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WoW Insider Show Episode 86: No love for Gnomes
Here's this week's episode of the WoW Insider Show, in which we recapped patch 3.1 and all of the class goodness and new content included in there, as well as the Ulduar cinematic and that fact that Gnomes have been historically dissed by Blizzard's machinimists. We checked in on your emails as well -- we got some Rogue theorycrafting in the mix thanks to our Encrypted Text writer Chase Christian stopping by, and we checked back in with Duncor of WoW Radio for the first time in a while on both which tank is the best and whether leather-wearing casters should get cloth upgrades or not.Was a good show -- you can give it a listen at any of the links below, or just subscribe to us in iTunes to get the show automagically every Monday. We'll be back live on the air next Saturday, and we're climbing ever closer to a few big goals: in just 14 weeks, we're set to hit our 100th show, which will definitely be a nice anniversary for us, and we're only 600 followers away from hitting our goal of over 9000 followers on our Twitter account. So join up there if you haven't yet, and I'll get the tux out to the cleaners in anticipation.Enjoy the show this week and we'll see you next time!Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
Nambu native Twitter client for Mac
In the most recent Ask TUAW, we addressed a question about Twitter (follow TUAW!), and asked readers for their favorite clients. Several users suggested Nambu, and having just put it through its paces, I can see why it's so popular.Nambu is a native Mac application designed for multiple social networking services, but in practice it seems like its primary strength is as a Twitter client. It offers support for multiple Twitter accounts, which can in turn be viewed in several different ways. It also integrates support for the tr.im URL shorting service and the pic.im image service.There's the standard list view which will automatically integrate tweets from multiple accounts into a single timeline. There's a three-pane view, somewhat similar to Mail, with a sidebar allowing you to choose between accounts, and finally (my favorite) there's a multi-column view reminiscent of the Adobe AIR-based TweetDeck and you can, of course, choose what appears in each column: main timeline, replies, sent messages, searches(!), etc.. In addition, replies are automatically threaded so they appear indented under the most recent tweet from the person to whom you are replying (as well as within the normal timeline). Another nice feature is that it automatically displays the domain of shortened URLs that appear in your timeline.In short, I think I've found my new Mac-native Twitter client. Nambu is a free download from The Nambu Network.
Follow Ashton's Twitter, get in an EA game
In what could be the most fitting metaphor for the new millennium, Dude, Where's My Car? star Ashton Kutcher is currently racing news network CNN to become the first to reach 1,000,000 followers on microblogging site Twitter. Because this isn't depressing enough, EA says it's going to give Ashton's 1,000,000th follower a spot in a new EA game. Not sure which game the winner will appear in, but we're assuming it'll be Dante's Inferno seeing as, apparently, we're already in Hell.
Follow the patch day news as it happens with WoW Insider on Twitter
Patch days bring about major game changing news, and the WoW Insider crew is hard at work to bring you the very latest.As we gotten the news in we've been tweeting about it left and right, and we'll continue to do this throughout the day. We're also responding to as many questions via tweets as we can. And as a special treat for all you twittering people out there, we'll be giving away some WoW TCG Loot Card codes (courtesy of our good friends at WoWTCGLoot.com) over the next week or so. But the only way for you to get them is to follow us on Twitter and wait for the sign.Of course, another good reason to follow us on twitter is that when we reach 9,000 followers, we'll be doing a video version of our podcast, The WoW Insider Show. Ever wonder what Mike Schramm looks like while talking? Want to see if Turpster really is a gnome warrior? And do writers here at WoW Insider really grow horns and walk around with pitch forks chanting monotone devilries while sacrificing baby Murlocs to Ghostcrawler in exchange for new patch information?Follow us and find out!
