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Cloud saves are coming to ‘Animal Crossing’ on July 30th
'Animal Crossing' adds Island Backup & Restoration Services to protect players' islands and user save data.
Ford's noise-cancelling doghouse keeps pups calm during fireworks
Many dogs and other pets are terrified of fireworks, and for good reason -- their more sensitive hearing makes that pleasant popping turn into a cacophony of sounds. Ford, however, might provide some relief. The company (which is no stranger to high-tech beds) has built a doghouse that uses noise cancelling to minimize canine agony during fireworks shows. Like the technology in some headphones and Ford's own Edge SUV, the kennel detects explosions with microphones and counteracts them by pumping out frequencies that mitigate the sounds or eliminate them altogether. The body includes soundproofing cork panels, anti-vibration risers and even soundproofed ventilation, while an automatic door helps your pooch quickly take shelter.
ICYMI: Firework autocannon, Sony drone, and manga noodle bots
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-431403{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-431403, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-431403{width:630px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-431403").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It, we showcase a double-barreled fireworks cannon that's just slightly less dangerous than that personal flamethrower you've had your eye on. We've also got Sony's first drone prototype -- it's a little remote controlled Harrier! And if you thought that explainer video from Snapchat's CEO was terrible, just wait until you see this Alienware unboxing. Finally, an enterprising noodle shop owner in China got his hands on a refurbished Ultraman assembly robot and converted it into, what else, an automated noodle slicer. If you come across any interesting videos, we'd love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd. And if you just want to heap praise on your handsome guest host, feel free to hit him up @mr_trout.
The Big Picture: Gorgeous shot captures a drone's fiery flight
Photographer Calder Wilson added an explosive new method to his long exposure "light paintings" earlier this year when he was struck by a brilliant notion: Strap some leftover New Year's fireworks to the back of a UAV, light them up and then lift off. The results speak for themselves. When he's not shooting these sparkling drones, you can find Wilson capturing beautiful images of some of the biggest concerts on the planet.
The Big Picture: Inflated steel suit gets you up close and personal with fireworks
Making things -- it's pretty awesome whatever you're creating. But, some things really encapsulate the maker spirit -- and this is one of them. It's an "inflatable" (or rather, inflated) steel suit, designed so you can enjoy the next fireworks display up close. Real close. Like the inside, kinda close. Its creator, Colin Furze, welded together sheets of steel, and hydroformed them into shape in sections. He originally tried doing the suit in one go, but the joints apparently tore at his "man bits." As you can imagine, mobility is a bit of an issue, but you'll see in the video -- there's a knack to it that Furze soon picked up. Anyway, the making of the suit is one thing, but you probably want to know what it's like to use it among £500's worth (about $830) of fireworks? Luckily enough there's a video of exactly that (from inside and outside perspectives), and it's just a click away. [Burley images]
Barely Related: Community lives on, buy Laura Palmer's house
Light up the grills and pop open those cold cans – it's nerdy news time! Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Celebrate the 4th with slow motion fireworks captured by an iPhone 5s
On July 4th the United States celebrates Independence Day, and there isn't much news to report. Hot dogs are cooking, families are gathering, and people are watching Netflix. It's a party! So, in keeping with the spirit of the holiday, we present you with this happy video of fireworks, shot in slow motion, with an iPhone 5s. The fireworks were shot over Lake Michigan on September 26th, 2013 by YouTube user john m foley. For those readers seeking a more traditional fireworks display we present with you this footage from the July 4th 2010 Macy's fireworks in NYC. It was shot on an iPhone 4 by YouTube user Manny M., and still looks incredible.
Celebrating the New Year in World of Warcraft
We're sure you already have New Year's Eve plans, but if you plan to use the holiday to catch up on some WoW time, you should definitely check out the fireworks displays in the skies over Azeroth that are happening hourly. To find the celebrations, head to the nearest major city -- and look for a crowd revelers standing around tables of holiday booze to help ring in the New Year. And if you're planning to celebrate in Booty Bay, take care -- the guards may be taking the holiday off. For those of you who haven't finished Winter Veil achievements, you still have until Thursday morning to get them wrapped up -- so don't get too caught up in holiday cheer that you can't make time to stomp on the Greench. And as always, have a fun and happy New Year!
