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Splitfish announces power-saving FragFX Shark controller for PS3, PC and Mac
SplitFish isn't providing a ton of details on this one just, but it has announced that its new FragFX Shark controller for the PS3, PC and Mac will be making its official debut at Gamescon later this month, and it's given us our first look at it. As you can see, it's not all that different from the company's standard FragFX PS3 controller, but the company promises that it will be more "ecology-friendly" thanks to some new power-saving measures that'll let you get 50 hours of gameplay from a single AA battery. Also set to debut at the show are the FragFX Piranha and FragFX Barracuda, although Splitfish isn't still saying anything about those apart from the fact they're also PS3 controllers. Head on past the break for the complete press release.
The Maelstrom: Now with epic video turned to 11
A couple of weeks ago, Valnoth, lead world designer at Blizzard, reported that the Maelstrom is now "10 - 50x more epic." For some people, a giant whirlpool surrounded by lightning and crashing surf wasn't epic enough. What was clearly needed was a flying shark with a giant laser mounted on its head, being ridden by a dinosaur that was in turn being ridden by an undead wailing away on the guitar. WoW.com has now exclusively learned that a video of a flying-laser-shark-dinosaur-guitar-wailing-mage is far more epic yet than that pitifully un-epic picture we posted last week, and we are happy to share this video with you. Are you ready to rock?
Wizard101 offers sharks - and a letter from the producer, too
If you've somehow missed the flurry of shark-love that's been taking place on Massively over the past few weeks, let's reiterate: sharks. Even Wizard101 seems to be knee-deep in sharks, judging by the picture accompanying the newest producer's letter, which hints at a possible shark mount in the upcoming Celestia. Oh, wait, that's right -- there was a producer's letter. Leah Ruben, who has recently taken the title of full producer for the game, penned a letter to let fans know how the game is progressing, what to expect in Celestia, and of course, to include art of sharks. Although Ruben doesn't explicitly state that the shark mounts will be available, the prominent artwork certainly suggests that the underwater area will be well-served via aquatic mounts, as well as a wide variety of new tricks and spells for players in Celestia's added ten levels. She does discuss some of the new features, promising that the areas in Celestia will be larger than prior doses of content for the game, as well as talking about some of her roles within the game's development structure. Wizard101 fans will want to take a look at the letter, as it bodes well for the game's future. Also, we must reiterate: sharks. (We'll make sure to ask about sharks during our upcoming interview with the team at GenCon.)
23rd Shark Week starts Sunday, sends slow mo HD cameras into the jaws of a great white
Do you really have to check the calendar to know what time of year it is? That's right baby, it's Shark Week, and as usual, Discovery's taking a midsummer break to bring everything shark related to its prime time lineup. This year, Discovery follows up on one of the most-watched Shark Week specials of all time, Air Jaws, with Ultimate Air Jaws August 1 at 9 p.m., with 2,000 fps HD footage of great white sharks leaping out of the water to attack seals. Even if that's not enough details (and time, with one second of footage expanded to an entire minute) to count every tooth in the shark's mouth as the press release breathlessly claims, then check out Into the Shark Bite, where they inserted high speed HD cameras -- where else -- directly into a shark's jaws.%Gallery-98502%
Android-based Innocomm Shark tunes into Taiwanese TV, makes us want to move here (video)
And you wonder why the cabbies here are so addicted to mobile TV. Innocomm's latest -- hailed as the first Android 3.5G smartphone with Telegent's mobile TV solution -- was on-hand here at Computex, and while the Shark didn't look too special at first glance, it actually proved to be a mighty respectable phone after we opened our mind and gave it a few precious moments of our lives. The handset itself manages to boast an impressive WVGA (800 x 480) 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, and there's an 8 megapixel camera around back to accompany the 3.5G connectivity, inbuilt WiFi and analog TV tuner. We found the device to be running Android 2.1, and for all intents and purposes, it hummed along like a clock. Touchscreen response was top notch, and the TV application loaded and closed with nary a hitch. Innocomm plans to ship the thing worldwide in the coming weeks, though users in need of a digital receiver will have to wait for a future model. Have a look at us presumably getting cursed at by a daytime drama queen just past the break. %Gallery-94388%
Samsung Shark series puts weight on social networks, reasonable price
Given that the terms "AMOLED" and "Kevlar" both appear in Samsung's press release for the new Shark line of phones, we were intrigued right from the get-go; a deeper look proves that they're nothing incredible, but all three models in the range seem to bring it strong considering their low-end aspirations. Starting on the left, we've got the candybar known simply as S5350 Shark -- it's just 11.9mm thick, has a 3.2 megapixel camera, and supports 3.6Mbps HSDPA 900 / 2100. In the middle lies the S5550 Shark 2 slider -- an unusual name, considering this isn't a successor to the S5350 -- with a beefy 5 megapixel AF cam, LED flash, 900 / 2100MHz 3G, and a QVGA AMOLED (allegedly, this model is where the Kevlar comes into play, too). Finally, the lower-end S3550 Shark 3 slider strips out the 3G support and steps down to a 2 megapixel cam. All three models have a good deal of social networking support built-in with direct links to Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Twitter, and more; look for them to launch this month in select markets.
