11 Most Successful Minecraft Youtubers in the World
We prepared a list of 11 most successful Minecraft Youtubers in the World for all those of you looking for a new favorite Minecraft YouTube channel.
Minecraft is the best-selling PC game to date and the second best-selling video game of all time for a reason. In the world of Minecraft, the only limit is your imagination, something that was never offered before in a video game. This is the main reason behind the success of the game, and the thing that makes it so tempting. It helps also that there are many gameplay modes and the ability to play maps created by other players, which is very helpful if you are among those who have a lack of imagination.
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Since Minecraft offers so many possibilities, it is the number one game for YouTubers. There is always something new to do or something to show, so the content is basically always fresh. Having fresh content is what distinct successful YouTubers from those less successful. Since we are already talking about YouTube and success, check out our list of 11 most successful gaming YouTubers in the world as well.
For creating our list of 11 most successful Minecraft Youtubers in the World, we used something that is one of the definitive guidelines when determining how successful a YouTuber is, the number of subscribers on his channel. As our starting point, we used the list of Minecraft YouTubers found on Seus Craft and then looked for those having the most subscriptions. It is important to mention that we didn’t take into consideration the gaming YouTubers that occasionally do Minecraft, but the ones that almost entirely feature Minecraft in their videos.
11. TheAtlanticCraft
Number of Subscribers: 3.46 million
TheAtlanticCraft channel began uploading videos on June 25, 2012, and has racked 1.47 billion views on more than 2,000 videos so far. It is run by two childhood friends, Joe and Cody, with Joe quitting the channel in February 2016.
10. ExplodingTNT
Number of Subscribers: 3.53 million
Compared to other channels, ExplodingTNT has substantially fewer videos than most other Minecraft channels, with the number being close to 500. Since May 8, 2011, ExplodingTNT has 898.91 million views in total.
9. iBallisticSquid
Number of Subscribers: 3.78 million
The person behind iBallisticSquid is David Spencer, who started the channel on March 10, 2011. So far, the channel has managed to get 2.08 billion views in total. Some of the Minecraft series that David does on his channel include Operation Vacation, Attack of the B-Team, Pixelmon, Mission to Mars, Race to the Moon, and Crazy Craft.
8. JeromeASF
Number of Subscribers: 4.43 million
JeromeASF channel started on July 11, 2011, and has over 1 billion views on 4,360 videos uploaded to date. Jerome Robert Aceti, as his real name stands, has two Minecraft channels, with this one being the popular one. He also has a Call of Duty channel that he runs with his friends.
7. Bajan Canadian
Number of Subscribers: 5.77 million
Mitch, better known as Bajan Canadian, started his YouTube career on March 3, 2010. He uploaded close to 3,500 videos and has 1.65 billion views combined. Mitch’s Minecraft videos usually revolve around survival games (Hunger Games), Battledome, Parkour speed runs, adventure maps, and more.
6. SSundee
Number of Subscribers: 7.15 million
One of the older channels on our list of 11 most successful Minecraft Youtubers in the World, SSundee started on November 27, 2009, and managed to get 2.31 billion views on 1,408 videos. SSundee ‘s Minecraft videos include modded Minecraft, mod reviews, and Minecraft competitions.
5. stampylonghead
Number of Subscribers: 7.94 million
This channel has an impressive number of 5.45 billion views on more than 2,000 videos. It was created on July 29, 2011, by Josh Garret as his side-channel in addition to the main channel where was doing vlogs and console play. Soon stampylonghead channel proved to be more popular and it became his main channel.
4. PopularMMOs
Number of Subscribers: 9.14 million
The interesting thing about this channel is that the creator Patrick occasionally does videos with his wife and his fellow YouTuber Jen. PopularMMOs was created April 17, 2012 and has 6.70 billion views on 3,255 videos.
3. CaptainSparklez
Number of Subscribers: 9.64 million
CaptainSparklez or Jordan Maron joined YouTube on July 20, 2010, and has created 3,382 videos that collected 2.64 billion views in total. He is best known for his Minecraft-themed music videos where he parodies popular songs in pop culture. Recently, he began creating his original music videos.
2. Sky Does Minecraft
Number of Subscribers: 12.08 million
Adam Dahlberg started his YouTube career on February 27, 2011, under the moniker Sky Does Minecraft and has 1,590+ videos published that were viewed 3.38 billion times combined. He recently admitted that he was in a mental hospital and that he suffers from eating disorder which caused him to be less active on the channel.
1. TheDiamondMinecart // DanTDM
Number of Subscribers: 12.65 million
Daniel Middleton deserves to be on the top of our list of 11 most successful Minecraft Youtubers in the World since he is not just the most subscribed Minecraft YouTuber but also one of the most popular YouTubers in the world. He is the 36th most subscribed YouTuber on YouTube and has managed to get 8.31 billion views since he created the channel on July 14, 2012. This success paid off for Dan since, in 2014, Business Insider estimated his annual income to be somewhere between $213,000 and $2.15 million.
‘Minecraft’ News & Updates: Video Game’s Latest Add-Ons , Plugins The First Step Towards Greater Levels Of Customization [VIDEO]
The Swedish video game developer Mojang, already announced at Minecon 2016 that Minecraft Pocket Edition, which cost $6.99, is finally getting Add-Ons. The developers see it as the first step towards the sandbox video game getting greater levels of customization by letting a player mess around in ways they couldn’t before.
Right after the panel, the video game developer posted a short video that talked about how add-ons can make the mobs become different in various ways. The video was a very brief taste of what’s to come for “Minecraft,” but now, Mojang has posted online the full panel video that showcases the “Minecraft” add-ons in action.
For instance, a “Minecraft” player can see sheep with creepers riding them and blowing them up around. The “Minecraft” panel also talks about the future of the new features, according to Touch Arcade.
Meanwhile, the Exploration Update of “Minecraft” for PC has also been released. The shulker box is one of the most interesting additions in the game, which is found in the latest “Minecraft” update.
The shulker box serves as a storage space for anything that a “Minecraft” player wants to keep, and this addition is something that “Minecraft” fans have been longing for. When the shulker box is not in use for survival, the feature can be used as a decorative item, based on the report of Kotaku.
Also, a big addition that is heading to “Minecraft” is the Woodland Mansion, a dungeon that gamers will occasionally find in wooded locations. The mansion in “Minecraft” is inhabited with spell-casting mobs called the Illagers. These spell-casting mobs also have the abilities to summon villains, and attack “Minecraft” players.
Nevertheless, the new add-on to this update is the existence of llamas. These llamas can be used to transport items, or become a caravan during travels of a “Minecraft” players.
Dragon Quest Builders vs Minecraft in the battle of the blockbusters
Mojang’s blockbuster building game drops players into huge, randomly-generated worlds and then leaves them to it. There are no tutorials to guide you, no narrative to provide context and no clearly defined goals – there’s the whole Ender Dragon thing, but it’s not exactly signposted.
But figuring out the rules of the land and making discoveries is part of Minecraft’s appeal, and that level of freedom is part of what makes it so popular.
Dragon Quest Builders, on the other hand, feels much more like a traditional video game. Sure, you’re able to dig up the land, build homes and craft items, but there’s also a proper story, lots of missions and even the odd screen-filling boss battle.
