new years resolutions
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The Quantified Self: What sort of data are you tracking?
The year is still young and a few of us are barely clinging to our resolutions. Whether we vowed to be more active, eat healthier or drink more water, there's a variety of things to keep track of (and make us feel bad about ourselves). Are you using any gadgets or services to help improve your life this year? If so, what sorts of data are you monitoring and has it helped you? Sound off in the Engadget forums and let us know what you think. [Image credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
WildStar Wednesday: Carbine's community team goals for 2013
Welcome to 2013, settlers! Carbine Studios' community team has big plans for WildStar this year -- resolutions, if you will. To begin with, the team is committed to bringing the conversation to players' turf. That means being active and engaging on social media, gaming forums, "or even your guild's website." The team's second goal is to give players a voice in game design, which will involve stuff like turning livestreams into design discussions. Resolution number three is to experiment with new ways to interact with an MMO community. That will mean, to be specific, "trying new things." Finally, the team's planning to use beta testing as a safe environment for useful feedback, rather than releasing a beta when the game's too late in development for meaningful changes. We noticed that "launch the game" wasn't among those resolutions, but the team did finish off the post with a call for 2013 to be "the year of WildStar," so maybe all hope is not lost.
The Road to Mordor: Resolutions, Baggins and Took-style
Mmm... smell that? It's the smell of a fresh new year, that is! Rolled right off the factory floor with no dings, the warranty still intact, and a tank full of gas and dreams. Makes one want to abandon the routine and head out onto the open road, does it not? I'm one of those old fuddy-duddys who actually does New Year's resolutions, whether or not I'm actually capable of keeping them. I think it's important to try to better oneself and keep reaching for higher goals and standards, and if a new year is a convenient excuse to get my butt in gear, then I'm not complaining. So right now I'm staring at a field of endless potential for Lord of the Rings Online in 2012. I've actually been giving it a lot of thought -- what do I want out of this year? As LotRO heads toward its fifth anniversary, is there really anything new left that I haven't experienced? And what the heck am I going to write about for 52 more weeks? Never fear because the more I pondered, the more I realized that there's plenty of content yet to plunder (plus, of course, whatever Turbine has up its sleeves for the year). So for today's column, I sat down and drew up a list of resolutions in two parts: "Bagginsish" resolutions that are all about fluff and creature comforts and "Tookish" resolutions that are more concerned with high adventure.
Gympact iPhone app offers cash rewards to gym-goers, penalizes inattendance
We know, it's the new year and you just made a resolution to start going to the gym regularly... for the fifth year in a row. But you really mean it this time, don't you? There's an intriguing way to make sure you stay motivated throughout 2012 -- the almighty dollar. And we're not just talking gym memberships, either, though you'll probably need one: an iPhone app called GymPact offers cash rewards if you honor your weekly fitness commitment and makes you cough up some of our own hard-earned money if you slack off. Here's how it works: you first make a pact on how many days you'll go to the gym each week (minimum of one day per week) and how much you'll fork out if you miss, with the minimum penalty set at five bucks for each day you miss. If you have to pay, that money gets taken out of your credit card and goes straight into a community pot, which then gets divided up and doled out to everyone who honored their weekly commitment. How does the app know when you've stayed true to your vow? It's easy enough: you have to check-in to the gym using the app and stay for at least 30 minutes in order for your visit to count. The negative motivation seems to be working so far: according to GymPact, the startup saw a success rate of 90 percent in its six-month Boston-area trial. Unfortunately, iOS is the only platform the program is currently available on, but the company says it's working on an HTML5 web app that would allow check-ins from any smartphone. Now, if only there was an app to keep us from going to the Drive-Thru immediately after we leave the gym...
Breakfast Topic: What's your WoW New Year's resolution?