Curious concept art in Champions Online zone profile for Lemuria
Does this Shark cannon shoot sharks, or does it shoot a deadly laser? Or... does it shoot sharks with lasers attached to their heads? It's deep questions like these that permeate our thoughts each and every day here at Massively. Well that and, "When's the beta?" which is almost as important as shark gun related inquiries. Truly, these are questions for the ages.For Championites who love to devour every little bit of lore and information regarding Champions Online, Cryptic has gone and posted a nice piece on the history and people of Lemuria. Take a look at our gallery for a peek at a few environments, including what we can only assume is a temple to a fishy god of the old world.%Gallery-17946%
Discovery's Shark Week begins July 27th
It's that time of year again -- Shark Week is about to begin. Starting on July 27th (that's tomorrow), the 21st annual Shark Week kicks off tomorrow, with a Mythbusters special on the subject airing at 9:00PM ET / PT. 24 hours later, you'll be treated to Surviving Sharks, while the next day brings Day of the Shark. Those smelling blood can hit up the read link and swim on over to the programming guide, but be prepared to sacrifice more than a few hours (or a decent chunk of storage on your HD DVR) this week to satisfy your cravings.
One Shots: Just when you thought it was safe...
We don't really know what to tell you about today's One Shot, save that we've never actually seen this occur in EVE Online to date (although we'd bet some of our columnists have) but the idea of deploying a bunch of cans in such an order as to create "can art" is a pretty cool one to us. Today's screenshot comes from Knt who says "This picture is quite a bit old [but is] a prime example of EVE's "can art." We can only imagine the time involved!Do you have some other examples of EVE "can art"? Perhaps you know someone who did something similar using dropped items, or corpses? Whatever the case, we'd love to see it! Just send those screenshots to us at oneshots AT massively.com! %Gallery-9798%
The Daily Grind: Keep fishing or cut bait?
A new MMO comes out. You've read the reviews, Watched the promo videos. Changed your desktop to show the buxom model on their cover art. Subscribed to the newsletter. Read all the developer interviews. Attended the chats! Participated in the lively banter between the lead designer and the people of a well known community forum! You've made your own guild before you even got to play the game! You pre-ordered the special collector's edition, and the game's theme music is on continual repeat on your iPod!The fateful day comes, you install the game and ... well, it's a decent enough game, but it just isn't what you expected. You play it for a few days, and then start wishing you hadn't given away all your gold and sharded your epics in your old game. And maybe you suddenly regret telling the raid leader just exactly, precisely what you thought of him. So do you stick with the new game? Or return to the old? How long do you give a new game to grab you before you erase it from your hard drive, put the disks on the shelf, and call it a decent effort but just not the game you wanted to play? Just the free month? Until you reach the max level? Or just fifteen minutes perhaps?
