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The Daily Grind: How much gaming do you manage on a daily basis?
I spent a weekend away from MMORPGs recently, and while that's somewhat unusual, it's not as unusual as it used to be. Despite popular assumptions to the contrary, the life of a pro game blogger sometimes involves less gaming and more, well... other stuff tangentially related to gaming but more directly in line with administrative duties common to more traditional professions. While I still have occasional binge gaming marathons, my average daily time is down considerably. What about you, Massively readers? How much uninterrupted gaming time do you manage on a daily basis, and is it enough? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
TIME: How your phone is changing the world
TIME magazine's cover story for Aug. 27 addresses how phones, specifically smartphones, have revolutionized the world in the past few years. TIME paired with Qualcomm to conduct a mobility poll to see how glued we are to our mobiles; if you think we're addicted to our phones in the U.S., take a look at the numbers for Brazil, India and China. Out of the 5,000 people surveyed, 84% of them can't go for a day without their phones. The issues TIME dove into include: using texting and apps to promote charity, how phones are slowly replacing toting cards in a wallet, access in rural areas, photography, politics, health, education, the thorny issue of how old should a child be before texting and more. Every image shot in the package was done so using a mobile phone camera. TIME prepared for the story by soliciting Instagram photos from around the world, stitching them together in a collage of 288 photos. The original submissions were staggering: 31,429 images from more than 120 countries, TIME reported. Every continent was represented, including Antarctica. A gallery shows some of the editors' favorites. The Aug. 27 issue of TIME should be hitting newsstands within the next few days if you want to read the dead-tree version, likewise with the iPad version. The articles are online now, but you will need a subscription to access most of them.
TIME calls for Instagram pics as Sports Illustrated uses them in print
TIME magazine is looking for Instagram photos to showcase them in a piece on mobile technology. They're looking for a variety of images from daily life. To join the project, add the hashtag #TIMEwireless to Instagram submissions. Make sure you're not infringing on anyone's rights in the process. Instagram photos need to have a caption that include your name, where the image was taken, and a geotag of the location. Sports Illustrated performed the experiment as well, with the results hitting newsstands this week, Mashable reports. In its print piece, it commissioned a photographer to shoot photos with his iPhone 4S at baseball games and spring training sessions.
Researchers create space-time crystal schematic, still won't undo those ill-advised high school photos
Think your cute little Minecraft schematics are the bomb? Well, a group of international researchers sees your quaint, little 3D masterpiece and raises you the blueprint for a 4D space-time crystal. Building on an idea floated earlier this year by theoretical physics guru and Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek of MIT, a team led by UC Berkeley researcher Tongcang Li has created a schematic for a crystal with a fourth dimension -- movement in time. The resulting space-time crystal is being described as something akin to an infinitely running clock that does not require any additional energy once it starts going. The researchers also claim that the crystal can be built in just a few years -- provided that the necessary funding is available to the team that decides to take on the project, of course. Unfortunately, the crystal is still a long way from the Mr. Fusion-powered, time-traveling DeLorean that we truly desire. In the meantime, brainy types can feel free to click on the source link for more nuggets of wisdom about the research.
Time Inc. relents, moves iOS magazines to Newsstand
Time Inc. appears to have relented in its refusal to sell subscriptions via its iOS apps, from which Apple takes a 30 percent commission. The Sports Illustrated publisher had resisted the move, forcing people to subscribe to the print edition in order to receive it digitally, but an update has moved the apps into Newsstand and now offers digital-only signups. It's not clear what sparked the change, but we're just glad to see everyone thinking about the trees and getting along.
Time, Inc. will sell its magazines on Apple's Newsstand
Laura Lang, CEO of Time, Inc. and Eddy Cue, Apple's VP for Internet software and service, confirmed to The New York Times that Time Inc.'s magazine lineup is coming to the iPhone and iPad. All of Time's magazines including People, Sports Illustrated, InStyle and Entertainment Weekly will be available soon in Apple's Newsstand app container. Up until now, the standalone Time Inc. apps have not enabled subscription purchases in-app. Unlike Condé Nast and Hearst, which adopted Apple's subscription service last year, Time, Inc. has been reluctant to agree to the restrictions Apple imposed on companies that sold magazine subscriptions through its App Store. At the crux of this complaint is customer data, which was held by Apple and not shared with magazine publishers. Apple has eased those restrictions and now gives users the option to share their information to the publisher. Apple's newsstand debuted in October 2011 with iOS 5 and currently sells more than 5,000 magazines and newspapers.