Happy New Year, WoW Insider! The new year is a great time to set some personal goals. In real life, last year I wanted to eat healthier and get engaged to my long-time girlfriend. Did both of those, so yay! This year, I think it'll probably be not to spend so much damn money all the time or at least have a tighter budget. (We'll revisit this next year and see how unsuccessful I am.) In WoW, my New Year's resolution last year was to raid more. I had taken a break of regular raiding because of the demands of the site here, so I (in my mind, at least) had a good excuse. I didn't immediately return to raiding last year, but I eventually did find a group in October, landing in a great guild on a low-pop server. We're not a top 100 guild or anything, but we know how to raid heroic modes, and I'm pretty happy. This year, I think my New Year's resolution will be to get all the tier sets on my warlock, if for no other reason than to say that I have them for myself and my obsessive transmogging. I bet that'll take me just about a year. What's your WoW New Year's resolution? Early morning edit: Ghostcrawler posted this in the forums early this morning. What better way to ring in the new year than with WoW's resident crustacean making his first non-standard forum appearance in well over a year: Ghostcrawler Quote: I am not going to discuss the positives and negatives of the MoP expansion. I dont think that given the current leadership of the WoW dev team, any expansion can save WoW. I think the only thing that will save wow is new leadership on the WoW dev team. A fresh perspective, vision and direction is needed for the WoW dev team. Troll. - GC source Could this mean a return of Ghostcrawler to the forums and a daily dose of designer insight? We don't know, but that could certainly make for an interesting 2012!
Arcane Brilliance: New Year's resolutions for mages
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This week, we leave 2011 behind and look toward 2012, which I predict will be the magiest year ever! A new year is upon us, my wizardly cohorts. It is a time for reflection, a refractory period when we bask in the afterglow of the year that was and then take a quick shower to rinse off the stink of it. But most importantly, it's a time to look forward, to set new goals, to examine ourselves and determine how best to progress, to improve, and to somehow avoid ending the world in a fiery apocalypse that only John Cusack can save us from. In that spirit, I thought this eve of the new year might be a good time to take an honest look at the mage class, examine our weak points, and conjure up some ways to shore them up in 2012. I figure we still have a at least a few months before Armageddon, and I can think of no better way to spend those last few moments of our existence than by killing as many warlocks as possible. I'll do a full column on gearing up in 4.3 in the coming weeks, but for the time being, suffice it to say there is some phat, epic mage loot out there right now, and all you need to do is take it. Preferably from a warlock's smoking corpse, but we'll take it however it comes. We're at the point now in this expansion where the epics are flowing with almost ridiculous ease. If you've been waiting to level a mage, it has never been easier to get that mage fully kitted out in purples than it is right now. And if, for some reason, you've been neglecting your mage, now is the time to get him up to speed.
WRUP: WoW Insider's rockin' New Year's Eve eve
Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too! Ah, New Year's Eve -- a magical evening when you get annoyed by Ryan Seacrest for a few hours, watch some bands (who will be entirely irrelevant by 2013) perform, and suffer through an unsettling attempt by a stroke victim to accurately rattle off a countdown. And it's all followed up with a sad, post-midnight attempt to recreate the magic by watching Chicago celebrate the Central Time Zone's version of the New Year. Silly Chicago -- your New Year's doesn't count. Only New York's does. But, of course, New Year's Eve is about more than just traditional network programming. New Year's Eve also affords us all the chance to make New Year's resolutions. That's what today's WRUP is all about -- New Year's resolutions. What's your New Year's resolution? And ... of course ... what are you playing?
Jawbone branches out from audio products, teases "Up" wristband that keeps tabs on your bad habits
According to our calendar, this is one of the least timely days of the year for us to harp on New Year's Resolutions, but that's no matter to Jawbone. The company, best-known for crafting those high-end headsets, is at TED talking up its first non-audio product: a wristband dubbed "Up" that tracks and analyzes your eating, sleeping, and exercise habits -- kind of like a bare-bones Fitbit or Nike+. As you can see in that photo up there, it's about the size of those ubiquitous rubber Livestrong bands and lacks a display (not to mention, wireless radios) -- all concessions made in the name of keeping the cost down, says Travis Bogard, VP of product marketing and strategy. So, this is a good 'ol wired product, with a bundled adapter connecting the band to your phone via the 3.5mm jack. Once you connect, you can view all your data on a website or through a mobile app. Or, if you thrive on public shaming, you can challenge people to fitness duels to the death (our phrasing, not Jawbone's). All told, this falls outside the outfit's comfort zone, but then again, it does know a thing or two about wearable tech. For now, the company's keeping mum on pricing and availability, though it says Up will be available in the states later this year. As for compatibility, well, Bogard tells us it's going to work with "all the relevant" mobile platforms. Make of that what you will, folks.
