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Zynga crowns Lady Gaga as FarmVille's newest cash cow
What better way to market a game that isn't really a game than with an artist who isn't really an artist? Such was the rationale, apparently, behind Zynga's recent decision to partner with Lady Gaga, the freshly anointed face of FarmVille. As of May 17th, FarmVille users will be able to take a much-needed break from wasting their lives and visit GagaVille -- a neighboring but equally fake farm full of unicorns, crystals and terrible life decisions. There, visitors will be able to listen to unreleased tracks from Gaga's forthcoming album, Born This Way, which they can also download for "free," once they've dropped $25 of their parents' hard-earned cash on a Zynga gift card. The campaign will mercifully come to an end on May 26th, but not before Diet Madonna extends her corporate leviathan to every corner of Zynga's gaming universe, including Words With Friends, Mafia Wars and anything else your pre-teen cousin spends far too much time playing. Gaga will win. Zynga will win. The human race, on balance, will lose. If you haven't slit your wrists yet, the PR after the break should do the trick.
RepRap prints transistors, but fabs have little to fear
Budding hobbyists almost have it too easy these days, what with all the ready-made components, Mindstorms and Arduino boards, but there's still a couple of folks out there kicking it old-school... and printing transistors at home. Yes, that's a RepRap 3D printer you see there, with a MakerBot Unicorn pen head, depositing tiny dots of silver ink to form intricate rows of tiny electrodes. Sadly, the printer doesn't currently automate the entire process, as you'll also need to separately apply a dielectric material and a host of chemicals to get a working field effect transistor from scratch, but once the basic process is perfected the possibilities, as they say, are endless. Now if you'll excuse us, we've got a hot date with some vacuum tubes. Find the basic formula for DIY transistors at our source link.
White iPhone 4 reportedly due spring of 2011
If you have been holding out for a white iPhone 4, you might only have another three or four months to wait. We reported last month that the white iPhone had been delayed until spring, and now we have confirmation of sorts from Apple. A number of our readers pinged TUAW over the weekend with news of the new iPhone signage at Apple Stores, which (if you read the fine print) notes that "The White iPhone will be available spring 2011." 9 to 5 Mac's readers also sent in similar reports. In case you've forgotten when spring begins, that date in 2011 is March 20, with the season stretching until June 21. Apple could theoretically wait until June 21 to release the white iPhone 4, thus keeping their word while driving hordes of potential buyers stark raving mad. The mythical white iPhone 4 has been on the hot list for many potential iPhone buyers / upgraders who have been holding off until they can have one of the gleaming, pure-as-the-driven-snow devices in their hot little hands. Nobody seems to know why the white iPhone 4 has been missing in action so far; rumors have it that there has been a shortage of unicorns, the ground horns of which are lovingly fabricated into the cases by elves. Others speculate that the white cases tend to discolor under use, and that the various materials used don't precisely match and have not made it past the perfectionist scrutiny of Steve Jobs. It's our speculation that Apple's captive unicorn breeding program has been wildly successful, and that it will soon be open season on the critters, with white iPhones and rainbow Skittles abounding.
Why you really shouldn't have expected more than Beatles on iTunes today
We here at TUAW, and those of you who read us and a dozen other Apple or tech blogs each day were certainly amped about a full-page takeover on Apple.com yesterday. We were subsequently a bit let down when the veil lifted to reveal... The Beatles on iTunes. Keep in mind Twitter + Ping happened via press release -- a Facebook + Ping update could also have happened inside iTunes without an update to iTunes itself, and likewise just merit a press release without so much hoopla. So why did we expect more? It's a classic case of what we do when we see a tease from Apple. We expect a unicorn to emerge, bathed in the light of the Apple logo, being led by Steve Jobs carrying a bucket of golden oats. Further, we expect this unicorn to fulfill our every whim, our every desire, be easy to use and be hated by a faction who just likes to hate anything Apple does. Oh, and we know they'll just trot out a new unicorn next year, one you can get in seven colors, but we don't care -- we want this new, shiny unicorn NOW and if we don't get what we expect, we are terribly let down. But guess what? If you do read TUAW and a dozen other tech sites every day, and you've been reading about Apple for at least the past 10 years, you should have known better. Here are the reasons why.
