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Cryptic North studio formed to polish Champions Online
In a recent interview with Gamasutra, Cryptic's Jack Emmert announced the formation of Cryptic North, a studio reborn from Pirates of the Burning Sea's Flying Lab and currently set to work on polishing Champions Online. Led by Flying Lab co-founder Russell Williams, Cryptic North is looking to grow the team by recruiting Seattle-based talent. When asked if the new studio will be working on any projects independent of Cryptic's Redwood City, California branch, Jack Emmert called that a "definite possibility." Be sure to read the entire interview over at Gamasutra for more. [Thanks to Psi for the tip!]
Amazon misses the rainforest, seeks to build a giant greenhouse in Seattle
You can take Amazon out of the jungle, but it'll just create one elsewhere -- at least that's what the company is planning for its inner-city Seattle office complex. A tweaked proposal for Amazon's three-block development, named "Rufus 2.0," was run by Seattle's Design Review Board yesterday, and it now includes a huge biodome structure with the notion that a "plant-rich environment has many positive qualities that are not often found in a typical office setting." It's five floors feature places to get work done, "dining, meeting and lounge spaces," a pair of shops serving the general public and, of course, lots of plants and trees. We've included a few more renders of the multi-bubble glass house after the break, and you'll find even more eye-candy in the source PDF. Forget the platform wars -- the competition for the coolest next-gen campus is on.
Dota 2's The International tournament will return August 7
The Dota 2 tournament called "The International" is set to return for a third round this year, with two different qualifiers leading up to a championship on August 7. The West Qualifier will run May 13-19, and be hosted by eSports outfit GDStudio, and the East Qualifier, hosted by BeyondtheSummit, will go from May 20-26.Those two qualifier winners will be joined by last year's winners from Invictus Gaming, twelve other contenders, and a special Wild Card contender, to be determined from the qualifier runner-ups right before the final showdown.The contest itself will take place at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, WA, and all of the matches will be broadcast online to watch for free. No official prizes have been announced yet, but traditionally The International boasts a $1 million payout for the winner, so the stakes will undoubtedly be high.
Microsoft to reveal next generation Xbox May 21
Microsoft will reveal the next Xbox on May 21.The event will have a global stream on Xbox.com, Xbox Live and Spike TV (US and Canada). No word yet if the Xbox 360 Pizza Hut app will also stream the event."On that day, we'll share our vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future. Then, 19 days later at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, we'll continue the conversation and showcase our full lineup of blockbuster games," said Xbox's community guru Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb.The event is titled "A New Generation Revealed" and will occur at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, campus on Tuesday, May 21 at 1PM Eastern (10AM Pacific, 6PM UK).
Thieves steal 7,000 Wiis from a warehouse in Seattle [Update]
In the dead of night between Saturday and Sunday, thieves stole 7,000 Wiis from a Seattle Air Cargo warehouse, Seattle PI reported.The thieves made off with 7,000 consoles, two 53-foot trailers and a box van from the warehouse, for an estimated haul of $2 million. The King County Sheriff's Office is looking into the theft. Not to say that we're professionally trained investigators here, but we would suggest officers keep an eye on Ebay. That's what we would do, at least.Update: The consoles were, in fact, Wii Us, an officer told Kotaku. Our source at the Seattle PI and ABC News reported that the stolen consoles were Wiis, and Kotaku was not one of our original sources. Thank you for the kind tips, lovely, wonderful commenters.
Gigabit Squared heading high-speed fiber and wireless internet initiative in Seattle
Seattle may have lost its high-velocity hoops team, but that doesn't mean it's satisfied with anything but speedy internet. The city has come to an agreement with Gigabit Squared (GB2) to build an unnecessarily wordy "fiber-to-the-home/fiber-to-the-business broadband network." With the University of Washington taking care of "community leadership" (as part of the Gig. U initiative), GB2 plans to utilize Seattle's excess fiber infrastructure, and create more, to deliver new internet options in three ways. In addition to the wired fiber network, the Gigabit Seattle project sees the development of a "dedicated gigabit broadband wireless umbrella" for beaming up to 1 Gbps from radio transmitters to others in direct view, as well as municipal WiFi-like services. At this stage, only 12 "demonstration" areas are earmarked in the proposal, although the radio-based wireless "umbrella" has the potential to extend that coverage. Gigabit Squared now needs to find the cash to get going if it wants to meet the distant operational target of "year-end 2014." It's worth remembering that plenty of city-wide internet initiatives have failed before this one, and only a Memorandum of Understanding and a Letter of Intent have been signed by all the involved parties -- agreements which aren't necessarily binding. Full details of the plan are available in PR form and at the source link below, or if you're done with prose, a map of the 12 demo neighborhoods hopefully getting hooked up can be found after the break. [Thanks, Gavin]
Engadget's Seattle meetup wrap-up!