Getting ready for fireworks photography with your iPhone
Getting good fireworks photos is a challenge on any camera. Fortunately, Apple has continued to improve the cameras in the iPhone, and some features will help you get impressive fireworks images. When photographing fireworks, your big issues are camera movement and focus. If you have a tripod like the Joby GorillaPod, use it. If not, steady the camera on a car roof or some other stationary object. On to the focus issue. Apple's tap-to-focus feature can help you get well-focused images. You'll have to be quick, but if you can tap the screen as the bright fireworks display appears, your camera will focus quickly and properly. Even better, both iOS 5 and iOS 6 have added focus lock, which most people aren't aware of. In iOS 5, tap the part of the screen you want in focus, but hold your finger there. You'll get a lock indication at the bottom of the screen. In iOS 6, do the same thing. You won't get the lock text, but the box will "lock in" visually. Once focus lock is set, shoot away and your iPhone camera will remember the focus setting. Beginning with the iPhone 5, Apple has done a better job on low-light performance. For fireworks, that might not make a big difference, but it will help in shooting the crowds. The built-in Apple camera software is not your only alternative. Some of the latest third-party apps have extended or improved features that will help you get really good images on the Fourth. Slow Shutter Cam: This app will let you keep the shutter of your camera open, which is just the thing for capturing that fireworks display. If you have your camera steady, try exposures of five to 20 second. The app is US$0.99. iLightning Cam: This app is designed to automatically take photos of lighting strikes, but also works fine for fireworks. The $1.99 app works for video and stills. Camera+: A standby for all iOS photos, Camera+ has stabilization, focus lock and some post-processing features that will make your photos even sharper. Camera+ is $1.99. Fast Camera: A very popular $1.99 app. It offers powerful focus lock controls, and very speedy, no-lag performance. A couple of other thoughts. Turn your flash off. It won't help your photos, and will likely reduce the contrast. You will likely want to shoot in portrait mode, especially if you are close to the display. Don't forget that Apple now has PhotoStream, which will let you share your photos quickly with family and friends. Wait until you have WiFi, as PhotoStream won't upload on cellular connections. PhotoStream was not available until late in 2011, so this is only the second Fourth of July you can put it to work. If it rains, you're not totally out of luck. There are several iOS apps that will create digital fireworks you can enjoy. Check out the free Fireworks Arcade and the free for the Fourth, Fireworks!.
Minecraft 1.4.6 to add fireworks and enchanted tomes before Christmas
While Minecraft's upcoming January update version 1.5 churns away in the cauldrons of Mojang's most diligently studious wizards, a smaller update (version 1.4.6) is being coded in parallel for release sometime before Christmas.Available to more adventurous adventurers now as Snapshot 12w49a, version 1.4.6 adds the ability to craft fireworks and enchanted books that can then be used to enchant items. Various bug fixes are also bundled with the patch, tough the Snapshot version of 1.4.6 is not itself guaranteed to be bug free.The most important part of all of this, however, is that skulls can be added to the firework formula in order to make them look like Creepers when they explode, which is ironic and wonderful, as seen above.
LotRO launches its Fifth Anniversary Festival
Lord of the Rings Online's fifth anniversary is upon us, and Turbine is determined to make it a party to remember! Today the studio has released LotRO's Update 6.1, the centerpiece of which is the completely revamped and upgraded Anniversary Festival. While the anniversary was perceived as a haphazard affair in previous years, Turbine's devs have fleshed it out to rival the other four annual festivals. The focus of the Anniversary Festival is on fireworks and lots of them. There are several new quests to discover, a new fireworks-themed mount to obtain, and beer battles to win. Because reaching five years is a big deal for any MMO, Turbine's also showering players with free gifts if they log in during this period. The gifts range from fireworks to cloaks to a special mount that is reserved for five-year veterans of the game. During the anniversary, monsters will drop special tokens that can be redeemed for a wide variety of prizes. There's also a double-XP weekend coming up, which will run from April 24th through the 30th.
