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Belkin's 3.5mm to Lightning cable delivers retro connectivity
Apple doing away with the iPhone's headphone jack was supposed to make life a bit more streamlined, and while in many cases it has, it still presented something of a headache for those who wanted to use their device to listen to music in the car, or even just to use their favourite headphones while charging their phones. Finding a decent 3.5mm cable with a Lightning connector is no mean feat, which is likely why Belkin has stepped up to the plate with its latest cable offering.
Twitter swaps CEOs again, Jack Dorsey takes over temporarily
Twitter's stock slid significantly in April when its earnings report leaked out early, and in a likely-related move, now it's changing CEOs. Dick Costolo is out (at left in the picture above, taken during the company's IPO), although he will remain on the company's board, while founder, chairman, first user and former CEO Jack Dorsey (at right) is taking over again on an interim basis. He will stay on as CEO at Square while a search committee -- including yet another former Twitter CEO, Evan Williams -- searches for a permanent replacement. Of course, that the report leaked isn't the problem, it's the user growth, which couldn't match other social network stars like Instagram. Investor Chris Sacca recently published a lengthy blog post about "what Twitter could be" and despite a number of changes over the last year, it appears many of the folks owning shares had different ideas than its (as of July 1st) former leader. Update: According to Costolo (on a conference call) he initiated discussions with the board about stepping down "late last year." Jack Dorsey followed up by stating that the change has "no connection" to the company's near term results.
WoW Moviewatch: Burning Crusade The Movie
Let me tell you about this guy named Jack. Jack makes some of the absolute best movie compilations of kill videos that I have ever seen, and probably ever will see. The pinnacle for me was always the movie shown above, simply titled Burning Crusade The Movie. It's not just about the stunning visuals, it's also about the clever use of in-game sound files from various NPCs in order to tell the tale. It's a long video, but it's well worth watching -- not only for the nostalgia factor, but because it has gotten me even more ridiculously excited to see Warlords of Draenor and a return to an Outland that isn't really Outland at all. Jack has done a crazy amount of WoW movies over the years. You can check out his Youtube channel for movies dating all the way back to the original vanilla 40-player version of Naxxramas. Sadly, we haven't seen any Mists-related content from Jack, and I don't know if we will at this point. But Burning Crusade The Movie remains one of my favorite kill-compilation videos to date, and it's always worth a re-watch.
You Don't Know Jack maker Jellyvision becomes Jackbox Games
Jellyvision Games has been making variations of You Don't Know Jack for a while now, which is of course the irreverant and very popular trivia game. The title originally began as a series of PC and Mac games, though, of course, Jellyvision has taken the series to consoles, and then more recently to Facebook and iOS. Now, after nearly 20 years of work, the company has decided to rebrand itself, and Jellyvision is going to become Jackbox Games. The new branding makes a lot of sense: It definitely allows the company to focus on You Don't Know Jack and that brand, and it sets the company up as a multiplatform studio. Jellyvision always was, but this should give Jackbox a chance to do more with the upcoming next-generation platforms, as well as other devices like Roku and Ouya. Additionally, Jackbox has two more upcoming apps to release, in addition to the recent Lie Swatter. It is sort of a bummer to see a longtime brand pass on. But Jackbox is doing good work, and hopefully it'll be able to build an even stronger reputation with its new identity. Show full PR text JELLYVISION GAMES, MAKERS OF YOU DON'T KNOW JACK, RE-BRANDS AS JACKBOX GAMES Indie Trivia Game Developer Expands into New IP and New Generation Publishing, including Ouya CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – June 5, 2013 – Independent developer Jellyvision Games today announced its re-branding initiative with the new moniker: Jackbox Games. After nearly two decades of entertaining players with their landmark YOU DON'T KNOW JACK franchise, the former PC and console developer has expanded into a full-fledged new-generation publisher for multiple games on social and mobile platforms, Roku, and now Ouya. "The rebranding of our studio represents the completion of an evolution," said Mike