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Penguin pulls new e-books from library distributor, citing concerns over security
OverDrive's e-book universe got a little colder this week, thanks to Penguin. Citing "new concerns about the security of our digital editions," Penguin USA temporarily pulled its new titles from the distributor's stable of library e-books yesterday, pending further discussions with its business partners. The publisher didn't offer a concrete reason for its pullout, but issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to its business partners, and reassuring readers that physical copies of its new books will remain available across "libraries everywhere." OverDrive, which powers Amazon's Kindle Library Lending Service, soon issued its own statement, providing more insight into the conflict: Last week Penguin sent notice to OverDrive that it is reviewing terms for library lending of their eBooks. In the interim, OverDrive was instructed to suspend availability of new Penguin eBook titles from our library catalog and disable "Get for Kindle" functionality for all Penguin eBooks. We apologize for this abrupt change in terms from this supplier. We are actively working with Penguin on this issue and are hopeful Penguin will agree to restore access to their new titles and Kindle availability as soon as possible. This kerfuffle hasn't gone over too well with some libraries. In an e-mail sent to the Digital Shift, Cynthia Laino of the C/W Mars Library Consortium lamented the turn of events -- and the fact that her organization was left in the dark. "Neither Penguin nor OverDrive made any sort of announcement to library staff regarding this issue," wrote Laino, whose consortium represents more than 150 libraries across the US. "We have bought many additional copies of our most popular titles simply to meet the increased demand for them once Kindle users were added to our borrowers. We would not have spent the additional funds (thousands of dollars) had we known this issue would arise." Laino went on to express her hope for a quick resolution, suggesting that the involved parties should at least provide some compensation for the sudden withdrawal. We'll be following this story as it develops, and will be sure to bring you the very latest.
Rumor: The Penguin to terrorize Arkham City, his first picture revealed
Rocksteady has been dropping hints about The Penguin's involvement in Batman: Arkham City for a while now -- the most blatant of which being the appearance of the nemesis' Iceberg Club in the game's first teaser trailer. According to ArkhamCity.co.uk, Rocksteady marketing manager Dax Ginn recently spilled the beans about the portly foe's role in the upcoming crimefighting sequel to the Australian Sunday Herald, revealing the very first image of his in-game visage, seen above. According to the site's transcription of the interview, Ginn explained, "The way that penguin has always been portrayed is as quite an aristocratic, well-spoken gentleman who's got these twisted delusions of grandeur." He added, "So we've made him a really horrible, nasty piece of work - but still with the delusion of grandeur. He dresses well, but in a poor taste, and we've made him this brutish, brutal guy but also key into collection fascination that he's had through out the years." We've contacted Rocksteady to confirm the report, as well as Danny DeVito to see if he's collecting any royalties on the title.
Case-Mate's Creatures collection: Animal magnetism for your iPhone
iPhone 4 cases are a dime a dozen -- well, more like $25 each, to be specific -- but we do like to give props to any company that produces one in an imaginative and unique style. Two new styles by Case-Mate, part of the "Creature collection," fit our guidelines to a T. These covers boast your choice of scary monster (the Monsta) or cuddly penguin (the Waddler). We know, you're holding out for the adorable puppy case, right? Fortunately, there are more creature features ready to roll out in the coming months. But how can you turn down a case that has its own webbed feet keychain and raised flipper attached? We submit that you cannot. Full PR after the break.
Take a chance on DC Universe Online's Update 2
Are you ready to stand up to the diabolical plans of the Penguin and take your chances with Two-Face? For the heroes and villains of DC Universe Online, today is the day to do just that, as Update 2 is out on the live servers, ready to offer all manner of new challenges to those willing to heed the call. Aside from all the great new endgame, Legends, and holiday content we heard about in talking with Chris Cao a couple of weeks ago, there's a whole slew of bug fixes and improvements in this wide-reaching update. Among the many things that have been fixed are several animation bugs, feat issues, and oh-heavens-yes, those incredibly annoying bugs that stopped players from being able to complete quite a few instances. Add in the ability to bring back friends into instance groups if they get dropped, several new UI changes and more, and you have a great patch that's chock-full of things that DC Universe Online players have been clamoring for. Be sure to pop over to the DC Universe Online forums and check out the enormous patch notes for Update 2. Also, check out our gallery below for lots of Update 2 art goodies! %Gallery-50201%
DC Universe Online Update 2 is on its way!
