Addons updated since April 6, 2009:

Note: Due to the release of the 3.1 patch, this list is very extensive. I’ve sorted it somewhat alphabetically, but due to how large the list is did not denote which addons I do not use so be careful if you are picking up new addons that they do not overlap.

A

• Auctioneer – @WoWI @Curse @OfficialSite
• AckisRecipeList – @WoWI @Curse
• Altoholic – @WoWI @Curse
• ArkInventory – @WoWI @Curse

B

• BagFu – @WoWI @Curse
• ButtonFacade – @Curse
• ButtonFacade: Trinity – @WoWI
• Bejeweled – @Curse
• Broker uClock – @Curse

C

• Clique – @WoWI
• Cosplay – @WoWI
• Cartographer – @Curse
• Chatter – @Curse

D

• DeadlyBossMods – @Curse @WoWI @OfficialSite
• Decursive @Curse

E

• eCastingBar – @WoWI @Curse

F

• FuBar-uClock – @WoWI
• FollowMe – @WoWI
• Fubar – @Curse @WoWI
• FishingBuddy – @Curse
• FlagRSP – @WoWI
• FlagRSP2 – @Curse
• Factionizer – @Curse

G

• GroupCalendar – @WoWI @Curse
• GroupFu – @WoWI @Curse
• Gatherer – @WoWI @Curse @OfficialSite
• GatherMate – @Curse

H

• HandyNotes – @Curse
• HandyNotes Vendors – @Curse
• HandyNotes Trainers – @Curse
• Handynotes Mailboxes – @Curse
• HoloFriends – @Curse

I

• IceHUD – @WoWI
• ItemRack – @WoWI

J

• -None-

K

• -None-

L

• LightHeaded – @WoWI

M

• Mapster – @WoWI @Curse
• Macaroon – @WoWI
• Macaroon Xtras – @WoWI
• Magic Runes – @WoWI
• MyRolePlay – @Curse
• Monkey Buddy – @Curse
• Monkey Quest – @Curse
• Monkey Speed – @Curse
• Monkey Clock – @Curse

N

• NotesUNeed – @WoWI @Curse
• NinjaPanel – @WoWI
• NameToggleFu – @Curse
• Necrosis LdC – @Curse
• nQuestLog @WoWAce

O

• Omen – @Curse

P

• Prat – @WoWI @Curse
• Postal – @WoWI @Curse
• PallyPower – @WoWI @Curse
• PitBull 3.0 – @WoWI @Curse
• PitBull 4.0 – @WoWAce
• Perl Classic Unit Frames – @Curse 
• Priest Friend – @Curse

Q

• Quartz – @Curse

R

• RuneWatch – @WoWI
• Recount – @Curse
• RecountFU – @Curse

S

• -None-

T

• Titan Panel – @WoWI
• TomTom – @WoWI
• Tongues – @Curse

U

• -None-

V

• -None-

W

• WIM – @WoWI @Curse

X

• X-Perl Unitframes – @WoWI @Curse

Y

• -None-

Z

• ZHunterMod – @Curse

Addons updated since March 25, 2009:

• *NinjaPanel – @WoWI
• *Magic Runes – @WoWI
• TomTom – @WoWI
• Macaroon – @WoWI
• WIM – @WoWI @Curse @Official Site
• Macaroon: Xtras – @WoWI
• TinyTip – @WoWI
• *HanyNotes Directions – @Curse
• *wowChess – @Curse
• ItemRack Fu – @Curse

*Denotes addons I don’t use but keep an eye on.

Addons updated since March 19, 2009:

• Ackis Recipe List – @WoWI @Curse
• IceHUD – @WoWI
• Lightheaded – @WoWI
• Cosplay – @WoWI
• *BagFu – @WoWI @Curse
• WoW Instant Messenger – @WoWI @Curse @OfficialSite
• *Titan Panel – @WoWI
• *Group Calendar – @WoWI
• Prat – @WoWI @Curse
• Factionizer – @Curse
• gBroker: Emote – @Curse

*Addons I don’t use but keep an eye on.

