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Christmas iPod touch and iPhone gifts boost App Store volume
Hello and welcome once again to The Obvious News. Our top story today: the sky remains blue, and we'll have a full report by our man on the scene Chip Thompson about that later. But first, this: apparently App Store downloads are up thanks to large holiday sales of the iPhone and iPod touch. This comes as a shock to absolutely no one, but reports are coming in from developers, publishers, and browser reports and search terms alike that App Store downloads and interest have jumped up three and four times over, thanks, it seems, to more people receiving iPhones and iPod touches for Christmas and the other winter holidays.John Sargent of The Obvious Institute tells us why: "Well, iPod touches are pretty boring without apps, you know? And I guess people probably want to try out apps on their new iPod touches." Thank you, John -- painfully obvious. Our technology analyst Ms. Common Sense also tells us that any time Apple sees a bump in sales of their devices, the App Store will have its own sales bump soon after.In other Obvious News, having too many meetings can apparently make you grumpy. We'll be back after these messages. Obviously.
It's-a Mario World: Our Unfulfilled Christmas List
In the days immediately following Christmas, we do several things: Sink hours into replaying timeless Mario classics (currently we're collecting Ace coins in Super Mario Advance), ponder all kinds of Mario-related things we could buy with our Christmas money and begin scrawling out a list of Mario gifts we want for next Christmas. Pretty standard, right? Problem is, there are so many wonderful Mario trinkets and toys that have been released in the last twenty years that it's hard to decide which search terms to use on eBay.Worry not, Mario fiends! This week we present a gallery teeming with Mario stocking-stuffers old and new. Yeah, some of them were released only in Japan over ten years ago, but that doesn't mean we can't covet them greedily. Others are available on shelves at the time of writing. Either way, you're sure to be amazed at the breadth of material goods upon which Mario's trademark has been shamelessly stamped. Check out these sweet toys! It's-a Mario World is a recurring feature in which the ubiquity of Nintendo's flagship character is celebrated. Check back each week to find out what strange and wonderful thing has us seeing power stars. * * * Link of the week: Mario vs. Master Chief!
So you just got an iTunes gift card -- now what?
All day on December 25, TUAW presents "Now What?" We've got first steps and recommendations for all the Apple gifts you found under the tree today. Happy holidays! Hopefully a lot of you reached into your Christmas stockings and pulled out a lump of coal fully-loaded iTunes gift card. In case you haven't been presented with one of these gems before, they come in denominations of $10, $25, $50, and $100 in the USA -- check your country's Apple website for the availability of cards in your local currency. Turning this card into tunes or iPhone apps is simple: 1) Check the back of the card first. If you see a list of numbers and letters instead of the words "Scratch off gently with coin", then your card has been used before. Take the giver off of your Christmas list for next year. 2) If the scratch-off material is intact, grab a coin and gently scratch off the material to reveal the code. 3) Launch iTunes. Make sure you're logged into your iTunes account and not somebody else's. 4) In the upper right part of the iTunes screen you'll see an area marked "Quick Links" (see screenshot at left). Click on the "Redeem" link. 5) You're almost there. A screen appears that will ask you to enter the code exactly as it appears. Note that if you mistype even one number or letter, the card will be rejected, so make sure you're reading the letters and number properly. 6) Click the "Redeem" button. You may want to read the Terms & Conditions, but I seriously doubt it. There's more legalese in that document than you'd find in a bank bailout plan. 7) If everything has gone as planned at this point, you'll have a credit in your account. Exactly how much money you have to play with will be listed just to the left of your iTunes account name in the upper right side of the iTunes window. 8) Buy tunes and apps until you're filled with the joy of the holidays!