We know you've been anxiously awaiting new content from DC Universe Online -- so have we. A couple of weeks ago, Creative Director Chris Cao talked with us about the "chance" content of the latest update. The Penguin and Two-Face are the villains of choice this time around, and we'll even see a special appearance from Mister Mxyzptlk. Naturally, we're are all excited about the new update -- now when is it coming out? We finally have the answer. On the official forums, Community Manager Tony "RadarX" Jones told DCUO fans that the update will be coming next week! He also took some time to explain that multiple exploits have been fixed, many mission bugs have been squashed, and the social UI has been overhauled. For more information about the update, don your cape and cowl, then head over to Krystalle's interview with Chris Cao. If SOE keeps to its normal update schedule, we will see the new content on Tuesday (if not Thursday). To the Batcave!
Festo's flying AirPenguin robot induces daydreaming beyond the sea (video)
Penguins. Such graceful creatures. Mommy never told us why these birds don't fly, but here's proof that this won't be a concern for our little 'uns. What you're looking at is the Festo AirPenguin's rare appearance outside its German labs -- the Gotengo-esque airship is at The Gadget Show Live in Birmingham, UK this week. Sure, this baby's a bit old, but being up close and personal with it is way more sensational than watching the mere 40-second-long segment from last time, and at least we now know it's the real deal. Video after the break.%Gallery-89964%
Dear John Makinson and Penguin, please don't "reinvent" books
"Reading literature makes you a more well-rounded individual." That's what an author told me once. Notice he didn't say "watching literature." paidContent:UK has an article on a presentation Penguin Books' CEO John Makinson gave here in London on Tuesday. Makinson presented ideas on how publishers might approach Apple's iPad and the iBookstore. Makinson revealed "We will be embedding audio, video and streaming in to everything we do. The .epub format, which is the standard for ebooks at the present, is designed to support traditional narrative text, but not this cool stuff that we're now talking about." "This cool stuff" includes turning books into applications with "online communities" for fans with live chat between readers and other multimedia effects. "The definition of the book itself is up for grabs," Makinson said. A copy of Pride And Prejudice might conceivably come with videos of Keira Knightly or Colin Firth (the various movie adaptation's cast). "We don't know whether a video introduction will be valuable to a consumer. We will only find answers to these questions by trial and error." An electronic format with live chat, community forums, audio and video is called a web site. Or maybe an interactive Blu-Ray disc. Books are words arranged on a page (whether paper or digital) that are meant to be assimilated through the eye and processed in the brain with the reader adding much to the story itself – like what a character looks or sounds like.
Create a Battle.net account, or don't play anymore
Wondering why you can't log into the game? Mr. Chilly knows why. It's because you spurned him. He was ready to be your bestest bud, and look what you did. You missed the deadline to get Mr. Chilly express-delivered to your mailbox by merging your WoW account into a Battle.net account. You had all the time in the world. You made Mr. Chilly cry. And now you can't even log in! Serves you right! Well, it's way too late to reconcile with Mr. Chilly, but you can at least get back into the game if you go and create a Battle.net account now. Remember that, aside from being forced to do it now anyway, this also conveniently organizes all of your Blizzard game accounts into one place, lets you re-download any game for which you lost the CDs, and, uh, has a neat menu, I guess. Just go do it so you can play. Your mother and I are very disappointed in you.
Battle.net accounts required by November 11th
As of November 11, players will no longer be able to log in with non-Battle.net accounts. If you haven't merged your World of Warcraft account with a Battle.net account yet, you better do it soon! As a bonus incentive, players who do merge their accounts will receive Oswald the penguin! Those who already have merged their accounts need not worry as they will also get Oswald. Players that were involved with the Wrath beta may remember receiving one of these in the mail except he was known as Mr. Chilly then. I'm sure Oswald will make an excellent companion to Pengu (another penguin pet). Receiving Oswald is going to be a limited time offer. Blizzard hasn't officially announced a date yet, but they do plan on removing the ability to get him at some point. Of course, not being allowed access into the game might be incentive enough to begin the account merging process! For additional information, check out the Battle.net account FAQ, Instructions on creating a Battle.net account, a video tutorial on how to convert your account, or just make your account a Battle.net account now (US) (EU).Note: There is a blue post saying November 12th, and the in-game announcement saying November 11th. If appears that EU players need to convert by the 12th, and NA/US players need to convert by the 11th. But be on the safe side and just convert your account now.
