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Samsung sends Canadian a truly unique Galaxy S III, guarantees a loyal customer
And you thought your future brown Galaxy S III would be special. We're just learning the full story of how avid fan Shane Bennett got what may be the rarest version of Samsung's flagship phone through an unusual chain of events. After half-jokingly asking Samsung Canada for a free phone with the drawing of a dragon as a token gift, Shane was given a kangaroo drawing as a response; the overwhelming reaction to his posting that story on Reddit led to not just a thank-you trip to a Galaxy S III launch party but a custom phone designed around his off-hand doodle. We're not kidding when we mean custom, either. Along with the distinctive front and back, his phone came with matching on-screen wallpaper and even a specially wrapped box. The likelihood of anyone else receiving a similar gesture is slim -- who'd want to spoil the originality? -- but credit has to go to community manager Drew Bomhof for going the extra distance and acknowledging that even a giant phone maker is only as strong as its individual customers.
Apple WALT prototype hits eBay, reminds us of a life with landlines
As it turns out, Apple too used to announce products at trade shows... only to never actually ship them. Back in the halcyon days of the early '90s, Apple revealed the WALT (Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone) at Macworld Boston, touting a fairly amazing feature set. Things like a touchscreen, handwriting recognition, fax support, an address book, caller ID, online banking and a speakerphone set it apart from the landline devices of its day, and being that it was co-developed with Bell South, it's pretty clear that your pops had his eye one at some point. Those looking to relive the corporate boom of one-nine-nine-to-the-tres can plunk down $8,000 of 2012's dollars at the eBay link below; just don't expect it to work out of the box, okay?[Thanks, TS]
Brookstone's WiFi cufflinks let you discreetly share data, internet connections
If you somehow aren't satisfied with your growing collection of Nintendo, PlayStation, Game Boy Color and steampunk styled cufflinks, Brookstone just might be the Q to your Bond. In addition to rocking the USB-storage trick we've seen in other technological shirt links, this sleeve fastener also promises to act as a WiFi hotspot when paired with a hard-wired PC. Rounding out your technologically augmented wedding attire with these 'cuffs will set you back $250 -- unless you're working with Her Majesty's Secret Service, of course, then they're probably just standard issue.
The Daily Grind: Does a class' popularity influence your desire to play it?
There are a few constants that dog my adventures into every MMO. I will play a female character even though I am a man, I will go nuts over pet classes if they are available, I will probably create a legion of alts before ever hitting the level cap, and I will wear stylish hats even if the stats aren't the greatest. But above all of that, the biggest constant in my playing career is that I almost always refuse to pick MMO classes that are extremely popular. I think it's because I -- like probably most of you -- like to feel unique in games, even though it's usually difficult to achieve. Choosing a class that's in the minority helps with that feeling, and conversely, going with the FOTM or whatever the kids are calling it these days makes me feel like I've got my unique snowflake status revoked. So is this insane? Do you allow class popularity to influence your desire to play it, or do you just go with whatever sounds like the most fun? 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!
Steampunk USB cufflinks are as awesome as they are pricey
You wouldn't think something classifiable as "wearable storage" would look so darn dapper, but here we are, staring at just about the finest cufflinks we ever did see. Not only are these handmade shirt cuffs beautiful in the most steampunk of ways, they're also pretty useful as each features an 8GB flash storage chip with the utterly ubiquitous USB connector attached. Basically, they're what James Bond would wear if James Bond wore really awesome cufflinks. The general idea behind them might not exactly be original anymore, but we can't really fault the execution here. What we could probably find fault with is our lack of $225 of disposable coin, the price one will have to pay to sport this unique pair of hand-carved, walnut-enclosed memory sticks. [Thanks, Amelia]
The Daily Grind: How important is uniqueness to you?
When it comes to clinging to one's uniqueness, I'm reminded of that classic line from Monty Python's Life of Brian in which huge crowd shouts in unison "We are all different!" and a tiny voice follows that up with "I'm not... ." The truth is that while we as people are unique, there are more similarities between us than we'd often like to admit. This is even more true when you get into MMOs, where character creation options are usually limited to a handful of races, classes and faces, and where everyone is a hero just like you doing all the same quests and activities and world-saving. Because of this, there's a tendency to rebel and forge a unique voice in the crowd, even if it's just a different look, a bizarre name, an odd personality or a piece of loot that's so extraordinarily rare that you're most likely the only one possessing it. We want to be known and remembered for something other than "being the same as everyone else," a feeling that manifests itself in a variety of ways. So how important is in-game uniqueness to you -- and how do you go about demonstrating it? 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!
Misa Digital's stringless Kitara goes up for pre-order: $849 for a truly unique musical instrument
Remember the Misa Digital Guitar? Well, it's called the Kitara now, it's taken on a fresh lick of paint, and it's ready to be pre-ordered now for an April delivery. The Kitara discards old fashioned strings and has you strumming along on a multitouch display instead, populating the fretboard with a litany of buttons that modify the aural output from your digital input. It has an onboard synthesizer, but the real magic will happen once you plug it into your own audio equipment and start experimenting. Basically, it's like the Kinect of electronic music -- just needs a few inventive souls to harness its potential properly. They'll need fat wallets too, mind you, as turning this invention into a viable product has meant a lofty $849 starting price in the US. See a video demo and the full Kitara press release after the break. %Gallery-110587%
Viking Modular's SATADIMM jacks an SSD into your memory slot
Explaining the differences between DRAM and non-volatile storage is about to get that little bit harder, thanks to Viking Modular. The company's decided to "borrow" the DIMM form factor for its latest enterprise SSD offering, equipping it with a 240-pin array to draw power from your spare memory slots. Of course, you'll still need to hook up a SATA cable to get data flowing to this SSD -- at a very respectable 260MBps for both read and write -- but we must admit we're in love with the very idea of it. This new design offers another option for consolidating storage right onto the motherboard and should help case modders yearning for ever-slimmer enclosures. Alas, the SATADIMM is only available to enterprise and OEM clients for now, but we can't think of any reason why it won't test the consumer waters as well -- if not by Viking, maybe someone else? [Thanks, David]
Versace Unique launched, Vertu put on notice
And here it is, the Versace phone. Teaming up with the ModeLabs outfit that's already quite familiar with building lush phone-like pieces of handheld jewelry, Versace has just announced its first foray into the world of touchscreen communicators. It's quite the striking debut, too, coming with a sapphire crystal screen that is apparently the largest single piece ever offered in a consumer device, as well as gold plating and "high-tech ceramic" construction options. Hand assembly is an obvious standard feature, as is the Medusa-embossed leather back. LG is responsible for putting together the innards, including the 3-inch display and 5 megapixel camera, and worry not, we understand a black version will be available too. Look for the Unique in the usual places you find wildly overpriced gear starting next month.
