Facebook 3.0 Now Available

The long-awaited 3.0 version of Facebook for the iPhone is now available in the App Store.

I have to say that the previous version was so gimped it was only a sliver of what Facebook offered on the web. In fact, I found myself going to the web app instead because of so many bugs. In recent months, the Facebook app has had a hard time loading my profile. And I've almost always had a problem with the Inbox not correctly showing that I have read the latest message.

Well, it seems that all of the above have been fixed and there have been more functionality added. You can now see your events and friends' birthdays. You can also write new notes straight from your iPhone. And the news feed is just much, much better. You can also bookmark your favorite friend pages.

With this new main menu, it appears there's much room for even more expansion. The only thing this app DOESN'T do is play those flash games, which is fine by me.

New Champions Online Fansite

From here on out, I'm not going to use this site for my deviations into the massive multiplayer role-playing game "Champions Online."

I have created a new blog called Champions Online Fan and if you're interested you can bookmark the web address: http://www.championsonline.blogspot.com

Could Qik Finally Come To The App Store?

CNET is reporting that the new iPhone OS 3.1 beta has new SDK APIs that allow developers to access to the camera. Sure, there have been apps that uses the iPhone's camera as a camera but never as something else, like a video camera.

I'm hoping that will change.

Qik has been available for the jailbroken iPhone. It allows you to stream live video from your iPhone or use your iPhone like a camcorder. Developers have also made Qik native apps for both the iPhone 3G and the 3G S.

Qik has said it has not submitted its app to Apple for consideration. But, I chalked that up to Apple not allowing developers access to the camera. Apparently, that has changed with the latest beta OS. But, there are still a few hurdles to jump before we celebrate.

I'm sure Apple could decide that the video-capturing function of Qik duplicates the functionality of the 3G S. Yes, that's Apple logic for you.

I can also see AT&T balking at the live streaming functionality of Qik. Slingplayer was only approved on the App Store after it took out 3G live streaming. That's curious because Orblive supports 3G streaming. And the USTREAM viewing app can now stream over 3G.

Speaking of USTREAM, it also has an app to record live streams for jailbroken iPhones. Since USTREAM has good standing in the App Store, an Apple-approved version could conceivably make it to the App Store before Qik does.

UPDATE 8/13/2009: Qik [iTunes link] is now available on the App Store with one big caveat - it only works with the iPhone 3G S. I already tried it on my iPhone 3G. It's mind-boggling that Apple allows Qik to mimic the functions of the video camera on the 3G S but doesn't allow a native Google Latitude app because it mimics Google Maps too closely. This app also doesn't do live streaming video at all. It also cannot upload video over 3G - only Wi-Fi. Disappointing.

UPDATE 8/21/2009: Today's Qik update gets rid of the Wi-Fi only restriction. Qik said this change would be made but this app isn't worth a lot if you already have the 3G S. I want this to work on the 3G: THAT would be revolutionary.

Building My Champion

Okay, I have my "Champions Online" Beta key. However, beta testing occurs only on Wednesdays and Fridays. So, I have to wait until Wednesday. *sigh*

In the meantime, I'm thinking about how I'm going to build my champion. This game is vastly different from either "City Of Heroes" or "City Of Villains" since you can combine different power sets.

I'm thinking of either starting with Dual Blades or Munitions and combining that with Power Armor.

For instance, I'll start with Dual Blades:

First power up, I'll have Blade Tempest for close area attacks. I'm not sure, but I also may have an energy-building power called Rain Of Steel.
For my next power, I could take another close attack power called Storm's Harvest.

Since I have two non-energy building powers from any framework, I can now take my first Power Armor power and I would choose Laser Sword. Ooooo.
Sticking with Power Armor, my next power would be Energy Shield. Ooooo.

Next, I'll take a Smoke Bomb for crowd control.
Since I have at least five non-energy building powers from any framework, I can choose Micro Munitions, which fires a volley of missiles out of my chest to my target.
Down the road, I'd also like to get a shoulder launcher.

Well, at least I think that's how it will work. Obviously, I won't find out about the effectiveness of each power until I start playing. But, I can still dream.