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Tokyo Olympics staff will be given ear-worn devices to reduce the risk of heatstroke
Alibaba has designed a cloud-based solution to help protect the Tokyo Olympics staff from heatstroke.
Cloud saves are coming to ‘Animal Crossing’ on July 30th
'Animal Crossing' adds Island Backup & Restoration Services to protect players' islands and user save data.
Apple’s credit card could arrive in the first half of August
In March, Apple made a fuss over its plans to introduce a credit card. But we haven't heard much about Apple Card since. Now, Bloomberg reports that the card will reportedly launch in the first half of August. The update suggests that the card is on track, as Apple initially said it would be ready this summer.
I'm giving 'Pokémon Go' another try
I'll be the first to admit that I am not a serious Pokémon player. I don't know a Kanto from a Johto, and really have no clue where an Alolan Exeggutor comes from. Still, when Pokémon Go came out for mobile two years ago, this almost 50-year old was outside with everyone else in our downtown area, capturing little pocket monsters and trying to take over gyms.
Speedrunners raised $2.12 million for Doctors Without Borders
Speedrunning charity event Summer Games Done Quick finished up this past Sunday. The recipient of the funds raised during the event, which saw players rushing as fast as possible through titles like Animaniacs, Pikimin 3 and Rise of the Tomb Raider, went to benefit Doctors Without Borders. Gamers raised $2,122,529.20 for the medical charity that provides emergency aid to anyone afflicted by conflict, disasters, epidemics and more.
Steam's Summer Sale offers discounts on 'Fallout,' 'Sonic' and more
Steam holds seasonal sales throughout the year, offering decent discounts during certain dates in Autumn, Winter and Summer. It's definitely time for the most recent sale, just a day after PUBG got its first deal ever on the game distribution service. Dubbed the Intergalactic Summer Sale, which runs from June 21st through July 5th, the discounts will net you tons of games from 20 to 85 percent off their regular price, including titles from the Fallout franchise, Ni No Kuni II and Where the Water Tastes Like Wine.
Baskin-Robbins and DoorDash will deliver ice cream to your stoop
If you're like me, once the mercury starts rising, your diet slowly becomes more and more ice-cream-and-popsicle based. But what if it's too hot and you don't want to drive or walk to the nearest ice cream parlor? That's where Baskin-Robbins comes in. The franchise claims it has devised a way to deliver its frozen confections, intact, to your door thanks to a partnership with DoorDash. Some 600 stores in 22 cities are making delicious deliveries. There is a catch: While you can surely order whatever you'd like, you'll have to supply your own whipped cream.
'Battlebots' reboot will air on ABC June 21st
We knew the Battlebots TV show would crawl out of its early 2000s grave for another six episode run on ABC, and now the network has announced when. Sunday June 21st at 9PM, Battlebots will once again light up screens with robot vs. robot combat, now enhanced with the elimination of weight classes, the addition of onboard cameras and "a greater emphasis on the design and build elements of each robot." The competitions didn't actually stop once Comedy Central turned the TV lights out in 2002, so in a few months we should see how a decade or so of maker culture has advanced the sport -- as long as the producers' desire to add backstory doesn't get in the way. Hey, it can't be worse than Fuller House. [Image credit: nerdabout/Flickr]
Neverwinter's summer festival starts tomorrow
If it's Neverwinter, it must be summer, right? Now that you've stopped groaning, you might be interested to hear that the D&D MMO is kicking off its summer festival tomorrow. Cryptic is building on the previous year's festival by adding more content to the event. There will be a new summer-themed zone with daily quests, a water battle, new profession tasks, and a new dungeon for the web game Sword Coast Adventures. Players can try to grab a reward that they missed from last year or strive for one of the new prizes, such as the piñata or the Sunite Steed. The summer festival will run from Thursday, August 21st, through Thursday, September 11th.
EverQuest II throws bonus XP weekend, extends summer promotion
EverQuest II is opening up the throttle on in-game promotions this month, as Executive Producer Holly Longdale announced on Twitter that the game will be host to a double XP weekend from Friday afternoon through Sunday evening. In addition to that, EverQuest II is extending its Gear Up, Level Up promotion through the end of July. During this period, players will get bonus Etyma and a discount on the upcoming expansion. Subscribers are treated to even more goodies, including a 25% XP bonus and a discount on purchasing heroic characters.