Anarchy Online details account merges and spruces up art
In the corporate wars of the future, stealth and subtlety are a must, which is why Funcom implemented account merges last week without telling anyone until now. The company's reasoning? Better to see if there were any glaring issues before trumpeting the new feature. In any case, players may now combine any number of accounts into one Master Account for free. Funcom says that this is currently a free service, but it will probably cost money in the future. With the merge comes the option to transfer characters between the sub-accounts for a nominal fee as well. For fans of Anarchy Online eager to hear anything about the promised graphics engine overhaul, AO-Universe recently published an interview with dev "MstrBstrd," who has been hard at work remaking art assets for the game. He's pretty blunt as to some of the weaknesses of the game (such as the grid) and admits that we're probably not going to see any new classes in the foreseeable future. Just make sure that you get your item descriptions straight around MstrBstrd: "It's a Unique Horn, not a Unicorn!"
Apple Event Metaliveblog: Celebrate the tablet with TUAW
Thank you again everyone for stopping by and sharing this live event with TUAW. We really appreciated how many of you stuck around after our CoverItLive connection died. Thank you all! We really appreciate your support for TUAW. 11:37: And it looks like we're out of there. I think I'm going to have to soak my fingers in ice water. Yikes! 11:35: iPad is up on Apple, and video! 11:35 "Thank you so much for coming." 11:35 GIZ Jason Chen: And here's IPS: In Plane Switching. Click here if you want a better explanation of the technology. 11:34: "Go to the store. Get your hands on an iPad. Once you get your hands on an iPad you'll never go back." 11:33: "We fit the users. User don't have to come to the device. We come to the users." 11:33: "We always try to be at the intersection of technology and liberal arts. Be able to get the best of both. Extremely fast products." 11:33: Jason Chen: "We are ready for the iPad." 11:32: "Most advanced technology", "Magical and revolutionary device", "Unbelievable price". 11:31 Back to Steve. iTunes Store, App Store, iBook Store, all on the iPad. Over 125million accounts. One click shopping. (One tap, really) 12 Billion products. At scale, and ready for iPad. 11:30: (via Macworld) Monitoring The Twitter, I see a lot of people blown away by the price here, and also a bunch of people sold on the keyboard. Fraser Spiers, a Mac developer and a schoolteacher, says the 16GB wi-fi only model with keyboard extra makes it an amazing product for education. 11:30 "If I was a college kid and most of my textbooks were on here, I'd be pre-ordering right now" -- Megan Lavey
Waitchat: Anticipating the Apple Tablet Keynote
Are you as excited as we are about the upcoming Apple announcement? Join us in this open chat prior to today's liveblog. All we ask is that you keep things civil and suitable for all ages. C'mon and join in the excitement as we monitor Twitter and analyze the latest rumors, leaks and stories. Tablet Antici...sayitsayit...pation Livechat
New iLife, iPhone OS 4.0, and tablet next week?
Almost everybody who a) cares about Apple and b) is breathing knows already that Apple has an event scheduled for next Wednesday, January 27th. Many people assume that the big surprise could be the announcement of the soon-to-be-non-mythical slate / tablet, but we all know that Apple seldom makes one announcement. There's often "one more thing." Clayton Morris at Fox News reported yesterday on information he received just before his invitation arrived for the event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. A "source at Apple" told him that the event was going to focus on three things: a new release of iLife, iPhone OS 4.0, and the tablet. He goes on to say that while iPhone OS 4.0 will be demoed, no new iPhone device is going to be announced. The new version of iLife -- let's call it iLife '10 for the heck of it -- sounds reasonable. Early versions of iLife were announced and shipped on an annual basis for quite a few years, with iLife '08 spoiling the rhythm of releases. iLife '09 hit the stores last January, so it's not at all unlikely that iLife '10 and all of its components could be in our hands before Macworld Expo 2010. iPhone OS 4.0? Equally likely. The event could feature a quick demo of new features to get everyone drooling, with the new OS version and possibly a new iPhone shipping simultaneously in the summer. The tablet? There's the best possible "one more thing." I can see Steve Jobs now, smoothly demoing iLife '10's feature set for a while and talking about the new e-commerce widgets in iWeb '10, and then segueing into news about iPhone OS 4.0. Just about the time that all of the industry pundits are about to commit seppuku from fear that they're being misled, Stevie J. will reach under a MacBook Air and pluck out the device. And the crowd goes wild!!! Just keep repeating to yourself -- "January 27th will be here before I know it."
