mastodon
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Mastodon's sudden popularity should serve as Twitter's wakeup call
There's a hot new social network these days and it's called Mastodon. Well, it's not that new -- it's been around since September 2016 -- but it's gained tens of thousands of users in the last few days. The reason for the growth? According to its founder, Eugen Rochko, it has a lot to do with people getting increasingly fed up with Twitter, especially the recent decision to nix @usernames from Replies. Mastodon -- named after an American heavy metal band -- is mopping up users seeking an alternative. Sure, Mastodon is still small and relatively unheard of, but the very fact that it spurred this much interest is a sign that the established social networks like Twitter are fundamentally failing at one thing: keeping users happy.
Rock Band Weekly: Everclear, Good Charlotte, Mastodon
Next week's Rock Band DLC tracks are thematically about as disparate as it gets. Featuring songs from rock band Everclear, metal band Mastodon and... um, whatever Good Charlotte was. Pop alternative rock? Anyway, they'll all be available next week.
Resistance 3 'Brutality' DLC is totally metal, coming today
For the elite cadre of people who have discovered and loved Resistance 3, some new downloadable content is on the way ... today! Revealed just yesterday on X-Play (watch the video here), the co-op "Brutality" DLC includes a new survival-based scenario in a "darker" version of the main game's Wales locale. To help you deal with the "ongoing onslaught of Grims," as Insomniac CEO Ted Price put it, you'll have the assistance of the Sledgehammer. That's not a codename for some kind of missile -- it's an actual sledgehammer. Helping to darken the setting even further is a seven-song soundtrack provided by metal band Mastodon. "But wait," you say. "Isn't metal totally anachronistic for a game set in 1957?" Of course, it would be, if the characters heard it. Also, all metal musicians are actually aliens. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you already knew that. No human can play drums that fast.
Rock Band Weekly: Tommy Tutone, Relient K and more
You may be asking: "Joystiq, why are you showing me Jenny's phone number on a modern phone? Shouldn't you have a video of it being dialed on a rotary phone?" First off, congratulations for recognizing Jenny's number. We do like to think that we have some of the most culturally immersed readers on the internets. The reason for the modern spin is that the version of Tommy Tutone's famous 1981 hit, "867-5309/Jenny," in next week's Rock Band DLC is actually the re-recorded 2010 version off Tommy's album, Tutone-Ality. It seemed fair to point out. Check out the rest of next week's available tracks after the break.
Researchers use Bluetooth to track festival goers, make fun of their 'hippie dancing'
A team from the University of Ghent in Belgium is lacing the site of this year's Rock Werchter festival -- Brussel's equivalent of Woodstock '97 -- with Bluetooth scanners (36 total, they cover a range of 30 meters each). While you're rocking out to the likes of Bloc Party and Mastodon, the researchers will be tracking your every movement, whether it be to the mosh pit, the beer tent, or the Job Johnny. As you've probably assumed, the researchers are primarily looking for ways that retailers can monitor customer flow (read: sell you more crap) although there are certainly going to be results applicable to the world of law enforcement. Of course, this is Bluetooth: you always have the option of disabling it on your phone, and if you don't they'll only be able to discern your MAC address. Besides, if you're not doing anything illegal, you have nothing to fear from the surveillance state -- right? And if you are up to no good, well, that's why they invented the Dazer Lazer.