It may never topple the behemoth that Minecraft, but here’s 5 ways Dragon Quest Builders beats Mojang’s blockbuster.
1. Dragon Quest Builders Teaches you the Basics
The first thing you’ll notice about Dragon Quest Builders is that it actually explains what it is you have to do, how to dig up the land, build homes, attract villagers, fight enemies and generally be creative.
The tutorials actually feel a little restrictive at first, as players wade through scrolls of text just to dig up some blocks and find out how to escape the chamber you awaken in.
But as the game goes on and the missions start to rack up, the tutorials start to feel less intrusive and a more natural – not to mention incredibly useful – part of the game. They’re well implemented and ensure you don’t miss anything the game has to offer.
2. Dragon Quest Builders Has a Proper Story
Dragon Quest Builders is set in the land of Alefgard, which as fans will tell you, is where the original Dragon Quest takes place. A shell of its former self and populated by monsters, the hero awakens with the power to rebuild the world and defeat evil.
While that doesn’t sound particularly inspired, it’s actually all based on the parallel ending of Dragon Quest, where the hero accepts the Dragonlord’s suggestion that each character rules half of the world. Of course, it was all a ruse, and the world has gone to pot by the time you start things off.
It’s a fantastic way of tying together old and new, making great use of the Dragon Quest mythology to entice fans.
3. Dragon Quest Builders Has More Structure
As much as we love Minecraft, it’s definitely lacking a little structure. The same can’t be said for Dragon Quest Builders, which is fit to burst with fighting, side-quests and missions to keep players busy.
It starts off with simple requests to build homes, retrieve items and attract new villagers, but pretty soon you’re fending off waves of enemies and even fighting bosses.
But just because it’s a more structured experience, you still have the freedom to carry out tasks as you see fit, and build your village in your image.
A great story of a young boy and a lost creature is the base for the highly anticipated The Last Guardian out in 2016
4. Dragon Quest Builders Has Better Combat
Minecraft’s enemies certainly have their charms – the Creepers are just that – but Dragon Quest Builders takes combat to another level.
There are giant birds, stone Golems and of course, huge Dragons. Combat is a big part of Dragon Quest Builders, and why it feels like more of a traditional gaming experience.
Oh yeah, and there’s Slimes to contend with, too, so that’s a plus!
5. Dragon Quest Builders Has Better Visuals
Minecraft’s visuals are simple and effective, but Dragon Quest Builders’ graphics are even more colourful and stylish, hearkening back to the 8-bit era, which makes sense given the connection to the original game.
The only downside is the camera, which because of the third-person perspective, doesn’t do you many favours when you’re stuck indoors.
Dragon Quest Builders vs Minecraft in the battle of the blockbusters
‘Minecraft’ for Console Latest Game News & Updates: Content Update 33, Exploration Update for PC Released; Exciting New Items, Dungeons & More!
“Minecraft” fans will be happy to receive fresh new content that comes with the latest update, Content Update 33, which is now live. The update can now be downloaded for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The game update pretty much featured additional content in the form of new enchantment, new blocks, a new mob and more.
As stated in the patch notes from 4J Studios, three new items have been added to “Minecraft” for console, namely: Beetroot, Beetroot Seeds, and Beetroot Soup. Players can also augment items through FrostWalker and Mending enchantments. Terrain generation features have also been added, introducing Fossils and Igloos.
The polar bear is now the new mob; sounds for the polar bear, squid, snowman, cow, horse, item frames, witch, paintings and leash knots have also been added. One of the most noteworthy additions is the Chinese Mythology Mash-up pack, which costs $4.99. This new “Minecraft” content is inspired by Chinese legends and myths and will take players to a new world where dragons exist. The full patch notes for “Minecraft” Content Update 33 can be found here.
Meanwhile, the Exploration Update for PC has also been released. As noted by Kotaku, the “shulker box” is one of the most interesting additions found in this latest “Minecraft” update. The shulker box serves as a storage space for anything players want to keep – and this is something that “Minecraft” fans have wanted for so long. When not in use for survival, the shulker box can be used as a decorative item.
Also, a big addition making its way to “Minecraft” is the Woodland Mansion, a dungeon that players will rarely find in wooded locations. The mansion is populated with spell-casting mobs known as Illagers, who also have the abilities to summon villains, and attack players. Also new to this update is the existence of llamas. These guys can be used to transport items or become a caravan during travels.
Minecraft Pocket Edition updated with Halloween-themed skin pack, bug fixes
Mojang, the team behind one of the world’s most popular games, Minecraft, has just announced a new update is now available for those who play on smaller screens.
Minecraft Pocket Edition has been updated with a bran new Campfire Tales skin pack, which contains 16 Halloween-themed skins. Each of the skin included in the pack is spooky enough even for the most fearless Minecraft player.
The skins include well-known characters like the Headless Haunter, the vengeful Lumbering Jack, the obsessive Sea-Swallowed Captain, the hasty confectioner Crisp, the cursed Well Wisher, Rancid Anne, The Sham, Ol’ Diggy, and the Risen Rose.
Although these skins are available for free, Android users might have been asked for money while trying to get them via the Google Play store. If that’s the case with you, then you should use the code MINECON2016 to reduce its cost to zero. It’s also worth mentioning that these skins won’t be available for too long, so make sure to get them as soon as possible.
Aside from the Campfire Tales skin pack, the new update also adds some tweaks like a small fix to smart turning (VR only). It also addresses an issue with mirror textures and fixes a bug with the capes that were clipping through armor.
Lots of other small and major bug fixes have been implemented in the update as well, so make sure to download the latest version. Here is the fill changelog for both Windows 10 and Pocket Edition versions of Minecraft:
– Fixed crash when rendering leads in VR. (VR only);
– Using the B button to quit the game (when using a controller) now works. (Win 10 only);
– Fixed top of cursor flickering in VR. (VR only);
– Mouse clicks no longer cause keyboard input to stop. (VR only);
– Fixed issue where Minecraft would not shut down completely when launching another app in the Oculus store. (Win 10 Oculus only);
– Added in bug fixes for VR that were previously in the 0.16 betas.
Minecraft Pocket Edition updated with Halloween-themed skin pack, bug fixes
Minecraft Update 1.36 Out Today on PS4, PS3 & PS Vita
Released yesterday on Xbox and Wii U, Minecraft update 1.36 is now available to download in North America, Europe, and Japan for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita.
Adding new blocks, items, enchantments, banners, DLC support, and more, here’s the full list of patch notes for the new Minecraft update on PlayStation:
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Add new blocks – End Bricks, Beetroot, Grass Path, Frosted Ice, Magma, Nether Wart Block, Red Nether Brick, and Bone Block.
Added new items – Beetroot, Beetroot Seeds, and Beetroot Soup.
Added new enchantments – FrostWalker and Mending.
Added new terrain generation features – Fossils and Igloos (in newly generated worlds).
Add new mob – Polar Bear.
Add Banners.
Added Chinese Mythology Mash-Up Pack.