Unicat retro TV channels the 1940s, bidding now underway
How does technology a half-century old manage to be this sexy? We're not certain. But this one-of-a-kind, handmade retro television -- which seemingly combines an old desktop lamp and a giant magnifying glass -- definitely tugs at our heartstrings. With a 5.5-inch monochrome CRT screen and no inputs to speak of, you won't be watching Blu-rays on this set, and its PAL standard and 220V plug mean non-Europeans might not be bothered to try. Still, for an old over-the-air TV, it's remarkably full-featured, with knobs for volume, band (VHF-L / VHF-H / UHF), brightness, contrast and V-sync, and we can't get over its clean, handsome design. If your Nixie tube collection is getting lonely, check out the auction at our source link; bidding starts at €300.%Gallery-90244% [Thanks, Alex]
Phat Loot Phriday: Armageddon
Spellpower maces and wands and bows are cute and all. But sometimes you just want a big sword.Name: Armageddon (Wowhead, Thottbot, WoWDigger)Type: Epic Two-hand SwordDamage/Speed: 554-831 / 3.40 (203.7 DPS)Attributes: First, just look at that thing. This is clearly a sword that, when swung in an arcward manner, brings all sorts of death and destruction. +101 Strength, and +108 Stamina, which is (definitely not the first weapon ever, but) the first weapon I've seen that has two triple-digit buffs. %Gallery-33600%
Blessing of Wisdom and Mana Stream totem go exclusive
Eyonix has posted some bad news for Pallies and/or Shamans on the forums: the Shaman's Mana Spring totem, while still providing a raid-wide buff, won't play nice with the Paladin's Blessing of Wisdom spell. The two mana regen buffs will essentially be equivalent, but won't stack in the upcoming content patch.The reasoning? Eyonix says that Blizzard feels that Pallies and Shamans brought too many unique buffs to a group, and that this change was designed to pull in an either/or choice: either Pallies can hit up Blessing of Wisdom, and Shaman can go with Healing Stream (which isn't, apparently, being combined with the Mana Spring totem as we first heard) or do some cleansing with their Water totem slot, or Shaman can use the raid-wide Mana Spring, leaving Paladins open to use Blessing of Kings.Which makes a strange kind of sense, even though lots of Pallies and Shammies will likely be disappointed to hear of one less unique buff they can bring to a raid. There is one hidden benefit here, however: since raids were previously recieving both benefits together (and now can only get one or the other), we can probably look forward to a buff for at least one (since the Totem suffers the weakness of not being portable, you'd expect it to have some extra ability) or both.
Saving Space: Should tabards be next?
Blizzard really does seem to have finally realized that can give us a few more decent ways to save space without breaking anything or trivializing the game. The new vanity pet and mount skill system has done wonders to clear up bag space on my characters on Beta, and I just can't wait to be able to do it on live. Of course, there's tons more stuff that a good, solid pack rat can keep in their bank to take up space, from cool looking quest rewards to old gear sets to tabards. Tabards are an especially massive space investment. Even with just the basic battleground and unique event tabards, we're talking at least half a good bag taken up in the bank, and that's with deleting all the easily re-obtainable tabards to save space.
The Daily Grind: Would truly unique items help or hurt an MMO?
Let's indulge in a little thought experiment. Let's say that your favorite MMO has enabled the salvage of an entirely unique, singularly powerful weapon/item. And by 'unique', I don't mean 'Legendary', I mean 'only one person per server may have this thing'. It binds on pick-up for 24 hours, then disappears from your inventory, to become available for the next person to find it.Let's say that for those 24 hours, the wielder of this object is untouchable. Would such an item help or hurt your favorite MMO? Sure, it's an unbalancer, but it's also a goad. If it can only be found, then everyone gets an equal chance for it, no favorites. And who wouldn't want to be GM (or the combat equivalent) for a day? Of course, we know what passions uber items can arouse in the hardcore, but what do you think? Good or bad idea?
Orange launches "Unique" dual-mode service
UMA appears to be picking up a nice head of steam both domestically and internationally; Orange is the latest to join the fray with their newly-minted service dubbed simply "Unique." As expected, the service uses Orange's wireless broadband router (the Livebox, pictured) to provide the VoIP connection at home, while GSM takes over out on the mean streets Orange's launch locales: the UK, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Poland. Up to six handsets will be supported per Livebox, which can all be routed onto a single bill -- a bill that should hopefully stay reasonably low thanks to unlimited landline and Orange mobile calling via VoIP. Launch handsets will be the Motorola A910, Nokia 6136, and Samsung P200 (a cousin of the Americanized T709), which (pardon our jaded humor) is three more handsets than we have in our hands right now for T-Mobile's stalled UMA launch.[Via Shiny Shiny]