My husband linked me a post over on MMO Champion about the new rules Blizzard has posted about Addons and their development:

1. Add-ons must be free of charge.
   All add-ons must be distributed free of charge. Developers may not create "premium" versions of add-ons with additional for-pay features, charge money to download an add-on, charge for services related to the add-on, or otherwise require some form of monetary compensation to download or access an add-on.
   
2. Add-on code must be completely visible.
   The programming code of an add-on must in no way be hidden or obfuscated, and must be freely accessible to and viewable by the general public.
   
3. Add-ons must not negatively impact World of Warcraft realms or other players.
   Add-ons will perform no function which, in Blizzard Entertainment’s sole discretion, negatively impacts the performance of the World of Warcraft realms or otherwise negatively affects the game for other players. For example, this includes but is not limited to excessive use of the chat system, unnecessary loading from the hard disk, and slow frame rates.
   
4. Add-ons may not include advertisements.
   Add-ons may not be used to advertise any goods or services.
   
5. Add-ons may not solicit donations.
   Add-ons may not include requests for donations. We recognize the immense amount of effort and resources that go into developing an add-on; however, such requests should be limited to the add-on website or distribution site and should not appear in the game.
   
6. Add-ons must not contain offensive or objectionable material.
   World of Warcraft has been given a "T" by the ESRB, and similar ratings from other ratings boards around the world. Blizzard Entertainment requires that add-ons not include any material that would not be allowed under these ratings.
   
7. Add-ons must abide by World of Warcraft ToU and EULA.
   All add-ons must follow the World of Warcraft Terms of Use and the World of Warcraft End User License Agreement.
   
8. Blizzard Entertainment has the right to disable add-on functionality as it sees fit.
   To maintain the integrity World of Warcraft and ensure the best possible gaming experience for our players, Blizzard Entertainment reserves the right to disable any add-on functionality within World of Warcraft at its sole discretion. For more information…

Addons updated since March 13, 2009:

• WIM (WoW Instant Messenger) – @WoWI or @Curse or @Official Site
• Ackis Recipe List – @WoWI or @Curse
• NameToggleFu – @Curse
• Button Facade – @Curse
• Recount – @Curse
• gBroker: Emote – @Curse
• *NotesUNeed – @WoWI
• #Macaroon: Xtras – @WoWI
• #Macaroon – @WoWI

* denotes addons I don’t use but keep an eye on.

# Before updating Macaroon, please back up your saved variables and delete the old addons as there are major changes. Your layout should be preserved, but something could go wrong.

Addons updated since February 24, 2009

• WoW Instant Messenger (WIM) @Curse & @Official Site
• *HoloFriends (continued)
• ButtonFacade
• *GatherMate
• Altoholic @WoWI & @Curse
• Cosplay
• Auctioneer @Curse & @Official Site
• ItemRack
• Decursive
• *Recount
• *GroupCalendar
• LightHeaded
• *Titan Panel
• *IceHUD

* denotes addons that I do not use but keep an eye on anyway.

For some people, they might find the in-game map for World of Warcraft perfectly fine and see no need to change it. I, however, am not one of those people. When I’m installing my addons after a fresh (aka ‘vanilla’) install the first few addons are always dealing with my action bars, but the second batch of addons all have to deal with the map and navigation. To me, the default map is woefully constricting and lacking in some much needed features like mapnotes. Today let us go through and cover some of the common Map & Navigation addons as well as some possibly not as well known but I highly suggest.

Probably the first, and to some people ‘end all’, map addon is Cartographer. An ACE styled addon, it’s very modular (meaning it allows plugins to itself) and has quite a few options. Originally it was very lightweight, but after a time I found the sheer amount of ‘needed’ plugins to make the entire thing cumbersome. By far the best thing that Cartographer does is that opening up the world map does not hijack your entire screen and prevent you from doing anything else. Using Cartographer you now open up a smaller frame on your screen that contains the worldmap which you can adjust it’s size, position, and transparency. It also adds full maps for battlegrounds and instances. One of the features I like the most is removal of the “fog of war’”, meaning you can see the entire map without having to ‘discover’ the large blank sections. It also includes coordinates and allows you to add notes on your map.