iPhone devsugar: Working with tablet resolutions
Rumors are hitting the ground hard and strong about exactly what to expect in the upcoming (yeah, yeah, possibly mythical) Apple tablet device. And the most important of those rumors, the fact most consistently cited, is the introduction of extra pixels. You might roll your eyes and say, "of course a tablet means more pixels," but what exactly does that extra resolution mean to you as a developer? After all, we don't know what the pixel count will be or whether the (possibly mythical) tablet will offer widget-mode applications using the current iPhone resolution size or full-screen options. So let's look at some of the challenges having extra screen space might offer up developers.
Konami Code turns ESPN.com into a Lisa Frank wonderland [update]
Update: ESPN got wise, and removed the mysterious Unicornification ability reported below. It was fun while it lasted!You need to stop what you're doing right now, and go to ESPN's Web site, because something magical is going on, and we don't know how long it will last. Once the front page loads, enter in the Konami Code (which we shouldn't have to tell you by now, but just in case -- Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A). Then start pressing Enter on your keyboard. Something will happen that isn't even remotely sports related. Is it an Easter egg? A well-executed hack? A hilarious practical joke from a disgruntled ESPN web programmer? We don't know, but we offer an enthusiastic Kudos to whoever pulled this one off.[Via FourZeroTwo's Twitter]
Diablo II's producer weighs in on sequel's art style
Former VP of the now-defunct Blizzard North and producer of Diablo II, Bill Roper, agrees with fans who feel Diablo III ... well, doesn't quite look "Diablo" enough. Roper discussed the game's brighter, more cartoon-like art style with VideoGamer.com as part of a broader interview."I can't say that I dislike it. I didn't look at it and go, oh my God that's horrible," Roper said of his initial reaction to Diablo III. "But I looked at it and went, it's not really... to me as a player it just didn't really ring with Diablo."With Blizzard "really pleased" with the look and feel of the game as-is, the only option for those seeking a darker Diablo III experience will be labeled "reduce gamma" under "visual settings."[Via Shacknews]
Tabula Rasa: why game delays are good for us
Talking with some new friends in Tabula Rasa last night, we happened on the subject of game delays, and why sometimes we have to suck it up and take them without complaint in order to enjoy a more complete product later down the road. Of course, with as many players as the MMO genre has under its sway, the "without complaint" aspect is often ignored in favor of nagging and incessant whining. Gamers accustomed to instant gratification and pandering from developers are often inconsolable when a patch is delayed, saying nothing of an actual retail release. Forums and IRC chats become flooded with complaints, insults, and sometimes even threats of bodily harm. Mindful of a couple big titles delayed in recent months, I thought I'd offer up evidence of why game delays are sometimes good for us.The video you see before you is Destination Games' showing of Tabula Rasa at E3 2004, a scant three years ago. At the time, Tabula Rasa was a confusing mishmash of fantasy, sci-fi, and... unicorns? Sensing that they had an impending disaster on their hands, they replaced 20% of the development team, scrapped 75% of the code, and started over essentially from scratch. While some still debate whether the finished product they put on the market earlier this month was worth the effort, I find it hard to believe it could be any worse than the trippy mess of a game shown in their E3 presentation. In Tabula Rasa's case, the delay likely saved the game from bombing.So next time the big game you've got on preorder is delayed, relax. The developers are probably doing you a favor. That is, unless you like unicorns.
