General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Dropbox Automator Makes an Amazing Service Even Better

Posted: 01 Jan 2012 05:16 PM PST

WappwolfDropbox is a fantastically useful cloud storage tool for anyone who has more than one device, be it PC, Mac, or mobile. Other services such as Microsoft's Skydrive offer more storage for free, but Dropbox's amazing API access has made it the third party storage solution of choice for power users and novices alike. These API's are normally used to tap into your account to dump files, however a recently founded software development firm by the name of Wappwolf is taking it to the next level. Releasing a new tool called "Dropbox Automator", Wappwolf has made it easy to create super folders that are configured to perform common tasks on any files you place there.

After granting Wappwolf access to your account, you can use their simple online configuration tool to setup rules for any existing folder in your Dropbox. Here is a run-down of the types of files it supports, and the type of automations it is capable of. 

Documents: Convert to PDF, Summarize, Translate, Convert PDF to TXT, Upload to Slideshare, Sign PDF

Pictures: Upload to Facebook, Upload to Flickr, Downscale Resolution, Rotate Image, Write text on image, Photo Effect, Stamp Logo, Stamp Map, Stamp Dislike.

Any File: Email, Zip, Save To Another Dropbox Folder, Rename, Upload to FTP, Encrypt, Decrypt.

Send Info: Tweet, Set Facebook Status.

I'm sure we can expect many more useful automations in the not so distance future, but so far they are off to a great start. Currently the only complaint I can see people having is in regards to the speed. Conversions for example seem to be the worst, with some seeming to take several minutes to follow through. It's likely however this is mostly a result of the service's instant popularity, and should improve over time as more servers come online. 

Sony Cuts The Price of Tablet S Lineup By $100

Posted: 01 Jan 2012 04:26 PM PST

Sony Tablet SAssuming that the laws of modern day economics didn't completely change over with the New Year, we can only assume that Sony's decision to cut $100 off the price of its Tablet S is something of a bad sign for market demand. We just got word that the 16GB model can now be had for a mere $400, or you can step up to the 32GB edition for $500. Finding stock also doesn't seem to be an issue.  

The price cut wasn't completely unexpected given intense competition in the "non iPad" tablet market these days, but it does make you wonder if Sony will find the segment profitable enough in the long run to justify further development of the lineup. $400 isn't much of a fire sale, but at the very least it puts some distance between Asus's new Transformer Prime, and of course Apple's 800-pound gorilla.

Internet Explorer Use on Windows 7 Continues to Grow at the Expense of Firefox

Posted: 01 Jan 2012 01:27 PM PST

smallThe Microsoft PR team in charge of Internet Explorer has a difficult job on its hands. Finding the upside of declining market share isn't exactly the easiest job in the world you know.  As a result of the overall trend working against IE, the message this year has been mostly focused around browser share in Windows 7. When you limit the dataset to this one narrow focus, Microsoft appears to be making at least some progress at bouncing back, though mostly at the expense of Mozilla.

 The raw data shows a year end market share bump for Internet Explorer 9 to 25.6 percent globally, and over 30 percent in the United States. This might not sound like much, but it's also coming quite close to overtaking IE 8, which when you combine the two adds up to a pretty impressive share of the Windows 7 market. 

The bigger story here isn't just that Internet Explorer 9 market share is growing, that's to be expected. No, the big news here is that Firefox use is plummeting fast on the second most popular version of Windows in the world. Microsoft's unwillingness to port IE9 to Windows XP is no doubt working in Mozilla's favor for the time being, but as Windows XP fades away Firefox is going to need a plan to attract Chrome and IE users alike in the years to come.

Coming Soon: Cedar Trail-based Acer Aspire One D270 Netbook

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 10:35 PM PST

The once flourishing netbook market has been cannibalized by media tablets to the point that vendors have begun shying away from netbooks, with one of them eschewing the moniker and another exiting the segment altogether. Nevertheless, Intel recently went ahead with the launch of its third-generation Atom processor platform, codenamed Cedar Trail, for netbooks. Among the first wave of Cedar Trail-based netbooks will be a 10.1-incher from Acer, it has now emerged.

The Acer Aspire One D270, a 10.1-inch netbook powered by the 1.6GHz Atom N2600 processor, recently reared its head in a number of online listings first spotted by Notebook Italia. The D270 features 1GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. It comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition pre-installed. In Europe, the price is 250 euros ($324 USD) for the 3-cell model and 269 euros ($348 USD) for the 6-cell SKU. However, a retailer in the U.S. has the 6-cell model listed for $279.99. The D270 is expected to begin shipping sometime during January.

Google Experimenting with Email Subscription Option in Search Ads

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 10:20 PM PST

As you would expect from a company that operates the world's most popular search engine, search ads constitute an important source of revenue for Google. Launched in 2000, Google Adwords has always stuck to the text-based, cost-per-click ad model it debuted with. However,  the search engine giant is always searching for "innovative ways for advertisers to engage users on Google.com." To this end, it's now experimenting with a new ad format.