Here are just a few of the many avaliable plugins for Cartographer:

• Vendors – every time you open up a vendor screen it makes a mapnote at your location to show you the name and subtitle of the vendor.
• Trainers – Open up the dialog box for a class or profession trainer and it creates a mapnote at your location with the name and type of trainer it is.
• Mailboxes – Auto note the location of a mailbox after using it.
• Quest Objectives – Makes mapnotes for locations where you complete quest objectives. Very good for dailies where you have to go get certain items from either drops or ‘gathering’.

There is also Cartographer 3.0, but don’t be fooled by the name. It’s a completely different type of map addon. I think with the release of WotLK ckknight, the author, tried to discontinue old Cartographer and only continue with Cartographer 3.0. This, however, did not go over well. The backlash was so bad that Cartographer 3.0 is now considered “experimental” and they have picked back up the old Cartographer.

With the announcement of old Cartographer being discontinued, I was desperate to find a new map addon that did everything cartographer did. After much searching I found someone who recommended Mapster.

Mapster is simple and elegant. It gives your map the same freedom that Cartographer does, but doesn’t come with all the bloat. It does not include Instance maps, but considering I hardly ever step foot on either that’s perfectly fine for me. (Also, the WoW 3.1 patch will add instance maps to the default map-set so this point will be moot.) It does include Coordinates and “Fog of War” removal, as well as adjusting your party/raid icons to better tell who is where. The one thing it does NOT have, however, is mapnotes. For those, we turn to HandyNotes.

Like Cartographer, HandyNotes is somewhat modular and has a few separate addons you can download for various purposes. HandNotes itself is a way to manually add mapnotes onto your map. The beauty comes in with the plugins:

• Quest Givers – The author pulled all the locations for –all- quest givers and added their locations to your map. No having to visit them first, they are already there. It does not monitor to see if you have already done their quests, have followup quests, or are currently doing their quests, it simply displays their location and the rest is up to you. Perfect for those who are looking to do the Lore Master achievement.
• Flight Masters – Adds very nice icons where flight masters are located. Hovering over the icon displays the connecting flight paths. Horde are in Red, Alliance in Green, Neutral in Orange. Again, comes preloaded without you having to go find them.
• Mailboxes – Works like the cartographer plugin. Marks the locations of mailboxes after you use them.
• Trainers – Displays class/trainer specific icons for each trainer you visit.
• Vendors – Marks each vendor you encounter, even displaying which type of vendor with a unique icon (ie: repairers have an anvil icon, innkeepers have a hearthstone, etc)

There are a few more out there, so feel free to explore.

So, we have our map, our mapnotes, what else?

Waypoints!

There is really only one addon for this: TomTom (not to be confused with TomTomFu, the fubar plugin).

Waypoints can be added any number of ways:

• Manual entry – If you type /way in the text box you will see the command usage displayed. Here are the examples from the download page:
  • Add new waypoint at 14.78, 23.90 in your current zone:
    /way 14.78 23.90
  • Add new waypoint in Nagrand at 45, 50:
    /way Nagrand 45 50
  • Add new waypoint with a description:
    /way 14.78 23.90 This is a waypoint!
• Click on your worldmap – It might depend on what addons you have installed, but I think it’s either Ctrl-Right Click or Alt-Click.
• Receive from another player – Both parties have to have TomTom installed. The person who already has the waypoint can right click on the waypoint and “share” it with party, guild, raid, or battleground.
• Import from another addon – Other addons will often make it easy to create waypoints. HandyNotes allows you to right click on a mapnote and add it as a waypoint in TomTom. LightHeaded has coordinates from WoWHead.com and you can click to auto import into a TomTom waypoint.

After setting a waypoint you will notice three things. First there will be a large “Crazy” waypoint arrow on your main screen showing which direction your waypoint is located based on what direction your character is facing. This arrow changes colors based on if you are going in the right direction or not and is also moveable. Second, a green dot will appear on your world map where the waypoint is. Hovering over the green dot will give you any description for the waypoint, distance to the waypoint, and the actual coordinates for the waypoint. The last thing that happens is on  your minimap. If your waypoint is within range of your minimap, then a green dot will appear where your waypoint is. If it is not, the green dot turns into an arrow telling you which direction you need to go in.