Scattered Shots: The 2008 holiday gift guide for Hunters
Welcome to Scattered Shots, the other WoW Insider Hunter column. This week, we break from the gear guides for a little bit of holiday spirit. And nothing says holiday spirit quite like presents. Or at least that's what I tell people if they don't appear to be planning to give me a present.I'm not saying this week's column isn't for Hunters. That would be silly, what with this being a Hunter column and all. But this column goes out primarily to the Hunters' friends, guildmates, family members, spouses, significant others, and the like, who may be thinking, man, here it is, Christmas day, and I still don't have the proper gift. This column aims to help them find that gift. But hey, if you're a Hunter who wants to get something special for yourself too, you should still read on. You might just find an idea here.Yeah, I suppose if you wanted to get your Christmas shopping done for your special Hunter EARLY, this guide is a little bit late. But hey, there's 12 days of Christmas, and where I come from, The first day is the 25th of December. Besides, this is a Holiday Guide, and the Holidays, all told, extend to at least mid-January, right? So yeah, we're totally good. Anyway, if you have a Hunter on your gift list this season, here's some in-game gift ideas from various professions, dungeon drops, and elsewhere that just might woo your special Hunter, or appease them until next year, or whatever it is you may need to do.
The Daily Grind: MMO gift giving?
Last week Massively put up a gift guide for gamers looking to share their favorite hobby. We don't imagine a lot of you ran out to put it into use, but it did bring up a question among some of us regarding gift-giving and MMOs. Every year after the holidays the NPDs reflect season gifts of MMO boxes, and spikes in online gaming. We have to wonder though: are the December holidays really a time to get into or give an MMO?So, that's the question for today. Have you ever given an MMO box or subscription card as a Christmas gift? Have you ever recieved one? Did your exposure to an MMO as a result of gift giving result in a long-term relationship with the genre? Give us details and heart-warming holiday stories on this, the last day before Christmas Eve. Drop us your holiday hijinks in the comments below!
Breakfast Topic: Presents!
Winter Veil is here. The cities are decorated, snowballs are flying, and everyone will be waking up early in a few days to see what Great Father Winter has left under the Christmas tree. We recognize the holidays as a time to share with family and friends. Outside of services, parties, and shopping you're probably still spending a considerable amount of time with your cohorts online. I'd like to know if anyone is planning on sending gifts to their guildies and other WoW buddies. It's unnecessary but still thoughtful to recognize these folks we spend so much time with. I think it might be fun, but I'm not sure what to get.
Apple Store free shipping deadline is tonight
If you're flush enough to give Apple gifts this holiday season, but frugal enough to want to avoid shipping charges and still get your gear in time for Christmas, be mindful: Apple's web store deadline for free express shipping is tonight at midnight Pacific time (3 AM Saturday ET). Most items (including refurb machines) can still be shipped in time if ordered by 12/23 at 10 am PT, for an additional fee; however, tonight is the last chance to put your money down for an engraved iPod.If you really like the idea of gift shopping at the very last minute and beyond, you do have one option that can take you right into Christmas Day: Apple's flagship 5th Avenue retail store in NYC will be open as usual, 24/7 right through the holiday. My sympathies, in advance, to the retail staffing team that's drawn the short straw and has to work overnight on New Year's Eve... that's going to be messy.[via Dealnews]
Keep your New Year's resolutions: a Holiday Gift Guide
Ahhhh, New Year's resolutions. You promise that you're going to take better care of yourself, improve your life, and then you usually break all of those resolutions by January 2nd. This year's going to be different, right? Here are some gift ideas to help you keep your 2009 New Year's resolutions. Weight Loss Unless you're the lean and mean marathon Mac man and real-life action figure Adam Engst, you could probably afford to lose some weight. Resolving to lose a few pounds is a classic New Year's resolution, and one that's very easy to break. Fortunately, there are some Mac and iPhone applications that can help you to stay the course: CalorieKing Nutrition & Exercise Manager for Mac OS X -- This US$45.00 application has a huge food database and makes it simple to drag-and-drop caloric information into a food diary. Exercise tracking and a weight log are included as well. BeFit -- TUAW covered the debut of this US$15.95 Mac application earlier this year, and it remains a good program for tracking what you put in your mouth. Remember, you can get BeFit at half-price if you're a current Jon Brown Designs customer.