The Guild Counsel: New Year's resolutions
This past year for me has been the best year of my guild-leading life, primarily because I'm surrounded by terrific players who are also terrific people. We've had times when key members step away from raiding, and immediately I'll have several members volunteer to roll up new characters to fill the void and meet class needs. We've had issues, as all guilds do, and we have had disagreements, but I'm guilded with people who are classy enough and level-headed enough to understand the big picture and give the benefit of the doubt. As I raise my glass to toast my guildmates, I also look forward to next year. As guild leaders know, you can never rest on your laurels, and I have several New Year's resolutions. Read on to see what I hope to accomplish, and then share your resolutions for 2011.
The Daily Grind: What are your MMO resolutions for 2011?
Urrgh. I ate too much. I'm not just talking about turkey, dressing, and mashed potatoes either, as I also had a difficult time pushing back from the entertainment buffet table this past holiday season. Whether it was MMORPGs, single-player PC titles, or console favorites, the gaming smorgasbord was one of the more noteworthy in recent memory. Typically, end of the year overindulgence gives rise to resolutions (which may or may not fall by the wayside) for the new year, and today's Daily Grind is all about your gaming-centric pledges for 2011. Specifically, what are they? Are you going to play less? More? Do you need to scale back on your MMOs in order to catch up on the single-player titles you've missed? Inquiring Massively minds want to know. 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!
Hands-on with Runmeter
New year, new you, and there are a host of location-based iPhone apps that can help you look a bit more lithe at Point B than you did at Point A. Runmeter [iTunes link] is one of them. Like almost all apps in its genre (Nike+ and RunKeeper Pro [iTunes link]), Runmeter's main purpose is to track the distance you run and provides you such niceties like your pace and time. It doesn't get any simpler than that. However, Runmeter is also equipped with some features that separate it from the crowd. While there exists a host of location-based running apps on the iPhone, in my experience RunKeeper Pro serves as the benchmark GPS-based running app on the iPhone. It strikes a nice balance between ease-of-use for those who just want to get out and run while also providing some advanced features for the more training-oriented runner. The most obvious difference between Runmeter and RunKeeper Pro is price. At USD $4.99, Runmeter's price is half that of RunKeeper Pro. But this lower price doesn't necessarily translate into a lower quality product. Rather, Runmeter just has a different focus. Compared to RunKeeper Pro, Runmeter is less interval-training focused. Rather than getting your splits at a set distance, or your distance given a specified time interval, Runmeter allows you to race against yourself and tells you if you were faster this time around. And if your overall run was faster or slower, it's indicated as such within the app's built-in calendar. Another differentiating feature is customized announcements. In other words, if you just want to hear your elevation and pace, you can do that. And if you want to hear your competitor time, pace, remaining time and calories, you can do that as well. And you can arrange them in whichever order you want to hear them. But my favorite feature in Runmeter is its integration with clicker-enabled iPhone earbuds. You can squeeze the clicker to trigger announcements, like the aforementioned customized arrangement. One thing that I like about running with the Nike+ kit on the iPod nano is that, whether it's in your pocket or strapped via an armband, you can feel your way to the center button and press it to get your distance, pace, and time. However, Runmeter is not without its quirks and annoyances. In particular, the app doesn't announce the beginning of a run. On most running apps I've used, starting a run will initiate a voice telling you that you're good to go -- something along the lines of "beginning run" or "activity started." But on Runmeter, there is no such audio cue or feedback; you have to look at the screen to see if it's tracking you. At its $4.99 price, Runmeter will likely get the attention of those who are a bit hesitant toward RunKeeper Pro because of its $9.99 price tag. Whether or not Runmeter is the right running app for you, however, will depend on the way you train. If you like to race against yourself and monitor your improvements on a specified course, then Runmeter will likely serve as a better option. For the more interval-minded (be it time or distance), however, I find RunKeeper Pro a better option.
