May 13, 2008 6:00 AM

RPG Vault recently published a new article exploring the favorite EVE Online memories of several CCP Games developers. The recollections serve to celebrate the sci-fi MMO's recent fifth anniversary.

Huni "TomB" Hinrichsen
Former positions: Quality assurance tester, Lead Designer
Current position: Super secret agent
Best memory of EVE: My first kill
As I was flying my brand new Punisher on EVE's second day, I decided a player had to feel some heat from my lasers. At that time, I had been working for weeks with my dearly beloved co-worker Hjortur (AKA Pong) to get the combat experience balanced. I told him I had found my prey, and he described his ship and the scenario; he was flying an Executioner and killing rats at a stargate in a 0.3 security system. He made an evil, low-sounding giggle but still felt kind of sorry for the soon to be killed newbie. I didn't, so I activated my lasers and watched the ship burn slowly.
Out of nowhere came the loudest, most painful scream, one no man should ever experience. It came from Hjortur. He was dead. Out of 5,000 players that were currently logged in, I had unknowingly made him the first victim for my lasers. Good times, good loot.

Hjalti "Abraxas" Daníelsson
Former position: Customer support
Current position: Fiction writer
Best memory of EVE: Is that an egg in your pocket?
My favorite memory, after years of GM duty, was the one time I risked my job. A player sent in a request for a reward; he claimed to have espied the face of Albert Einstein in one of our nebulas, and was convinced that this was an Easter egg we'd planted. While he was completely sincere about this, he was also very chatty and clearly didn't take himself seriously at all, which was good, because we were very busy at the time, and the only reward I could find for him on short notice was a link to an informational page about psilocybin mushrooms.

Head over to the link below to read the rest of the comments.

RPG Vault: EVE Online Memories
CCP Games
TransGaming
EVE Online

May 13, 2008 6:00 AM

Aspyr Media has released a free patch for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for Mac. The 296 MB update brings the game to version 1.3 and introduces a new Front Row Cam option to improve performance on low end machines. The update is available as a free download on Aspyr's site.

This is an official update for Guitar Hero III. This patch will update any previous version of Guitar Hero III to version 1.3. This update is recommended for all users.

New for 1.3
-New "Front Row Cam" option allows better performance on low end configurations, with smoother gameplay.
-Laptop specific optimizations for better performance.
-A battery meter icon will display remaining battery charge on supported laptops.

More information on Guitar Hero III is available at Aspyr's website listed below.

Guitar Hero III 1.3 Patch
Harmonix
Aspyr Media
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

May 13, 2008 6:00 AM

The Myth World Cup 2008 has been announced. Beginning in early June players of the classic real time strategy game, Myth II: Soulblighter, will be able to face each other in battle to compete for prizes. Those interested in testing their Myth mettle are encouraged to sign up during the three week registration phase.

Have you been looking for a good excuse to dust off that good old Myth 2 cd of yours? Well, now certainly is a good time to do so, because Myth World Cup is here again! MWC08 is now open for registrations. 10 years have now have passed since the first MWC was held and hopefully we can make 10th MWC a great one!

The registration will stay open for three weeks and the tournament will start in early June. The tournament is expected to end in August as usual. There will also be money prizes available this year!

Head over to the website and sign up your team or go look for one!

Myth World Cup 2008
Bungie Studios
Myth II: Soulblighter

May 13, 2008 6:00 AM

Blizzard Entertainment, has announced plans for its third BlizzCon gaming convention, to be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on October 10 and 11. BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo franchises. In response to the demand to accommodate more attendees, this year’s event has expanded from two convention halls to three.

“Whenever we ’ve been able to meet and interact with Blizzard gamers from around the world, it ’s been a great experience for us, ”stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We ’re looking forward to seeing even more of our players at this year ’s BlizzCon and delivering another entertaining and informative event for them. ”

BlizzCon will offer a wide variety of activities to help all attendees get the most out of the two-day event. In addition to serving as a gathering place for the different Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, attendees will be able to enjoy:
• Hands-on play time with upcoming Blizzard Entertainment releases
• Discussion panels with Blizzard Entertainment developers
• Competitive and casual tournaments for players to showcase their talents
• Areas and activities devoted to licensed products such as the World of Warcraft ®Trading Card Game
• Costume, machinima, and character sound-alike contests with great prizes
• Commemorative merchandise based on the Blizzard Entertainment franchises
• A silent auction
• More exciting activities to be announced

Tickets for BlizzCon will go on sale in the next few weeks at a price of $100 USD per person. As the event draws closer, further details will be announced on the official BlizzCon website linked below.

BlizzCon 2008
Blizzard Entertainment

Today Apple revealed its plans for WWDC, confirming that the Jobsnote this year will take place 10AM PST on Monday, June 9, rather than the usual Tuesday. (No word as to whether the turtleneck will still be black, or if the 3G iPhone will actually be present.) The WWDC will of course have two separate tracks, one for iPhone and one for OS X. More info at Apple's WWDC website, or in the press release after the jump.

