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Apple ID account/device limits gain attention
Trevor Sheridan sent us a note earlier today, asking if we'd look at his blog post about encountering Apple ID limits with iOS devices. Although Trevor just now encountered this issue, the policy actually went into effect a couple of months ago, back in June. When you use Apple's new multi-device download feature, you will be limited to a total of 10 devices and computers, each authorized with the same Apple ID. What's more, once a device or computer has been assigned to an Apple ID, it cannot be reassigned for 90 days. Apple's Knowledge Base support article details how you can deauthorize devices, and how to check the wait time before they can be re-assigned. Naturally, this is bad news for anyone who shares an iPhone or other iOS device with a loved one and who switches around the Apple ID accordingly. Once an Apple ID is authorized for media downloads, that authorization is going to stick for a few months at least. At some point, Apple is going to have to start seriously re-evaluating how real life meets Apple ID accounts, in terms of separating data within a family. Some examples: keeping only kid-friendly material on certain devices, even when iCloud backups and data sharing are in force (also known as the "cheating spouse outed by iCloud" scenario), joining data between adults (marriage and cohabitation), and when joint accounts need to be split (divorce and separation). For now, all authorization decisions seem to be motivated more by rights management than day-to-day practicalities. This new policy indicates that Apple continues to be a little tone-deaf when it comes to human relationships and how people really use their iOS devices. Think about the Duggars or the children of divorce; when newly-single Dad buys the kids an iPod, whose account do they get to use? It may seem tangential to drag all this into a write-up about a new Apple DRM protection policy, but these are the real world challenges that make these policies more than a minor annoyance.
Alleged Kinect hardware specs claim two active player limit
During E3, PrimeSense, the company behind the Kinect hardware, told Joystiq that the system it had licensed to Microsoft could only handle a maximum of two active players at a time. PrimeSense couldn't confirm at the time that Kinect could only calculate two players, and Microsoft didn't comment further when we asked, but leaked Kinect technical specifications from a few UK retailers seem to match up with the two "active" player limit. The leaked technical specifications claim that the Kinect camera can recognize any number of human bodies, but can only calculate the movement and actions of two people at a time. Other interesting specs have the camera pulling in a video view with a 640x480 resolution at 30fps, and an echo cancellation system in the mic that will make voice chat possible directly through Kinect. The information also explains what the original Xbox 360 will need for the device: 175 MB of memory for system drivers and an open USB port (to connect Kinect). Of course, these specifications aren't yet official, and they're strictly for the hardware -- not every game will support camera output or voice chat.
Maximum stamina
If you want to live through any boss fight as a tank, the one thing that you need above all else is health. Stamina, which gives ten health for every one point of stamina, is by far the most important stat that a tank needs in order to do their job well. No matter if you have reached the armor and defense cap, or if you're producing more threat than your DPS can keep up with, you won't live for a lick if you don't have enough health.Defining minimum health is an important concept in end game raiding and groups. For most instances, a minimum of 10,000 to 11,000 unbuffed is needed. This will at least let you take a few blows from a boss before dying, hopefully enough blows that the healer will be able to get off a few heals on you. For more entry level raiding environments, it's necessary to have unbuffed health between 11,000 and 12,000. If you've got 11,500 hit points going into Kara, you'll probably be able to reach 13,000 health fully raid buffed. This will let you survive a good portion of Kara, which means you can get more gear, which begets more health in the long run.