Second Neo-Realms Tournament Fishing League starting soon
Dare we say, we've been waiting for this announcement with baited breath? There's things in the water. Sharks, kraken, three-eyed radioactive fish, gyardos (both red and dead -- better dead than red?), crabs, water-cacti.... If it swims, or might if prodded enough, Neo-Realms has stocked the seemingly safe waters with some of the most bizarre creatures seen in this world or out of it. Your job: Bait 'em, hook 'em, land 'em. You and a partner will compete with other teams over the course of the season to bring the best and rarest fish out of these seemingly safe waters.Want to practice without having them count toward your totals? Neo-Realms has a special control box with which you can schedule practice matches for you and your partner. Head on over to the Neo-Realms Team Fishing League website to register your team, inquire about sponsoring the league, or to just find out more about it. And while you're out there fishing, if your catch starts to pull you into the water, just let it go. Seriously. And if you land something particularly amazing, why not snap a picture of it and send it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com?
Shark Shield experiences epic fail, gets chomped by great white in test
As we're certain you know by now, there are fails, and then there are epic fails. This case most definitely falls into the latter category, as Sea Change's shark-deterrent system (affectionately dubbed Shark Shield) was actually bit into by a great white when tested off the coast of South Africa. Reportedly, the device sends out electronic fields that are meant to deter sharks from coming near surfers, but according to the company's CEO, the botched trial was "due to a problem with the electrode's configuration." Furthermore, he noted that the thing is only "guaranteed to work when it's stationary, not when it's surfing in the wave or paddling." Needless to say, the effectiveness of these type devices have now been called into question, and regardless of whether this thing actually works as advertised, the lack of total protection -- you know, while actually surfing -- is enough to make us steer clear.[Via UberReview]
A suitable substitute for a dolphin-shaped Zapper
We have lamented the lack of a hilarious themed Zapper to enhance our enjoyment of the ridiculous bonus mode in Ghost Squad, but now it seems that our troubles have come to an end thanks to Pega, whose silly gun shells we've enjoyed in the past. They're still playing easily, and playing happily!Sure, the gun actually represents a shark shape, but it's close enough to a Wii-white version of the Ghost Squad dolphin squirt gun for our purposes. Isn't it amazing that Pega and other third-rate peripheral companies have graduated to outlandish gun shell designs while Nintendo has yet to release their own Zapper worldwide?
Around Azeroth: Duh nuh... duh nuh..
Though it looks threatening, I doubt that this particular shark is coming to get you like the classic Jaws shark might. For one, it's hanging upside down by its tail in the middle of Booty Bay, which really hinders its movement. Sent in by reader Astinius, it's an interesting angle on a standard Booty Bay image! Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
HDTV Listings for September 28, 2006
What we're watching: The Office and My Name is Earl of course, although Shark (a.k.a. court-House) gets attention as well. ABC is premiering all-new series Ugly Betty at 8 before Grey's Anatomy and Six Degrees. The CW checks in as they kick off new seasons of Smallville and Supernatural. ESPN-HD has SEC football on tap for tonight as Auburn faces South Carolina while ESPN2-HD features the Orioles vs.Yankees.Our traditional high definition listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for September 21, 2006
What we're watching: All-new tonight is the series premiere of Shark on CBS, featuring James Woods as a defense attourney turned prosecutor who doesn't lose his underhanded style of winning cases after switching sides. Our old friend Grey's Anatomy steps into its new night on ABC, first with a series recap and then the season premiere at 9, followed by new series Six Degrees. NBC brings back My Name is Earl, The Office and E.R. for another season, we'll keep our eyes peeled for more easter eggs, you've gotta figure there will be one sooner or later. Damon Wayans' The Underground is new tonight on Showtime, no word on if it's any funnier, while college football lights up ESPN HD as Virginia takes on Georgia Tech.Our traditional high definition listings continue below.
Back/Center Stage 0.6 released
CenterStage and BackStage make up a dynamic duo which gives FrontRow a run for its money. The free software suite reached version 0.6 today, bringing with it some exciting new features and Intel support. Media management app BackStage got madeover with a new unified UI, while FrontRow-esque component CenterStage now features support for the Apple remote, Elgato eyeTV, and Griffin RadioShark, as well as a new UI for photo browsing. While the programs might not be as polished and feature rich as MediaCentral, the price can't be beat, and new features are being added rapidly. Via HardMac