Let your tweets incubate with Birdhouse for iPhone
Twitter is many things to many people. Some folks use it to keep up with friends or the latest news; others make it their primary tool for online coversation. There exists, however, within the throng of Twitter users, a group of people who use Twitter as the stage from which they deliver their own special brand of humor. For these types, a tweet isn't something that's typed and quickly posted a few seconds later -- it's a chance to make his/her followers chuckle. To that end, they take great care to ensure that each tweet is finely honed and worded to deliver the maximum amount of gag within the 140-character limit. Birdhouse is an application for these people. Dubbed by its creators as "A Notepad for Twitter," Birdhouse isn't your typical Twitter client. Instead of reading, replying to and favoriting your buddies' tweets, it focuses on composition. Got an idea for a really hilarious joke? Plug the idea into Birdhouse, then come back to it when you have time. Tweak and refine it until you've got just what you want, and hit publish. There's no hard limit to the number of drafts you can keep at once, and it maintains a timestamped history of all of the tweets you've published. You can rate each message using a 5-star system, and it also allows you to email yourself a complete list of all pending and published tweets in case you're staring at the business end of an iPhone restore and you don't want to lose that truly golden mom joke you've been working on. Birdhouse [App Store] is available now for $3.99US.
WoW Insider Show Episode 85: Appeasing the Ret Monkey
A good time was had as always on last weekend's WoW Insider Show -- Adam Holisky kindly stepped into the broadcasting booth with Turpster and I, and we answered some emails (including whether it's OK to give cloth drops to leather wearers, as long as it's an upgrade, and more on which tanking class is the best to take with you), and talked turkey on the biggest stories in the World of Warcraft. We chatted about what might be in store for the next content patch and expansion, what's up with WoW's numbers still going up, and what's new with Wintergrasp in 3.1. We also had a straight-from-the-scene report about the PETA event -- stay tuned for more about that later today.And we got some interesting Ret Monkey pictures -- the one to the right is by Hydralol of EU Magtheridon, and the other one in the gallery below is by Abbort from Hellscream. Both of these, and any other pictures that you can come up with of the Ret Monkey or any of us who work on the show can be eligible for our Fan Art contest, so enter that if you'd like.Finally, we have rounded 6,000 followers on our Twitter account, and we're headed to 9,000 -- as we say on the show, it would be great if we could hit that by our 100th show, and combine everything into one big party-down spectacular. So tell your twitterfriends, especially those interested in WoW, to give us a follow. They (and you) won't regret it.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
Intelligent cat door utilizes Twitter, RFID masterfully
What goes well with a communication-enabled water dish? Why, a Twitter / RFID-enabled kitty door, of course! The so-called Tweeting Cat Door is undoubtedly the most hilarious, insightful and useful DIY contraption we've ever seen to wed RFID, social networking and computer programming. Essentially, this homegrown cat door was crafted to only open when Gus or Penny walks up with their super special RFID tags; once they approach, a mounted camera snaps a picture and uploads it (along with a quip) to Twitter. Don't deny it -- your feline is steaming with envy from the corner of your desk right now.[Via Switched]
Pure Digital founder talks of Flip Video's future
When we got wind of Cisco's $590 million acquisition of Flip Video-maker Pure Digital, we immediately came to grips with the fit. After all, Cisco's been dying to pull another Linksys for some time now, and what better to expand its consumer electronics presence than with a cheap-o camcorder that's ripe for the addition of WiFi. Bigwig (and Pure Digital founder) Jonathan Kaplan recently sat down to talk about the product's future, and unsurprisingly, he definitely mentions the integration of Cisco's "strengths" into the handheld camcorder. Furthermore, he's hoping that an entity as large as Cisco can get the Flip Video line overseas, and he's also quite big on "building the brand." The takeaway? Don't be alarmed when a WiFi-equipped, streaming-capable successor hits the scene at CES 2010, complete with automatic upload-to-YouTube functionality.