Added sounds for Polar Bear, Witch, Squid, Snowman, Armor Stand, Cow, Horse, Item Frames, Leash Knots and Paintings.
Updated all Texture and Mash-up Packs with new items & blocks.
As for the Chinese Mythology Mash-Up pack, it’s priced at $4.99/£3.99 and carries this description:
Journey through epic terrain and find enlightenment in the land of dragons with this Mash-up Pack inspired by the myths and legends of China. Minecrafters get to explore a Chinese Mythology-themed world, with glorious Textures, legendary Skins and enchanting Music. The Pack also includes a themed Battle map exclusive to this Mash-up!
Expect the DLC to be up on the North American PlayStation Store later today, shortly after the update goes live.
Minecraft’s Latest Update Adds Some Cool Stuff, But Still Falls Short
After much hinting, foreshadowing, and teasing, the newest Minecraft snapshot is out, showing us at long last what the much vaunted ‘exploration update’ has in store.
The most exciting addition for this most recent update is the ‘shulker box’, an item built out of the newly added shulker husks, that finally upgrades your storage capabilities. You can stuff the box full of whatever you want, and it keeps its inventory, even if you destroy the block, letting you use it as a sort of backpack. Players have wanted something like this for ages. Even if you’re not a survival player, it has its uses as a decorative block or as a way to upgrade your storage system, so this is a very exciting change.
The other big addition is the Woodland Mansion, which is a procedurally generated dungeon that appears very rarely in wooded areas. The mansion is filled with tough new mobs that cast spells, summon baddies, and attack you with weapons, making it very much an ‘end-game’ destination (though if you’re lucky enough to find one early it can give you a serious head start on your build.)
Woodland Mansion shows that Mojang is getting more comfortable with their procedural generation—the mansion is a lot more detailed and complex than earlier structures—which means that we could be getting explorable dungeons or structures for every biome eventually (and not just igloos).
As a part of the Woodland Mansion addition, you can also now buy exploration maps from the new cartographer villager. These maps show you the location of the closest Ocean Monument or Woodland Mansion, allowing you to set up an expedition with an actual goal besides aimless wandering. This is more exciting because of what it might eventually allow, but it’s still another tool in the explorer’s toolbox.
For tinkerers, Mojang has finally added an Observer block (which has been in Pocket Edition for a while), a redstone contraption that updates based on the status of the block it is observing. While this might not sound thrilling to everyone, it’s opened up a whole new world of automated builds, including flying machines, transporters, and farms.
In general, it’s not as great of a change as it might seem because the block has been around for a while. But the best redstone contraptions are still on Java, and this addition adds another powerful tool for players who can already built immensely complicated and interesting machines in game.
Other additions include llamas, cursed items, ways to escape from The End, and a useful console command. Exploration players will no doubt be happy, and there should be something for everyone to enjoy, but the big question is whether or not Mojang can continue to deliver updates with this level of content in a reasonable amount of time. In terms of exploration and progression, Minecraft is still pretty features-light when compared to games like Terraria and Starbound, so if Mojang wants to compete in that arena there’s still a lot of work to do.
Rob Guthrie is a lapsed academic who writes about history, video games, and weird internet things. Follow him @RobertWGuthrie for pithy Tweets and lukewarm takes.
Minecraft’s Latest Update Adds Some Cool Stuff, But Still Falls Short
‘Minecraft’ News & Update: Latest Patch Offers 4 Amazing Features; Chinese Mythology Mash-Up Pack DLC Goes Live!
“Minecraft” was upgraded today, after 4J Studios rolled out updates for the game’s console versions. Players can now download the 1.36 update called the “Banners, Blocks, Beats and Bears” on their PS4, PS3 and Playstation Vita.
4J Studios also announced on Twitter that they Japanese and European gamers will also get the update a bit later. “Minecraft on Sony consoles in Europe and Japan, and will be out later today in North America,” the studio tweeted.
Now, The latest “Minecraft” DLC offers a bunch of exciting new features as promised by 4J Studios. Gamers will be thrilled with the new mobs, wildlife, enchantments and more.
Below are the changelog posted on Minecraft forums. The update is applicable to all gaming platforms where “Minecraft” is playable.
For new blocks, end Bricks, grass path, beetroot, magma, frosted ice, bone block, red nether brick and nether wart block have been added. Then, beetroot seeds, beetroot and beetroot soup are now included in new items list.
The new enchantments in “Minecraft” are FrostWalker and Mending while new terrain generation features in the additional generated world include Fossils and Igloos. In addition, there will be polar bears roaming around the icy biomes and the range of banners can serve as personalized drape to beautify the place up.
Lastly, the “Minecraft” DLC comes with the Chinese Mythology Mash-Up Pack and fresh battle map. Once the Chinese Mythology pack is downloaded, the map will automatically appear together with other items that are part of the update. Players will get to wander through the dragon-laden Chinese Mythology-themed world.
In any case, since the update seems to be few in number, players may think that there is not a lot to gain from it. But in truth, the 1.36 update offers a lot and gamers will only see the changes once they start playing after installing the DLC.
An Inside Peek Into the Education World’s Obsession with Minecraft
I’ve been playing Minecraft Education—mostly with students or other teachers—for about four years now. My experience came to a head two weekends ago, when I attended MINECON, the annual Minecraft convention and fan fest held this year in Anaheim on September 24-25. I go to a lot of educational technology conferences, but I don’t have a lot of experience with “fandom conventions.” Experiencing MINECON 2016 as an educator, I found it to be a melding of the two—and a clear indicator as to why the education world is obsessed with Minecraft.
Bringing Together Teachers, Parents and Students
MINECON is definitely aimed at kids, who are among Minecraft’s biggest fans. I, in fact, took my 12-year-old son with me, who contributed to this article. But upon attending the conference, I found that there were a lot of parents and quite a few educators in attendance, as well. Minecraft is especially unique in the sense that it’s a tool that brings together each of those three different groups of individuals, all in pursuit of creative expression, adventure, and fun.
I know how I use Minecraft in my own computer science classes, and I’ve heard and seen amazing applications that other teachers have shared. But if you really want to feel as inspired as I felt coming away from this weekend, you need only look to the kids who use Minecraft without adult intervention. In mass amount, I saw how students try, click, play, guess, and take risks with computer applications and other devices, all in attempt to figure out “What happens if I…?” I’m ecstatic to see a generation of willing pioneers who know no fear when it comes to bravely experimenting and inventing, with little regard for adults who may want to steer them toward more traditional and pragmatic pursuits.
As Minecraft is a gaming experience popular with both adults and kids, it can often be a family endeavor, where parents and their children play together. Many parents I’ve talked to became interested in Minecraft themselves because they were curious about the obsession that had such staying power with their kids; it wasn’t a fad that came and went. As they started to see how much their kids were learning, they felt naturally drawn into the game themselves. And it’s worth noting: many families in attendance at Minecon were homeschoolers who use the game as a learning tool.
A Rich Variety of Activities, Projects and Partners
When it comes to Minecraft, the implications for student engagement and project-based learning are endless. A clear indicator of this is the list of top five favorite items that my son identified from MINECON, from his perspective as a student:
- Celebrity Minecrafters: My favorite thing was meeting famous YouTubers who play Minecraft. I met, took selfies with, and got autographs from Stampy, Squiddy, Sqaishey, and Wizard Keen.
