelous site, in any of those languages (plus of course English). Each language will have its own comment thread on each page, although the forums will remain English-only. I imagine this will come as welcome news to the many WoW players out there who do not have English as a first language; even on the North American realms, there seem to be a fair amount of French speakers. Hooray for multilingualism!
New Wakfu screenshots display more UI palettes
We're looking forward to Wakfu, the new 'tactical' MMORPG from Ankama, the makers of Dofus. Exactly how Wakfu will differ from Dofus in gameplay isn't entirely clear just yet, but visually, it's got a gorgeous look, much higher-res than its predecessor. Video of gameplay shows small but noticeable improvements, like grasses swaying in the wind, and water levels advancing and receding.The latest batch of screenshots on gamershell.com show more user interface elements, including the customary inventory screen, armor and weapons window (with player character included, something new), and others. If you can read (and understand) French, maybe you can puzzle out what's going on in the others. Still no release date for the beta, so let these beautiful shots appease your hunger for now.
