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'Dragon Quest Builders' is a shallower, more polished 'Minecraft'
It's like a very, very well-done mod. In Dragon Quest Builders, Square Enix has taken the thrill and almost tangible joy of building your own world, and coated it in a deep, glossy layer of Dragon Quest paint. If you don't know Dragon Quest, it was the sworn rival of Final Fantasy in the Japanese RPG golden age. Then Squaresoft (FF) and Enix (DQ) became the same company. Oh, and if you don't know Minecraft, where have you been, you monster?
Square accepts your political donations with a tweet
You can now donate to a political candidate without leaving Twitter, thanks to a new venture between the social network and payment company Square. Once candidates have registered with Square, they just need to tweet a "$Cashtag," which will automatically add a "contribute" button to the tweet. When Twitter users click the button, they'll be able to choose an amount, add a debit card number, then send the donation or retweet the $Cashtag to followers. According to the WSJ, Republicans Ben Carson and Rand Paul have already agreed to sign up, as has Democrat Bernie Sanders.
You can now send money to friends with your Apple Watch
If you've ever wanted to quickly send money to a pal to cover your share of the restaurant bill, you can now do so with your Apple Watch. Square has just updated its iOS Cash app -- which lets you send money to anyone via email or text -- so that it also loads on the wearable from Cupertino. Simply enter in the amount you wish to pay in increments of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 or $100, tap in the appropriate contact info, and your friend will get her money back in a matter of seconds. The Cash app can push payment request notifications to the Watch as well, which you can accept or deny right from your wrist. Aside from just email and text, you can also send money to folks via Bluetooth LE (just like its phone counterpart) as long as they're in range. So now that you can settle your debts without having to take out your wallet and your phone, there's no excuse to skip out on paying up -- especially if you've got the cash to plunk down on a pricey smartwatch in the first place.
Hacks turn Square's reader into a card-stealing machine (updated)
As helpful as a Square Reader may be for purchases at trendy stores, you'll want to watch out -- in the right circumstances, they can also be used to steal your credit card info. Security researchers have discovered that you can physically disable the encryption the device uses to protect your financial info, turning the Reader into a tiny, portable card skimmer. There's also a way to record the signal created by your card when you swipe its magnetic stripe on an unmodified Reader, which theoretically lets evildoers charge your card without approval.
Square's food delivery service can get you a $15 NYC meal in 15 minutes
You might have forgotten that Square, the company best known for its mobile credit card reader, also owns the restaurant delivery service Caviar. With so many food delivery options out there, it's simply hard to stand out. But now Square is bringing one of its more unique Caviar capabilities to NYC: Fastbite, a feature that will deliver a meal from a popular restaurant for under $15 in 15 minutes or less. There are, of course, a few caveats: You've only got a handful of single-serving options to choose from (not full restaurant menus), and Fastbite is only available during peak lunch and dinner hours in Manhattan. But if you've ever had a busy day where your lunch delivery didn't make it on time, or you just simply didn't want to deal with the lunch rush, Fastbite could be incredibly useful.
Apple Pay adds Square Reader to make you a compulsive shopper
Apple really wants its users to be shopaholics. The tech giant first introduced Apple Pay and made life easier for iPhone 6 and Apple Watch users in the US last fall. Despite the initial skepticism from retailers, the contactless payment service has been gaining momentum. Jennifer Bailey, VP of Apple Pay, announced at WWDC today that the service would soon be available at 1 million locations across the country. In its quest to become ubiquitous in the retail world, the company also announced a Square Reader that will be Apple Pay-compatible. Square's wireless reader will make it possible for any business with a tablet or smartphone to accept Apple Pay. So when the reader goes live later this year, the service will become accessible virtually everywhere -- think local bakeries and farmers markets.