- New Items Inside the Game: Everyone who went to MINECON got an email afterward with a code for the official MINECON 2016 cape that you can wear inside the game!
- Minecraft Activities with LEGO and More: The LEGO booth had a fun activity where you could build a Minecraft LEGO solution to get Alex (a Minecraft avatar character) out of a problem. Two other activities (unrelated to LEGO) that we could partake in were punching trees and a Minecraft witch hunt in the game. These were really popular with kids!
- Student Voice Panel: There was a student voice panel that had kids who talked about their Minecraft experiences, such as making games inside the game and making videos of their builds.
- Exploring Biomes Exhibits: There were cool biomes—big physical constructions—in the expo hall, such as a real-life tundra, underwater, forest, and even a farm with Minecraft animals. There was also a replica of a Minecraft house with all the stuff inside that you would need in a real Minecraft house in the game, like a bed, a crafting table, a furnace, a jukebox, and cake.
Leading the Minecraft charge is a small army of YouTubers—veritable celebrities in a setting like MINECON—who make videos of their game play as well as tutorials and artistic creations within the Minecraft world. I don’t know who most of these digital celebrities are, but my son knew of a few big names, and most of the young Minecraft fans knew who everybody was.
Minecraft itself has worked its way into so many facets of life—YouTube and LEGO, to name two—that adolescents connect with, and as such, the classroom is a logical place where Minecraft can help bridge the gap between life inside school and life outside of school.
New Minecraft Developments, to Keep Users Engaged
My focus on Minecraft in the education space has meant that I’m an early advocate of Microsoft’s new Minecraft: Education Edition, which officially launches on November 1st. This new edition, aimed at schools, includes some new features and some improved Minecraft features:
- There are chalkboards of varying sizes, which can be used to post information in-game as part of the students’ learning experience. (Think directions or clarifications, for example.)
- There are some NPCs (non-player characters) that can be added to the game. This isn’t an entirely new feature, but it’s an add-on to previous educational versions.
- Cameras—and the portfolios they feed into—garnered the most excitement from teachers I have talked to about the new updates. Players can now place a camera to take a “selfie” with their work, or use the camera to capture images of their builds, caption them in the portfolio, and then export them to use in any applications they’d like.
- Finally, a new classroom mode, which will be released with the new product in November, allows the teacher to check in on various worlds that students are using. Teachers can also view students’ in-game chat, move students around as needed, give students items, or communicate with them without having to enter each world individually.
Some of today’s students have already been lucky enough to be in classes with teachers who’ve been using Minecraft for the past few years as a learning platform. It’s popular with kids and teachers because it’s familiar and fun, but also because it provides a space in which students can visualize, build, and experiment in a 3D environment.
But there are so many more students out there, who have yet to really exercise their creative spirit and impulses. We’re going to need creative student thinkers, because they grow into courageous, innovative adults who can solve the world’s problems.
The collaboration, engagement, and exploration opportunities that Minecraft provides are well-suited to give kids the experiences they need to build tomorrow’s solutions—but Minecraft is just where they start.
Diane Main serves as Director of Learning, Innovation and Design (9-12) at The Harker School in San Jose, California. Follow her on Twitter at @dowbiggin.
An Inside Peek Into the Education World’s Obsession with Minecraft
Minecraft Chinese Mythology DLC and Free Update Videos
New content is available for Minecraft: Xbox One Edition and Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, bringing free banners, beets, bears and blocks to console players along with a stunning “Chinese Mythology Mash Up” paid DLC.
The new “Chinese Mythology Mash Up Pack” DLC is priced at $4.99 or regional equivalent and brings a sense of Eastern wonder to the Minecraft Series. Purchasers of this DLC can enjoy:
- An extensive pre-made world with ancient cities, huge sculptures and dragons
- 41 new skins
- 13 themed music tracks
- Special map for the Battle mini-game
The latest free title update for Minecraft adds:
- Polar bears and cubs roaming in frozen biomes
- Craft personal banners to decorate your domain
- Arctic biomes now include igloos
- Discover ancient fossils buried in the earth
- Farm beetroots and use them to make a restorative soup
- New blocks including End Bricks, Grass Path, Frosted Ice, Magma, Nether Wart Block, Red Nether Brick and Bone Block
The Minecraft “Chinese Mythology Mash Up Pack” and free title update are out now on Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Minecraft: Pocket Edition gets new update, Campfire Tales skin pack
While you were sleeping, your Minecraft: Pocket Edition just got updated, and it’s got some goodies – err, we mean scary stuff – to get your game ready for Halloween. We expected this to be arriving, but it arrived pretty early. The update brings your game app to version 0.15.10, and it brings the Campfire Tales Skin Pack as well as fixes to some bugs.
The Campfire Tales Skin Pack gets your game ready for Halloween. The skin pack comes with 16 scary skins, including the Headless Haunter, Lumbering Jack, the Sea-Swallowed Captain, Ol’ Diggy, and a lot more. Mojang is asking you to share your creations with the hashtag #campfiretales, so be sure to check out the new skin pack.
The app had also been having problems with distributing the special MINECON skins and associated capes. This update brings the fixes so you can get and use these items. At worst, you may need to make a “free” purchase from the Google Play Store, using the code MINECON2016 to be able to get the items into your game.
Aside from resolving these issues, the update also brings some VR-related fixes, like random crashes when entering into VR-mode. If you don’t have the update yet, check the download link below.
SOURCE: Mojang 1 | 2
DOWNLOAD: Google Play Store
Minecraft: Pocket Edition gets new update, Campfire Tales skin pack
Minecraft releases a new Snapshot with lots of bug fixes (and some new bugs!)
If you’re the kind of Minecraft user that likes to try out experimental Snapshots, then today is your lucky day. Mojang, the developers of Minecraft, have released a new Snapshot, and it brings “lots of new bug fixes, and some new bugs” which will be fixed in the next Snapshot.
Overall, the SnapShot resolves issues with Arrows fired, into a repeater, Piston placement issues, Mouse click position issues, Weather changes, and more. As is standard with Snapshots, we’ve given a few of the Bug fixes a look for you below.
Bugs fixed in 16w40a:
[Bug MC-3352] – Arrows fired into a repeater / comparator / jukebox / command block / hopper / daylight sensor that is updating will play the arrow hitting a block noise
[Bug MC-4132] – Piston placement issue past 16777217
[Bug MC-67665] – Mouse click position always lags a few frames behind the crosshair
[Bug MC-89030] – Pistons warp entities too much (Pistons pull entities in/through blocks)
[Bug MC-98093] – Distorted Pistons
[Bug MC-106706] – Renamed brewing stand does not drop after being placed
[Bug MC-106765] – Silverfish not moving when mobGriefing is false
[Bug MC-106826] – Can interact(eat) with cake in creative mode/hunger bar is full
[Bug MC-106905] – Rabbits jump extra high on farmland and fence related blocks.
