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40 years later, Sony finally kills Betamax
Betamax: the punchline for over a decades-worth of VHS-center comedy bits and most format wars. However, Sony's Beta cassettes can still be bought in Japan. Just about. Sony's announced that it's finally, finally, finally going to stop selling the cassettes. No need to rush to Tokyo just yet, as you still have until next March to buy-up all the Betamax supplies you'll never need -- including a cleaning tape. It's also dropping its MicroMV camcorder tapes In a bid to... make space in the warehouse, we guess. Image credit: SSPL via Getty Images
The Daily Grind: How late do you play?
We all have different schedules, different timezones, different levels of engagement in our games of choice. But whether you're going to work at 5:00 a.m. or 5 p.m., you still have a schedule. Sure, you normally don't get home until 4:00 a.m., but if that's the case you should really have been in bed an hour ago but you want to get just one more dungeon run. It's not just about being hardcore or not. Some people will log in to World of Warcraft for a raid, run what needs to be run in an efficient two hours, and then be free for most of the evening. Others log in to Final Fantasy XIV and wind up roleplaying until hours past a more reasonable bedtime. So how late do you play? Do you tend to get on when you get home and stay on until bed? Do you generally play an MMO and then move on to other things, or do you make that your last stop of the night? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Bioshock 2 for Mac (finally) out now
Better late than never, I guess. Bioshock 2 has finally (more than two years after the PC release) arrived on the Mac as a port from Feral Interactive. This one is the sequel to the classic title from Ken Levine (who's currently working on the next game in the series, Bioshock Infinite), and while it's not quite as good as the original, it does add some new elements to the gameplay, and if nothing else, will return you to Rapture, the ruined underwater city that's been one of the most fascinating settings in video games over the last decade or so. This version also contains the Fall of Rapture multiplayer game, so you can face off against other players online if you like. The price is $30.99, and you can grab the game from Feral Interactive directly, or pick it up on the Mac App Store.
Rage Campaign Edition now available on the Mac App Store
I almost didn't bother telling you all about this, because the circumstances around this release really rub the wrong way. But for gamers who've been waiting to play id games' latest, Rage, on the Mac, the Campaign Edition of the title is now available on the Mac App Store, for US$39.99. The Campaign Edition includes all of the extra equipment from the original Anarchy Edition of the game, along with a whole bunch of extra missions and content to play. If you've wanted to play Rage on the Mac, this is it. So why am I so annoyed by this release? Because it's a port of the game, done by Aspyr Media. I don't have anything personally against Aspyr, but why has it taken us this long to get this game ported over to the Mac? Why can't we run the game natively? id games made a big show of the title being able to run cross-platform originally, and in fact the company released a version of this game on iOS, using the native engine, even before the main title was out. Yet here we are, five months after the game's PC release, getting a second-class version of the title on Mac. Even worse, the game isn't compatible with Steam -- it's not available as a SteamPlay title (which means PC owners on Steam won't have access to the Mac version), and the Steamworks cloud save service doesn't work with the game either. However, Aspyr will be happy to tell you that Rage is available on its proprietary GameAgent store if you'd like to buy it there. In short, while getting Rage and all of these extras for $40 might seem like a good thing for players, id games is doing this all wrong by going with Aspyr. This game should have been running natively on the Mac on day one, and it should be available on Steam. Having it available through the Mac App Store is nice, but seeing it released as an Aspyr port this late in the game doesn't say much for what id thinks of Mac gamers.
Anaheim school district handing out GPS trackers to chronically absent students
So, it's like this -- if you're a California gang member, you're assigned a GPS tracker. And if you're on track to become a California gang member, you're also assigned a GPS tracker. Lovely. According to The Orange County Register, the Anaheim Union High School District is handing out GPS trackers to chronically absent seventh and eighth graders, with the six-week pilot program expected to break the habit of skipping by nagging the ever-loving heck out of minors. The plan breaks down as such: if you've netted four unexcused absences this year, you and your parents (but mostly your parents) can "volunteer" to have a tracker assigned to the child in question. From there, they'll need to enter a code five times per day in order to pass muster, and they'll also be required to field at least three calls per week from a coach -- someone who will be checking in on one's "progress." The school hopes that having more kids in school will result in fewer kids getting wrapped up in gang activity, and based on successful trials in San Antonio and Baltimore, hopes are understandably high. All told, around 75 students at Dale and South junior high schools are taking part in the pilot program, and district officials are expected to make an expansion decision in due time. Meanwhile, attendance in the weekly Hackers Club has risen significantly in recent weeks, solving the original issue in a very different, roundabout way.
TUAW's Daily App: Texto SMS Favorites
There are a lot of weird texting applications for the iPhone, and some of them are pretty hinky in terms of design or function. But Texto is probably the best looking SMS app I've seen -- it doesn't do any weird non-SMS text messaging or have all kinds of neon graphics running around. All it does is hook up with your iPhone's standard texting service to let you get quick shortcuts to your most commonly used people and messages. Thanks to LA traffic, I'm often running just a little late for meetings, and with Texto, I can just tap a few buttons to send an "I'll be there soon" to my friends and colleagues rather than trying to type the whole thing out as I frantically drive across town. The app's only 99 cents, but I'll admit it's not for everybody. If you don't text a whole lot already, you probably don't need a whole other app to handle your most frequently-sent messages. And obviously, sending a pre-written message is a little impersonal. Your significant other might realize you're blowing them off the fifth time you send a "Sorry, I'm busy, call you soon," message to them. There's one other caveat: you can only use this one in iOS 4.0, due to the way it interacts with the SMS app. For the right user, Texto can be really helpful, and it's got the bonus of having a great and simple interface that's free of ads and clutter.
