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Philips Tapster stereo Bluetooth headset loves your voice, needs your touch
While they may not have an particularly desirable impact on your image, wireless Bluetooth headsets are convenient, and their continually dwindling size gives us the hope that some day you could wear one without anyone noticing. But, smaller size equals smaller buttons, an issue Philips is looking to dodge entirely with its latest stereo Bluetooth headset, the Tapster. It relies on touch inputs, not moving ones (other than a wee power button), meaning you'll be able to administer a gentle stroke to adjust volume or a light tap to answer a call. It all sounds quite intuitive and convenient -- providing of course the thing doesn't start dialing when someone bumps into you on the subway. No word on price, but if all goes well you could be pairing these over Bluetooth 2.1+EDR A2DP, AVRCP, HSP, and HFP by the end of the year. [Via Shiny Shiny]%Gallery-45443%
DKP in WoW, more common than you think!
DKP('Dragon Kill Points' or 'Dungeon Kill Points') is a term that carries a lot of weight with it. Some people hate them, some people love them. Some people don't understand them, others can't live without them. My raid jokingly referred to them as 'HFP' or 'Happy Fun Points' before implementing them, simply because it was a term that had less of a negative spin on it. Amusingly enough, the term has stuck for the last two and a half years.It only recently dawned on me that the World of Warcraft has its own built-in DKP system to some extent, based off of set item prices determined by the raid leader. They're called Badges of Justice. Blizzard is your Raid Leader. For every raid or heroic boss you kill, you get a Badge of Justice. How many badges you earn is roughly based on the difficulty of the encounter, from one to three badges.While not everyone likes the Badge of Justice system, most people do. Being able to accumulate badges in new places for new rewards is exciting! When it comes down to it, they're just DKP. Instead of being tally marks on a chart somewhere, they're material possessions in your bags. Naturally, there are many different DKP systems out there, as varied as the raids that use them. It's possible I'm the last person on Azeroth to realize it, but I simply found it interesting that even Blizzard has implemented pseudo-DKP. Those of you out there that loathe the idea of DKP, do Badges of Justice make you feel any better about it? Worse?
Jabra's BT3030 Bluetooth headset mimics dog tag
Falling somewhere before the BT8010 and BT8040, the BT3030 most definitely takes the crown for clever design. Jabra's latest Bluetooth headset, as you can glean from the image above, was crafted to mimic the traditional dog tag, and specifications wise, you'll find Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, HSP, HFP, A2DP and AVRCP support. Additionally, you'll find six buttons useful for sending / ending calls and controlling music playback, and yes, it will lower the volume when detecting an incoming call from your livid mother-in-law. Ditch that ear critter and pick up something slightly less appalling late next month in Japan (or right now in the US) for ¥8,980 ($90). Check out the gallery over on Engadget Classic.
25 Easter eggs of the Burning Crusade
We at WoW Insider felt that, in honor of Easter/Noblegarden, we'd go looking for some of the best Easter eggs in Burning Crusade. This is by no means an exhaustive gallery of all the little nods you can find in BC; it's really almost impossible to go anywhere without running into a programmer's sly joke. I had to limit my gallery to things that could be seen by toons who'd outleveled some of the really good quest-related ones ("How To Serve Goblins" was great) or who had ready access to the Blood Elf/Draenei starter areas. Enjoy your trawl through a feast of cleverly-placed pop-culture references, and you can visit BlizzPlanet for an exhaustive list of Burning Crusade Easter eggs if these whet your appetite for more! Don't forget that with our new gallery functions, you can hit the "Hi Res" button at the top right of the page if you want to see a photo in more detail.%Gallery-18980%
Jays BlueStreamer 2 stereo adapter: now in colors
It's been a good while since the BlueStreamer was hit up with a well deserved update, but those who've been waiting in tense anticipation can finally kick their shoes off and relax. Yep, Jays is indeed announcing the aptly-named BlueStreamer 2 Bluetooth stereo adapter, which not only features BT v2.0 and supports A2DP, AVRCP, HSP and HFP, but it's available in a trio of glossy motifs (black, white and pink to be precise). Weighing in at just 12-grams, this bugger allows users to "listen to music and receive calls simultaneously," and just in case that whole "stopping the jams 'til your convo is done" thing wasn't enough for you, it's also very compatible with Skype. Sure, there's nothing out of the ordinary here, but those captivated for whatever reason can grab one now for $62 (or €42.40 elsewhere). [Warning: PDF read link]
Breakfast Topic: Meanwhile, back at the farm...