[Bug MC-107168] – Weather changes to clear after sleeping with doWeatherCycle set to false
[Bug MC-107378] – Unable to shift-click items into non-full brewing stand ingredient slot
[Bug MC-107403] – No subtitles for Shulker Box / Llama
There are lots of Bug fixes in this Snapshot, so be sure to head over to this official Mojang blog post to check them out for yourself. Once you’ve checked it out, be sure to come back to WinBeta and let us know how the Snapshot experience is going for you.
Minecraft releases a new Snapshot with lots of bug fixes (and some new bugs!)
Minecraft update includes new Woodland Mansion dungeon, more new items
Mojang has finally revealed the latest snapshot update for Minecraft with new items and features across the PC, Xbox, Wii U and PlayStation 4 including the PS Vita.
The new version now includes new mobs, items and even a new procedurally generated dungeon called the Woodland Mansions. Players now have more to hunt, explore and to build as one of the world’s most popular games still grow several years after it has been released.
Minecraft now has more DLC support with new blocks and items thanks to the update 1.36, PlayStation LifeStyle has learned. Some of the new blocks include the End Bricks, Grass Path, Magma, Nether Wart Block, Bone Block and more.
Some of the new items include the Beetroot and the new Shulker box that can be built thanks to the new Shulker Husks from the previous versions. The new item improves the current storage options of the player so they can loot more without having to worry about where they can place their items.
Mojang’s new Chinese Mythology Mash-Up pack is also now available at $4.99. The players will be able to explore “epic terrain” and to see what China has in store in terms of myths and legends.
Besides the new DLC and items, Mojang is also including the new Woodland Mansion. The new procedurally generated Woodland Mansion dungeon includes more mobs and items to loot, Kotaku reported.
Players can now also buy exploration maps from Minecraft’s new cartographer village which show the location of the nearby Woodland Mansion or Ocean Monument. It would help the players find them faster instead of having to search aimlessly in the endless generated world of Minecraft.
Mojang’s procedural generation of dungeons seem to be improving and Minecraft players could expect to see more dungeons in the following updates. Unfortunately, the developers have not yet confirmed whether there will be new ones or what themes they have in mind for the dungeons.
Minecraft players can just update their game through the official launcher to see the changes for themselves. Multiplayer servers may need to reconfigure to accommodate all of the new features found in the new update.
Minecraft update includes new Woodland Mansion dungeon, more new items
Scientists are having robots play ‘Minecraft’ to learn about human logic
How getting kids to build pink furry buildings is a key part of Microsoft’s $2.5 billion bet on Minecraft
When Deirdre Quarnstrom first took the job as the head of Minecraft for Education, she was given a very specific mandate:
“We want to change the world,” Mojang, the developer of Minecraft, told Quarnstrom.
On November 1st, Microsoft and Mojang will launch of Minecraft: Education Edition, a $5-per-student-per-year software offering for the classroom.
This product forms the backbone of Mojang’s quest to change the world, one student at a time. And it’s a big piece of how Microsoft wants to make sure that Minecraft, which it got in the $2.5 billion acquisition of Mojang, sticks around for generations yet to come.
People already have the impression Minecraft is a fabulous tool for getting kids excited about learning to code. Quarnstrom says she understands that impression. After all, you play Minecraft on a computer, and “people equate computers with coding.”
But from Quarnstrom’s perspective, it could also be used to teach all kinds of other stuff — project management, architecture, design, or any number of other important skills. And it has the potential to totally change how kids learn.
“We see Minecraft as something that can be foundational to education,” she says.
Pink fuzzy buildings
The idea of educational video games stretches back decades: Lots of millennials have fond memories of playing games like Oregon Trail or Math Blaster during school hours. But those games were rarely used as part of a lesson plan.
But Minecraft: Education Edition is pitched as a major learning tool, the same way students might rely on Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.
During the beta testing period, which spanned 35,000 students in 100 schools, teachers were using Minecraft to teach stuff like architecture by having a real-life architect come in, demonstrate what a brutalist building might look like, and then instantly cover it in pink fur to demonstrate how much materials matter.
Or, instead of assigning a shoebox diaroma of the First Thanksgiving, why not have the whole class work together to build a themed Minecraft world, and then act out the scene? Or build a scale model of the Taj Mahal as a class, assigning everybody a role in its construction? Microsoft will also be offering resources with suggestions for teachers.
Quarnstrom says Minecraft: Education Edition had 35,000 students in 100 schools using it during the beta testing phase.
Kids learn how to code with Minecraft at a Microsoft event.Donald Traill/ AP Images for Microsoft
Kids already know and love Minecraft, its world, and how to build to their heart’s content. That love translates into a much higher engagement with lessons run in the virtual world, Quarnstrom says, and leads to a more participatory, fun way to teach vital skills.
“That’s where the magic happens,” Quarnstrom says.
Schoolcraft
One big challenge, Quarnstrom says, is to make sure that the game stays fun, even when they’re supposed to be learning something. To that end, Minecraft’s signature crates of TNT make an appearance in Education Edition, just for fun. Teachers get tools to gather up students who may go walkabout during lessons, to balance.
It may be a little while before teachers are assigning Minecraft homework. But because the two versions are so similar, it encourages students to keep on experimenting with whatever they learned in class that day, while they’re playing Minecraft at home.
Another hurdle, Quarnstrom says, is getting in front of teachers in the first place. Selling software to schools is an arduous process: Different school districts have different rules for how they buy technology, for starters, making it kind of a minefield to sell at the necessary scales.
Minecraft: Education Edition includes teacher-focused features like a camera that lets you replay what a student just did for the rest of the class.Mojang/Microsoft
That’s where Microsoft comes in. Microsoft already has relationships with school districts all over the world thanks to Microsoft Office, giving Mojang and Minecraft a big foot in the door. Plus, students log in to Minecraft Education Edition with their Office 365 accounts, which means the kids’ accounts are up to Microsoft’s high bar for security.
Going forward, Quarnstrom sees Minecraft: Education Edition integrating with other Microsoft products like Skype, letting teachers do things like have special guest-lecturers in their Minecraft lessons.
In the shorter-term, though, Quarnstrom thinks Minecraft is primed to make a big impact in education. There are more tablets and laptops entering the classroom than ever before, she notes, and teachers are looking to find new ways to engage their students in this digital world.
“The world is ready for game-based learning,” Quarnstrom says.
Dragon Quest Builders review: “Minecraft for people who hate Minecraft”
Pros
- Building items and designing towns is creatively and mechanically rewarding
- Quest lines help introduce more complex systems
- Hand-crafted worlds allow for unique challenges
Cons
- Controls and camera are fiddly, especially indoors
- Combat is basic and wonky
The world lies in ruins; you are the only one who can restore it to its former glory. It’s a cliche among cliches, and it’s one that Dragon Quest has reveled in since the series’ beginning. Dragon Quest Builders wants to do something a bit different, though. Rather than moving from city to city consuming items and destroying monsters, Builders actually wants you to create, to use your own two hands to craft your tools, rebuild towns, and cleanse the world of evil through the magic of building. Dragon Quest Builders positions itself as sort of an alternate sequel to the very first game in the series, set after its hero decides to strike a bargain with the Dragonlord to join him and rule the world with an iron fist. With the world destroyed, you awaken (after picking your gender, skin color, and name) in an underground cave, the only one in a desolate land who knows how to create. Over four chapters, you’ll travel to distant locales to rebuild villages, fight an absurd number of slimes and other Dragon Quest staple enemies, take on quests for new residents, and find the requisite items for the magic weapons you’ll need to take down each region’s boss. Its cartoonish look and story may appear simple, but it’s as charming and bubbly as any other game in the series, with well-written characters and the signature stylings of series artist Akira Toriyama. It’s pure Dragon Quest fanservice, complete with a soaring orchestral soundtrack by original series composer Koichi Sugiyama, though you don’t need to know a lick about the series to enjoy what it has to offer.
