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- Mario Kart 8 DLC Adds Link, New Karts, & 16 New Tracks
- The Real Reason Google Didn’t Buy Twitch
- Kickball Ice Cream Maker combines sports & deliciousness
- Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Earphones Also Include a Heart Rate Monitor
- MB&F’s USS Enterprise-Inspired Music Box Plays Led Zep and the Imperial March
| Mario Kart 8 DLC Adds Link, New Karts, & 16 New Tracks Posted: 28 Aug 2014 07:00 AM PDT  Nintendo is revving up future Mario Kart 8 downloadable content that add new characters, karts, and courses to the Wii U racing game.
Don't pull your go-kart into the garage just yet, Nintendo is planning DLC for Mario Kart 8 that is set to deploy in two sets, one coming this November and the other for May 2015. Notably, each Mario Kart 8 DLC set will feature 3 new characters. Incredibly, one of those new characters happens to be Link from The Legend of Zelda, the first time a Mario-universe outsider will be joining the ranks for the long-running Nintendo racer, and will be included in the first DLC pack for November, along with Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach. The rest of the DLC pack also contains 4 new vehicles (yes, that’s Luigi driving the Blue Falcon from F-Zero) and 8 new courses. The latter of which, like with the addition of the hero of Hyrule, continues the "Nintendo-ification" of Mario Kart 8 by adding new racing tracks based on The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing franchises. Wii U owners can now pre-order the Mario Kart 8 DLC packs, which are priced at $7.99 for each pack individually or $11.99 for both. As for a detailed rundown of what each pack contains and when they’ll launch, here's a handy list below: Pack 1: The Legend of Zelda X Mario Kart 8 (Release Date: November 2014) – $7.99
Pack 2: Animal Crossing X Mario Kart 8 (Release Date: May 2015) – $7.99
Pack 1 + Pack 2 Bundle – $11.99
Bonus: Customers of any the above DLC packs will automatically receive eight new colors for Yoshi and Shy Guy that can be used once pre-ordered. Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at https://www.facebook.com/Walyou and https://twitter.com/walyou.         |
| The Real Reason Google Didn’t Buy Twitch Posted: 28 Aug 2014 06:00 AM PDT  After Amazon snaps up video site Twitch despite rumours of a Google purchase, we look at why the search engine giant didn't buy them first.
Twitch is an undoubtedly dominant force in the world of gaming – with its livestreams (frequently watched and broadcasted by gaming fans, professionals gamers and game developers alike) being incredibly popular. Amazon, meanwhile, is an undisputed colossus in the world of online shopping with the retailer delivering groceries, TVs and just about everything else right to your door (sometimes by drone, too). So match the two together and what do you get? You get a massive deal that's as much polarising as it is hopeful for those of us who've enjoyed the two – albeit individually – in the past. But what does Amazon's purchase of Twitch mean now that almost $1 billion in cash money has been transferred? And what does it mean for Google who were also in the running as a potential buyer for Twitch's offerings? In short: a lot, so read on to find out more. Critically, Twitch and Amazon both agree that this won't change anything about Twitch. I don't need to tell you why this is good (for the most part everyone likes the way Twitch runs things) but I can tell you why that may not be a full truth. Emmett Shear, the CEO of Twitch explains that the buyout will "help Twitch do what we're doing today, only faster. Twitch and Amazon have a very similar view of the world. From our point of view, very little changes" but he fails to realise that the biggest of changes has already been made. Widely believed to be a defining factor in the buyout (and a necessary caveat if Twitch were going to be bought) is Twitch's recent policy change. Twitch's servers – while coping somewhat – were stretched, angel investors weren't offering enough money and so Twitch really did need to be bought to continue to be sustainable, but that's difficult when the axe of half a dozen lawsuits swings perilously over your neck. You see, Twitch users have a fondness for playing music in the background of their streams (if you've never watched – many of these things are like bonafide TV shows in their own right) and as a result, the record labels have been a bit huffy with unauthorised usage of their music, something they've only gotten angrier about given the amount of money that many Twitch streams make. Already clamping down on YouTube videos with similar copyright violations, record labels could potentially sue Twitch for letting their users go about willy nilly using copyrighted music as they so wished. As a result, Twitch teamed up with a company called Audible Magic, using their detection software to check archived videos for music in their database (which is