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Final Fantasy XI prepares for a haunted harvest festival
It's time for the events to start rolling in for Halloween, always a favorite holiday for MMOs to celebrate. Final Fantasy XI has been running its own ghoulish take on the occasion for many years now, and the most recent iteration promises to be more of the same. This year's harvest festival has just been announced, complete with the requisite piece of fiction to help ground the holiday in the lore of Vana'diel and its inhabitants. Running from October 19th to November 2nd, this year's festival promises to contain many of the elements seen in years past, such as trick-or-treating and the joy of setting up decorations. Longtime veterans will remember that this event also lets you obtain the desirable Treat Staff II as well as a number of cosmetic items, which makes for a fun experience all around. Take a look at the official announcement, and get ready for another October of rather meddlesome spirits in Final Fantasy XI.
Paragon Studios hosting one more meeting for City of Heroes fans
While the convention season has come to a close for the year, the team at Paragon Studios isn't quite done with spending time with the fans of City of Heroes just yet. It's hosting one more party for both the developers and the fans, this last one taking place in San Francisco. And as with previous meetings, the team has arranged a treat for fans, this one in the form of a new costume power allowing players to take on the appearance of a Freakshow Meat Doctor. Having the opportunity to look like one of the slightly less-than-good doctors is special enough, but the meeting also promises to be unique in other ways, making use of the venue's large amount of space for presentations as well as socializing. Players in the San Francisco area should take a look at the full details and start making plans to meet the City of Heroes developers, as well as scaring anyone not fond of meat-doctoring.
Supposed next-gen iPod touch, nano / shuffle cases surface online
Stop us if you've heard this one before -- an Apple event is looming, and suddenly some cases turn up online that seem to nicely line up with the devices rumored to be announced. These latest examples come courtesy of Chinese case retailer X-Doria, and include a case for what appears to be a 4th-gen iPod touch with a camera, and one that's described as a case for a "nano 6G," but could seemingly also be for a new iPod shuffle with a touchscreen. Of particular note, the apparent iPod touch case seems to reveal a curved back more similar to the current model than the iPhone 4, while the nano / shuffle case looks to be a near perfect match for that 1.7-inch Apple touchscreen that mysteriously turned up in Taiwan last month. What does it all mean? There's less than a week until we know for sure.
Apple to hold 'special event' September 1st... we'll be there live!
C'mon, you saw this one coming, right? Just like they always do come fall time, Apple will be holding a "special event" on September 1st out in San Francisco, and we'll be on the ground reporting live. Think we'll see that new Apple TV we've been hearing about? Some iPods? A 'one more thing'? Yes, probably. Tune in here at 10AM PT / 1PM ET on the 1st to catch the best liveblog in the business! In case you haven't heard the rumors lately: Apple TV Exclusive: Upcoming Apple TV loses 1080p playback, gains apps, will be renamed iTV The next Apple TV revealed: cloud storage and iPhone OS on tap... and a $99 price tag iTunes Apple reportedly in talks with networks for 99 cent TV show rentals Yoko Ono regarding Beatles on iTunes: 'Don't hold your breath' iPod iPod touch coming in a 'few weeks' with dual cameras and Retina Display, suggests John Gruber Apple iPod touch LCD screen with front-facing camera slot spied? Everything else New iPhone, iPad model codes set up for iTunes activation bypass -- CDMA versions, maybe? Apple's Lala music team working on video streaming service for 2010 launch?
Macworld 2010 special iPad event liveblog
We are live from the floor of Macworld 2010, where they're be talking about the iPad in a special event feature Jason Snell, Macworld editor-in-chief, and a panel of industry experts. We have heard that won't be an actual iPad on the show floor, so it's not clear whether we'll get to see the device, but we will hear commentary and insight on what the iPad means for Apple and the world at large. After the break, find an updating liveblog of the event as it happens, straight from Moscone Center in San Francisco. Note: Entries below are listed from most recent to earliest, as per our liveblog format. If you want to read the liveblog in chronological order, read from bottom to top. Apologies to Dan Moren for misspelling his name, which he made a point of telling us when he stopped by the booth after the session. Whoops! Our bad.
Video of today's Apple event is now available
Apple has posted QuickTime streams of its "Latest Creation" keynote on their webpage, just in case you missed all the festivities earlier today. That latest creation, as we many had speculated, turned out to be the iPad. So you can watch Steve sit in a cushioned chair and browse the Internet (along with all of the demos from participating developers) with your own eyes. The streams, available in low, medium, and high bandwidth flavors, can be found here. And if the keynote stream doesn't completely pad up your iPad appetite, check out TUAW's iPad page, a portal for all things iPad. If you see anything in the stream that we missed, definitely let us know.