To describe its gameplay in the most simple terms, Dragon Quest Builders is a cross between survival and crafting games like Minecraft and action RPGs like The Legend of Zelda, combining the resource gathering of the former with the quest-based progression and combat of the latter. When you start, you’ll only have access to a handful of basic, wooden items, which break easily and can only deconstruct the simplest elements. As you help villagers with their requests – whether that’s fetching them a handful of a specific items, slaying monsters, or building and designing rooms to their specifications – you’ll gain access to new recipes, which in turn give you access to more items, tools, and materials. It may seem that its two halves – the boundless creativity offered by its crafting systems and its more rigid narrative and quest-based structure – would be at odds, but they actually complement each other incredibly well. Other than the occasional blueprint (which forces you to build a room to exacting specifications), you’re largely free to build each town however you like. The only requirements to designing a room are that it has a wall two squares high, a light source, and a door, and once a room is finished, you’ll be graded for your efforts. Different combinations of structures will create specific kinds of rooms, which add bonuses to your town, like allowing your villagers to cook food for you while you’re away, or grant them more health or stronger weapons in combat. 
It’s a fantastic convergence of structure and creativity, where the quests provide both impetus to explore and inspiration for building. There’s always something you’re required to do at a given time, and actually completing the tasks required of you provides tangible rewards you can use to improve the quality of your town. Those who want to explore Builders’ creative depths are encouraged to do so, as you’re given a wide variety of construction materials and decorations to really make each location your own. Or you can opt to make a purely utilitarian town with the bare minimum of essentials and focus solely on questing; Dragon Quest Builders is cool with that too. Occasionally, your town will come under attack by roving monsters, but for the most part, you’re allowed to approach Dragon Quest Builders on your own terms, as it caters to multiple styles of play without judgement. Its boundaries are more noticeably inflexible than games like Minecraft, but there’s still a lot of opportunity to make each location your own within its limitations. Actually building stuff, for the most part, is relatively painless, and even if you screw up, a couple of whacks will transform whatever you’ve placed back into a tiny version of that item which you can pick up and place again. But the most impressive thing is seeing your villages grow and blossom over time. When you first arrive in an area, you’ll maybe have a room to craft items and a basic bedroom with straw mattresses. By the time you’re finished, you’ll have a bustling town with a half-dozen other people milling about, each contributing in small but helpful ways. It feels really good to look back and see the progress you’ve made and the stuff you’ve built. 
In opting for this more guided, hand-crafted structure, Dragon Quest Builders is able to provide unique challenges you won’t find in other procedurally-generated games. By the end of chapter one, you’ve likely got a handle on how to build defensive structures and how to upgrade from wood to steel, to silver, and on. Once you step through the portal to the next chapter, though, your health, items, and equipment are reduced to the bare minimum once again, and the mineral-rich areas of chapter one give way to a desolate, poisoned wasteland, where even basic elements like wood are incredibly scarce. It’s a bit of a bummer to lose everything at first, until you realize that this new world now holds a wholly different set of challenges that force you out of your comfort zone because you simply don’t have the same materials available. Each chapter comes with its own set of unique environments and obstacles to overcome, and while the main quest is relatively straightforward, there are numerous side areas that require you to find keys or solve puzzles to access the rewards hidden within. If you’re looking for some more free-form creativity, the Terra Incognita mode is far closer to a typical Minecraft game, which dumps you into a map where you can create to your heart’s content without fear of monster attacks. You can access portals that take you to the worlds of the chapters you’ve cleared, so you can fight enemies and gain access to unique ingredients to customize your own personal world, and then share your creations with other players online. You won’t find a creation suite as deep as Minecraft’s, but you have enough tools at your disposal to create some impressive-looking structures, as long as you have the time and resources available to do so. 
While the building and exploration are well-implemented and fleshed-out, the same can’t be said for Builders’ combat, which is incredibly basic and ultimately kind of wonky. Most battles are little more than watching for enemy wind-up animations and trying to move out of the way while mashing the attack button and hoping your weapons don’t break mid-fight. There are the occasional town defense quests, which require you to fend off a few waves of attackers while utilizing the defenses you’ve built, but the moments where everything comes together (and the enemy AI cooperates with your traps) are relatively rare compared to how the rest of most encounters shake out. Ultimately, the action just isn’t all that deep and satisfying, especially when held up against its more rewarding crafting and town-building systems. Builders’ camera and controls will also fight against you occasionally, and usually at the most inopportune moments. Most of the time, they’re serviceable, but when you’re in the thick of combat or in confined spaces, you’ll likely long for more responsive and accurate controls and a camera that will actually show you what you need to see. God help you if you find yourself deep underground, as the camera pulls in so tight it’s practically impossible to see what’s going on. A simple first person mode (or even some more basic camera zoom controls) could have done a lot to mitigate these frustrations. 
But even with these issues, Dragon Quest Builders is easy to recommend. It may not be as deep as its genre contemporaries, but its mash-up of crafting, survival elements, and RPG questing set in the colorful, cartoony world of Dragon Quest is rewarding and breezy fun for players of all levels of creative ability. This game was reviewed on PS4.
Dragon Quest Builders review: “Minecraft for people who hate Minecraft”
Microsoft Monday: Windows 10 Hits 400M Machines, Cancer Research Progress, New Minecraft Bundle
“Microsoft Monday” takes a look back at the past week of news related to Microsoft. This week, “Microsoft Monday” includes details about Windows 10 hitting 400 million active machines, the Nokia 216, the first wet laboratory for cancer research, a $40 billion stock repurchase program, a renewable energy initiative, LinkedIn Learning and more!
Windows 10 Hits 400 Million Active Machines
Windows 10 / Image Credit: Microsoft
Microsoft has announced that it has hit 400 million active Windows 10 machines. That means that 50 million more Windows 10 devices were activated in the last three months. And Microsoft said that the adoption of Windows 10 is 115% faster than Windows 7. Microsoft has a goal of hitting 1 billion active machines by 2018.
Microsoft MSFT -1.76% OneDrive For iOS Updated
OneDrive for iOS / Photo Credit: Microsoft
Last week, Microsoft updated the OneDrive app for iOS with a new user interface and the ability to share links using work accounts. You will notice that the user interface is much more intuitive and there is more of a focus on files management. And OneDrive for iOS now allows users to share links to folders from work and school accounts. The app update also includes bug fixes and minor improvements.