Bilder, GM. "Today, Jackbox Games not only has the creative and technical resources to make great games, but we're seizing on the opportunity presented by new generation platforms to bring more games to market ourselves - however and wherever they best fit." In May 2012, YOU DON'T KNOW JACK was launched on Facebook as the studio's first social title, and it was met with critical acclaim – winning SPIKE TV's "Social Game of the Year." December 2012 saw the launch of the franchise on mobile, starting with iOS, and last spring the first new IP from the publisher hit the market in the form of Lie Swatter™. Last week, Ouya announced that the YOU DON'T KNOW JACK franchise will be ported to the Android-powered console platform as a launch title. The studio has also announced two upcoming apps for 2013: Clone Booth™ and Word Puttz™. "The big payoff for us has always been the engagement people feel when playing YOU DON'T KNOW JACK, which is really born out of our commitment to innovative design, top-notch writing, and high production values," said Harry Gottlieb, founder. "Our move to self-publishing on all these new platforms really frees us up to make a whole lot more of the kinds of games we like to play and to get them into the hands of the players who really want them." The Chicago-based studio has reached critical and commercial success since its 1995 introduction. The studio has sold more than five million units of YDKJ for PC and console. Last year, there were 3.5 million installs of YDKJ through Facebook, IOS and Android. The company's products have been showered with praise and hold more than 50 industry awards including the aforementioned SPIKE TV award and 2013 "Best Trivia Game" from the Best App Ever awards. As a mid-sized independent developer, the team has produced numerous significant industry innovations. YOU DON'T KNOW JACK was one of first games to use writing and audio to provide fully interactive gameplay, where players experience direct interaction with a virtual host. And now the studio has incorporated its brands directly into mid-sized games, previously the exclusive domain of mammoth publishers, expanding the independent monetization model.
Insanely Great launches made-in-USA iPhone accessories with Cyber Monday deal
Whether your iPhone has been with you for years or you just picked one up this weekend during the holiday shopping rush, you're facing the same problem either way: getting it to stay where you put it, in the car or on your desk. Scores of companies offer lots of different "stick it and forget it" solutions to this challenge, but one newcomer is putting together some innovative and attractive products for iPhone car/counter mounting -- and doing it entirely in the USA, from design to hands-on manufacturing. Insanely Great Products' launch line includes six different mounting/stand solutions, all but one involving a powerful suction cup to attach the iPhone (or other flat-back device) to the mount. The Jack (image, right) and the Scooter are designed for desktop use, while the Willy (top image) and the Traveler can serve either in the car or in stationary settings. The light and flexible Clip-n-Go combines the suction cup with a customized binder clip for easy air vent attachment of a cased or naked phone, while the anodized aluminum Norm uses the same binder clip with side arms to hold a case-free phone to the dashboard vent. While the products are affordable (most of the line costs between US$10 and $20, with the aluminium Norm coming in at $35) they're set apart from most of the accessory market by their made-in-the-USA pedigree. IGP was founded with the intention of doing all manufacturing domestically; currently, all the products are assembled by hand (from US-sourced materials) in the company's Menlo Park facility. In fact, every IGP employee spends at least part of every day filling customer orders by making products themselves. This agile/all-hands manufacturing process is intended to help keep the entire team connected to the products; IG is also able to create customized or branded versions of all the items in the line, on request. It might seem a bit presumptuous for any new enterprise to call itself Insanely Great, but in this case the company at least comes by it honestly. IGP's marketing lead/co-founder Richard Ford spent several years at Apple in leadership roles on the product teams that built most of the Internet underpinnings in Mac OS 9. The other co-founder, company president Jeff Osborn, was formerly a VP at mega-ISP UUnet. For today, Cyber Monday, the company is offering 50% off three of its products -- the Jack, the Scooter and the Willy -- as long as you buy them in blue (the Monday blues, so clever) rather than the full line of colors shown above.
