logos
Latest
TTH guide to the Torden Mires
Tabula Rasa's The Mires is a zone that's messy, more than a bit laggy, and infested with Bane. It's also the staging point for most of the activity on the Torden continent. This virtual version of Hades is for characters in their upper 20's (levels 27-30). Covered with enormous mountains, raging rivers of lava, and precarious cliffs, this zone is also filled with dozens of missions, three different instances and two control points to battle over. With all that, wouldn't it be handy to have a guide? TTH's guide to the Torden Mires breaks down several of the bases and control points, gives some very helpful tips and tricks, points out what to avoid, and even provides a handy location chart for the 11 Logos abilities scattered across the continent. If you've become as obsessed with Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa as I have over the holidays, be sure to check out all of TTH's invaluable guides.
Logos Atlas sends a call for casual cryptologists
One of the interesting, if often ignored, parts of Tabula Rasa's lore are the Logos symbols. Not to be confused with Logos itself - which is said to be the power which controls the very fabric of the cosmos, or Logos abilities - which are TR's version of magic spells, Logos symbols are those little figures that appear on shrines and holy places, and make up the language that is used to tell the stories of the Eloh. Truthfully, their function in the lore is something that I haven't seen players show a terribly large amount of interest in to this point, but from hearing General British himself speak about them, it's easy to tell that they're something he put a good deal of thought into and is quite proud of -- even suggesting that they would make a good universal language for the deaf.Among the Tabula Rasa resources on the 'net, Logos Atlas is easily the most reliable as it concerns the location of Logos shrines and their meaning. It should already occupy a spot in the bookmarks of any self-respecting member of the AFS. To drum up a bit of interest in their site, Logos Atlas is holding a contest through the end of the year, offering an Ideazon Zboard with a Tabula Rasa keyset and a Tabula Rasa FragMat mousepad for one lucky winner who can successfully decipher three puzzles written using Logos symbols. It sounds a lot easier than it actually is, and we're told nobody has successfully completed them yet. So if you fancy yourself an amateur cryptologist, give the contest a look -- it's free loot after all.
iPhone Hacking: Messing with Ringtones, Graphics and more
This weekend, many instability issues associated with the iphoneinterface hacking tool (details to be found online at irc.osx86.hu #iphone) have been resolved. The big "your multigigabyte disk seems to disappear and be replaced by a few megabytes" bug has gone away and the software now supports both getfile and putfile (although, sadly, not removefile). This means that hackers have been able to unlock access to system files, retrieve them, alter them, and put them back. Read on for some of the biggest hacks developed over the weekend.
iColours for Apple notebooks
If the white glow of the Apple logo in your notebook isn't touching your heart the same way anymore, iColours might be just the touch-up you need to rekindle your love of all Apple things that glow (of which there aren't many). These 'high quality' filters come in a wide range of colors, and as you can see from our screenshot - they're customizable. They have a decent gallery of custom designs, and they offer installation instructions for iBooks, PowerBooks and even MBs and MBPs [Update: turns out MacBook/Pro instructions are still brewing. Take a look before you place an order if you're an MB/MBP owner.]Base price for a solid color is $3.99, including worldwide shipping. While custom designs are available, they ask that you contact them before ordering. Needless to say, installing these most likely blows any warranty you might have out of the water, but that hasn't stopped you before, right?Thanks Jason P
The story behind game logos
Many of the more memorable game logos, from Doom 3 to World of Warcraft, were created by the same company: Hamagami/Carroll. This interview with Justin Carroll goes into detail about the company's history and design process, and it's an interesting read, shedding some light on this obscure corner of game production. Surprisingly, Carroll never plays the games himself--he doesn't have time--but he employs a company full of avid gamers, all working to capture the game's spirit in its branding. While a game's packaging and logo will rarely make or break that game, having a box and design that appeals to shoppers and reflects the quality of the game is undeniably important.