Microsoft Nokia 216 Feature Phone Is Headed To India
Nokia 216 / Photo Credit: Microsoft
Microsoft unveiled the Nokia 216 feature phone last week, which could potentially be the last Nokia phone brand released under the Redmond giant. According to USA Today, the Nokia 216 specifications includes two SIM cards, two cameras with an LED flash, Bluetooth and an FM radio. The Nokia 216 is expected to launch in India on October 24th.
Earlier this year, Microsoft said its feature phone division would be sold to a Foxconn subsidiary. After the deal is completed, Nokia would be able to build and sell more phones independently from Microsoft. This deal is expected to be closed by the second half of the year.
Microsoft Opens First Wet Laboratory For Cancer Research
Microsoft wants to help “solve” cancer within the next decade by potentially learning how to reprogram diseased cells back to a healthy state, according to Telegraph UK. Earlier this summer, Microsoft opened its first wet laboratory — which includes engineers and biologists that are working on attacking cancer cells similar to the way viruses infect computers.
“I think it’s a very natural thing for Microsoft to be looking at because we have tremendous expertise in computer science and what is going on in cancer is a computational problem,” said Microsoft Research laboratory director Chris Bishop via Telegraph. “It’s not just an analogy, it’s a deep mathematical insight. Biology and computing are disciplines which seem like chalk and cheese but which have very deep connections on the most fundamental level.”
Microsoft researchers are also working on a computer made from DNA that could live inside cells to detect any irregularities in the system. This computer would even be able to reboot the system and clear the diseased cells.
Research head Andrew Philips told The Telegraph that the plans are long term, but it may be “technically possible” to put a smart molecular system that can detect diseases in five to ten years. Software that mimics the healthy behavior of cells has already been developed so it can be compared to diseased cells to determine how the problem occurred and how it can be fixed.
Gears of War 4 Trailer Has Been Released
Last week, Microsoft has released a full length trailer for Gears of War 4. The trailer is narrated John DiMaggio (voice of Marcus Fenix in the game). Gears of War 4 will be released on October 11th, but the price is unknown.
Gears of War 4 is also an Xbox Play Anywhere game so you can play it on the Xbox One and on Windows 10 PCs. And your game progress, Gamerscore and Achievements will be synced across both platforms.
Microsoft Board Authorizes $40 Billion Of Stock Repurchase
According to Bloomberg, Microsoft’s board of directors approved a $40 billion stock buyback program in addition to an already existing $40 billion stock repurchase program — which was announced in 2013. The existing $40 billion stock repurchase program is expected to conclude by the end of the year. Microsoft also increased its quarterly dividend by 8.3% to 39 cents a share. As of June 30th, Microsoft had $113.2 billion in cash and short-term investments.
Meet The Microsoft Xbox One S Minecraft Favorites Bundle
Xbox One S Minecraft Favorites Bundle / Photo Credit: Microsoft
Last week, Microsoft launched the Xbox One S Minecraft Favorites bundle. The cost of this bundle is $300 and it includes a 500GB Xbox One S, the new wireless controller, download codes for Minecraft: Xbox One Edition, Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta and a 14-day Xbox Live Gold trial membership.
According to PCMag, the download codes for the Favorites Pack and Builder’s Pack are also included in the bundle. The Favorites Pack includes the Festive Mash-up Pack, Halo Mash-up, Fantasy Texture Pack, Natural Texture Pack, City Texture Pack, Battle & Beasts Skin Pack, and Battle & Beasts 2 Skin Pack. And the Builder’s Pack includes Biome Settlers Skin Pack, Cartoon Texture Pack, Candy Texture Pack, Plastic Texture Pack, Pattern Texture Pack, and the Greek Mythology Mash-up. The bundle has over 230 character skins, 3 texture packs and 7 mash-up packs.
Your Minecraft worlds can be transferred from the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One Edition. And those worlds can be made up to 16 times bigger. You can order the bundle from Amazon.com AMZN +0.48% and the Microsoft Store now. It is currently available in the U.S. and Canada. Microsoft will be rolling out the bundle to the U.K. and Europe on October 11th. And then it will be rolled out to Australia and New Zealand on November 1st. The rollout for Asia and Latin America is not yet known.
Microsoft Exec Says PS4 Pro 4.2 Teraflops Is Not Enough To Do True 4K
Microsoft’s senior director of product management and planning Albert Penello recently conducted an interview with Eurogamer where he said the 4.2 teraflops in the PS4 Pro is not enough to do true 4K.
“I think there are a lot of caveats they’re giving customers right now around 4K,” said Penello via Eurogamer. “They’re talking about checkerboard rendering and up-scaling and things like that. There are just a lot of asterisks in their marketing around 4K, which is interesting because when we thought about what spec we wanted for Scorpio, we were very clear we wanted developers to take their Xbox One engines and render them in native, true 4K. That was why we picked the number, that’s why we have the memory bandwidth we have, that’s why we have the teraflops we have, because it’s what we heard from game developers was required to achieve native 4K.”
Now Xbox Scorpio games will be rendered at native 4K. And the “majority” of PS4 Pro games will be upscaled to 4K. The PS4 Pro will be available for purchase in November for $400. And the Xbox Scorpio is launching during the holiday season next year for an unknown price.
Xbox Live Games With Gold For October
Last week, Microsoft announced the four Games with Gold for the month of October: two dedicated Xbox One titles and two through the Xbox One Backward Compatibility program.
“For Xbox One, October brings two exciting ID@Xbox titles to Games with Gold with the hit (literally) title Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings and the insanely popular release from Team17, The Escapists. On the Xbox 360 (and Xbox One through Backward Compatibility), Xbox Live Gold members start the month with the post-apocalyptic thriller I Am Alive, and then follow that with some hardcore racing in MX vs ATV Reflex,” said Microsoft in a news post.
- Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings will be available between October 1-October 31 (Xbox One)
- The Escapists will be available from October 16-November 15 (Xbox One)
- MX vs ATV Reflex will be available from October 1-October 15th (Xbox 360 and Xbox One) and
- I Am Alive will be available from October 16-October 31 (Xbox 360 and Xbox One)
Microsoft And Adobe Form Cloud Partnership
Microsoft and Adobe have formed a partnership where the two companies will sell each others’ cloud products to mutual customers, according to Business Insider. Adobe will be integrating its products like Adobe Marketing Cloud, Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Document Cloud to Microsoft Azure. And Microsoft is making the Adobe Marketing Cloud the preferred marketing service for Dynamics 365. Essentially this partnership would make Microsoft and Adobe more competitive against companies like Oracle and Salesforce.com.
Microsoft Edge To Become More Secure
Today at the Ignite conference, Microsoft said that the Edge browser will become more secure. Specifically, the Windows Defender Application Guard protects Windows 10 from risky browser sessions. Microsoft said that containers used within other browsers leaves enterprises vulnerable to 90% of prevalent attacks because of the lack of hardware-based protection, reported TechCrunch.
So Windows Defender Application Guard prevents malware from affecting the rest of the network. And the malware code will run within a container. Unfortunately, Windows Defender Application Guard will not be available for enterprises until early 2017. And that will be followed by a broader rollout in late 2017.