WoW Insider Show Episode 84: The grass is greener
Good times as always on the podcast last Saturday -- we welcomed blogger Nick Whelan on, of his own Curse of Senility and the newest writer on our own Blood Pact column, all about Warlocks. Turpster and Michael "Belfaire" Sacco also joined us, and we answered your emails (including some follow-up on just how loyal you should be to your guild, even when they're not really progressing), as well as talked about the most popular WoW insider posts for the past week: why 25-man gear should be better than 10-man gear, new news out of patch 3.1 (which, if you listen to Turpster, is right around the corner), and all of the April Fools jokes that went around last Wednesday. You can download the show at any of the links below, or pick it up by subscribing in iTunes (and it's been a while since we asked you to leave some reviews over there, so if you haven't ever done that and really enjoy the show, please do tell people what you think). Also, don't forget that we're in the middle of a bit Twitter-drive: we're aiming for over 9000 followers on Twitter, and if we can pull that off, we'll be doing a video version of the weekly podcast, so you'll get to see our ugly mugs as we talk (and you could probably even convince us to dress up for it -- you haven't lived until you've seen The T in a tuxedo). And I don't want to put any pressure on you, but we're nearing our 100th show, and how cool would it be if we hit our goal by then and did the special show on the anniversary? Just sayin'.Enjoy this show this week -- we'll be back live next Saturday as usual.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
BakerTweet, the Arduino-based pastry early warning system
Usually when we cover the baked goods beat 'round here it's in the form of a gadget-themed confection, so anything that actually empowers our sweet tooth is not only brilliant, it's dangerous! That's why we were really excited (and a little scared) to come across BakerTweet, a WiFi-enabled, Arduino-based prototype that one mounts on the wall of their bakery. Items are added or removed via web interface, which you can later select by simply spinning the dial. When the sweets come out of the oven, press the button to Tweet your eager customers and await the stampede. The prototype unit is being used at Albion's Oven in London, but we're looking forward to seeing it hit the streets Stateside at some point in the near future (even if our waist isn't). Video after the break.[Via SlashGear]
The Pokemans, we want you to follow them
With the popularity of Twitter exploding everywhere, it was bound to happen -- Pokemon are now twittering. If you've ever wanted to follow the daily musings of your favorite characters, then Twitter is the place to be. Pokefan David Cole has compiled a detailed list of all current twittering Pokemon, focusing specifically on those who tweet in character -- like the filthy mouthed Primeape, above. If ever there was a reason to join Twitter ... well, this isn't it. But it's a great time waster.[Via Darkzero]
WoW Insider Show Episode 83 with Alex Albrecht
We had a great time on the podcast last Saturday, and it was a full house: Turpster, our friend Patrick Beja, Michael "Belfaire" Sacco were all on board, and we welcomed a special guest, Alex Albrecht of Project Lore. And despite the fact that we had so many people on, not only did we answer your email questions (apparently I'm the only one who believes in guild loyalty, even when progression isn't happening), but we talked some World of Warcraft as well: why Arena players have left the Arenas, what might be in that brand new battleground, and why a free iPhone Authenticator program is so great. (And thanks by the way, Blizzard, for that one.)The recording of the show is now out on the feed and at the links below, so download away. Huge thanks yet again to Alex Albrecht for stopping by the show, and congrats go out to him on his Streamys win on Saturday. We'll be back as usual next week, kicking off the show as always just a little bit before 3:30pm Eastern.And don't forget: we met our Facebook goal of 4,000 fans, and the song that came out of that turned out pretty darn epic, if we say so ourselves. But we've got another goal: we're aiming for over 9,000 followers on Twitter, and if we can pull that off, we'll do a live video version of the podcast. And who knows what kind of hilarity will ensue from that one. If you're on Twitter (or even if you're not) and haven't started following us, please do! And hey, we tweet all kinds of things that never show up on the site, so it's even more WoW Insider for your efforts. See you next week.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
Twitter integration could come to OnStar
We know you've been losing sleep just wondering how on earth General Motors plans to get OnStar users to keep on using once their free year is up, but apparently someone up top has been doing a bit more than just mulling. Gearlive received quite the interesting survey from OnStar this week, with a paragraph clearly explaining how Twitter integration would work should it come to the in-car alert / communication system. Essentially, the system could be programmed to read back tweets directed at you and convert your voice to text in order to upload new tweets. Envision this: you tweet that you're headed to Forks, Washington, and you ask your thousands of followers to name a good place to buy garlic. Magical, no?