EverQuest II producer letter outlines summer plans
July and August will be a busy time for EverQuest II, if a recent producer's letter is to be believed. Starting this month, more items have been added to the status point merchants, special summer ethereal weapons have been included, Tinkerfest will return, an Aerakyn legend quest will challenge players, and a new instance called Ages End: The Final Chapter will provoke all kinds of mystery. SOE is also running a sale from July 3rd through the 8th on previous holiday items and other store goodies. Then when we hit August, EQII players will have more loyalty items, a Nexus duo challenge instance, more moonlight enchantments, and status point XP bonus days to enjoy.
Qiraji Guardling pet now appearing on all realms
June 21 is the first official day of summer, and that means the Qiraji Guardling has begun spawning on all servers. Like its counterpart the Snowy Owl, this pet is only seasonally available, which means you've got a limited time to capture one for yourself. The Guardling spawns in southern Silithus, along the walls of Ahn'Qiraj -- both inside the entrance area, and just outside near the Scarab Wall. The pet spawns anywhere from poor to rare quality, and is always accompanied by two other critters, so make sure you've got a decent team put together before you set out. The Qiraji Guardling is on the list of required pets for the World Safari achievement and its associated Zookeeper title, so if you're looking to complete those achievements, you'll want to grab one of these pets while they are available. No need to hurry too quickly, though -- the Qiraji Guardling will keep spawning until the Autumnal Equinox, which falls on Tuesday, September 23 this year. Happy hunting!
Co-op shooter Helldivers drops this summer on Sony systems
As the weather clears up, we tend to break out our list of items well-suited for summer. Namely, we like to cruise in drop-tops and play top-down shooters once the sun is out and the temperature rises, and a recent PlayStation Blog post noted that Arrowhead's Helldivers will be one of those two to toy with in the sun (as a game, not a car). The multiplayer-focused, twin-stick action game will debut this summer for PS4, PS3 and Vita after it was first announced at Gamescom in August. Players on those three systems can come together in online cooperative missions to tear apart procedurally-generated levels thanks to its Cross-Save and Cross-Play support. Arrowhead locked in friendly fire for Helldivers however, so the term "cooperative" gets an extra point of emphasis for the game. There's still no word on whether Helldivers will be Cross-Buy-eligible, though. [Image: Arrowhead Game Studios]
Adorable Japanese gadget saves canines from becoming hot dogs
It's almost that time of year, y'all: dog season! "What's dog season?" you ask? Well, duh: it's the time of year when we spend as many waking hours as possible outside with our pooches, throwing balls and frolicking. No snark here, folks -- we've got nothing but love for man's best friend. And if you're anything like us, you know that it can get awfully hot out there for an excited dog covered in a year-round fur coat. Dog lovers in parts of Japan have it especially hard this time of year, with oppressive heat and humidity dominating the summer months, which is where Petline's Heat Index Checker for Dogs comes in. The device attaches to dog collars or cages, and monitors the environment where it's placed. Should the situation get too hot under the collar (or cage), the device lights up and buzzes to alert owners. There's even a human mode for monitoring your own environment.
EVE Evolved: What to expect from EVE Fanfest 2014
Almost 10 years ago, EVE Online developer CCP Games started a new tradition with the first ever annual EVE Fanfest. The event started out as a largely informal gathering in a tiny venue that allowed players and developers to mingle on a more personal level, but it's now grown into something massive. Over a thousand players now make the annual pilgrimage to EVE Online's birthplace in Reykjavik, Iceland, to hear what the future holds for their favourite MMO. For many, the event is also a social gathering, a chance to swap stories with other players, and a rare opportunity to meet the corpmates they fly with every day in the virtual galaxy of New Eden. The Fanfest weekend is typically a packed schedule of panels, talks, roundtable discussions with developers, and keynote speeches revealing the future of the game. While the event is understandably focused on EVE Online, it's recently expanded to cover aspects of DUST 514, the latest goings-on with World of Darkness, and even CCP's new virtual reality dogfighter EVE Valkyrie. CCP has announced that this year's event will see a monument to the EVE playerbase unveiled in Reykjavik Harbor as well as the first reveal of EVE's summer expansion, but what else can we hope to glean from this year's event at the start of May? In this edition of EVE Evolved, I delve into the EVE Fanfest announcement and speculate on what we might expect to hear from this year's event. Will this be the year that World of Darkness gets some serious news? And what's new for DUST 514?