This new ad format (pictured below) lets advertisers include an email subscription option in their ads. The first report of this new ad format surfaced a few weeks ago when the Emailblog reported about an experimental email subscription feature being tested by Google in partnership with Honda

This is what Google had to say when asked about the new format by Techcrunch's Alexia Tsotsis: "We're currently running a small experiment of a new ad format that helps users sign up more easily for email subscriptions or other free newsletters. This new ad format contains a box within the ad that displays a user's Google email address (if logged in). If a user chooses to click 'Subscribe to newsletter' then the email address is sent to the advertiser directly, which is clearly disclosed within the ad itself."

 

Samsung Ships 1 Million Galaxy Notes, Looks Ahead to U.S. Release in 2012

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 10:01 PM PST

Samsung's hugely successful Galaxy family of devices seems to have found another star performer. The Korean electronics giant has revealed that its 5.3-inch Galaxy Note smartphone-tablet hybrid, which began shipping a couple of months ago, has crossed 1 million global shipments. Oddly enough, the company chose photo-sharing site Flickr, of all places, to announce the milestone.

Before you jump to any conclusions, we feel that some perspective is in order. Samsung's Flickr statement clearly mentions shipments and not sales. Now as we all know, the former is not always the best way to gauge the popularity of something. Talking of sales, the company added that the device was selling pretty well across Europe and Asia, and had succeeded in "creating a new market for something between smartphone and tablet pc."

It certainly isn't a "market creator" if only successful first-of-its-kind devices are eligible for the title. But if being a first-to-taste-success-in-a-new-category device is the minimum requirement, the company does have a point. Samsung now expects the Note to widen its market footprint on the back of its impending U.S. launch, which is scheduled to take place sometime next year.

MMO News

MMO News


MMOHut Weekly Recap #67 Jan 1 – Silkroad R, Scarlet Legacy, & More

Posted: 01 Jan 2012 10:53 AM PST

MMO Weekly News #67 – Silkroad R, Scarlet Legacy, & More

Weekly MMO News summary for the week ended January 1 (Dec 26 – Jan 1). A quick look and discussion for every major announcement and update during the week! This week we discussed updates from the following games: Silkroad R (new version of Silkroad Online from Joymax), Scarlet Legacy, Tales of Pirates 2, and C21 from Cyberstep (which looks almost exactly like CosmicBreak) . It’s now 2012 – so happy new years everyone! Make sure to check out your favorite free to play games, as just about EVERY game has some sort of New Years event going on! You can view all the individual news articles mention over at the MMOHut.com News section.

MMO Updates

MMO Updates


Nexon takes Mabinogi offline indefinitely due to 'malicious activity'

Posted: 01 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST

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Mabinogi - down for the count
If you were looking to play a little Mabinogi to kick off the new year, you might want to make alternate arrangements. Nexon has taken the free-to-play sandbox offline in order to deal with the recent spate of "malicious activity" going on in-game.

Mabinogi went dark yesterday, and Nexon says that it does "not have a specific time for the service to re-open." This is the second time in the past three months that Nexon has disabled the game, as the company dealt with a rash of unauthorized RMT issues and botting as recently as October of 2011. As per usual when MMO security issues crop up, the company has not released any details, saying only that "we feel that we have no choice but to take the game down in order to prevent any further malicious action."

[Thanks to David for the tip!]

MassivelyNexon takes Mabinogi offline indefinitely due to 'malicious activity' originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Global Chat: December 25-31, 2011

Posted: 01 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST

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Predictions
We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat!

Welcome to the first Global Chat of 2012! This week is all about some of your responses to our MMO predictions for 2012. You all chipped in plenty of great thoughts, so follow along after the break for the best of what our readers had to say last week!

Continue reading Global Chat: December 25-31, 2011

MassivelyGlobal Chat: December 25-31, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    The Daily Grind: Want to make an inaccurate prediction?

    Posted: 01 Jan 2012 05:00 AM PST

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    A crystal ball will help you see the inaccurate future.
    Today is the first day of 2012, and that means there's a whole new year awaiting us, a year during which no doubt a lot of things will happen in the MMO space. But while we've already made our staff predictions, we're sure that our readers have their own... both the kind that seem likely and the sort that seem like they'll never happen, the sort of crazy pie-in-the-sky stuff that you usually file in the back of your head and forget about.

    Well, not today. Today, we want you to dust off those theories about the next year that have a 1% chance of happening at best. If you're wrong, hey, odds are low. But if you're right about your guess that World of Warcraft will go free-to-play or that Guild Wars 2 will announce a subscription fee of $30 per month, you said it here first, right? So go nuts with your crazy predictions in the comments!

    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!

    MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Want to make an inaccurate prediction? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    The Tattered Notebook: An insider's guide to the Beastlord

    Posted: 31 Dec 2011 05:00 PM PST

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    Beastlord
    Beastlords have only been in game for a few weeks, but already quite a few EverQuest II fans have rolled one up to and taken it for a test drive. There are several new facets to the class that are refreshingly new to the usual EQII adventure classes, and it's little surprise that they've become arguably the most popular class around lately.