Whenever I hear the phrase in that title, I think of one of my very favorite children's books.ANYWAY, this Breakfast Topic is entirely selfish. Lately, I've continued to try and build up enough gold to get my epic mount, as well as bring my alchemy skill up, so I've been doing lots and lots of farming lately.And I've come up with a few tips for doing it-- watch a movie while I'm at it, make circles around zones that have exactly what I want (Felwood, Un'goro, and Hellfire Peninsula have been great for Herbalism, but I've never done Mining or farmed for Tailoring items or Motes), and make sure to pick up bags meant for crafting items, so I have enough room to haul what I need.So what tips have you picked up for farming? Some people are crazy about it-- I know my guildleader has done it for hours, getting both mining mats and herbs for our guild-- and surely they know lots of inside stuff that us casual players take a long time to pick up. What would you recommend to someone who heads out into Azeroth and Outland looking for nature's gifts?
Sony's high-end DR-BT50 Bluetooth cans love your cellphone
Just in case Sony's compact DR-BT21G headset didn't exactly float your boat, or you just like having the best of the best when given the option, the high-end DR-BT50s should fit the bill. Rather than taking the wraparound approach, these cans feature the typical over the head styling, an adjustable headband, 17-hour battery life (200 in standby), and a sleek black / silver motif. As with its little brother, you can answer and end calls with the press of button, and while not conversing via its handsfree profile, you can tune in to your mobile's music as it supports A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, and HSP. As expected, you'll find all the playback controls right on the earcup, and those interested can snag this Bluetooth headset / headphone hybrid for $230 when it lands in April.[Via AkiharabaNews]
Sony's Bluetooth DR-BT21G wraparound headset does A2DP, AVRCP
While Sony's DR-BT21G was given limited facetime during CES, the wraparound stereo Bluetooth 2.0 headset is getting all official on us, and will now join the long list of other A2DP-friendly devices that Sony's known for kicking out. Sporting a behind-the-neck, foldable design, the 63-gram headphones come in black or white motifs, support A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, and HSP protocols, and boast a built-in microphone and control button in the earcup to pull double duty as a handsfree communicator. Aside from the receive / end call button, users can expect to control audio playback functions from the side of their dome, and considering the respectable 11-hour battery life, finding an AC outlet shouldn't become too much of an issue. No concrete information in regard to price or availability just yet, but we're hearing to expect these in April for around the $130 mark.[Via Akiharaba News]
Starting zone questions answered: Hellfire Peninsula
Following up on yesterday's post lamenting Hellfire Peninsula chat, I thought it might be helpful to make a FAQ for each of the three starting zones: Hellfire Peninsula, Azuremyst Island, and Eversong Woods. I'll start with HFP, but look for baby zone FAQs soon. I only have experience on the Alliance side of things. However, if you want to contribute Horde FAQs (or any other FAQs) in the comments, please do, and I'll update the post accordingly.Update: added two more Horde questions.Update: more stuff for both factions For both factions: Where's the bank? Shattrath City. Shat-huh? Follow the road south out of HFP and into Terokkar Forest, then follow the road west. OK, how about the auction house? No AH in Outlands, I'm afraid. Blizz stated that they didn't want Azeroth to become too deserted, so they made it so that you have to go back to the old cities to use the AH. Where do I find Dreadcallers? The same place as the other demons for that quest; they just have a bad spawn rate. Be sure to kill the other demons too, since they're on the same spawn table. [thanks, Roger] Isn't there an easier way to get back to the old cities? I'm glad you asked! Yes, there is. There are free portals to all capitals from Shattrath, right in the middle of the city with the Maia Archon Naaru. No portals back to Shattrath though. [thanks, Tom]