Goodnight Seattle! Man, we sure had a blast at last night's reader meetup. The party went down at the Showbox Theater, right across the street from the city's fishy Pike Place Market. Droves of Emerald City Engadget readers braved the drizzle to hang out, talk tech and win some of the year's coolest gadgets -- including a brand new Microsoft Surface RT (yes, it came with a keyboard), a Nexus 7 and a pair of Kindle Fire HDs. We learned a lot of valuable lessons: everything's better with a green screen, people want to know where we go sweater shopping and Seattle's gadget geeks don't really know all that much about the Wu Tang Clan. Thanks everyone for coming out -- we'll see you in New York City! %Gallery-169739% Philip Palermo contributed to this report.
Engadget's Seattle reader meetup is this month! More tickets available!
Yep, we sold out of tickets to our upcoming Seattle Interactive Conference meetup, but fear not: we've found a whole new stash. If you're out in the Emerald City on October 29th, you can join in on the fun, meet Engadget editors, interact with fellow readers and win some fabulous prizes. Get added to the list by signing up for tickets right here. Oh, and if you're interested in sponsoring the event, there's still time. Just drop us a line at sponsors [at] engadget [dot] com, and for more information on SIC, check out the source link below.
Valve looking for hardware testers, rate how well you like Valve first
Valve is seeking people to test out some of its hardware prototypes, along with released and unreleased games. Right now its looking for people around Valve's offices, in the Seattle or Bellevue area, but it may conduct remote testing in the future, so everyone is invited to fill out a playtester survey.The survey asks, among other questions, how many years you've been playing games, for your favorite game, which difficulty you typically play on, your overall impression of Valve games, if you get motion sickness when playing first-person shooters and who the beneficiary on your life insurance policy is. OK, we made that last one up, but coming from the company that created Aperture Science, it's not too outlandish.Looks like Valve is getting the ball rolling on its oft-rumored hardware-distribution arm. Which might in fact be a real arm that distributes hardware. You just never know with Valve.
Get your ticket for Engadget's Seattle reader meetup!
Will you look at the calendar? It's already October. That means it's nearly time for Engadget to descend upon the Emerald City as part of the Seattle Interactive Conference. We'll be holding a meetup the first night of the show, with a handful of our editors on hand to talk gadgets, interact with readers and giveaway some cool prizes from some of the top companies in the industry. If you're around the 206 on October 29th, we'd love to have you. You can make sure you'll be added to the list by signing up for tickets here. And maybe if you ask real nice, maybe we'll celebrate Halloween early by forcing Terrence to wear a costume -- we're open for suggestions. Oh, and if you're interested in sponsoring the event, there's still time. Just drop us a line at drop us a line at sponsors [at] engadget [dot] com, and for more information on SIC, check out the source link below.
AT&T's LTE network now live in Seattle, Portland, Pittsburgh and Honolulu
The Rethink Possible carrier may be taking baby steps towards its LTE goals, but today more folks will be happy that they, too, can finally start experiencing some speedier service. AT&T has announced its adding a few more names to its LTE-ready list of cities, including Seattle, Portland, Pittsburgh and Hawaii's beautiful capital, Honolulu. Additionally, users in the "metro" area of Detroit should now also be able to connect to the fresh Long Term Evolution network, while Memphis and Birmingham saw their names added to the listings early on yesterday. More importantly, though, how's it working out for you (if at all)? Please let us know in the comments below.
Engadget's next reader meetup happens in Seattle on October 29th!
Get ready, Seattle, we're coming for you! You asked for it and you've got it -- we'll be in the Emerald City in October, hosting a meetup as part of the annual Seattle Interactive Conference (SIC), the self-described "intersection of technology, creativity and emerging trends." Whether or not you're a show attendee, you can join us on October 29th, for an evening of Engadget-led events, including conversations with tech luminaries, product demos, giveaways and lots, lots more. We'll be revealing more information about the festivities in the very near future. In the meantime, if you're interested in sponsoring the event, drop us a line at sponsors [at] engadget [dot] com, and for more information on SIC, check out the source link below.
Clearwire's TDD-LTE rolling out in 'early 2013,' coming to NYC, SF, LA, Chicago, Seattle and more
Clearwire's hardly throwing in the towel after that whole "WiMAX" thing; instead, the outfit has its sights firmly set on bringing TDD-LTE to the masses here in America, starting with an initial rollout in early 2013. A release put out today confirms that New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle will be among the 31 cities where the company will launch the aforesaid network, though there's no breakdown on which of those metro markets will be forced to wait until "mid-2013" to get served. Speaking of, Clearwire's making no bones about the fact that "high demand hot zones" will be the ones targeted initially, and in a bid to outshine those LTE networks already live, President and CEO Erik Prusch is suggesting that his firm's 4G network "will show that not all LTE networks are created equal." Bold words, sir.