    I tracked down a good friend and guildie, Nauralea, who has already reached the level cap with her Beastlord and has also finished her class epic and done a little raiding. If you're curious about how the class works or whether it's still fun to play at the higher levels, read on for a great look at the nuts and bolts of the class and even some helpful tips for leveling up one of your own!

    Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: An insider's guide to the Beastlord

    MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: An insider's guide to the Beastlord originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      The Mog Log: The 2012 forecast

      Posted: 31 Dec 2011 03:00 PM PST

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      The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
      As we enter the twilight of 2011, I can say with absolute certainty that my predictions for Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV were wrong, which is fine, since when I made them last year I seem to recall saying to myself that I was predicting more on the basis of "should happen" than "will likely happen." I was overly optimistic about several things, overly pessimistic about a couple of others, and going in a completely different direction from the design team on the rest -- which is fine by me, actually.

      That having been said, whether proving that I'm not afraid of failure or that I don't know when to quit, I'm coming back for another round of predictions for this coming year. But there's one major variable in the equation that's horrible to try and account for, and that's Final Fantasy XI. I can easily see the game going one of two ways, and while I think one's a bit more likely, there seem to be more divergent futures for it than for Final Fantasy XIV.

      Continue reading The Mog Log: The 2012 forecast

      MassivelyThe Mog Log: The 2012 forecast originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Captain's Log: Facing a content drought? Make up your own!

        Posted: 31 Dec 2011 01:00 PM PST

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        Beth in WW STO
        Those of you who haven't been in Star Trek Online in a while will be happy to know there was a new event system put into place after the advent of A Call to Arms. The event calendar appears the moment a player clicks on his Starfleet delta to hail Starfleet and contains a neatly reorganized mission menu as well as an hourly listing of special daily events in which players can participate. Missions range from the KDF Mirror Universe and the new Borg Invasion of Defera to the Multiphasic Event in which players who farm anomalies for crafting are granted extra rewards during the time period in question. The new event system is very helpful to those players who get satisfaction from a specific type of play as they are able to obtain extra rewards for undertaking that play during the scheduled times.

        Of course, events aren't the only way to spend your STO time during this content drought, and this New Year's Eve edition of the Captain's Log has a few other ideas for you...

        Continue reading Captain's Log: Facing a content drought? Make up your own!

        MassivelyCaptain's Log: Facing a content drought? Make up your own! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Massively's Best of 2011 Awards

          Posted: 31 Dec 2011 11:00 AM PST

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          2011 Awards Header
          2011 was an interesting year for MMOs. Some of the most anticipated games were launched, one of the strongest MMO communities was left in the cold, and a seemingly untouchable indie developer quickly realized that it needs to listen to its players more than anything else.

          As is often tradition this time of the year, we, the Massively staff, have compiled our top picks in nine different categories to celebrate what 2011 was for us. Every MMO on this list was either launched, re-launched (as free-to-play), or had some game-changing event affect it in 2011. Read along after the cut for our choices and feel free to let us know in the comments what you'd have picked for each category.

          Continue reading Massively's Best of 2011 Awards

          MassivelyMassively's Best of 2011 Awards originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            MMOGaming News

            MMOGaming News


            SWTOR: Gift List for the Companion

            Posted:

            SWTOR: Gift List for the Companion


            Also for the companion gift list, they are a very handy chart for what gifts you need to give to your companions in SWTOR to raise their affection rating. It is very useful and I think a lot of people might be interested in that list.

            Dawn of Fantasy: The Battle for the Race Survival has just Began

            Posted:

            Dawn of Fantasy: The Battle for the Race Survival has just Began


            Dawn of Fantasy is a 3D strategy style game with a massive multiplayer option and an awesome mediaeval storyline.

            MMOWRPG Troy Online(KR) Unveils 2 Artworks

            Posted:

            MMOWRPG Troy Online(KR) Unveils 2 Artworks


            Massive Multiplayer Online War Role Playing Game Troy Online, developed by Korea-based Alt1, unveils 2 latest artworks.

            Age of Wulin Qinggong Combat System Deep Analysis

            Posted:

            Age of Wulin Qinggong Combat System Deep Analysis


            Since its debut, Age of Wulin's Qinggong video has been well welcomed by numerous players. The reason lies in that Qinggong combat is definitely a highlight of Age of Wulin.

            Korean Media: Top 3 Disappointing Game News in 2011

            Posted:

            Korean Media: Top 3 Disappointing Game News in 2011


            Today is the last day of 2011, let's review what happened to the Korean game industry this year. It can be said that Korean game industry suffered a lot in 2011. When game companies brought players happiness through new games, they indeed did something disappointing. After a serious selection, the Korean media have draw out the top 3 disappointing game news in South Korea.

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