This is not the only container initiative Microsoft is focused on. According to Business Insider, Microsoft has partnered with a container startup called Docker. Microsoft will bring Docker’s CS Docker Engine to Windows Server 2016. So Microsoft is able to provide additional services to its customers and Docker is able to reach more customers.
U.K. Watchdog Wants Microsoft To Pay For Windows 10 Machine Issues
Which, a U.K. based consumer watchdog company, is asking Microsoft to pay for damages caused by the Windows 10 upgrades. Which received “well over” 1,000 complaints in regards to the Windows 10 upgrade.
When users upgraded from Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 10, many people encountered hardware issues due to driver conflicts. And that caused printers, speakers and Wi-Fi malfunctions. Which pointed out that many of those users ended up having to pay for technical support to third party companies to fix their PCs. And Microsoft did not make this issue any easier when it aggressively forced the Windows 10 upgrade.
Which said that many people complained that when they contacted Microsoft, the Redmond giant offered poor customer service. That is why Which is asking Microsoft to “honor the rights of consumers adversely affected by the Windows 10 update.” TechnoBuffalo said that Which is asking Microsoft to pay compensation to people eligible for it under the U.K. Consumer Rights Act of 2015.
Microsoft Is Going Green In A Big Way
Microsoft has big plans to make its data centers more sustainable. At a green technology event, Microsoft’s chief environmentalist Rob Bernard said that the software giant is planning to expand the use of renewable energy and its accountability in regards to carbon footprints.
“Tremendous amounts of energy will be required to power this data-driven revolution. The leading cloud companies have a responsibility to address this energy usage. And Microsoft believes that, as large energy consumers, we have the opportunity to drive change that will benefit not only our company but the world,” said Bernard via The Register UK.
Microsoft will become more transparent about its energy consumption across regions. And Microsoft will be investing in research and development to improve IT efficiencies. Microsoft also has a goal of achieving 50% renewable energy in the next two years. The company is currently operating with about 44% renewable energy.
Here is what Microsoft said in a statement:
“We also committed to improving our energy mix, setting a goal to grow the percent of wind, solar and hydropower energy we purchase directly and through the grid to 50 percent by 2018, 60 percent early in the next decade and to an ongoing and higher percentage in years beyond that. Already, we are at 44 percent and signed a new deal to bring 20 megawatts of new solar energy onto the grid in Virginia earlier this year.”
Microsoft Reportedly Gives An Offer To Buy Twitter
According to TechCrunch, Microsoft has made an offer to acquire Twitter. That means Microsoft is one out of several potential buyers including Disney, Google, Verizon and Salesforce.com. TechCrunch suggested that Microsoft may simply be driving up the price by making a bid to keep Twitter away from Salesforce.com. It’s worth mentioning that when Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26 billion, the software giant reportedly outbid Salesforce.com.
LinkedIn Launches Learning Training Class Service
LinkedIn Learning / Photo Credit: LinkedIn
Last week, LinkedIn launched a new service called LinkedIn Learning. LinkedIn Learning is based off of Lynda.com, an online training platform that LinkedIn acquired for $1.5 billion last year.
“LinkedIn Learning combines the industry-leading content from Lynda.com with LinkedIn’s professional data and network. With more than 450 million member profiles and billions of engagements, we have a unique view of how jobs, industries, organizations and skills evolve over time. From this, we can identify the skills you need and deliver expert-led courses to help you obtain those skills. We’re taking the guesswork out of learning,” said LinkedIn in a blog post. “The pressure on individuals and organizations to adapt to change has never been greater. The skills that got you to where you are today are not the skills to prepare you for tomorrow. In fact, the shelf-life of skills is less than five years, and many of today’s fastest growing job categories didn’t even exist five years ago.”
In other LinkedIn news, the professional social network also launched a new LinkedIn Messages chatbot feature. What does the LinkedIn chatbot do? The LinkedIn chatbot makes it easier to schedule meetings.
Microsoft Monday: Windows 10 Hits 400M Machines, Cancer Research Progress, New Minecraft Bundle
Minecraft Xbox update rolls out with new blocks, Chinese Mythology Mash-Up DLC released
Developers Mojang and 4J Studios are rolling out a new content update for Minecraft on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It includes a number of new blocks, along with additions like polar bears and igloos.
It’s here! Rolling out across consoles today and tomorrow: an update that brings polar bears young and old, customisable banners, beetroots and related restorative soups, new blocks, buildings and more. You’ll be able to take shelter from the harsh weather of Arctic Biomes in new igloos, and delve beneath the earth for primordial treasures in the shape of giant fossils made of Bone Blocks. Other new blocks include: End Bricks, Grass Path, Frosted Ice, Magma, Nether Wart Block and Red Nether Brick
Minecraft Xbox owners can also purchase and download the Chinese Mythology Mash-Up DLC pack, which includes a pre-made world, along with 41 new skins and 13 musical themes for $4.99. Read original article here:
This unreleased game was ‘Minecraft’ years before ‘Minecraft’ existed
A screenshot of the hero of “Game Zero” piloting a vehicle around some environmental blocks. Unseen64 The story of its development is a rocky one, as documented by the unfinished games database Unseen64 last year. Basically, one of the developers of the massively popular “Goldeneye: 007” left that studio to form his own game development oufit called Zoonami, out of a desire to make something new and fresh. Zoonami signed a deal to develop an exclusive game for the then-new GameCube console, and “Game Zero” was born. “Game Zero,” according to Unseen64, would have been a “sandbox platformer” where players could “mine rocks and terrains, gaining items and resources to build new structures.” Sound familiar? 
Unseen64 The destructible environments would have been made out of voxels, which in layman’s terms is fairly similar to how “Minecraft” builds its worlds. The game’s levels would have been closer in scale to “Super Mario 64” than the endless environments of “Minecraft,” though. Sadly, the GameCube supposedly couldn’t handle what was being asked of it. Market realities also contributed to the game’s death, as the most popular GameCube games were much more traditional. Since “Game Zero” was never shown to anyone outside of Zoonami until late 2015, its lead developer Martin Hollis insists nobody involved with the creation of “Minecraft” could have seen it and been inspired by its ideas. Instead, it was simply a case of multiple people coming up with the same idea at different times. Sometimes, that’s just how video games work. It’s worth noting that “Minecraft” has been accused of lifting its ideas from a lesser-known game called “Infiniminer” in the past. It can be difficult to pin down just who originally came up with what ideas at times. If things had worked out just a bit differently, we might all be talking about “Game Zero” today. Maybe it would have been a huge hit, maybe it would have come and gone with little fanfare. As it stands, a handful of screenshots and some developer quotes are all we’ll likely ever have from it.This unreleased game was ‘Minecraft’ years before ‘Minecraft’ existed
Dude Spends 4.5 Years Building Fantasy Kingdom In Minecraft
Welcome to the Kingdom of Galekin, one of the most impressive Minecraft creations I’ve seen in a long time.
The work of one guy, Linard, it’s a sprawling fantasy world of hiw own creation, complete with multiple cities/settlements.
I like that rather than being a recreation of an existing place from a TV show or movie, he’s gone to the trouble of building original places that look relatively functional, with loads of housing and streets and docks, etc.
If you wanna try it out for yourself, you can find the relevant download links here.
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