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Hitting the Books: The Soviets once tasked an AI with our mutually assured destruction
In "The New Fire" (out now from MIT Press) we see why AIs should not be allowed to engage in nuclear brinksmanship.
SWTOR's Sage, Sorcerer discipline changes detailed
Sages and Sorcerers, this Star Wars: The Old Republic dev diary's for you. BioWare has revealed the upcoming changes to two more of its advanced classes that will go live when the Shadow of Revan expansion launches on December 9th. Both classes "have seen some changes to their baseline ability package," and all three specs for each class get at least one new active and two new passives. Learn more at the official SWTOR website!
The majority of iPad owners prefer landscape over portrait
Touch publishing company OnSwipe has released its first OnSwipe Sage report that details how users interact with the iPad. The report surveyed the habits of 127 million iPad users and this is what it found: While 41.2 percent of iPad users prefer portrait mode, 59.8 percent preferred landscape mode. The five most popular US cities for iPad usage are New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston. The most popular time for iPad usage is 10 PM local time. The top search engine used on the iPad is Google, followed by Yahoo, then Bing. Facebook accounts for the most social referrals on the iPad, with Twitter coming next, then Pinterest, then Reddit. In all, 54.8 percent of people use email to share things on their iPad. That's more than Facebook's sharing usage which is 28.9 percent on the iPad.
Hyperspace Beacon: All SWTOR classes are useful in Huttball, part two
A few weeks ago, after many weeks of seeing new players in Star Wars: The Old Republic warzones, I thought it would be a good idea to post a little guide on the basics of winning Huttball. Interestingly, that article birthed a conversation about how some classes were better suited for the game, but more importantly, some players had given up on the warzone because they felt that their particular class didn't work in Huttball at all. Admittedly, certain classes do have more utilities that make them a better fit for the game, but I believe every class has its role in this particular arena. And more importantly, I believe that every class can have fun and feel useful. However, some players need a bit of training. Two weeks ago, I covered the Sith Warrior, Jedi Knight, Imperial Agent, and Smuggler classes. In this week's coverage, I'm going to take a look at two SWTOR classes that seems to be built for this game and two others that have more surprises than you might think: the Sith Inquisitor, Jedi Consular, Republic Trooper, and Bounty Hunter.
Eden Eternal expansion Shadows of the Past introduces new class
A new age begins in Eden Eternal as the game's new expansion, Shadows of the Past, launches with tons of new content tying the past to the present. Players will find three new maps, four new dungeons, and a new Sage class on top of the additional lore and a raised level cap (70) when they log in to the free-to-play fantasy game. In an interesting twist, those wishing to play this new class cannot just choose it; they must undergo a series of trials in order to unlock it for play. These trials allow player to experience the saga of the lost Sage in a bygone age firsthand. Producer Andy Muesse states, "This is the first time that the lore has had something tied to the world's past, a compelling story of the corruption of the Zumi race and why there are no Sages anymore." [Source: Aeria Games press release]
SWTOR's meet the Medic -- er, Consular
Some fans have wondered if the rumors about a the Jedi Consular video were just vapor. Thankfully, the community team at BioWare has proven that wrong. This afternoon, we were introduced to the Jedi Consular class for Star Wars: The Old Republic. This keeper of Force tradition is split up into two advanced classes: The Sage and the Shadow. As their names imply, the Sage is a healer and ranged Force wielder, and the Shadow is a stealth and melee class. As we have seen in past screenshots, the Trandoshan hunter Qyzen Fess will join the Consular on his travels across the galaxy. This reptilian humanoid has hunted all the galaxy's most deadly beasts from the swamps of Belkadan to the Tatooine deserts, according to his bio on the official website. Witness all the wonder of this class in the screenshots below, and be sure to catch the full Consular trailer after the break! %Gallery-130055%
SageTV users can upgrade to the most recent version for free
One of the big questions after news broke that Google had acquired SageTV and the store shut down was what would happen to the community, but now at least one bone has been thrown existing users way. GeekTonic points out a post on the official forums with updates that will bring the most recent version 7 of the software to those running older v5 or v6, free of charge. That doesn't put cash back in the pocket of those who already paid for the upgrades, but at least it puts remaining users on a similar platform for themes and plugins to run on. There's also a Q&A available at GT and while the majority of the answers are of the "can't comment on that right now" variety, there are some notable tidbits, like plans to keep the EPG data going for "at least a year" and the predictable news that the current beta of 7.1 is considered "release quality" and will not be updated further.
Motorola Sage pictured in glorious detail, on a collision course with AT&T
Confirming our FCC-inspired conjecture, here we have a gallery of pictures giving us a detailed look at Motorola's latest (though probably not greatest) Android handset. Just as we posited, this QWERTY slider is bound for AT&T's airwaves and it comes with a Motoblur 2 skin, as seen most recently on the Droid X. We keep telling these manufacturers that bone stock Android and a rapid upgrade cycle would be preferable but they don't listen. You'll have to make do with Android 2.1 when the Sage launches, which can't be too far off from now given that our tipster has had his test unit for a good month already. [Thanks, Charlie W.]%Gallery-98826%
Motorola Sage spotted in the wild, Mr. Blurrycam claims there's QWERTY on board
Sure, we'd heard tell of a Motorola Sage and briefly posited that the 850 / 1900MHz Android device could be AT&T's followup to the Backflip, but bless our bluetooth and count our digital compasses if this isn't it. Ubergizmo obtained this shot of a Motorola device that's a dead ringer for the aforementioned horizontal clamshell, complete with the huge trackpad (mounted on the front this time) and 3.1-inch screen. Mr. Blurrycam reportedly says it will sport Android 2.1 and a hardware keyboard as well, though from this angle there's no telling where Motorola might have stuck the QWERTY in, on or around the silver-trimmed shell. Portrait slider, anyone? [Thanks, Calob]
Motorola Sage: AT&T's next Android phone?