Angry Birds Space marketing crafts a giant weapon on the Space Needle
Angry Birds Space is officially available for Android, iOS, PC and Mac today, and to celebrate, Rovio and T-Mobile constructed a 300-foot slingshot, complete with Angry Bird, mounted on the Seattle Space Needle. Today, starting at 10 a.m. PST, Rovio is hosting an Angry Birds Space launch party -- with Angry Birds cupcakes! -- at the Space Needle.Rovio calls the slingshot an "art installation," but we see what's really going on here: interstellar travel and a public, press-heavy reveal of a monstrous weapon -- it's the space race all over again. This time, it's angry.
Apple to build second data center in Oregon
News network KTVZ has confirmed with Apple that the company plans to build another big data center on a 160-acre section of land just outside of Crook County, Oregon. The land that the data center will be built on cost Apple US$5.6 million. Until February 15, the paperwork that solidified the deal was hidden from public eyes, with Apple only being referred to as "Project Maverick." A piece of paper filed earlier this month identified Apple's address as "1 Infinite Loop," and Apple has now confirmed that it's going to be developing the land. Apple's other data center in North Carolina has gotten a lot of press, but this new one isn't quite so surprising. We can expect it'll be used for Apple's extensive App Store traffic, plus various iCloud services and things like iTunes Match. Building in Oregon is smart as well; land is cheaper there than almost anywhere else along the West Coast (Facebook happens to have a data center nearby as well), and the proximity to big tech cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle will set Apple up well for future Internet-based services. While $5.6 million may sound like a lot, it's a drop in the bucket for both the cost of the data center and compared to Apple's considerable (to say the least) cash holdings. Apple also confirmed that this data center will be a "green" facility (as it's come under fire from environmental concerns for its data centers in the past), but given that plans probably aren't finalized yet, we'll have to wait and see what that means. [via Mac Rumors]
Amazon's Kindle Library Lending service rolls in to Seattle, in full beta regalia
Saddle up, kids, because it looks like Amazon's Kindle Library Lending service is inching its way toward launch. According to the Digital Reader, the retailer's OverDrive-powered feature has begun rolling out to two Seattle-area libraries, where some users have already succeeded in downloading e-books from their local repositories. Early testers are also reporting that they've been able to access a wide collection of digitized works using the beta service, with equipped libraries reportedly boasting "thousands" of e-books. Neither Amazon nor Overdrive have formally announced a rollout, but we'll let you know as soon as we hear more. [Thanks, Nathan]
Teagueduino used to create analog shoebox video game
Most game developers are locked in a tiring, endless technological arms race -- but not Teague, a Seattle-based tech design firm. Using their proprietary Teagueduino software, the team created an analog video game in a shoebox. It's about as Lo-Fi as things get; and it's ridiculously charming.
Amazon's 7-Eleven lockers are very real, very gray, slated for Friday activation
After an arduous expedition that must've lasted hours, an intrepid frontiersman in the Seattle area has finally unearthed the Holy Grail of convenience store cubbies -- Amazon's elusive delivery locker, at 7-Eleven. GeekWire's John Cook discovered the prototype lockers at a 7-Eleven in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, where store clerks told him that the system wouldn't be activated until Friday. According to Cook's description, the setup consists of about 40 different sized containers, centered around a keypad and monitor (neither of which was illuminated during his visit). All told, the array of P.O. Box-style cabinets stands about seven feet tall and is completely devoid of Amazon branding. The in-store pick-up program may roll out of a nationwide basis next summer, but you can check out a photographic sneak preview at the source link, below.
Facebook to launch in-browser video chat powered by Skype?
Microsoft's $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype hasn't closed yet, but it looks like Redmond is already working behind the scenes to make the service even more ubiquitous. According to an anonymous source interviewed by TechCrunch, Facebook is going to introduce video chat next week, and that service will be powered by none other than Skype. And while the service will be browser-based, it's also said to include a desktop component. We'd say none of that sounds too fantastical -- video calls would be a logical extension of Facebook chat, and let's not forget about the $240 million Microsoft invested in the site back in 2007. What's more, Facebook sent out invites for an event next week, where Mark Zuckerberg was clear the outfit would unveil a new product from its Seattle team. That's in Microsoft's backyard, of course, the invites themselves have chat icons on 'em, and, most tellingly, that Seattle office has been snapping up engineers specializing in desktop software. All told, that adds up to a likely true story to us, but we won't know for sure until the long, beachy weekend is through.
Verizon's next big LTE push coming July 21st
You can't stop Verizon's nationwide LTE push -- and even hoping to contain it seems like a bit much to ask these days. The company made its last major 4G service rollout just under a week ago, and now it's looking to do the same next month, adding a slew of new markets to its coverage umbrella and expanding in a few existing locales on July 21st. New markets include Portland, OR, Toledo, OH, Winston-Salem and Raleigh-Durham, NC, Maui, HI, Wichita, KS, and Knoxville, TN, to name a few. Coverage will be expanded in Seattle, Louisville, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Las Vegas. The full list of high-speed recipients can be found in the link below.
