Mac users playing Blizzard's World of Warcraft should be mindful about updating the game to its latest build if they're trying out the new 2.4 PTR. WoW forum posters have noted unusual slowdowns in the newer areas caused by a strange bug in one of the previously rolled out builds for the PTR. More details of this in the full article.

Wondering what sort of fixes the upcoming Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.2 update will carry? While nothing's set in stone yet, we've picked up speculation that it may involve a fix for a previously reported display problem fro Blizzard's World of Warcraft MMORPG. More details up ahead in the full article.

Just in case you're having the same problem as Paynegwynn, whose WoW won't run its video recording feature properly on his Mac for some reason, then here's an explanation.

It turns out that there's some conflict between the video recording feature and a GPU bug. The folks at Blizzard have noted this already and it turns out that they've actually already disabled the option to record videos. Here is Blizz poster Tigerclaw's full explanation:

At present there is a bug in the driver software for that GPU which inhibits our video recording feature (in fact can lead to a crash) - so we disabled it for now on that hardware. However, once an updated driver is released for that machine which addresses that issue, we can post instructions on how to re-enable video recording on that configuration. It's not ideal but this is the best we can do given the bug that we ran into.

Though the solution implemented (meaning the disabling of the recording function) is rather off-putting, it really is the best thing they could do, given that the problem is hardware-based.

If you're one of the lucky few to have an iPhone snuggled comfortably in your pocket or purse, and you're also one of the millions trekking the digital realms of Blizzard's World of Warcraft - here's something to satisfy both your main cravings in one shot: the World of WarCraft theme for the iPhone, courtesy of Dimos (Darkspear - H).

For a theme, it's definitely well-made, as it not only replaces the various icons with those from the game, it goes the extra mile of making the replacements relevant. For instance, the phone icon is replaced by the Hearthstone icon - and it's a common conception in WoW's RP servers that the Hearthstone itself is the reason why players are able to talk to each other via chat channels.

It's a small detail, to be frank, but it's the small details that can make or break things like these - and that extra consideration is always welcome.

Kudos to Dimos for letting iPhone users take a bit of Azeroth with them every time they step out. You can download the link to the theme pack via the link below.

Download: World of Warcraft iPhone Theme

And moving over to the other side of the Con-populated week, Blizzard Entertainment has just announced the unveiling of the first-ever hands-on demonstration of StarCraft II (PC, Mac) while still on its early stages of development. And new to the real-time strategy game's development track was the introduction of the Terran race, now improved with revamped units.

 

First offs, the Terran race has also adapted to the space conflict, gathering new technologies and upgrades to combat the Zerg infestation and the zealous Protoss. New units such as the Banshee aircraft, the Cobra hover tank, and a super unit called Thor now join the rank of battle hardware spec'ed for decisive victory.

Additionally, coinciding with the gameplay demonstration provided at BlizzCon 2007, Blizzard also provided the early levels of the single-player campaign. The campaign hinted at the game's storyline and plot struggles while familiarizing gamers with some of the series' characters. Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, had this to say in the official announcement via press wire:

Since announcing StarCraft II at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in May, we've been hard at work bringing our ideas for the game's Terran race and single-player campaign to life. WeÂ?re excited to be sharing these new features and gameplay experiences with our players and seeing their reactions.

And just to share the excitement with those unfortunate to be at the event, Blizzard has also released a collection of Terran-focused screenshots and more concept art on the game.

StarCraft II screenshots: introducing the spankin' new Terrans

 

Compiled visuals right at the full article after the jump!

The on-going BlizzCon yielded a lot of great surprises for every major Blizzard franchise. The insanely popular World of Warcraft is getting a lot of attention, especially from the Apple community as they prepare to receive the Burning Crusade expansion set.

These are screens displayed in Blizzard's big bash and they're looking as impressive as the Windows version of the game. The biggest MMORPG in the world is already a few years old, but it still turns heads every time something happens to it.

The Mac version of The Burning Crusade will have all the goodies as its Windows counterpart. Adventuring should be more fun than ever to the Apple platform for everyone who wants to get lost in another world.