Video: PlayStation Vita's AR game trio
With the retail launch of the Vita hardware comes the arrival of three augmented reality games, using a set of six cards that look an awful lot like the ESP test cards Dr. Venkman used in Ghostbusters. I downloaded them all from the PlayStation Store today, carefully set up a camera between my face and Vita (keeping the table in view) and demonstrated all three.Of the three, Fireworks is the definite standout. And by "standout" I mean "one I could foresee playing a second time." [Music: "Shanghai Moon" by USK]
Daily Mac App: Fireworks HD
Some apps deliver exactly what they say on the package. Fireworks HD provides a display of artistic explosions to the desktop. Retailing for just $0.99, Fireworks HD works both as an app and a screen saver. Unlike most fireworks apps, HD uses actual video footage rather than simulated emitter effects. That means the app download is 1.5 GB, and the full app takes up 3.55 GB in its basic release. If you work with a primary SSD with limited storage space like I do, this might not be the best app for you. Or you might want to move it to a secondary drive and run it from there. Are its sound effects "shockingly great" as the marketing text suggests? Actually, yes. They are far better than those you normally get in these kinds of apps. And the fireworks are quite lovely to look at. For several minutes at a time. There's no "story" per se, the way there is in a real show and unless you really, really, really like fireworks, you might not feel that the huge disk requirements and the limited functionality make the app worth a purchase. New Year's is coming up. If you're looking for a fireworks app, have lots of room on your disk, and are ready to supply your own music, it's a good one to have.
The Road to Mordor: Party planning committee, assemble!
Considering that Fellowship of the Ring begins with a huge party -- thrown in honor of Bilbo Baggins' eleventy-first birthday -- I think it's appropriate that Lord of the Rings Online is conducive to parties. I'm not just talking about dev-designed festivals, although those are great; I'm referring to parties that the community whips up from time to time. Part of the appeal of LotRO to me is that it isn't just all about killing and leveling; it's also about exploring and living in this virtual Middle-earth. Life for the Free Peoples means celebrating even in the midst of oppressive evil, and it's in keeping with the spirit of the enterprise to throw a shindig now and then. Turbine's given us quite a few tools and resources to use when assembling a party, and I thought that today we'd take an unusual detour from the Road to Mordor and go through the steps of throwing a memorable and enjoyable soirée. Ready to cut loose? Footloose? Good! Let's tear up the dance floor!
OnLive celebrates Indie-pendence Day with an explosive sale
OnLive is celebrating "Indie-pendence" Day with a massive sale on -- you guessed it -- a random selection of mainstream blockbusters and popular underground games. The sale includes Batman: Arkham Asylum, Darksiders, Just Cause 2, a pre-order deal on Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and of course an inundation of hit indie titles such as Braid, The Maw, Osmos and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. OnLive's "Indie-pendence" Day Sale runs through the completely unrelated day of July 4, so hurry and check out your options after the jump before this thing vanishes like smoke after a firework. Update: OnLive is sending all PlayPack subscribers a free game of their choice this Tuesday, and as long as you sign up for the monthly unlimited-gaming service before midnight Pacific on July 4, you can snag a free game too. Thanks, Silent Killer01!