pretty extensive, from what I understand) and muting the offending footage for 30 minutes after the copyright offense was heard. Videos broadcast live won't be affected but for those of us navigating timezones, jobs, lives, childcare and everything else that stops us from watching a Twitch show as it's happening, mutes could spoil our fun when we're watching archived footage. Even more so as part of Twitch's other new, not-so-delightful policy is removing the 'save forever' archiving of videos and replacing it with 'save for two weeks…after which point your video will be deleted'. Shear explains that the audio recognition was something Amazon didn't require and they were surprised by it (although as it will benefit them, it's unlikely that they'll complain too much) and that as a result of the deal they'll be "improving quality of service," but that likely won't stop disgruntled gamers from causing up a stink. It's ire that Google won't have to put up with, anyway, as although being the top running favourite (ok, the only favourite given that Amazon really did come out of nowhere) to buy Twitch for a similar price, they dropped out. But why did they pass on a lucrative deal that would have bolstered YouTube's capabilities and been an incredibly valuable investment in the long run? As with many things it came down to one factor: the law. While Google reps understandably declined to comment, the break-up of the deal between Google and Twitch is likely due to their existing ownership of YouTube. Both YouTube and Twitch are sites that allow video streaming and live broadcasts, gamers visit both sites, make both sites a lot of money and although they have slightly different niches YouTube and Twitch are arguably competitors within the same space. It's for that reason that Google had concerns with the potential antitrust issues that could bubble up and bite them in the ass. Even if they paid the money, dotted the is and crosses their ts, Google still could have landed in hot water from the Federal Trade Commission for trying to buyout a competitor (and thus become the biggest shark in the market). Hardly a savoury outcome for the search engine giant, Google looked to set up a "breakup fee in case the deal did not go through". A breakup fee is by definition "a common fee used in takeover agreements if the seller backs out of a deal to sell to the purchaser" and a priority for anybody about to throw one billion big ones at a company only for the company to chicken out. It is a shame that Twitch and Google couldn't come to an agreement as the company would have been right at home under Google's wing, right next to its YouTube brethren. Amazon, in comparison, have far less experience in streaming or gaming for that matter as their video streaming service (which lets you watch films and TV shows) is only just taking off. They've made small forays into gaming with the Amazon Fire TV box being an example, but again, nothing like the manner in which Google have. That said though, a deal of this magnitude takes a while to officially finalise and will likely not be completed until the end of the year. So, if you're worried about changes to Twitch, you've got several months to speak your voice and be heard. Just don't play copyrighted music in the background as you do so. Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories, Amazon Gets Serious About Gaming, Buys Twitch for $1B, Twitch Channel Pits Fish Against Fish In Street Fighter II    |
| Kickball Ice Cream Maker combines sports & deliciousness Posted: 28 Aug 2014 05:00 AM PDT  Of all the cool yet weird ideas we’ve seen around the web, this Kickball Ice Cream maker might take the cake… errr, ice cream. The Kickball Ice Cream Maker is a simple concept: if you’re already going to kick a ball around and work a sweat, how about you make ice cream at the same time? It costs $35 USD at Hammacher Schlemmer, so you would only have to go into the supermarket to get the ingredients afterwards. As the creators explain, users just have to put cream, sugar, vanilla or any other flavoring inside one of the ball’s sealed compartment, and ice and rock salt into the second one. Then, after a quick game of football or soccer, depending which side of the Atlantic you live in, you get to enjoy up to one pint of ice cream. You’ll be enjoying something tasty and working out at the same time, which is pretty awesome! Via Geekologie Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at SharkStopper Is a Humane Solution for Keeping Sharks at a Distance and Om/One Bluetooth speaker literally floats in front of us.    |
| Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Earphones Also Include a Heart Rate Monitor Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:55 PM PDT  Renowned for the Bluetooth earpieces it makes, Jabra is now looking to add a twist to its products, by adding heart rate monitor functionality to wireless earphones. Just in case the name of these Jabra wireless earphones wasn’t suggestive enough, the design of Sport Pulse indicates quite clearly that these are made for working out. From here on, the company doesn’t care that much if you’re running or lifting weights, as in both cases you might want to know your heart rate zones. Monitoring this aspect while performing physical activities is essential for making a progress, so Jabra decided it wouldn’t hurt if they added this functionality to a category of products they’re already good at making. Jabra Sport Pulse tick all the boxes when it comes to convenience while working out. They feature a sleek design, comfortable to wear, and they don’t have any long wires to disturb you while running. Much like Bose's Quiet Comfort QC20, Jabra Sport Pulse include an earhook tip that keeps the earphones in place while moving around. Manufacturers of sports headphones have been testing multiple designs to make sure that the devices don’t fall off the ears during high-impact training of any sort. Jabra decided that the earhook is the most convenient way of preventing the headphones from coming loose. Once used exclusively for taking or placing calls, Bluetooth earphones are now turned into an intermediary between your favorite music that’s being played on your smartphone, and your ears. After all, music is among the most powerful motivators while working out, and Jabra seems to have become aware of that. The heart rate monitor included in the earphones transmits the collected data to Jabra Sport Life, a mobile app that’s available both on Android and iOS. And this is exactly where the workout improvement thing comes into play. The app provides voice feedback and enables users to set personal goals based on distance, time, burned calories, and desired heart rate. Since Jabra Sport Pulse feature Dolby DSP, users are able to change the way music sounds using the equalizer included in the app. These wireless earphones will be available starting on October 1, and will cost $200, which is a bit of a steep price for this kind of products, even with the added functionality. Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the breath-tracking smart shirt developed by Ralph Lauren and OMSignal, and the LIVV headphones that withstand high-impact training.    |
| MB&F’s USS Enterprise-Inspired Music Box Plays Led Zep and the Imperial March Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:16 PM PDT  Specialized in the manufacture of gorgeous and uber-expensive watches (some of them costing north of $100K), Swiss company MB&F demonstrates the world how a sci-fi music box should look and sound like. In April 2013, I wrote a piece about MB&F’s MusicMachine, a mesmerizing piece of mechanical art that combined sci-fi themes with progressive rock. The following musical box is the successor of that, and while different in design, it follows a similar trend as far as the music is concerned. Even the watches made by Maximilian Büsser & Friends draw some inspiration from sci-fi flicks, so the fact that the MusicMachine 2 looks like a blatant copy of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise shouldn’t surprise anyone. The music box tackles two different musical genres: sci-fi themes and classic rock. In the first category there’s Star Wars’ Imperial March, as well as the main theme, along with the theme song of Star Trek. It’s as if the creators of this music box wanted to bring Star Trek and Star Wars fans together, even though the animosity between them is well-known across the globe. Classic rock fans should also be delighted by the selection, as there’s Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, The Rolling Stones’ Angie and Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go?. Some consider that MB&F wanted just to cash in by taking advantage of the popularity of Star Trek and Star Wars, and putting the two themes together, but I disagree. If there hadn’t been a similarly designed predecessor, and if the company’s sci-fi inspired watches hadn’t existed, that thought would’ve probably crossed my mind, but in this context, I believe that Maximilian Büsser simply wanted to make known some of its passions. As seen in the above pictures, MusicMachine 2 comes in two colors: black (limited to 66 pieces) and white (limited to 33 pieces). These cost $21,500 (quite a hefty sum for a music box, eh?), and in addition to them there’s also a gun metal version created as a limited edition of 5 made for Hodinkee. Obviously, that’ll come at a premium price, but considering that the music boxes were made by hand in their entirety, the price might be justified for some.
Additional details on how this beautiful piece of art came to be are available on ABlogtoWatch, along with plenty of technical specs, just in case anyone is interested in such details. Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about MB&F's MusicMachine that mixes sci-fi themes with prog rock, and the music box with wheels.    |
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