Blade & Soul introduces swimsuits with a hefty price tag
How much are you willing to pay for a new swimsuit? How about if that swimsuit is only available for your character in a video game? Blade & Soul has introduced a line of summer swimwear for characters in the Korean version, available either via the game's cash shop or through item trading, but the system for obtaining these suits from inside the game is a bit problematic. During the summer event, players can obtain a watermelon slice by clearing a daily dungeon. These slices are used as tokens to unlock these outfits. The problem is that it can be difficult to actually obtain enough slices through play unless you focus on running dungeons with a single-minded devotion, which forces you toward the cash shop option, which values the suits at $45. Still no word on when the game is being localized, but you can check out the suit trailers past the cut for a peek at what you probably aren't dropping $45 on. [Thanks to bnssswimwear for the tip!]
WRUP: A hot weekend and the anticipation of a patch
It seems most of the country is blanketed in sweltering heat. If you find yourself outside in the sizzling temperatures, take care to stay hydrated and not hurt yourself. Heat like this isn't something to take lightly, and we don't want any of you to get hurt. We like you! So while polling your intrepid WoW Insider staff about their weekend plans, we thought we'd take a few moments to ask what they think of the patch so far. Opinions are varied, of course. That's just as well. If we all had the same opinion, that would make for pretty boring reading. So jump on behind the cut and see what your favorite WoW bloggers are into.
Kickstart this retro Mac cooler, so you can have it before it's cool
The world of Apple-themed drink coolers isn't exactly a bustling industry. In fact, I'm not sure I've actually seen one before today. Nevertheless, this adorably retro Mac-shapped box is called the MaCool and it's begging to hold your cold beverages. The MaCool is the brainchild of Scott Sefan, a Mac fan from Florida who clearly thinks that taking an old Apple desktop to the beach is a fantastic idea. According to its Kickstarter page, the MaCool can hold up to eight cans and ice, though in the product shots, it appears as though a 12-pack would fit without issue. You can currently pre-order via the funding campaign for US$39, though the price will jump to $59 after the "early adopter" pledge slots are filled.
Talkcast tonight, 10pm ET: Attack of the summer apps
All-new dial-in experience! See below -- do not call into Talkshoe, we won't be there. Be sure to set up Fuze Meeting before the show if you want to join in live. It's Sunday, and it's time for the TUAW talkcast! We'll be enjoying a frosty beverage and thinking ahead to summer vacations -- what to wear, what to pack, and what apps to install ahead of time. Need a nano SIM for an overseas trip? Want to stream Game of Thrones to your iPad at the beach? Feel like upgrading that iPhone 4 to a shiny new 5 for free? Or just looking for advice on unplugging for a few days? Join us + special guest Christina Warren for the hour of power. Reminder on new-style talkcasting: With some help from the fine folks at Fuze, we're using a new system to record the show. This should let everyone listen in live -- and, if you want, raise your hand as you would in the Talkshoe room to get unmuted and chime in. You can join the call in progress (meeting # is 20099010) at 10 pm ET from any computer via this link; if you download the Mac or Windows Fuze clients ahead of time, you'll get better audio and a slicker experience, but browser-only will work fine. Just click the phone icon to join the audio once you're in. Using an iPhone or iPad? Grab the native clients from the App Store and get busy. (Even Android users can join the party.) Still feel like using the conventional phone dial-in? Just call 775-996-3562 and enter the meeting number 20099010, then press #. While the Fuze web and native clients have a chat channel, we'd like to reserve that for host participants, requests to talk and other real-time alerts... so the full-on chat for the show will appear in this very post at 10 pm tonight. You'll need Twitter, Facebook or Chatroll credentials to participate in the chat. We'll remind everyone to check back in at that time. Your patience and forbearance with our new tech is appreciated in advance. For the time being, the podcast feed of the show will continue to originate from Talkshoe and should be there within 24-36 hours. See you tonight!
Seasonal pet Qiraji Guardling available today
If you're a collector looking forward to getting the World Safari achievement for the Zookeeper title, this summer is your big chance to finally catch the seasonal Qiraji Guardling pet. Though not strictly associated with the Midsummer Fire Festival, this miniature Qiraji only spawns during the summer season. If you're looking to catch one, you'll find them in Silithus near the Scarab Wall... but with a bunch of zookeepers-to-be waiting for it to spawn, expect a crowd. If you don't like fighting for spawn points, the Guardling should be around for a few months. While we don't have an exact date from Blizzard, its winter-only counterpart, the Snowy Owl, spawns from November to February. Happy hunting!