Healthy Me: Another TUAW giveaway to help your New Year's resolutions
When you're trying to live a more healthy lifestyle, it takes more than just watching your weight and exercising. Experts agree that you should eat a balanced diet, drink at least eight glasses of water per day, sleep well, and take nutritional supplements. That's the idea behind Healthy Me [US$0.99, iTunes Link] from developer Teddy Newell. Healthy Me features a simple and colorful interface for watching your weight approach your goal as well as tracking how many servings of the major food groups you've eaten, whether or not you exercised, and more. Since it's always nice to receive positive feedback when you've done something good for your body, Healthy Me gives you gold stars for achieving certain goals, as well as providing positive reinforcement through happy messages. The background of the app changes throughout the day, and there are even fun sound effects that play as you enter your daily info. Newell has provided TUAW with 20 promo codes to give away, so you have a chance to win Healthy Me. The details follow: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older. To enter leave a comment telling us if you made a health-related New Year's resolution and if so, what that resolution is. The comment must be left before Monday, January 4, 2009, 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. Twenty winners will be selected in a random drawing. Prizes: Promo Code for one copy of Healthy Me (Value: US$0.99) Click Here for complete Official Rules. My next wish is for an app that I can just point my iPhone camera at to see how many calories I'm about to consume. Developers -- get to work!
The Daily Grind: What will you change in 2010?
We can't, sadly, warp time to go back a full year. Once we do something, for better or for worse, we're stuck with it. But we can try and learn from things that happened the last time around, and there have certainly been things to learn from 2009, which we touched on yesterday. That's where the whole tradition of resolutions for the new year comes from. And as we all know, the second-best way to force yourself to do something is to make it public. (The first is to have someone following you around with a shotgun.) So, today we ask you just before the clock ticks over: what are you going to do differently in the coming year? Was there a single event that you learned from, or were there multiple events that contributed to you wanting to make a change? It could be anything from trying to avoid getting too invested in the pre-launch hype of a game to just trying not to die quite so often when playing a melee character, but we're sure you have at least one thing you'd like to try differently in the new year. (And if you do find a way to rewind time, please, let us know.)
Encrypted Text: New Year's Resolutions
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss the list of the things you should accomplish before 2011. With 2009 fading quickly and Cataclysm on the horizon in the upcoming year, the WotLK chapter of our lives as rogues is coming to a close. Preliminary numbers from Icecrown Citadel show rogues performing admirably, especially on fights like the Deathbringer, where we truly get to focus on a tight rotation and maximum single target DPS. While much of ICC has yet to be unlocked, I am confident that we'll find the best way to tackle the challenges it will place in front of us. Arena season number 8 (and likely Wrath's final season) is to be released shortly as well, which will see rogues vying against the plate classes for the top melee DPS honors. Cataclysm is bringing some of the most sweeping changes the game has ever seen, and so this is our last chance to experience the WotLK rogue before it disappears forever. Between the talent tree rebuild, the complete stat overhaul, and the massive world disruptions that are planned, we are running out of time to finish all of the items on our rogue to-do lists. Whether you're a new rogue, or a grizzled 5 year veteran of the Horde-Alliance war, I'd suggest knocking out these rogue-specific objectives that may be disappearing forever.
Top 5: Resolutions for Nintendo
After being MIA last week, it's nice to be back. I hope you were able to get your fill of inflammatory statements and grammatical errors from another blogger. And most importantly, I'm glad you're back. While I was away with loved ones, I did like many other of my countrymen and did not hold back on food and drink. Though I try to watch what I eat, the lure of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies and egg nog were a siren's song I could not ignore. And when I make my way to the gym tonight for my semi-daily swim, I know that it will be infested with the dreaded "January Joiners." This is a term which refers to the large influx of people attending the gym in the early part of the year in a futile attempt to fulfill their weight-loss resolutions. Although maneuvering around the larger number of bodies is an inconvenience, I have no ill feelings towards this people. In fact, I wish that they'd stay all year. Sadly, I know better: they'll be gone before February. So if you've made resolutions, try your best to stick with them. Whether fitness-related or not, setting goals is a great way to improve our lives. Write notes on a calendar, set Google alerts to remind you of goals, and keep your eye on the prize. While your resolutions will best be decided by yourself, we can all agree on a few for Nintendo. Here's the Top 5 resolutions that the Big N should set for themselves. Unlike the January Joiners, let's hope these goals aren't abandoned by Valentine's Day. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Scattered Shots: New Year's Resolutions for Hunters and for Blizzard
Welcome to Scattered Shots! This week, your author has managed to take a break from lamenting that the stores about to stop selling eggnog to make a few Hunter-specific resolutions.The New Year is considered by many people to be the time for a fresh start, a time to wipe the slate clean of past missteps, or just to make some changes to your life to make it even better. In that spirit, I'd like to propose some Hunter-related resolutions for both Blizzard and for Hunters in the spirit of promoting peace, harmony, and understanding in the new year for all Survivalists, Marksmen, and Beastmasters.