Gift Guide for the Twitter addict
From applications to new friends, finding the right gift for the Twitter addict isn't as easy as it sounds. They're just so busy with all that "tweeting" nonsense. Here are plenty of ideas at a variety of price points that should make your job as the gift-giver a little more pleasant.How do you know if you've got one on your list? Just answer a few simple questions. Does s/he Check Twitter immediately before going to bed? Possibly while in bed? From multiple devices? Have a stagnant blog, but a bulging Twitter stream? Stare at the display for hours at a time so as not to miss a landmark follower or tweet (like #500)? Added his or her Twitter handle to business cards, web sites, etc? If so, you've got yourself an addict, my friend. Here's how you can be their #1 enabler.AppsThis one goes without saying. No self-respecting Twitter addict is going to want to load twitter.com every time the blue-winged muse strikes. There are several options. Twitterrific and TweetDeck are nice for the desktop, while Tweetsville , Twinkle and mobile Twitterrific are great for the iPhone and iPod touch. Twitterrific (Desktop) - Free ad-supported version, $14.95US premium version Twitterrific (iPhone/iPod touch) - Free ad-supported version, $9.95US premium version TweetDeck - Free Tweetsville - $3.99US Twinkle - Free Additionally, TwitterFox is a (free) Firefox plug-in that lets you send and receive messages from within Firefox.Update: Several of you suggested I consider Tweetie ($2.99US) as a Twitter client for the iPhone and iPod touch, which I did. It's very snappy indeed with lots of nice features, like trend monitoring, support for several accounts and more. It's really quite nice. Of course, this isn't a reivew of Twitter clients, but I'm still happy to add another to the list.ReferenceThe Dictionary of Concise Writing will help you shorten those lengthy sentences. While you're at it, grab a copy of Webster's New World Thesaurus. Dictionary of Concise Writing - $14.95US at Amazon Webster's New World Thesaurus - $14.95US at Amazon Read on for more!
WoW Insider's 2008 holiday gift guide
Yes, it's that time of year again -- the lights are up around town, the weather is cold and snowy, and you've got a long list of nice (and maybe even some naughty) people who will need gifts this year. But what will you get? If anyone on your list is a Warcraft player, worry not: WoW Insider has compiled a list of ten Nintendo Sixtyfoooooooour-level gifts for the Warcraft player in your life, five out-of-game and five in-game.Whether they're level 10 or level 80, odds are that they'll love any of this stuff, and whether you've got just a little bit of time and/or money to put in or want no expense spared, there's something on this list for you. Click into the gallery below to check out all of the gifts, and be sure to have a happy holiday season -- here's hoping there will be a little something more exciting than coal in that stocking!Looking for non-Warcraft related gamer gifts? Joystiq has up-to-the-minute news on the best holiday deals and tips around for Holidaze 2008. And our friends at Big Download have a nice set of guides up as well, featuring anything and everything you might need for a PC gamer.%Gallery-38276%Winter's Veil is almost here. Watch the 12 Days again, wonder what might be new this year, or settle down with some cocoa and some tasty... bark?
What to get the person with everything - Holiday Gift Guide
If your diamond-encrusted iPod case is wearing out, or you simply must coat your new MacBook in gold, this list is for you. Presenting the most expensive, ridiculous and sublime gifts for the Apple fan in your life. 18-karat gold iPod shuffleIt isn't enough to have a gold shuffle. How about a gold shuffle that cost you more than $10,000? Or even twice that? Well, here you go -- this coating will cost you plenty but it does come with a wooden box and a certificate.Casa Gi Diamond EarbudsThere's an entire industry around diamond-and-gold audio headgear. Just check out this gallery over at Luxist. The Casa Gi set (from Italy, of course) wins points because I think they look like I would have seen them on "Falcon Crest," had earbuds been around in the 80's.Beatles Collector's BoxEven though we may not see the Beatles in iTunes any time soon, you can still cram them into your iPod the old fashioned way: rip them. Yes, even this $795 set makes you put the music into iTunes yourself. It comes with 13 of the fab four's CD's, however and a 120GB iPod classic, but still... I guess you could throw in a Ripstyles offer?The Ultimate Minimalist DeskIf you didn't already know, Steve Jobs doesn't like cords and clutter. If I bought him a gift, I'd send him this desk. In steel, definitely.Keep reading for more diamonds, a fridge that acts as an iPhone accessory, and more.%Gallery-38013%
Gift Guide for the new parent