Capturing the "rocket's red glare" of fireworks with your iPhone camera this 4th of July
With the 4th of July holiday rapidly approaching in the US it's time to think of both your backyard and big time municipal fireworks displays, and how to best capture them on your iPhone. The latest generations of cameras on the iPhone have greatly improved, and while still not up to high end DSLR quality, the built in 5 MP camera can take some extraordinarily good images. Here's the basics, to make sure you get some keepers. First, the camera needs to be steady. It's too late to get hold of a special iPhone camera case with a tripod mount, but if you have one already, like the Gorilla Pod, you're in business. No tripod? You're not out of luck. Steady the iPhone on your lap, on a chair back, or on the roof of a car. If you have to hold it, it's a good idea to take a deep breath and hold it in while you are shooting the fireworks. No, not for a long time! Your camera will have a tendency to follow the moving fireworks. Resist the temptation, and hold the camera steady when you take your picture. You don't want streaks and blurs caused by movement. If you have the latest iPhone 4 with HDR, turn it off. Fireworks happen quickly, you don't want multiple exposures slowing things down. And please, turn off the flash. Your little puny LED flash isn't going to illuminate the scene. Before everything starts, decide if you are going to shoot landscape mode or portrait. If you are trying to capture the foreground crowd, landscape is fine. Most fireworks are set off vertically, so if you are shooting well above the horizon, portrait mode is best. Digital zoom is a no no. It makes the picture larger, but increases the noise and decreases the quality. Stay at full wide with no digital zoom. The iPhone should auto-focus with no problem. If it doesn't tap the screen where the fireworks are, then hold steady and take your image. Don't forget, the iPhone is also an excellent video camera. Many of the same rules apply. Try to hold the camera steady... and let the motion come from the fireworks, not from your camera. If you get some great pictures, leave us some links in Flickr, Picasa web albums or your MobileMe galleries. We'd like to highlight the best of them.
Realms Online celebrates the 4th of July in style with zombies and unicorns
The British are coming! The British are coming! And they want to... eat your brains? In perhaps the oddest holiday event we've ever heard of, Realms Online is featuring a Redcoat zombie invasion that starts today. Redcoat zombies are swarming over the warzone, and it's up to you to fight for independence from brain-noshing. Participating in the event will give players the chance to earn special Independence Day costumes until July 15th. Zombie invasions aren't the only things going on during the Dawn of Freedom event -- GMs will be throwing firework shows, banners will be playing the American national anthem, and other fun activities will be available. Realms Online is also selling 4th of July-themed items in its item shop for those with particularly strong patriotic persuasions. And what 4th of July event would be complete without... unicorns? Unicorns? OK, we'll roll with that. GameSamba is going to post a code on the Realms Online Facebook page that will let players use a unicorn for free for a week before it goes on sale in the store.
Homebuilt UAV hunts down hydrogen balloons, shoots firework missiles (video)
Augmented reality is swell, don't get us wrong, but it's no substitute for the real thing -- especially when that thing is a badass tricopter equipped with a jury-rigged firework cannon to rain down miniature hell. Swedish R/C enthusiasts built this first-person flying contraption to carry out a single mission -- destroy a series of hydrogen-filled balloons -- which will hopefully be hard-coded into future automatons too. After all, balloons could serve as an excellent distraction when they inevitably come for you. Still, there's no need to worry quite yet, so kick back and enjoy the video above while you contemplate humanity's end.
DAoC scavenges the dead for The Infernal Auction
Hot on the heels of the recent Infernal Awakenings is another Developer Live Event for Dark Age of Camelot players called The Infernal Auction. Reportedly, the DAoC team was pleased by the response of the first Live Event and is striving to bring them more often to the game. The Infernal Auction is the result of enterprising salesmen who have scoured the battlefields following the demon invasion, and who are now bringing their questionable loot to the citizens of each realm. The merchants will not only be selling party-appropriate material (fireworks! booze!) but will hold a grand auction on August 19th where players can bid on unique and powerful items. Players who were a key part of the Infernal Awakenings battle also should speak to NPC Jonda Dawn for a special reward for their efforts. You can read the full details of this new DAoC Live Event over at the Camelot Herald.
Five app ideas for the Fourth of July
Whether you're just hanging around your back yard, going to the beach, or waiting to set off a huge cache of fireworks, there are always a lot of fun things to do over the Independence Day holiday in the U.S. Here are some apps that can help you enjoy the fun during the holiday. Grilling: Weber's On the Grill (US$4.99 - separate apps for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad). One of the staples of the holiday weekend is the family barbecue, with friends and family enjoying the outdoors and stuffing themselves with grilled delectables. The app has 250 classic recipes, an additional 40 recipes for rubs, marinades, and sauces, and more. You can store ingredients from any recipe in a grocery list for quick shopping, send the grocery lists to others (good if you're sharing the picnic duties), read tips on grilling, and even watch short grilling videos. Last, but not least, there's a grill timer right in the app that tells you when to flip that steak. I personally use this app with my Weber Genesis gas grill and it's a winner.