A few more screenshots available right after the jump!

For some time now, the picking have been slim for Macs in terms of applications that can capture video from Blizzard's World of Warcraft. The most commonly used Snapz Pro X2 came with a rather steep (US$ 70) price tag.

In fact, a lot of people have turned to the 30 day trial version to work their magic. Well, Mac users don't have to worry about the price tag anymore. The new patch Blizzard rolled out on the PTR server now have the Mac Movie Capture.

The feature essentially allows the Mac client to capture in-game video to QuickTime movie files using a choice of codecs (H.264, Motion JPEG, or Pixlet), various resolutions, and even frame rate.  Specs? Well you'll be needing Mac OS X 10.4.9 and QuickTime 7.1.6 or better.

So try to get on the PTR to see if the new addition to the game works. If you're playing on the Europe servers though, be advised that copying characters into the server is still not working.

Alan Joyce of EverythingDigital.org uploaded a video clip over at YouTube showing Blizzard's World of Warcraft running on Apple's iPhone. He was able to do it with the help of Telekinesis, a third-party streaming program that allows users to remotely access their Macs through a collection of mini web applications on the phone.

Joyce noted that the experience wasn't that smooth given WoW's textures, graphics, and sound settings among others. Despite that, Alan Joyce mentioned that he could control several actions in the MMO video game through the iPhone interface like receiving and responding to in-game chat messages.

Anyone seeing a future deal between Blizzard and Apple? Possibly a WoW client for the iPhone? We guess we'll have to wait and see.

When Blizzard made a ruckus back in the Seoul World Wide Invitational, they also introduced a whole line of new units as rumored by the StarCraft-savvy locals. And after an introductory video covering most of the new arsenal in the Protoss and Terran camps, Blizzard notably stepped up the Xel'Naga-created race for StarCraft II.

One such unit that shoves the odds towards the Protoss' favor is the Colossus. The four slender-legged behemoth packs what is called "thermal lances" - a pair of them. Aided with complex focusing technology, the thermal lances can be concentrated on a single target for optimum effect (bright flashes, pretty lights, and gut-wrenching screams).

The Colossus stands tall over units, creating a immense field of vision and range for the robot. Using its height, it can climb up and down cliffs with ease, while offering a fair amount of mobility for the player. Although it may seem new to the series, Blizzard claims that it was designed as far back as conflicts during the Kalath Incession in Protoss history.

And not only limited for the Windows gamer, Blizzard will also be offering StarCraft II for the avid Mac fan. Another string of panic can be heard across the StarCraft community, after much speculation has arisen following the wake of an as yet unconfirmed rumor of a Beta by the holiday season of 2007 and its alleged link to the Beta key giveaway coming at BlizzCon 2007.

In this year's World Wide Developers Conference, Apple announced the winners of the Apple Design Awards. This award, which was first handed out a good 12 years ago, is said to "recognize technical excellence and outstanding achievement in Mac OS X software design and development."

The Apple Design Awards has seven categories in which software developers, whether independent or otherwise, can take part in. The categories include: Leopard Application, User Experience, Developer Tool, Game, Scientific Computing Solution, Dashboard Widget, and Student Product. The winners of each category are as follows:

• Leopard Application:
• Delicious Library 2.0 (alpha) by Delicious Monster
• User Experience:
• Coda 1.0 by Panic Inc.
• Developer Tool:
• CSSEdit 2.5 by MacRabbit
• Game:
• World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade 2.0 by Blizzard Entertainment
• Scientific Computing Solution:
• Papers 1.0 by Alexander Griekspoor and Tom Groothuis
• Dashboard Widget:
• BART Widget 1.0 by Bret Victor
• Student Product:
• Picturesque 1.0 by Zac Cohen

Each of the said applications are pretty well-known among the Apple community and have really changed the computing landscape in its own way. For the listing of the runner-ups and a description of each program, click on our read link. Be sure to keep checking back here for the latest Apple updates.