From baby monitors to daily organizers, finding the right gift for the Mac-wielding new parent isn't as easy as it sounds. They're just so busy with all that "good parenting" nonsense. Here are plenty of ideas at a variety of price points that should make any parent's job a little more pleasant.iPhone/iPod touch appsI mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating. Baby Monitor ($4.99US) by CodeGoo calls you when Jr. starts to fuss. Simply launch Baby Monitor and put it in his bedroom. When he starts to cry, Baby Monitor will call a pre-determined phone number, like your home's land line. It's not a substitute for a genuine baby monitor, but certainly useful for when you forget to bring the real deal to Grandma's house.When my son was new, we purchased a white noise machine for his bedroom. It produces five sounds, including stream, car, heartbeat, music and white noise, and cost thirty dollars.For $0.99US, Ambiance [iTunes link] plays more than fifty sounds. You can combine sounds to create new ones and adjust settings like duration, fade out and a lot more. Updates of the app always include new sounds, and you've got the option to delete sounds you dislike to save room. Grocery IQ ($0.99US) [iTunes link] is an application I didn't anticipate using. I'm a pen-and-paper guy (read: old geezer), and dislike typing on the phone for extended periods. It's not the iPhone's fault, the keyboard is great. I'm just quicker with a pen.Despite this, Grocery IQ has earned a spot on my home screen. Not only is creating a list as easy as a click, you can save frequently-purchased items and even a standard list. Plus, it's a lot easier to de-select an item you've tossed into the cart than cross it off of your paper list after Jr. has tossed your pen.I've mentioned iChalky ($0.99) [iTunes link] before, too, but both my 3-year-old and my 5-year-old love it. Poor Chalky is a physicis-aware stick figure who is subject to your kid's whims. Shake him, flip him, hang him from a push pin. It's just the ticket for avoiding a full meltdown in the middle of the post office.Read on for hardware, software and accessory recommendations!
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Apple posts "black friday" teaser, doesn't divulge deals
Today, visitors to Apple's online store were greeted with an interesting teaser. "Lots of gifts, 1 day not to miss," Apple boasts on their page regarding the after-Thanksgiving sale. According to the details Apple posted, they will not be revealing their deals until Black Friday, so it looks like we'll have to wait just a little longer. Apple posted the following information regarding the sale: Come back to the Apple Online Store the day after Thanksgiving for a special one-day-only holiday shopping event. You'll find dozens of great iPod, iPhone, and Mac gift ideas. Mark your calendars. And start your research now by browsing the Apple Online Store to find iPod, iPhone, and Mac gifts for everyone on your list. So, if you're looking to buy an Apple product, it would probably be wise to wait. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Target gift card for the holidays multitasks as adorable digital camera
Okay, we don't know who came up with this idea, but we have to give them some credit for innovation, not to mention (in our opinion) some pretty attractive design sense. Yes, Target's new gift card gimmick this holiday season is that it doubles as a cute, disposable digital camera. The little device runs on two AAA batteries, has a self-timer, and is packaged with a USB cord, driver disc, instruction manual and a voucher for 40 free prints from Target. The camera itself is a 1.2-megapixel affair with 8MB of memory on-board, which means it can store about 50 images. Now, we know this just a ploy to get us to buy Target gift cards, but we're kind of smitten with this little thing. Oh, and: Bah! Humbug![Via Coolest Gadgets]
Apple poised to become a mobile gaming force
Welcome to last year, Business Week. Their writer Arik Hesseldahl has a story up about how Apple seems poised to take over the mobile gaming world this holiday. He's been playing with an iPod touch and the games available on the App Store, and he's ready to drink the Kool-aid: what Apple's assembled on their mobile devices rivals some of the experiences on the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP.Not really news to us here at TUAW, of course, but he's right about one thing: this holiday is all-important for Apple in finding a foothold with the iPod touch. Halloween's over, gift shopping is only a few weeks away, and Apple needs to prove why people interested in handheld gaming should pick up a touch before the DSi (and its App Store-style online store) or a new Sony device make their way to our shores.The good news for Apple is that the games are getting better, and that the touch brings a lot more functionality to the mix (iPod, utility apps) than a dedicated gaming device would. But then again, Nintendo and Sony are established brands for gamers, and even kids looking for a game machine from Santa probably won't have an iPod touch first on their list. We'll have to see how it all plays out.