Breakfast Topic: New Year's Resolutions
Happy New Year, everyone! It's 2009, and this marks our first post of the year! I specifically locked everyone else out of the WoW Insider HQ so I would have the honor of writing it. Not before I asked them an important question, though. What were their New Year's resolutions for 2009? No, no, not those boring resolutions like "don't drink soda" or "watch less TV" or "stop eating babies." Nobody cares about that stuff. I mean their WoW resolutions! My resolution? Get better at PvP. I'm shooting high and want an arena title. I've never really been into PvP, whether it be battlegrounds or arenas, but it's really the one area of play I haven't had much success in. So I'm gonna give it my all, and I'm not going to do things halfway. I'll settle for nothing less than Gladiator. Okay, okay, I'll accept Duelist, but that's as low as this fella goes. As for the rest of our team...
The Daily Grind: Happy new year!
Another twelve months have gone by, the earth has revolved around the sun once more, and a brand new year stretches out before us. And while the rest of the world may be thinking up new year's resolutions of a more practical nature, this is Massively and you can't expect a conversation with us not to involve MMOs. So what are your MMO resolutions for 2009? Planning on playing less? Playing more? Diversifying your MMO portfolio? Leveling an alt of each class? For our part, we plan on playing as much of as many games as possible -- or to the extent we can get away with telling our significant others, friends, family, and household pets that, though it may look like we're killing giant lizards, we're actually working. Have any resolutions for 2009 you'd like to share?
What are your New Years gaming resolutions?
With the last moments of 2008 quickly approaching, we wonder: Is there anything we need to promise to ourselves? You know, gaming-wise. Are there any games we know we should be playing that we never got around to? Are there games we play too much we need to get out of? So many questions surround the New Year!Here's one from me, I've never finished Half-Life 2: Episode 2. There. I said it and now it's out there. Plan on doing it thought in 2009! What are your gaming resolutions in the New Year?It has been a big last few days around the X3F Offices. Make sure to check out all our Game of the Year content. Starting with our individual picks (Richard, Xav, Dustin) as well as your picks for 2008.
The Daily Grind: Your New Year MMO resolutions
From all of us here at Massively to all of you out there, we'd like to wish you a Happy New Year! For today's Daily Grind, we thought we'd ask the question just about everyone else is undoubtedly going to ask today; what your plans are for MMO gaming in 2008? For me personally, I have a fairly short list. Check out as many new MMOs as is humanly possible. I can't help it -- I'm a genre addict. Luckily with such a good first quarter full of new MMOs shaping up, this shouldn't be too hard. Spend more time with my home guild in World of Warcraft, even if it's just making raids once a week. -- Oh, and finally get that freaking epic flyer I keep waffling on bothering with. Put more time into the games I'm currently playing and try to hit endgame with at least one character in each game. (Where such thing is possible, anyway.) Try to enjoy as many end-of-beta events as is possible. (Those are always a lot of fun!) Branch out and check out some of the older games I haven't seriously tried beyond the initial phases. Dig up some more up-and-coming games that we can all check out together. I'd give you my short list of games that I plan to check out, but to be honest, that would probably be pushing the wall of tl;dr a bit. How about you? What are your New Year gaming resolutions? Anything on the radar for 2008 that you just can't wait to try out? Any games you're absolutely going to avoid like the plague?