Mobile technology even makes 20-somethings shudder... sometimes
We'll go ahead and warn you that a lot has changed since 2007, but if anything, the surge in Twitter users and the overwhelming growth in social networking would likely strengthen these findings. The Pew Internet and American Life Project has just revealed some rather interesting stats from its study of age groups and their connection to mobile technology, particularly when looking at the "Ambivalent Networkers" group. Said clump is comprised mostly of males in their late 20s, which are stereotypically connected to their handsets at all times with a smile to go with it. According to the research, however, the majority of this group agreed that "taking a break is definitely a good idea," which was around ten percentage points above the average in the other four groups. We know you're about to tweet this to your 27 year old brother-in-law, but think twice before you knowingly hurt his soul like that.[Via ArsTechnica]
Beta Beat: Twitter app Lounge
In the history of marketing battles, The Cola Wars have nothing on the Twitter App War that's currently raging online. Twitterrific, TweetDeck and others (popular with commenters: Pwitter and DestroyTwitter) are waging the ground battle, while Twitterrific (mobile), Tweetie and TwitterFon (to name a few) are fighting it out in the air.Today we got our hands on a beta of Lounge, a new client for Mac OS X (and iPhone/iPod touch). It's definitely got a way to go (I saw more beach balls than Memorial Day at Hilton Head), but I see where they're going and I like it. First off, there's support for multiple accounts, and switching between them is easy. A series of buttons appear horizontally in the left of the window, including "My 2 Cents" (which displays just your tweets), Favorites, Friends, Replies and my favorite, Vanity, which finds all occurrences of your Twitter handle.Mouse over a user's tweet to see options to re-tweet, copy the URL, open in a browser and more. I really like the option to view user details, which lets you see just that user's tweets, his followers, those being followed and profile and URL. It is kind of wide (wider than Twitterrific but not TweetDeck, of course) so those with small displays be warned. Also, some may be put off by the pastel-colored icons. Still, it shows promise. Check it out if you're up for it, and provide some feedback to make Lounge better.
SocialScope for BlackBerry impressions (and invites!)
Twitter clients for the iPhone are pretty much a dime a dozen, but unfortunately, the same can't be said for the BlackBerry platform. Things are looking up for the Waterloo faithful, though, with a number of clients on the horizon -- and one of the best we've seen thus far is SocialScope from the guys at Ubiquitous Systems. The app has been around in the form of an invite-only alpha for a few months now, and with more recent releases the guns are coming out and it's really starting to develop into a fairly advanced app. Read on for more impressions and an exclusive hands-on with the latest build -- and oh, yeah, we've got loads of invites for you certifiable addicts as well!
WoW Insider Show Episode 82: Knock it off? Get it on!