Reader UI of the Week: I am Jack's multi-purpose
Each week, WoW Insider and Mathew McCurley bring you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which spotlights the latest user interface addons. Have a screenshot of your own UI that you'd like to submit? Send your screenshots along with info on what mods you're using to readerui@wowinsider.com, and follow Mathew on Twitter. Greetings, Reader UI of the Week fans. Everyone seems to have some sort of food poisoning or stomach problems this week, and I have no idea what is up with that. We have a national stomach epidemic here in the United States. Here's something that won't upset your delicate bodily balance; Jack's smooth and slick user interface setup, centered around grouping, dungeons, and questing. While I am a raider at heart, my recent obsession has been with players and nonraiding UIs. Not that I think that there is anything wrong with a raiding UI, but as someone who primarily lives in raiding content, it is interesting to look and see what 5-man-focused UIs are built around. With the coming of the Raid Finder in patch 4.3 as an introductory raiding system, more and more players are going to have to adapt their 5-man UI setups to a raiding environment if they want to succeed in taking down the big bosses of the raiding world. Jack's UI is a competent setup that can make the change and stands up on its own two legs.
JVC Kaboom adds a guitar input, dares you to get the band back together
New audio input capabilities are nothing new for JVC, but soon you'll be able to show off your guitar chops alongside whatever bands you choose to idolize -- so long as you're kosher with rocking a boombox atop your left shoulder, of course. The company has announced that the 2011 offering from its Kaboom line will showcase a guitar / microphone input (1/4-inch) with mixing capabilities to allow for gigs to be played from anywhere you darn well please. The RV-NB70 will have all the key ingredients of previous models, including an iPod dock (updated to be both iPod and iPhone compatible), a USB host that enables use of a mass storage device, an audio input and CD / radio playback. True to the original's design, this fellow features much of the same look while promising 40 watts of guitar soloing power. Your next box 'o fury can be had right now for $299.95, and if you're eager for an encore, the full presser (as well as a demo vid) is just past the break.
Mac OS 7 logos turned into playing cards
Dr. Macenstein found these awesome old-school Apple playing cards, featuring logos icons from the olden days of Mac System 7, adopted for a standard playing card deck layout. There's no word on just what the origin of these is -- if they're official or unofficial -- but supposedly they've been seen on eBay for up to $150 before. [Yes, these were official but only available to Apple employees, as we pointed out when we posted about them last time. - Ed] The pack seen in the pictures was on sale but has since been purchased, so you'll have to hunt down your own copy if you want one for yourself. The rest of us will have to just sit back and enjoy the designs on this. I wonder what a playing card deck using iOS or even app icons would be like.
Beautiful retro handset base for the iPhone
It's the weekend, which seems like the perfect time for a groovy retro item like this one. The iRetrofone is a handset base for the iPhone that brings an old-school aesthetic to your new-school touchscreen cell phone. We've seen cool handsets before, but this one goes all the way. Any iPhone can sit firmly in that space where the rotary dial would be, you can pick up a dialer app from the App Store, and then there's room for the dock to get plugged in, and the handset itself plugs into the headphone jack. "But Mike," you may say, "there's no actual value to that. All it does is make the slim and trim iPhone into a bulky mass of resin." And you'd be right. But the shape of that bulky mass of resin happens to bring back some excellent memories for me, of cradling a handset while chatting with friends and family, and hanging the phone back up when it had fallen off the hook, and carrying the base with me while pacing during an important call. While the item on Etsy is now sold out, if it was there, $15 would be a small price to I'd happily pay* to revisit those memories. [via TDW] Update: Whoops, $15 is the shipping -- the handset is $195, which seems much more reasonable for a custom-shaped piece of resin wired and ready to go. That's not such a small price, but the memories are still powerful.
More than one way to stream Bluetooth
Want an easy way to use the Bluetooth in your iPhone/iPod touch to stream music to your traditional stereo? The new Belkin Bluetooth Music Receiver, announced this week, should do the job nicely. It's a little dongle that connects to your stereo either through a 3.5mm headphone jack or, using RCA cables, to the AUX inputs in the back of your system. It will remember half a dozen Bluetooth devices and let you stream music up to 33 feet away at a cost of $49.99 US. Honestly, I didn't see the big deal, since I've been doing this for quite a long time using the now discontinued Griffin BlueTrip. The BlueTrip was made to stream Bluetooth audio from an iPod to a stereo using a dongle that plugs into the 30 pin connector adding BlueTooth to iPods that didn't have it built in. But what if you have an iPhone rather than an iPod? We've got you covered there, too -- read on. [via Engaget]
Samsung unleashes WinMo 6.5 upgrade for AT&T's Jack
It's not often that a manufacturer pushes a Windows Mobile version bump in a timely fashion, so color us impressed to see that Samsung has now released an official 6.5 upgrade for the Jack on AT&T. 6.5 is a relatively minor bump over 6.1 in the non-touch Standard world -- Professional devices are getting the lion's share of improvements -- but users will be happy to find that they're getting an updated Internet Explorer Mobile, Windows Marketplace access, and automated free connections to AT&T WiFi hotspots (anything to offload cellular strain, right?). Grab it now from Samsung's site, make sure your battery's charged, and let 'er rip.