Twitter brings expanded news tweets to the web, makes skimming articles all too easy (update: Lytro too)
While Twitter has had expanded tweets for photos and videos, it's been necessary to click through to full news articles to see any of their content, sometimes even for the headline. A newly-launched update to the desktop and mobile web versions of Twitter is making that at-a-glance reading easier. Major traditional outlets like the New York Times, Der Spiegel or Time now show a brief snippet of an article when the linking tweet is given a click. More Internet-focused sources such as BuzzFeed and TMZ are also in the batch, and videos from the likes of BET and Dailymotion will play in-line. Android and iPhone users will see the same expansion from their native apps in the near future, although we're already weeping quietly for attention spans everywhere. Update: If you're craving shots taken with a Lytro camera, the company has revealed that its interactive, infinite-focus photos are included in the expanded tweet collection.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Time as a resource in Dominion
I feel that time is the least understood concept in all of gaming. People in World of Warcraft or other MMORPGs talk about how they "farmed something for free" all the time. Obviously, this is a fallacy, as a gamer's time is worth something. In League of Legends, time is a very important factor. I'm not talking about the time you have to play the game, although we could talk about it on a macro scale and do time-to-IP graphs for their silliness value. Instead, I'm talking about the actual time in-game that you spend accomplishing goals in a given match. In Summoner's Rift, the goal for the first 10 or 15 minutes is to get as much gold and XP as possible. If you can directly deny the enemy time by harassing him out of lane, you're taking away his time, which effectively takes away his gold and XP. As the game progresses, time is still traded for gold, but it's also traded for the other team's time (via teamfights). If your team manages to win a teamfight, the enemy cannot affect the battlefield and your team is free to take objectives. This week, we're going to talk about time in Dominion. While time is a fairly complicated thing in SR, it is even more complex in Dominion. There are many different things to do with it, and there are no easy decisions about how to spend it. If you're interested in learning more about how to better make those choices, read on!
Nokia announces string of new Lumia app partnerships at CTIA
CTIA is gaining momentum, and Nokia has just announced a slew of new app partnerships for its Lumia line at the show. Sports fans can look forward to PGA Tour, a dedicated app to cover the golfing action, while the ESPN sports hub will get a series of updates, plus an exclusive Lumia-only Fantasy Football app in autumn. Gamers will get new treats from EA -- including FIFA, NBA Jam and more -- and Rovio, which is creating a dedicated development team to create titles for Nokia Windows phones. Other notable names on the list to either get a new app or an update include Groupon, PayPal, Time, NewsWeek and more. Be sure to poke the source link for the full list.
Time magazine explores Apple's success
TIME Business has a short, but poignant article from Sam Gustin about Apple and its business strategy. Unlike similar articles that focused on Steve Jobs and his leadership style, this article looks at Apple as a whole. Gustin says that Apple has a winning combination of innovation, execution and opportunity that combined to propel the company to its lofty financial position. He points out that this is only the beginning and Apple will continue its dominance it if can out-think, out-innovate and out-execute its competitors. You can read the details at TIME's website.
Daily iPhone App: Time to Enjoy lets you find events based on time
Did you ever find yourself ready for a night out and clueless about where to go and what to do? If you need help finding a spur-of-the-moment event, then you should check out Time to Enjoy, a time-driven event calendar. Time to Enjoy is different than other event apps which list events based only on your location or a search. It's smarter than that and uses both your selected time and location to display nearby events. If it's my lunch break and I want to make plans for the evening, I can tap on the 8 pm slot on the Time to Enjoy calendar, and it will pull up events that I can attend at that time. Once I find something to do, I can add the event to one of my synced calendars, Google it for more information or share it via Twitter, Facebook, SMS or email. If you're not sure where the event is being held, you can click on the "directions" link and the app will launch Google Maps. Time to Enjoy works best in urban areas where there are ample concerts, sporting events, movies, conferences, art exhibits, and more. Even in my rural area, though, it picked up local classes, band performances and an organic farmer's market. You can grab Time to Enjoy from the iOS App Store for free.
Biegert & Funk bring the literal time to your wristwatch with QLOCKTWO W
It's a common desire among everyday folk: we often say we'd like to read more, if only we had the time. While it's unlikely to fill your noggin with the prose of Hemingway or the poetry of Whitman, a new wristwatch from Biegert & Funk promises to quench your thirst for words and literally provide you with the time. Known as the QLOCKTWO W, the timepiece is a portable revision of the company's original wall clock, both of which display the current time in everyday language. Priced at €550, the watch is scheduled for arrival this autumn and will be available in black or stainless steel variations, with either rubber or leather bands. As another option, those who find English far too mundane may spring for the Deutsch version. Curious shoppers will find the full PR after the break.