The Apple iPad: starting at $499
After nearly a decade of rumors and speculation, Apple's finally unveiled the iPad. It's a half-inch thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds, with a 9.7-inch capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD display, and it's running a custom 1GHz Apple "A4" chip developed by the P.A. Semi team, with a 10-hour battery life and a month of standby. It'll come in 16, 32, and 64GB sizes, and it's got the expected connectivity: very little. There's a 30-pin Dock connector, a speaker, a microphone, Bluetooth, 802.11n WiFi and optional 3G, as well as an accelerometer and a compass. There's also a keyboard dock, which connects underneath in the portrait orientation, support for up to 1024x768 VGA out and 480p composite out through new dock adapter cables, and a camera attachment kit that lets you import photos from your camera over USB or directly through an SD reader. The device is managed by iTunes, just like the iPhone -- you sync everything over to your Mac. As expected, it can run iPhone apps -- either pixel-for-pixel in a window, or pixel-doubled fullscreen -- but developers can also target the new screen size using the updated iPhone OS SDK, which is available today. The 3G version runs on AT&T and comes with new data plans: 250MB for $14.99 and an unlimited plan for $29.99 a month contract-free. Activations are handled on the iPad, so you can activate and cancel whenever you want. Every iPad is unlocked and comes with a GSM "micro-SIM," so you can use it abroad, but there aren't any international deals in place right now -- Steve says they'll be back "this summer" with news on that front. It starts at $499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599, and $699 64GB. Adding 3G costs a $130 per model, so the most expensive model (64GB / 3G) is $829. The WiFi-only model will ship in 60 days, and the 3G models will come in 90. Hey, check out our first hands-on right here, and here's all our additional coverage: Live from the Apple 'latest creation' event iPad powered by custom 1GHz Apple A4 chip iPad can run all iPhone apps unmodified, new iPhone SDK out today lets developers tweak apps for iPad use Apple's iPad keeping Adobe Flash away from your couch Apple reveals iBookstore and app for the iPad Apple announces iWork for iPad Apple iPad 3G service plans on AT&T, $30 for unlimited data iPad has optional keyboard dock, camera connection kit and Apple-designed case iPad vs. iPhone... fight! Apple iPad first hands-on! iPad vs. iPhone: what does 3G cost you? %Gallery-84060% %Gallery-84025% %Gallery-84062%
Apple posts video of today's media event
Did you miss all the excitement today? You can now replay it on your very own computer. Apple has just posted the video of today's event (which they call a keynote for some reason) on Apple. You'll need QuickTime to enjoy Steve wow us with new iPods, but that isn't a shock now is it?
Apple NAB event today
That's right, kids, Apple is holding a special event today at NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters) get together in Las Vegas. Will they announce something? Will they just show off existing stuff? I have no idea, but considering 8 core Mac Pros were just released I am thinking there won't be too much hardware news. My money is on a new version of Final Cut Studio.Our friends at Engadget will be liveblogging the event, and we here at TUAW will be posting about whatever is announced as soon as it is announced (assuming there is anything post worthy, of course).The event kicks off at 2pm EST.Update: Engadget has posted their liveblogging post. Let the games begin.
Watch today's It's Showtime event live
Wow, it's been a while since Apple has offered a live stream of an event, or even a video or streaming link prior to the event itself. Nevertheless, here it is: Apple's official It's Showtime event page, which looks like it will offer a 'video-on-demand' of the event, though the word 'live' isn't explicitly used.Either way, stay tuned to TUAW and our sister blog Engadget for live coverage, especially since Apple's event streaming has been known to get a tad flaky during and right afterwards (with all this PR and hype, can you blame them?). Don't worry though, we've got you covered.Thanks to everyone who sent this in
TUAW "It's Showtime!" predictions
It's that time ladies and gentlemen: the pre-event post where the TUAW team put it all on the line and offer up their predictions on what we'll be throwing down our credit cards for after tomorrow's It's Showtime special event. In all actuality, there isn't much on the line for us, but it's still fun to see how close we can come to predicting Apple's product roadmap. Without further adieu, here are our predictions, in no particular order:Scott McNulty plays it safe with predictions that echo the rest of the Apple-anxious internets: New iPod Movies in the iTunes Music Store iTunes 7 Dan Pourhadi is as excited for iPods as the rest of us, but is also hoping for something new along the lines of other video devices, including even some sort of an Apple TV: Movie download service Video streaming device (and possibly TVs to go with it) Some kind of new iPod (leaning towards metal nano) Dave Caolo is keeping it conservative as well: Movies in iTunes Updated iPod David Chartier (yours truly) - I don't feel the need to echo what's already been said, but I am also tossing my bet in with Dan Pourhadi on a video streaming device in the specific form of an updated AirPort Express, as it is probably the Apple product of all the potential new gadgets tomorrow that hasn't been touched, updated or so much as sneezed at for the longest time. Also, along with Scott's prediction of iTunes 7, I think the new version will usher in a new name for the store.I'll also take the liberty to throw down some non-predictions: I don't think tomorrow will have anything to do with Macs whatsoever, including these new rumors of a sub-Mac Pro tower and new chips in MacBook Pros. I think tomorrow is all about the entertainment, iPods and any related gadgets, baby!But don't take our word for it - we'll find out in about 16 hours whether we're one step closer to gaining 'magic 8-ball' status. Stay tuned!