Crapgadget: "Oh yeah, they're totally serious" edition
Every so often, we come across a gadget (or five) that's so offensive, so absurd that we simply can't help but stick it in our back pocket and show it to the general public. Today, we're rounding up the worst of the worst once again, proving that there literally is no end to the spewing of gadget-related garbage that comes from unknown caverns in undisclosed corners of the universe. We mean, just listen to these products: "fried eggs night light," "Bic lighter spy camera," "hungry caterpillar USB hub," and "half-eaten chocolate mouse." Does those even sound like kit that any partially sane individual would purchase? No, no it doesn't. Have a gander while shaking your head furiously below, and feel free to drop a vote for the king of the crap while venting in comments below. Trust us, it's therapeutic.Read - Half-eaten chocolate mouseRead - USB Penguin 4-Port Hub Read - Fried Eggs Night LightRead - Spy camera Bic lighterRead - USB Bulb Flash DriveRead - Hungry caterpillar USB hub %Poll-33032%
MyDeskFriend robot penguin will link to Facebook, be a true friend
Robots and other devices linked to social networking sites aren't exactly anything new, but few have been in the form of tiny robot penguins, and even fewer have been tiny robot penguins with hats. That bit of mold-breaking comes courtesy of upstart Arimaz of Switzerland, which is now busy showing off its MyDeskFriend "Facebook companion" that's set for release this September. As you can see in the video after the break, the bot is able to mosey about your desk without falling off and react to your voice like any good robot, but its real secret is that it can connect to Facebook and read your messages, or even be controlled (some may say tormented) by your real Facebook friends. Look for it to run $99 when it's released.[Via Technabob]
The Daily Grind: What race would you add to Free Realms?
Humans and Pixies -- or faeries if you like -- of both genders are currently available in SOE's upcoming Free Realms. Some of us have already jokingly suggested what we'd want in future races, but it seemed like a reasonable enough question to ask those interested in playing the game what they would want to see.Certainly there are all sorts of other things that could be added to Free Realms, most of them being new jobs. And while those are without a doubt coming, we'll leave that topic for another day and another grind.So what's it gonna be dear Massively readers? More fantasy ala Dwarves and Elves, or would you rather race karts, raise pets, cook food and fight Robgoblins (yes, that is what they're called) as a robotic penguin person? Speaking of Robgoblins, there's always playing as baddies like them or trolls and such, too!So many choices.
Festo shows off robot penguins and other visions of the future
The folks at Festo have already proven themselves to be more than adept some intoxicating, slightly unnerving feats of robotics, but they look to have really outdone themselves with their latest group of creations, which all fall under the banner of the company's Bionic Learning Network. While they're all certainly impressive, the real star is undoubtedly the AquaPenguin which, in addition to being creepily realistic, is fully autonomous and even able to outperform its real-life counterpart in a few tasks, like swimming backwards. Of course, Festo apparently couldn't help themselves and also built a flying, blimp-like AirPenguin, and they applied some of the same basic technology to a number of other devices, including a robot arm that's precise enough to change a lightbulb, and a freestanding interactive wall that's sure to spruce up any lobby. Hit up the YouTube link below for a video that provides a brief overview of the whole lot, or head on over to Festo's site for the even better German version (plus some additional details on the projects themselves).Read - YouTube, "Festo Bionic Learning Network 2009"Read - Festo[Thanks, Gunter]
Kalu'ak reputation rewards
The only way to increase your faction standing with the Kalu'ak is to complete the numerous tasks at the various quest hubs in the Borean Tundra, Dragonblight, and Howling Fjord. After all those quests are done the only way to further increase your standing is to work on the various daily quests associated with the faction.But what are some of the goodies you can get when you're exalted?The hottest item is the Mastercraft Kalu'ak Fishing Pole that has the double whammy of allowing underwater breathing and increasing your fishing skill by 30. It's a must have for any master angler, and will come in handy as you fish off the cold icebergs of Northrend. You can get pole for just over 100 gold when you hit exalted.Another must have is the pet penguin that you can get when you reach exalted. The little guy is cute and is someone that wants to sit next to you as you use that big purple fishing pole you got.You can pick up these rewards from quartermasters in either Mora'ki Harbor in Dragonblight or in Kamagua in the Howling Fjord.Read on after the break and see what you can grab from these fun loving Wilfred Brimley looking folks.
Lichborne: Reputation rewards for Death Knights in Wrath of the Lich King
Welcome to Lichborne, WoW Insider's weekly column on the Death Knight, written and named by a guy who actually doesn't have that talent. How does this keep happening, seriously? So by now, I'm sure a lot of Death Knights are, like yours truly, getting into the level 80 home stretch and trying to figure out which of the Wrath factions to grind first. If you've already read our Wrath 101 guides to reputation and to the Oracle and Frenzyheart tribes, you're off to a good start. In this week's Lichborne, we'll take it a step further by looking at the purchasable rewards for each faction with the eye of a Death Knight. As with our previous gear guide, I'm operating on the assumptions that haste and armor penetration are less desirable for Death Knights and that expertise is primarily for Death Knight tanks.