The Daily Grind: How long do you wait for stragglers?
It doesn't matter if it's a light-hearted RP event or a high-intensity progression run. As sure as the sun rises, if everyone is told the event is going to begin at 5 PM sharp, at least one player will not show up until 5:01. They might claim timezone difficulties, traffic, or even just that they forgot what time it was taking place. Inevitably, someone shows up late, and quite frequently several people arrive late to a lower-impact event. That's not counting the people who show up on time, but have one last thing to finish that takes upwards of half an hour. Of course, MMOs are fundamentally hobbies, and it's understandable that not everyone will be perfectly punctual. But by the same token, people who delay an event's start time by a significant amount are cutting into the enjoyment of other players, and it does mean they're harder to rely upon. How long do you wait for late arrivals before starting without them? Will you kick people from a regular roster, or argue that they should be kicked, in the event that they fall behind schedule too frequently? Or are you on the other side of the equation, and despite your best efforts you're almost always late to the party?
Drama Mamas: Don't let others control your fun
Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com. The great thing about playing massively multiplayer games is all of the wonderful people you get to meet and hang out with, no matter your respective locations. And the bad thing is all of the inconsiderate people who forget that you're a real person with other things to do than be his/her playmate on his/her schedule. This week, we talk about taking control of your fun.
Bioshock for Mac on October 7th
I can personally attest to Bioshock being a terrific game, but the problem is that probably, many of you can as well. Let's be honest -- it actually came out for PC and consoles a full two years ago. At this point, a Mac port is probably useless, but it's coming out anyway. Feral Interactive has announced that they'll be releasing the port on October 7th of this year, so those of you Mac diehards who refuse to play games on any other platforms can finally get your fix. The game will be released for $49.95 in the US, and can be preordered on Feral's store right now. Or, you know, you can run out to Best Buy, pick up a copy for $20 and run it in Boot Camp, it's up to you. If you are going for the Mac version, however, you should know that the game doesn't support the Intel GMA integrated video cards, so you'll need a dedicated video card in your Mac to play it. Bioshock is a great game, as I've said, and if you really stretch it out, it might give you a good six months of free time entertainment -- just in time for you to pick up the Mac port of Hellgate: London, a game released in December of 2007. Oh wait.
The Daily Grind: Losing track of time
Video games in general are great ways to spend your downtime. Unless you're between games, there's always a new battle, a new place to see, or something new to find. Add in having all your friends around, and playing in large worlds and MMOs tend to amplify the point. There's a reason we make jokes about "just one more level" or "just let me finish this quest" among MMO players - just about everyone's been sucked in to that point at one time or another. Of course with that comes the problem that will generally at least once bite every MMO player; getting so sucked in that you're late somewhere to do something. This morning we thought we'd ask what the single-worst case of losing track of time you've experienced or heard about is?
Breakfast Topic: I'm late!
Have you ever played WoW and gotten so absorbed that you totally lost track of time? Then suddenly you realize you're late for something important and you get in big trouble, right? Or perhaps you lose some important sleep?Today's breakfast topic is not only an opportunity to share horror stories about what happened when you or someone you know played WoW without checking the clock, but it's also a handy reminder to always stay aware of the real world, where time is measured in minutes and hours rather than levels and gear.
GPS notification software informs managers of your tardiness
If you're the type who seems to run late for meetings more often than actually arriving on time, we'd probably recommend improving your promptness before purchasing another band-aid for the chronic problem. Nevertheless, those insistent on being late now have an amazingly easy way to notify their peers that traffic is being unkind, as the Oops I'm Late! application enables your GPS-equipped mobile to calculate your estimated arrival time and then notify your team members of your impending lateness. So rather than investing in time management courses, you can throw down $69.99 for the standard version, or $99.99 for the "Professional" (does it generate legitimate excuses on the fly or something?) iteration.
BlackBerry email outage ruins relationship
Okay, so maybe the writing was already on the wall and the recent BlackBerry email outages aren't solely to blame, but still, being the proverbial straw to break the camel's back deserves a portion of the censure. While we already knew that most fellas would undoubtedly choose a hot new gizmo over a foxy new lady, this mentality probably changes once you're already committed, and in the case of Rafael Paz, the recent email glitches cost him the latter. In another story hampered by horrific timing, Paz and his SO suffered through "a really bad argument" shortly before the breakdowns began, and after writing her man several emails and getting no reply, she cut the cord on their relationship for good. Of course, Rafael received the notes hours later, but apparently, his lady isn't "falling for" the so-called BlackBerry outages excuse. So while your business plans or daily routine may have been momentarily on the fritz, we're fairly sure the mass failure was kinder to you than it was to Mr. Paz.[Via Fark]
Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption to be released in late '07?
Le sigh. There was a point, if we here at the Fanboy offices can remember correctly, that both Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption were both possible launch titles. Now, according to some whispers over at CVG, neither title will be released (along with the eternally delayed Zelda: Phantom Hourglass) until the holiday season of 2007.Patience is a good thing, and we're more than willing to wait until both of these quadruple-A titles are as shiny as can be. Still, unless Super Smash Bros: Brawl can make it out either in summer or even earlier (something we highly doubt), Nintendo is going to be going quite some time without a big first-party title. Memories of the typical Gamecube release schedule are coming to mind, but alas ... at least we've got the Virtual Console to keep us busy...[via Joystiq]