Wii Warm Up: Holiday wishes
Some among you may be gearing up for the holiday season, and even though no one has any damn money (thank you, catastrophic global economy), that's never stopped us from asking for things before. This year, it may be more hoping than expecting, but by golly, we're gonna ask for things. It never hurts to try.Which leads us to ask: what's on your holiday wish list so far? Is there enough coming out to keep you satisfied, or will you be turning to other systems to get your game on?
First North American Dofus server opens Tuesday
Ankama Games' Dofus is something of a cult hit. Since its release in 2005, it has spawned two spin-offs. It's done things a bit differently than other MMOs, with turn-based combat and even hardcore permadeath servers. But the French company behind it is about to journey into a new frontier.No, we're not talking about Wakfu. It turns out that the first North American Dofus server will be opening Tuesday the 24th of June. It'll be called "SOLAR," and new players on the server will get all sorts of bonus perks for the first week, including daily events, double experience points, and a few in-game gifts. The top ranked players at the end of the week will get even more gifts.The new server is open only to subscribers, so if you're only playing in a free-to-play capacity, you're out of luck. Oh well. There's so little free content in Dofus now, we've come to think of it as pay-to-play anyway.
Breakfast Topic: Sunday is Mother's Day
Just a reminder that Mother's Day is coming up on Sunday, May 11. If you're planning on sending a gift, flowers, or a card, it's about time to get them in the mail. For the record, I have never met a Mom that didn't treasure a pretty bracelet given to her by her son. All of these things are positively fantastic for a traditional Mom, but we've got a lot of WoW Moms that might like something a little different. Even as I get older, I've found that my Mom, and other Moms around me still enjoy homemade gifts. Our Thursday column, World of Warcrafts, has given us some excellent ideas on some very special gifts. Last week Shelbi showed us how to make a lovely Basket of Flowers. I'm also fond of her wonderful guide for making Super potions. I'm pretty sure my Mom would like these (even more than the paperclip necklace she treasured for years.) You may also consider World of Warcraft T-shirts, or even paid play time. If you don't have a lot of money to dedicate to Mother's Day Shopping, you can give your WoW Mom the gift of playtime or even something special in-game. For those of you with less fantasy-oriented Mom's, here are some easy links to get gifts online: Flowers 1-800-Flowers FTD Teleflora Food: Ethem M Chocolates Harry and David Godiva Remember, you only get one Mom (ok, so in modern families, you may have 2 or 3), and Mother's Day only comes once a year. Make it count! What's your plan for your mom? (I can't tell you, my mom reads WoW Insider.) * This public service announcement was brought to you by gamers who love their moms.
Welcome to "noob season"
I don't know if I quite buy this one, but it's an interesting idea: Jias says that this week begins a period of time in the World of Warcraft known as "noob season": all of the folks who found WoW under their tree, or decided to use their gift cards to try out "the Shatner game" are going to be rolling their first character over the next couple of weeks, and will probably have lots of questions and very little learned etiquette.Jias sees it as a bad thing (we have to deal with noobs), but I tend to go a little more toward Neth's side of the argument: it's a chance to be veterans of the game, and to help players who haven't seen all this stuff before figure it out. Just last night, I was leveling my Hunter and decided to join a PUG in Blackrock Depths out of the blue-- for some reason, only one of them had ever been in the instance before. But being an old hand, I led them through all the twists and turns down there, and we finished all the quests through the Attunement rock (The Lyceum gave us a little trouble, but it was late, so we called it).Will there be a few more players asking for gold or not quite clear that all tanks should be carrying a shield? Probably. But we should probably be as welcoming and patient with these folks as possible-- they'll be the same people listening on the LFG channel when you ask "LFM for Utgarde Keep."
Holiday with Wii
Consoles and games are always a popular gift during the holidays, and as we saw yesterday at DS Fanboy, the reactions are often as good as -- or even better! -- than the gifts themselves. Well, if people got so excited about getting a DS, how must they have felt about the highly elusive, often-unavailable Wii? Thanks to a number of videos uploaded to YouTube this week, we can share in the holiday joy of several lucky new Wii owners.