Google wants you to buy Big Macs with your face
Google may have been the first big tech company to push NFC payments, but it was Apple Pay that got the public excited about buying things with your smartphone. At a Google I/O session for Android Pay, the search giant announced that it was partnering with McDonalds and Papa John's Pizza to launch Hands Free, a payment system that looks suspiciously like the Pay with Square app (later called Square Wallet and discontinued). Customers walk in a store and say, "I'd like to pay with Google," and the cashier will see a photo of the customer and their name on their point-of-sale system. The service is initially launching in San Francisco in the coming months and those interested can sign up for the beta here. Details about the geofencing payment service are sparse, but it should use cards stored in the upcoming Android Pay.
Square's 'cashtags' get more specific for sending quick payments
Square's let you securely wire money via its (cringe-inducingly named) $Cashtags for a bit now, but the feature's gotten a little more streamlined as of late. Now, you can specify a dollar amount for payments by appending the 'tags with a number. For example: cash.me/$RED/5 is a $5 donation toward AIDS research, as the payment company cleverly pointed out in its announcement tweet. Whether or not your pursuits are as noble are entirely up to you.
Patent reveals GoPro's working on a 'square profile' camera design
GoPro doesn't make square, cube-like cameras, but if it did, the picture (after the break) is probably what they'd look like. The image comes from a patent granted to GoPro today. The protection covers a "Camera housing for a square-profile camera," rather than a camera itself (makers of square cameras, your time to check is now). Sifting through the claims, the patent mentions how the square housing would allow a camera to be mounted in numerous orientations (thanks, geometry!) regardless of how you mount it. There are identical openings on three of the sides also, to provide access to ports (like you can with the current "Frame" mount) in any orientation.
Square's 'cashtags' turn a custom web link into a tip jar
We hope you didn't just get some business cards printed, because you're going to want a new set. Square already simplified card payments with its phone-based swipe widget, and allowed businesses to take money through its Cash app. Now, it's introducing another way to fill (digital) wallets: "$Cashtags." Choose your own tag ($jondoe for example) and then anyone who wants to throw some money your way can just go to https://cash.me/$jondoe and securely wire you the green. Square has also just opened the Cash app to all US businesses (with a 1.5 percent transaction charge).
Square will lay its Order app to rest on March 20th
Let's have a moment of silence for Square's Order app: its funeral's already scheduled for March 20th. Oh, you don't even remember what that is? We're not surprised. It's one of Square's apps for consumers, instead of for merchants, that you can use to order coffee on the way to the cafe. The place's barista gets a notification when you're near, so he can start preparing your drink. By the looks of it, though, it didn't quite take off -- it's never even ventured beyond San Francisco and New York, and you can only use it to buy from those cities' Blue Bottle Coffee shops. The company launched Order less than a year ago, the same time it phased out Wallet, but now it has decided to focus on its other products.
Square's restaurant delivery service arrives on Android
You no longer have to carry an iPhone just to check out Square's restaurant delivery service, Caviar -- it's now available for Android. Like before, you can both order fine meals and track the couriers in real-time as they bring that dining to your door. You'll still have to live in one of Caviar's few eligible cities (New York City, LA and San Francisco are particularly well-covered) to give it a shot, but you'll at least get to use your device of choice when splurging on a Mediterranean feast.
Google and Square prep new payment options in the wake of Apple Pay
There's no denying Apple Pay has grabbed a share of retail payments, and the support of banks, since its arrival. However, it appears both Google and Square are working on new products to keep customers' attention. According to The Information, the folks in Mountain View are testing a service called "Plaso" that would allow Android users to say their initials at the register in order to complete a transaction. Unfortunately, there aren't any specifics on how that would work with Google Wallet: the system for cashless payments that arrived long before Apple Pay, but never really took off. Of course, Google will have to do more with its upcoming release than just handle payments. The Apple Watch is launching soon, and that wearable, along with the newest NFC-equipped iPhones, could sort public transit passes, building security credentials and more.
The Mog Log Extra: End of an era
By now you know. I wrote my first column of The Mog Log almost exactly five years ago. I've been writing it for the entirety of Final Fantasy XIV's run now. I've been talking about the online Final Fantasy games since before I was married, and it's been a wonderful experience. I had every intention of continuing to do so for another decade. As long as there was a place to talk about it here, I was going to make use of it. This isn't just a farewell for the column; it's a farewell for something that's made up a huge portion of my life and changed my life in huge ways. As the fall comes to Eorzea, it also comes to us, and I wanted -- insisted -- that I would at least get to have one final chance to say goodbye. So let's take one last look together before we say farewell.