Leaked AT&T presentation confirms remaining WinMo releases for 2009, that employees can't spell 'proprietary'
Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5 release is just a month away, and so too are the first phones that will utilize it. Boy Genius Report has managed to get its hands on one slide from a recent AT&T concall confirming a partial list of the handsets set to ship with the new, improved, more finger-friendly flavor of the OS, and even a few models that will be upgraded to it. Two from Samsung, the Epix and Jack, will receive version updates in October, while HP's Obsidian, earlier targeted for November, seems to have been pushed back to December, and LG's Monaco similarly has slipped to November. HTC's Fortress (a.k.a. the Pro2), however, will apparently be ready with bells on next month. As will we, dear readers. As will we.
HTC Touch Pro2 calls dibs on 3.5mm audio jack for Telus and Verizon
That was quick. We heard that HTC was moving to standardize around 3.5mm audio jacks but we weren't necessarily expecting the meaty Touch Pro2 to be on that list of devices. After all, it's already shipping in its GSM version. Nevertheless, MobileSyrup has a soon-to-be released CDMA version of the Touch Pro2 for Telus (and ultimately, Verizon) that goes straight-up 3.5mm -- no goofy ExtUSB jack converter required. Oh, and they've got video to prove it. See it after the break.[Via WMExperts, thanks Guill M.]
Samsung Omnia Pro B7610 slider gets official reveal
Samsung's being tight-lipped with the details, but at least it did us the solid of making its Omnia Pro B7610 (aka, B7610 Louvre) QWERTY slider official today at CommunicAsia. The phone on the right is the Omnia Pro B7320, which, if we're not mistaken, is just the Jack candybar already available to AT&T customers. Unfortuantely, Samsung isn't giving out any detail on the B7610 so we'll have to go on believing in the rumored 3.5-inch AMOLED display with 800x480 pixel resolution, 5.1 megapixel camera, 7.2Mbps HSDPA data, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, 1GB built-in with microSDHC expansion, and 800MHz processor driving Windows Mobile until they tell us something different.[Via Akihabara News]
Samsung Jack comes to AT&T on May 19, $99.99 on contract
The BlackJack II's been looking a little long in the tooth for a while now, and it's been made pretty clear that the Epix isn't the direct replacement -- so what is? Behold the i637 Jack (not to be confused with the... uh, Jack), which has just been made official with a 3.2 megapixel camera and video recording, AGPS, WiFi, microSD expansion, 256MB of RAM, triband HSDPA / quadband EDGE, and the all-too-typical QVGA display. Like its forebears, the Jack naturally features a full QWERTY keyboard; it'll launch with Windows Mobile 6.1 but will be fully upgradeable to 6.5. Look for it in stores on May 19 for $99.99 on a new two-year contract after rebate. AT&T's already got a unit (not to say that should come as any surprise) and they're showing it off on video -- check it out after the break.
