Blizzard announced yesterday that their mobile app for guild chat and auction house went free to all active subscribers. This change is coming a week ahead of the pre-Mists of Pandaria 5.0.1 patch (which is on Tuesday, August 28th).

The service before (for the last 2-4 years) cost $3.00 a month on top of your WoW subscription(s), but now is totally free with any 1 subscription. The full quote is below:

It’s now easier than ever to stay in touch with your guildmates and access the World of Warcraft® auction house… wherever you go.

Starting today, all of the features that were previously part of the optional World of Warcraft Remote subscription service are now available for free to all World of Warcraft subscribers. These features include:

• Remote Guild Chat – Stay in touch with your guildmates on the go using your mobile phone.
• Remote Auction House – Bid on items, create auctions, and collect gold via your mobile device or through the official World of Warcraft website.

We hope this change will make it easier for players to stay connected to each other and to the game, and we encourage everyone to try out these powerful tools for themselves.

Click more to see all the features included in the WoW Remote app, with links to downloads. Continue Reading

Today the world around recognizes a genius’ passing. Steve Jobs passed away today on October 5th, 2011. He has left a legacy through Apple, Inc.

Born in 1955, he revolutionized consumer use of electronics, and kept an eye for the cutting edge of technology to innovate our use and interaction with the world, and ourselves.

Tim Cook, Apple’s recently named new CEO, has sent an email today to all Apple employee’s to announce the upsetting news:

Team,

I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.

No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

Tim

While people are unsettled by the lack of a iPhone 5, the news of Steve Jobs’ passing will definitely be felt by the world around – not just Mac and iProduct users. He was a brilliant mind ahead of his time, always with his eyes towards the future, and building it for himself and those around him.

Apple themselves are mourning in their own way, with updating their website with a short eulogy to him on the front screen. Click here if you want to see it yourself.

I’ve been a fan of card games since a very young age, from Go Fish to Solitaire to Cribbage. But none have held my collective interest through the years more than Tichu. It’s a trick-based game, a variation of a similar Chinese card game, but fully copyrighted as being created by one Urs Hostettler. While not widely played in the United States, it has gained a small following and (ironically enough because of where I just moved), also has a dedicated community of players in Germany.

For me, it started back in my college years and the development of interest in what my circle of friends liked to call “cheap-ass games,” such as Munchkin-Fu, or for the super-cheap, games that only required writing your own cards on pieces of paper. Somehow through that flurry, someone discovered Tichu — which can be played with a regular deck of cards plus 4 jokers/other random cards that become special cards that make the game unique (a briefer on gameplay will follow below).

I was immediately hooked. The game usually is played with four people, and there were many, many nights in school that included three friends sitting around a table for hours at a time and having an absolute blast playing this fun strategy game. The more we played, the more we refined our strategies and realized that there are many different ways to play based on your own style.

Anyhow, it’s been five years since those happy times, and until recently the opportunity to play Tichu with other advanced players had become rare. And as already detailed, my current situation in Germany has been somewhat boring . While still lacking most of our stuff (which should be in customs by now) and without internet to appease my entertainment needs, I turned to my iPhone and found something to quell my thirst that was released only last month. While the official Tichu app  ($2.99 on the iTunes app store for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch) has a few downfalls, overall it is quite satisfying.

And for all of you scratching your heads and wondering what this Tichu game is all about — the app also comes with a great tutorial feature to guide you through your first hand. If you like card games and want to learn a new one that requires a lot of strategy and has so many nuances in gameplay, this is a great way. Then you can teach your friends!

Click through for the full review.
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My, my, they grow so fast don’t they.  Just last year, I remember almost going to a focus group for Fallen Earth only to have my friend go to it instead.  He reported generally good things, but hated the tutorial – it used to give you uber powers, like a high level character, only to take them away.  I’ve kept my finger on the title ever since, logging in occasionally to see what’s going on.  Boy has it grown.

From visual face lifts, combat revamps, technology improvements, content patches and even a mobile application, Fallen Earth has seen more improvements and changes in a year than some titles do in their entire lifespan.  The news has not always been good, but Icarus Studios continues to drive forward as it approaches the one-year anniversary for Fallen Earth.  To celebrate, the company will be holding a party straight out of Hollywood.  The festivities cannot be held to a single day or location.  Subscribers will be showered with gifts from today, Wednesday, September 15 until September 22.  Increase your chances at earning FE swag by following them on Twitter and that Facebook thing.  Full details on all the shenanigans here.

With all eyes on Fallen Earth and its celebration, Icarus Studios decided to release the Premium Mobile Application.  The new app expands upon the free Fallen Earth Companion App that we saw at PAX East 2010.  Basically, the premium application allows players to interact with the universe, instead of just viewing it.  Purchasers of the $9.99 piece of software will be able to receive and mail attachments, work the Auction House, and initiate and complete crafting.  It’s a one-time fee.

Dave Haydysch released the latest State of the Game to finish the triple threat.  Stay tuned for our interview with Marie Croall from PAX Prime 2010 to get some eye-candy to go along with the State of the Game discussion.