Hoo boy, what a show at our podcast on Saturday. After one of the craziest starts our show has ever had (BRK's house decided to go a little nuts right before we started), we got as professional as we could and got down to business. After answering emails (including more on why you should listen to your mother), we talked about the addon changes and how they'll affect players and developers, Blizzard's plans for a mobile authenticator, and more of the latest news out of patch 3.1. We also brainstormed new flavors for Mountain Dew, and finally, we played what everyone was waiting to hear: Turpster's new WoW Insider song.Yes, because our fans were kind enough to get 4,000 people to join in on our Facebook page, we recorded that abomination of hilarity. You can download it as an mp3 right here, for use in remixes or machinima or whatever you want to do with it, and I've posted the lyrics and liner notes after the break. Enjoy.And don't forget we're currently in a campaign for OVER 9000 Twitter followers. Join up to Twitter and follow us, and please tell your guilds and friends to do the same -- if we can meet our goal there, we'll do a live video version of the podcast that you'll be able to see right here on the site. Enjoy the show as always, and we'll see you next week.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
How to apply to a guild
Our friend Lassirra (who has just recently started writing Scattered Shots for us here at WoW Insider) has a great post over on her personal blog telling Hunters how to apply for a guild, but really, most of her advice would work for anyone trying to move on up to a better guild situation. I've long said that one of the key indicators of a guild worth getting into is that they require you to apply, so following these tips when actually filling out that application will very much help you find your spot in the game, whether it's raiding at the highest levels, teaming up with other PvP afficionados, or just getting yourself in the right casual circles.The first few suggestions are just about following the rules: answer all of the questions, don't be weird, and don't put anything on the app (like major drama in your history or major spelling errors or offensive language) that would let the guild's officers give you a definite "no" right away. Second, know your character and your class. As Lassirra's twitter people say, the standards for most guilds' recruitment (even great guilds) are pretty low. As long as you're easy-going and you know how to play your class and have an interest in bettering your character, you're going to be pretty much instantly accepted into 90% of guilds out there. You don't have to throw together a big Flash presentation (though it might help). And finally, don't worry about rejection. This may all sound like applying for a job, but it's not nearly that serious -- if one guild decides to pass on your app, go find another one you like and apply there. The extra time will be worth it: if all you've done in terms of being in a guild so far is join up with someone shouting in the Trade chat, you owe it to yourself to, as Lassirra says, put the time in to find a guild that's right for you.
WoW Insider on PixelatedLIVE tonight
Bummed that, unlike last week, our podcast is back on Saturday this week? Worry not -- we've got a special dose of WoW Insider podcastery goodness midweek for you. Tonight, over on PixelatedLIVE's Ustream page, they're broadcasting a special World of Warcraft-themed show, and they've asked us to appear, along with our good friends Matticus (from World of Matticus and our own Spiritual Guidance Priest column) and Medros of All Things Azeroth as well as Erin from Eringames.com and Darren of MyGameMug. Whew! It'll likely be a Warcraft extravaganza, and as a bonus (or a penalty?), they're even broadcasting video, so you'll be able to see my ugly mug on screen while I'm on. Make sure to send your young children and weak-willed women out of the room first.The show starts at 7:30 pm Pacific (use this to figure out what time that is where you are) over on Ustream. And they're having a trivia contest, too -- they're looking for people who have a Ustream account (you can get one here), Skype installed, and a good headset to come on the air with them and answer questions to win prizes.Seems like quite a party. Definitely stop by and tune in tonight (I'll probably be Twittering while I do it, so you can follow us there as well), and of course if you can't make it, our official podcast will return to our own page on Ustream this Saturday at 3:30pm Eastern.
The Daily Grind: Is it IP or people?
Yesterday after the announcement of the new Marvel MMO, a bit of lively discussion sparked up on Twitter between Shuttler from Limited Edition, Brenda "Tipa" Holloway, West Karana blogmistress and Massively alumni, and me. There was of course, the discussion of Marvel's MMO re-entering the scene, but also the question came up of whether the IP is what draws people in to a particular MMO, or if it's the people? Tipa and I generally felt that, much like World of Warcraft's success, pulling new people in has a lot to do with people suggesting the game to their friends, who then jump in and start playing it. Shuttler suggested that for those who aren't getting in via friends, IP may be the most important thing that brings new players to the table. After all, how likely are you to walk into a store and pick up an MMO in a genre you don't particularly care about - even if it has millions of players - when a genre you like (superheroes, in the original discussion) has an MMO? So this morning I wanted to open this discussion up to you all, as it was an interesting topic. What do you think pulls in new people to MMOs? For new players, do you think it's more important to have a recognizeable IP like Star Trek, Marvel, DC, Star Wars - or is it more important to have good word of mouth from people you know? When you started out, what got you into the genre? Was it friends telling you about a great MMO they were playing, or did you decide to check out a particular game because of the story/genre behind it? How important do you think IP is in the initial hook? Are there other factors that you feel are more important to bringing new players to the MMO genre? Or is it a combination of all of them, really?