Next Issue Media launches on Android, $15 a month for access to 32 magazines
If you've taken issue with your usual choices for buying magazines on your tablet, be it pay-per-issue or per-subscription, you're not alone. If you'll recall, it was nearly a year ago that Next Issue Media launched the preliminary version of its "Hulu-meets-magazines" app on the Galaxy Tab, and it's finally ready to release this physical newsstand alternative officially. After raking in a slew of deals last November, its Android 3.0 app is now available -- users can fork over a monthly fee of $10 to access all of its monthly and bi-weekly content, while an extra five bucks adds in weekly content, essentially giving you access to every publication on offer. Singular subscriptions are also available for two to 10 bucks, and you'll currently have a choice of 32 mags from the likes of Car and Driver to The New Yorker. Interestingly, TechCrunch notes that NIM plans to get the app over to iOS "soon" -- it'll surely be interesting to see how it competes with Apple's own Newsstand. You'll find more info at the via links below, and you can flip over to the source for details about a 30-day trial offer.
How America benefits from Apple
Apple has gone from near death in the 1990s to the pinnacle of success two decades later. TIME tech journalist Ben Bajarin notes in a post today that the company is a highly important and necessary part of the American economy and says that "America needs Apple to keep doing what it's doing." Probably the biggest point Bajarin makes is that Apple now drives economic growth in the country. During a deep recession, the company showed record growth and revenues. Apple didn't stay stagnant during this recession or the previous dot-com bust; instead, the company invested in retail stores and completely new product lines (iPod in the early 2000s, iPad in the 2010s). Apple's impact on the S&P 500 was remarkable in the last quarter; if Apple had been taken out of the picture, the S&P 500 growth rate would have been only half (around 3 percent) of the figure with the company. Bajarin also points out the positive impact of the iOS app economy, which by Apple's own measures has created about 210,000 jobs. Add to that the huge number of accessory manufacturers that have sprung up in the U.S. (think of DODOcase and Pen & Quill, for example), and the impact is even greater. Apple has made America technologically competitive again, with the most wildly popular consumer electronics products not coming from Asia or Europe but from the U.S. Bajarin also postulates that American cell phone companies wouldn't have invested as much in 3G and 4G networks if the iPhone hadn't been around to create the need for those networks. It's time to take the "pie" out of the old saying and just say "It's as American as Apple."
Pathfinder Online goes time-traveling in latest dev blog
According to the venerable Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, time is an illusion, and lunchtime doubly so. MMO time is perhaps even more illusory, and that's the exact topic of today's Pathfinder Online dev diary. It's always tricky deciding on the ratio of real-world to in-game time. On the one hand, if time moves too quickly, it can be immersion-breaking; on the other hand, if time moves too slowly, it can lend a sense of stagnance, especially if other gameplay mechanics rely on the day/night cycle (such as mobs that only come out at night). In light of this, Goblinworks has decided on a 4:1 game-to-earth-time ratio. This means that four in-game minutes will pass in the span of one real-world minute, one in-game day will pass in the span of six real-world hours, and so forth. This will also influence the rate of travel within the game. The team is operating under the assumption that the average human moves at three miles per hour. In-game hexes are about three-quarters of a mile from edge-to-edge, which means that it would take a real person about 15 minutes to traverse one hex. When you take into account the game's chronological dilation, though, the same journey will take an in-game character less than four minutes (assuming he can travel in a straight line), which the team says passes a basic "sanity test when considering the travel times required to cross the zones in other MMOs." The full dev blog is chock-full of even more information than we can cram into this article, including details on how different variables (such as mounts, magic, and difficult terrain) will affect travel time and the perceived scale of the world, so if you're in the mood to have your brain addled by MMO chronomancy, head on over and give it a read.