Scattered Shots: Reputation rewards for Hunters in Wrath of the Lich King
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! You didn't think Scattered Shots was taking the day off, did you? Hopefully, there's enough of you who aren't completely zonked out on turkey, ham, or beef to read this.So by now, I figure most of you are well on your way to 80, and are probably starting to ask yourself: Which reputation should I grind first? There's tons of ways to choose, be it roleplaying who your character would align themselves with or choosing the one that's easiest to grind. One of the most popular and most effective though, is pretty simple: Asking yourself which one has the best loot. Today's Scattered Shots will center around that last one. If you're still not sure how to grind reputation in Northrend, or forgot where the quartermasters are, be sure to check out our Wrath 101 post on reputations, as well as our post on the Wolvar and Oracles of Sholozar Basin. Once you've done that, or if you remember the basics, read on!
CrossOver Games supports Wrath of the Lich King
If you're a Linux user worried whether you can play Wrath on your preferred operating system, there's some good news for you. CodeWeaver has confirmed that their CrossOver Games system-compatability product will continue to support World of Warcraft, even if your account includes Wrath of the Lich King. You don't even have to upgrade to a new CrossOver build. The current 7.10 version will run Wrath "just peachy," says CodeWeaver's COO John Parshall. According to the press release we recieved from CodeWeaver, Parshall apparantly did most of the Wrath "testing" himself. "I played well into my mid-70s on several of my characters," said Parshall. Like 99% of the WoW population, the COO also played a Death Knight to about level 60. So, you can rest confidently knowing your Death Grip is totally okay with Linux. The press release obviously didn't say whether he tanked or not, but I'm going to assume a Linux guru has the skills to pay the bills, as it were. CrossOver's web site does warn that there may be a few small problems, but that the game runs smoothly and exceedingly well. It comes just shy of running "flawlessly." Given that the COO of the company seems to be a devoted fan, you can assume that any serious problems will be worked out soon enough.
Penguin noncombat pets appear in the beta
Well, folks, it looks like we're definitely getting our wish. After incessant begging, peevish requests, heart-rending pleas, and no small amount of outright nagging on the part of...actually, I think everyone in the game has asked for this at one point or another, but never mind. People in the beta have started getting penguin pets!A much earlier data-mined image gave us a glimpse of what we could only assume were penguin noncombat pets, but reader Alassiel has written in to confirm that two of her characters in the beta have now received them in the mail. You can see Alassiel's screenshots of her Death Knight getting hers here and here. Elizabeth Wachowski and Zach Yonzon braved a constantly-crashing beta server to get more information and pictures for us. It looks like the pet, named "Chilly," is currently being mailed to players in the beta as a gift for switching to a Blizzard account. And yes, it is pretty much the cutest thing ever, which I suspect is an effort to compensate for Northrend being a continent full of animated corpses. As Alassiel's gotten them on at least two characters so far, I assume it's being sent to all active toons on a Blizzard account. We're not sure if that's going to remain the only way to get Chilly, but if you're in the beta and have a Blizzard account (or want to switch to one -- it's free), don't forget to check your mailbox!
DS Fanswag: Penguin (winners) United
Another DS Fanboy contest has rolled to a stop, and six lucky readers are about to become the recipients of a spiffy Penguin United case. The latest winners are: Josh Brian 898 rikki Cubivore wynaut Congrats, folks! Start working on filling up those pouches (as soon as they arrive, of course), unless you've already got a pile of games. If so, well, additional cases are cheap! To everyone else: better luck next time. Someday, it will be your time in the sun.%Gallery-25893%
Essential Extras: Penguin United 24x Gaming Pouch
So, right now you can win a Penguin United case that will hold twenty-four DS carts, but how does it look doing so? How's it hold up? Is it worth overcoming horrendous feelings of laziness in order to click the link to the contest? We unboxed a bunch of games in an attempt to find out.A game case really only needs one thing: a place to securely hold games. Everything else, including cuteness, is basically extra, even if we consider it essential (and oh, we do). We know the Penguin United cases are cute. We know they hold a lot of games. But are they worthwhile? The short answer is yes. The long answer is full of misdeeds, games, and vinyl, and is located after the break.%Gallery-25893%