Fanmade MadWorld figurine oozes cool
There are plenty of things to love about MadWorld. The over-the-top slapstick action, the hilarious commentators, and fun Blood Bath Challenges are just a few of the things we enjoy in Platinum Games' latest title. Well, deviantART user ebooze loves the game's main character Jack so much that he decided to make his own custom figurine, complete with detachable chainsaws of both the bloody and clean variety. Want!%Gallery-22964%[Via Go Nintendo]
Platinum Games discusses enemy AI in MadWorld
Bless the Platinum Games blog, as it's been a wonderful source of interesting stuff leading up to next week's release of MadWorld. Today, Hirono Sato takes over the driver's seat and talks about his role in the game: player interactions and the three different AIs governing enemies. He breaks the enemy units down to "grunt," "grunt leader," and "boss." Sato explains that the "grunts" are essentially pushovers and the challenge they present is not simply just to defeat them, but to defeat them in the most stylish way possible, for the most points possible. Sato says that in a game "where running around killing all the enemies is supposed to be fun, making them so hard that you can't kill them wouldn't be fun at all."However, for those that crave difficult combat, the "grunt leader" is always on hand to provide an ample spanking. This guy is a bit tougher to battle, so it's not as much about getting the most points possible as it is about just surviving his attacks. Then, there are the "bosses," which are pretty self-explanatory.Sato also tells us of a cool in-game item called the "Money Grubber," a briefcase stuffed with money that you throw at enemies. Once the "grunts" see it, they'll start clawing for it, and eventually fight each other over the money. While they're busy, Sato offers a few ideas, including tossing "a drum filled with gasoline their way" and even tossing the case "onto some busy train tracks." %Gallery-22964%
FUD alert: Apple allegedly scared Google out of using multitouch, 3.5mm jacks, batteries, displays, love
So we've been watching this sketchily-sourced piece from VentureBeat's MG Siegler that claims Google was specifically asked to avoid implementing multitouch by Apple over patent concerns bounce its way around the web today, and while we didn't want to contribute to the echo chamber effect without being able to lend any authority to the story, it's starting to get stupid: John Gruber is chiming in that he'd additionally heard that Apple warned Google against including a 3.5mm headphone jack on the G1 after Cupertino was shown a prototype, which is ridiculous. Fine, we're somewhat willing to accept the complete lack of multitouch on the G1 is a result of Apple's influence, especially considering the huffy language Apple's been using lately over its intellectual property, but the absence of a straight 3.5mm headphone jack can't be chalked up to any patent issues, since Gruber's source is probably pointing to an Apple patent that covers controlling music via a headphone jack, which in no way prevented HTC from slapping a regular 3.5mm jack on there -- and hell, HTC makes breakout boxes for ExtUSB that expose both a jack and control capability anyway. Furthermore, it's not even remotely clear why Google would be cruising around Infinite Loop with the G1 way ahead of release; as Gruber himself points out, Schmidt recuses himself from board meetings involving iPhone conversations, and we'd expect the courtesy to go both ways. iTunes, iPod, music, your ears... we get it, Apple owns everything with a melody nowadays, but c'mon, now: at the time the G1 was designed -- many moons ago -- attitude toward the importance of 3.5mm jacks on phones was significantly different than it is today, and we can understand why HTC and Google could've reasonably thought that ExtUSB was good enough. Today, that attitude wouldn't fly -- indeed, HTC's own Touch HD does a real jack, and going forward, we'd expect most Android hardware to have them, too. Talented engineers can usually design their way around patent issues, and we're certain Google and HTC have both the legal and technical muscle to deal with Apple -- so can we please all stop playing lawyer and get back to mocking up the Dream G2?[Via Daring Fireball]
T-Mobile G1s now shipping with 3.5mm headphone adapters included
It's not going to somehow magically conjure a jack where there's currently nothing more than a sad-looking ExtUSB port, but new G1 buyers can take some solace in the knowledge that they'll be able to plug in, turn it up, and tune out right out of the box. We've received official word from HTC that 3.5mm headphone adapters for the ExtUSB port are now being bundled with the phone, meaning you won't be stuck with that janky (no, seriously, it's insanely terrible) headset with the special connector that you get free of charge; after all, when we're blasting the Jonas Brothers at full tilt, we need the kind of fidelity that only high-end earbuds can provide. What, you got a problem with that?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung Jack gets Windows Mobile 6.1 boost in Canada
Rogers' Samsung Jack, which is Canada-speak for BlackJack II, has been officially blessed with Windows Mobile 6.1. It's a few weeks behind the BlackJack II's own upgrade, true, but... you know, Canada-izing this stuff takes time. Or something. Grab the update from Samsung's site while the gettin's good.[Thanks, Fred]