A list of potential movies and a name change for the iTMS
DVguru, a sister blog, is just as excited for an iTunes Music Movie Store as we are, and they've been doing their own digging into what Apple's September 12th "It's Showtime" special event could bring. The gurus of all things DV found a post at iPodHub.net containing a supposed list of movies that will be released from Disney and their subsidiaries in the iTMS over the next year, though a source isn't cited, nor is a reason given for the one year rollout. Movies both old and new are apparently lined up from Disney, Pixar, Mirimax, Touchstone Pictures and Lion's Gate Entertainment. However, since Lion's Gate's CEO already dropped a few of his own hints, iPodHub.net might be on to something here.Also on iPodHub.net's list of source-less rumoring is (finally) a name change coming to the iTunes Music Store. Apple has stocked their digital shelves with a lot more content than simply music for quite some time now, and some kind of a name alteration is long overdue. Either way, stay tuned for our September 12th coverage to find out the juicy details on exactly what you'll be whipping out your credit cards for next week.
Apple's "It's Showtime" event on September 12th confirmed
Yes, it appears that at least one part of the Apple rumor mill is true: there will be an Apple special event one week from today, on September 12, at 10:00AM Pacific (1:00PM Eastern, 5:00PM GMT) at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in downtown San Francisco -- coinciding exactly with the opening day of the Apple Expo in Paris. Now for those of you keeping score at home, we may or may not see an updated nano, a new version of iTunes, a new Airport Express-type video streaming device, a new iMac, and/or possibly iTunes movie downloads. Or, his Steveness may pull another rabbit out of his hat entirely -- either way, you'll know where to find live, play-by-play coverage.[Via MacUser, thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple special event on Sept. 12?
iLounge is reporting that Apple is summoning journalists to an 'undisclosed' location in Northern California on September 12th (unrelated to the event on the 25th). The scuttlebutt is that Apple will be announcing something at this event, though who knows if it will be new iPods, movie downloading from iTunes, or some iPod HiFi-like product.Let's hope the Post Office doesn't misplace our invitation again.
YAASEH, or: Yet Another Apple Special Event Hoax
Apparently someone doesn't know how to enter our Create a Feb. 22 Apple Invite contest, as yet another Apple special event hoax launched this morning and was promptly debunked. This time around, the event involved Steve and Bono at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco, March 1st, and the invitation included the slogan "Together we can fight it." Speculation immediately predicted a red iPod to coincide with Bono's fight against AIDS and other diseases in Africa.iLounge was the first site I saw reporting that Apple had confirmed the event a hoax. However, a lot of Apple-related sites had already reported on the news and speculation of the event. Once confirmation broke that the event was a hoax, some sites, like MacNN, promptly removed their original reports in favor of a new article covering the situation as a known fake.TUAW wants to take this opportunity to let readers know that when we're wrong - we're wrong. We'll update the original post with new information and thank whoever helped us keep our facts straight. So sit tight, re-freeze the credit cards and move along. There's no Apple Special Event to see here (yet). In the meantime though, why not take a shot at our fake Apple Invite contest? While we don't have a red iPod for the winner, we do have an Apple logo stainless travel mug with your name on it.
Even more supposed invites to the Feb. 22nd event
Though I must admit that this one, and the one after the jump, look much more legitimate than the Airport version. However, let me be clear that we don't even know if there will be an event on February 22nd (I've emailed Apple about it, but they haven't gotten back to me).The slogan on this supposed invite seems to hint at an iPod shuffle related announcement, but then there is the 'Golden Ticket' invite that you can see after the jump... I don't know what to make of that one.Thanks to rosswf and Dave for sending these along.As always, judge for yourself about the veracity of these.Update: An eagle eyed reader noticed that February is misspelled on this invite, and that isn't Apple's style (though it is inline with my style, hence why I didn't notice it). Either it is a fake (and some people have way too much free time) or someone at Apple is getting fired.
Apple Special Event - Feb 22nd - Airport Video?
We've known Apple's planning a special media event for a week or so, but didn't know the precise date or what would be announced. On Flickr today, someone has posted up what claims to be an image used on the event invitation. It is quite clearly an Airport Express Base Station. Might this be the long-rumored update to the Airport Express to allow streaming video?Thanks to everyone who submitted this tip.Update: TUAW has no confirmation whatsoever that: 1) anything will be announced or released on Feb. 22nd, 2) that it will be an Airport Express, iPod, mystery-doodad, or 3) anything Apple-related at all will happen on Feb. 22nd. This link and date were submitted as a tip and is treated as a rumor. This post is even clearly classified in the rumor category. TUAW is not responsible for your level of disappointment or inability to reconcile reality with your expectations. Have a nice day.