Apple Executives to Showcase Mac OS X Leopard and OS X iPhone Development Platforms at WWDC 2008 Keynote

CUPERTINO, California—May 13, 2008—Apple® today announced that a team of Apple executives, led by CEO Steve Jobs, will kick off the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 9, 2008 at San Francisco's Moscone West. This year's WWDC will showcase two revolutionary development platforms, the ground-breaking innovations of OS X Leopard® and OS X iPhone™, the world's most advanced mobile operating system.

The five-day WWDC event, which runs from June 9 to June 13, will feature the first ever iPhone track for mobile developers with in-depth sessions and hands-on labs to fully explore the capabilities of the OS X iPhone 2.0 software, including the iPhone SDK and the App Store, a breakthrough way for developers to wirelessly deliver their applications to iPhone and iPod® touch users.

The iPhone track will also enable mobile developers to work side by side with Apple engineers to create amazing applications that leverage iPhone's revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface, animation technology, rich set of APIs, including programming interfaces for Core OS, Core Services, Media and Cocoa® Touch technologies, built-in three axis accelerometer and geographical location technology to deliver truly innovative mobile applications.

This year's Mac® track will give newcomers and seasoned veterans alike the technical foundation and techniques needed to develop world-class OS X Leopard applications with sessions that discuss every level of the system, including interface design and implementation, application frameworks, security, localization and networking.

WWDC 2008 will offer over 150 information-rich sessions and labs where Apple engineers will go in-depth on the innovative technologies that power OS X iPhone and OS X Leopard. Developers can bring code to the labs and work one-to-one with Apple engineers, applying development methods and best-practices gained from sessions to enhance their applications.

Other activities at Apple's WWDC 2008 include:

* presentation sessions led by engineers that provide an in-depth look at OS X iPhone, OS X Leopard and innovative tools and technologies such as the iPhone SDK, Cocoa Touch, Interface Builder, Xcode® and more;
* practical hands-on sessions where attendees can learn Apple's own coding strategies and techniques;
* technology labs where attendees can work one-to-one with Apple engineers; and
* special events, including the Welcome Reception, Apple Design Awards, Lunchtime Speakers and Stump the Experts.

Visit Apple's WWDC website for registration and complete session details at http://developer.apple.com/wwdc.

Whether you like the song or not—Addy says technically this is called Wimp-Pop, but it sounds more to me like Foux Da Fa Fa*—I've to say that this music video made using The Bird and the Bee's Again and Again is mesmerizing. Or at the very least, a really cool musical tour through forty Mac OS X features and applications: it starts slow and boring with Word, but it ends being a complete explosion of synchronized eye candy using everything from Photo Booth to Stickies to Spotlight to Dashboard widgets to Stacks. See if you can distinguish each and every one of the features and apps featured, then compare it to the list after the jump (I think we are missing a few.)

• Capture
• iTunes
• Microsoft Word
• Photo Booth
• iChat
• Stickies
• Photoshop CS3
• iPhoto
• Fast User Switching
• Mac OSX Zoom Tip
• Finder
• Spotlight
• Quicktime Player
• Stacks
• Quick Look
• Desktop
• Screensaver
• Dashboard
• Dashcode
• Illustrator
• Final Cut Pro
• ExposĂ©
• Time Machine
• iMovie
• Spaces
• Windows Media Player for Mac
• Flip4Mac
• Flash CS3
• VLC Media Player
• Shake
• Mplayer
• DVD Studio Pro
• Real Player
• iDVD
• Color
• Screenflow
• Cinematize
• Safari
• iTunes Store

[The Bird and the Bee—Thanks Kalle]

* It's FOTC day.

Apple unveiled two new Get a Mac commercials on Tuesday that feature John Hodgman and Justin Long in their familiar roles as PC and Mac. The Pep Rally ad touts the growing popularity of the Mac on college campuses, and Group highlights stability issues in Windows Vista. Both ads are available in QuickTime format at Apple's Get a Mac Web site.

...

It's confirmed: HBO has hit iTunes and now you can download The Wire, Rome, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Deadwood (another season, please,) and what really makes it all worth it: Flight of the Conchords. Ladies (and gentlemen) of the World, rejoice.

Hermaphrodites with your sexy lady bits and your sexy men bits can rejoice too. [Thanks, Steve]

It's confirmed: HBO has hit iTunes and now you can download The Wire, Rome, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Deadwood (another season, please,) and what really makes it all worth it: Flight of the Conchords. Ladies (and gentlemen) of the World, rejoice.

Hermaphrodites with your sexy lady bits and your sexy men bits can rejoice too. [Thanks, Steve]

Listeners wonder if their Macs have been hacked, and Dave and John talk through the symptoms. After that, it's off to the mailbag which is chock full of tips and questions this week you won't want to miss! Subscribe (it's free!) today.