We tend to go into full-on conjecture mode when we see an interesting FCC filing, but our instincts haven't let us down in the past, so allow us to throw something out on the table. A new Motorola just hit the feds with 7.2Mbps HSDPA and 2Mbps HSUPA on the 850 and 1900MHz bands, quadband EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth, AGPS, and a digital compass. In other words, this is definitely an Android set, and it could definitely work on AT&T. The Backflip's already looking plenty long in the tooth, and we wouldn't be surprised to see Moto fire its second Google-powered volley on AT&T before too long -- it's certainly been doing its duties on Verizon (and to a lesser extent, T-Mobile) after all. Any thoughts on what wild form factor this one might be?
The Road to Mordor: Shopping for your skirmish soldier
Every Friday, The Road to Mordor brings you the latest in Lord of the Rings Online news, guides and analysis. Breaking up, as the song goes, is hard to do -- but sometimes very, very necessary. I'll admit that I have recently settled into a bit of a skirmish funk, firing up a session here and there merely for the XP and the privilege of filling my bags with 576 different types of marks (seriously, Turbine, couldn't we switch from this confusing British-like currency to something more streamlined, like the Euro?). When I couldn't find a partner for a skirmish, the sessions seemed like a drag, and even though I dutifully stabbed my way through them, I grew to resent their length and my death-prone Herbalist soldier. It wasn't until the other day that a friend challenged my choice of soldier, and in so doing, freed me up for a more enjoyable skirmish experience. "Why are you sticking with the Herbalist?" he asked. I shrugged -- I thought that's what you picked when you were DPS-y and lacked a lot of self-heals. After doing a bit of research on the forums, I made the switch from the decaf healbot to 100% caffeinated Archer goodness, and I couldn't be happier. Pew pew, stab stab, win win. The choice of a soldier companion for skirmishes may be the tipping point between a painful slog and a joyful battle, as it was in my case. If you're still trying to figure out which soldier might work best with your class, then hit the jump and see what other players recommend you try.
Celebrate the summer in Perfect World International
Grab your beach towels, slather on the sunscreen, and slip on a pair of shades, for the summer is upon us! Just because we love MMOs doesn't mean we can neglect healthy seasonal traditions. Perfect World International is excited about the summer as well, and is ushering in an ocean's worth of new content for players to dive into a month early. If a makeover is your thing this season, then you'll be thrilled to know that you can finally switch between the Demon and Sage paths with a new conversion feature. Maybe you want to see what it's like to be a good girl or a bad boy, for once. The neglected Tideborn players won't be left out of the beach party, either -- they can now acquire Demon and Sage skills, as well as a few other new skills for the Assassin and Psychic classes. Grab a few pals for a quick game of "Kill the Nien Beast," as the grumpy Gus returns for another swipe at Archosaur. This Public Quest was so popular during the spring that it just had to come back for round two. Finally, for the remainder of the month of May, catch a wave at the Double XP Event -- hang ten with double XP, double Spirit and double items!
A look at crafting updates in EQII's Game Update 52
It's not just new dungeons and adventuring quests that will be hitting EverQuest II in the next big patch, Game Update 52; there'll be plenty for those with a crafting bent as well. Niami Denmother of EQ2 Traders Corner had an early look at some of what will be available and has shared her impressions with the community. We already found out that the player-written books in GU52 will come from crafters, and Niami's preview includes screenshots of a variety of different bindings that can be made (by Sages level 50+, by the way).There will also be some revamping of crafted hex dolls and ranged items, and the new stats should please most. Existing hex-dolls will be upgraded to the new stats upon logging in after GU52's release, but the ranged items will not, just in case some people like the stat distribution of their current gear. The last thing we get to see in Niami's sneak peek is a screenshot of some player-crafted furniture. SOE was quick to mention that this is not all the new furniture that GU52 holds, but the preview should be enough to get people to dust off their crafting equipment ahead of time. Make sure to check out the screenshots of the other goodies that will be available.
Wisdom Audio plays it smart, targets high-end custom installers for Sage Series speakers
The gray cloud hanging over the economy isn't good for anyone in the AV marketplace, especially not independent, high-end marques. Factor in the typically long life-cycle for speakers and it's no surprise that many speaker companies are moving into the custom install market, like Wisdom Audio is doing with its Sage Series. Although the Sage speakers do not have to be mounted in- or on-wall (freestanding models are available), catering to customers who shop high-end custom installers should provide some insulation from the economic woes felt by those in lower tax brackets. And the Sage series' planar magnetic drivers, built-in Audyssey MultiEQ correction and closed-box design should keep those customers happy with the sound, too -- even if they're more interested in what the speakers don't bring to the room's appearance more than what they do bring to the room's sound. [Warning: PDF link] [Via hometoys]