I just reupped my sub so FFXIV is having a free weekend
Last night I re-upped my Final Fantasy XIV subscription. Naturally this made it an ideal time for Square to announce a free weekend for its fantasy MMORPG. I haven't been in the game since late 2013, and given my dissatisfaction with pretty much everything at the moment, I figured why not return to a fun title that treats crafting (and fishing!) as more than a half-assed sideline activity. So, yep. That's pretty much that. Free FFXIV weekend -- for inactive accounts -- from Friday, January 30th through Monday, February 2nd. Have fun! [Source: Square press release]
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV 2.5 dungeons
I mentioned a while back that it was kind of neat how the whole setup of Final Fantasy XIV had come full circle. At the start of the 2.0 patch cycle we were scurrying away from tonberries and bashing our heads against Demon Wall; in the final patch, we're back to both of those spots, along with the oft-seen and never-explored Keeper of the Lake in the midst of Mor Dhona's wreckage. It's a neat counterpoint. Having played through all of the dungeons now, well, you get to rescue tonberries. That alone makes the last set of dungeons worthy. As in every set of dungeons, there are winners and losers amidst the bosses, good points and bad ones. The dungeons as a whole are very reluctant to let you do much speeding through, with pulls being pretty aggressively gated. So let's talk mechanics, let's talk atmosphere, and let's carefully coach you through the process of kicking the crap out of your final expert roulette competitors.
One Shots: Haiku edition
Believe it or not, I have been listening to you guys in the comments, and I know that there's been an ongoing desire for One Shots to provide the full-size pictures that are otherwise shrunk by our size limitations. So I'm happy to announce that starting this week, I'm including a gallery at the end of the column that will allow you to pull up larger screenshots if so desired. A few weeks ago I issued a screenshot challenge for folks to send in a haiku poem in addition to their picture. A select few of you did, starting with this striking pose from Final Fantasy XIV by reader Wolfyseyes: Facing this challenge One thought repeats in my mind: Please, please, please don't suck
Final Fantasy XIV patch 2.5 is live
The day that Final Fantasy XIV players have waited for is finally here. Patch 2.5 has gone live, and it brings with it a host of improvements and additions to the game. The full patch notes also contain no shortage of items that had previously been held back from the preliminary notes, including new crafting recipes, new vendor wares, and new items available for quick exploration ventures. While this is only the first part of the game's 2.5 patch series, it includes three new dungeons, the new World of Darkness raid, three new trials, and the first half of the pre-Heavensward story conclusion. The servers are up and running, so if you have the day off or just don't have to go to work yet, you can get a jump on all of the new endgame content and start working your way through everything that's been added. Otherwise you can console yourself with the patch notes.
The Mog Log: A primer for Final Fantasy XIV patch 2.5
Ladies, gentlemen, and those who fall into neither category: The end approaches swiftly. Final Fantasy XIV's last pre-expansion patch is about to drop, and just like the bass, it won't be the same afterward. Tomorrow you've got a whole lot of new content to play through, enough to probably keep you well occupied for the next three months. The fact that the second portion of the patch will be dropping in about a month just makes it all the more occupying. As we've done many times before, today's column is meant chiefly to take apart the patch elements we know of and get you up to speed so you can start playing without any issues once you can log in again. So let's start in on the first part of Before the Fall, complete with its new mystery trial and the promise of many revelations. Even if the big fireworks are coming in March.
The usual suspects dominate December's Raptr rankings
Do you quote Raptr data when having unscientific discussions about MMO playerbase numbers? If so, rejoice, because here are some more numbers based on a sample size of dubious value! As you might expect, League of Legends, Dota 2, and World of Warcraft continue to dominate Raptr users' attention spans, while ArcheAge, Final Fantasy XIV, and Guild Wars 2 all dropped from their position in November's rankings. Click past the cut to see the full list. [Source: Raptr press release]