The iPhone's head start on computing's future
Imagine you're working on a complicated Photoshop document at home and need to go to work. Instead of uploading to Dropbox or saving to a thumb drive, you merely unplug your iPhone. You drive across town, get to your desk, dock your iPhone, and your desktop immediately springs back to life with your work still in progress. That idea of personal computing, known as modular computing, is behind an article in Time this week studying Apple's impact on the future of personal computing. Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, Inc., theorizes that one day the iPhone will serve as a very small device that has a custom user interface, all your data, operating system and more. You would then go hook the iPhone up to any screen and have your personal computer right there - no laptop necessary. It would be able to drive a high-resolution monitor and software that requires more processing power than current-generation iPhones have. Bajarin says Apple is already experimenting with this future. He points to AirPlay and the ability to use an iPhone in an audio docking system. He also thinks the 30-pin dock connector, which was recently dismissed by iMore's Rene Ritchie, was specifically built with this mythical connected future in mind. Bajarin says only two-thirds of the 30 pins are used for syncing, charging and audio/video output. Apple could use the rest to power other functions. It's easy to see how Bajarin could make this leap of logic. Do you think this is the future, or is Apple going in another direction?
PS3 v4.10 update is live with an improved browser, Sony Entertainment Network nameplate
The latest update for Sony's PlayStation 3 is live and available for download from via your PlayStation Netw...oops, Sony Entertainment Network account. While we get used to the new branding (nothing we could see in the system UI has actually changed at all), there's a few tweaks included in v4.10, like some sorely needed upgrades for the web browser and the ability to set the time and date automatically upon each sign-in. A scan of the forums reveals a few who noticed problems with Netflix post-update (which may or may not be update related, deleting Netflix data from the Game Data utility section and/or installing the newest version seems to fix the issue), however most are just seeing significantly better scores in browser benchmarks like Acid3 and HTML5 Test, better compatibility with most webpages and improved YouTube playback (still 240p). Let us know if you notice any other changes, the system should prompt you the next time you log on for a quick round of Final Fantasy XIII-2.
Oregon Scientific's Time and Wireless Charging Station+ does what it says
Oregon Scientific isn't usually known for making gadgets that get cozy with phones and whatnot, but this year we'll be seeing some changes. For starters, this Time and Wireless Charging Station+ will be the company's second Qi wireless charging station, and it shares many similarities with its smaller predecessor (which is conveniently dubbed Time & Weather Charging Station): you get a single charging pad along with a monochrome LCD for the time, indoor temperature and outdoor temperature (five channels; one sensor included). Of course, the plus sign in the name means there are some extra goodies, namely a radio-controlled clock, a barometer for weather forecast plus a projector for the time and temperature; but you'll need to pick up your own Qi phone sleeve -- Oregon Scientific sells one for the iPhone 4. Expect to see this clock on the market at some point for around $129.
Cornell scientists perform optical illusion, herald invisibility through bending of light (video)
Taken at face value, you'd almost think that Cornell scientists had successfully bent the fabric of time. With gobs of fiber optics at their disposal, the researchers have devised a method to distort light in a way that makes events in time undetectable to observers. Initial success in this Pentagon-backed invisibility project has cloaked an event for 40 trillionths of a second, leading Cornell scientists to tout, "You kind of create a hole in time where an event takes place. You just don't know that anything ever happened." The feat is performed by separating light into more fundamental wavelengths, first by slowing the red and speeding the blue. A resultant gap forms in the beam, which leaves a small window for subterfuge. Then, as the light passes through another set of fibers -- which slow the blue and speed the red -- light reaches the observer as if no disturbance had taken place at all. While the brilliant researchers ultimately imagine art thieves being able to pass undetected through museums with this method, the immediate challenge will be in prolonging the light gap. This could prove frustrating, however, due to the scattering and dispersion effects of light. As Cornell scientists dream of their ultimate heist, visual learners will most certainly want to check the video after the break.
Nuclear clocks could be 60x as accurate as atomic counterparts, less prone to errors
For years, atomic clocks have been considered the most accurate devices for tracking the slow march towards obsolescence, a subatomic particle vibrating a given number of times per second with relatively few issues. Now the reliability crown might be passed to the nuclear clock, which in addition to sounding gnarly, could prove to be less susceptible to errors from outside stimuli. It goes like this: although an atomic clock will measure a certain number of vibrations per second, external forces such as ambient electric and magnetic fields affect the electrons used in atomic clocks, causing mishaps. The particles used in nuclear clocks that are measured for vibrations -- and thus timekeeping -- can be excited with a relatively low-energy ultraviolet light, allowing for fewer variations from the aforementioned fields. To wit, Corey Campbell and colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta have devised a scheme that uses lasers to carefully control the spatial orientation of the electron orbits in atoms. A nuclear clock containing a thorium nucleus controlled in this way would drift by just one second in 200 billion years, the team claims. Before nuclear clocks become a reality, researchers must identify the precise frequency of light needed to excite thorium nuclei; but this is what grad students are for, right? [Image credit: University of Colorado / Science Daily]