TomTom also adds coordinates to both your main world map as well as a small coordinate block that you can move around your screen. If you have any other addons that add coordinates to the map, like Mapster, you’ll need to be sure to pick one to turn off. I personally find TomTom’s ability to be more precise coordinates more useful so I stick with it and turn everything else off.

Speaking of coordinate precision, let me explain a bit to those who are a bit new to waypoints in WoW. The X.Y coordinates do not exactly translate to latitude and longitude in the real world, but there is one similarity. A basic X,Y location is actually a very large area. When you get the coordinates for, say, a quest NPC, and all it says is 19,20.. don’t expect the coordinates to land you right on top of the NPC. Just go in expecting it to be in that general area. If you can, try to get more precise coordinates like 19.30, 20.90. This will practically land you right on top of the NPC. Also, just because you can go in a straight line doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes there are paths up mountains that you have to take in order to actually reach your destination. If you can fly, well, it also doesn’t tell you what height your waypoint is actually at. If it’s a multilevel area, you could be directly above or below your target and not know it. Keep all this in mind while playing.

Now, by now we have our map addon, mapnotes, and waypoints. What else could you POSSIBLY need?

Well, as I mentioned above, there is an addon called LightHeaded that is one of the best quest helpers out there. It adds a tab to your quest log that contains information pulled from WoWHead.com. It includes not only the common “who gave this and where”, but also comments from users that can be useful like coordinates on where to go or what to expect. Considering this is a quest addon, I’m not going to talk about it much here. I might do a Quest Addon article later and talk more about it there.

If you have a gathering profession like mining or herbalism, then  you might look at getting Gatherer. Every time you tap a vein or herb, it adds that information to your database and marks it on your map. There is a prepopulated database you can download, but frankly I find it overwhelming and unhelpful. I like being able to actually look at my own personal stats and know what did I get where, and the percentages of what I did get. Honestly this isn’t a ‘essencial’ addon by anymeans. I just find it fun and useful. It also does keep track of some other things like netherdrake eggs in Shadowmoon Valley and treasure chests everywhere.

I think this pretty much wraps things up. Here are my recommendations for people to try out:

• Mapster
• HandyNotes
• HandyNotes Flightmasters
• HandyNotes Trainers
• HandyNotes Vendors
• HandyNotes Mailboxes
• TomTom
• LightHeaded
• Gatherer

What map and navigation addons do you like to use?

A while back I was poking around the internet looking for tour dates for Neil Diamond. My mom is a huge fan of his and I virtually grew up listening to his music. The first real concert I went to was the “On the Round” tour, yes.. with my mom. It was the best concert I’ve been to yet. So in poking around,  I found out from his official webpage that he actually has his own twitter account: http://twitter.com/NeilDiamond/

Well, on March 2, 2009 he sent out a tweet:

I tweet, therefore I am. If you have questions for me, I’ll try to answer some here on twitter. ~NeilDiamond

I honestly think he was surprised by the amount of questions that came pouring in. I’ve compiled the questions and answers he was able to get to. Why? Because my mom, who as stated is a huge fan, isn’t on twitter. Also many of the questions/answers are done out of order so it can be confusing if you don’t pay attention. Links are to the individual tweets where each question and answer can be found. I did not include fan responses to answers, so please feel free to check their timelines and see what else they might have said. And I know this isn’t all the questions he was asked, because he never did answer mine. Considering he has over two thousand followers, it’s not surprising!

• From lindawoods: what did you have for lunch today?
  Answer:  had some kind of chicken for lunch today
• From EmmyInMN: How long does it take for you to wind down after such an amazing tour?
  Answer:  it takes me about a year to wind down from a tour
• From bryancasey:  what did you think of the SNL skit Will Ferrel did of you
  Answer:  he did several, I love them.
• From chatsubo: Mr. Diamond – have you written your memoirs yet, I think it would be awesome to read. Thanks for the reply.
  Answer:  I’d much rather write a song than a memoir.
• From anthonycloskey: Who might you say is your favorite American songwriter born west of the Mississippi?
  Answer: is Hibbings, MN west of the Mississippi?
• From GlenHale: What was your inspiration and thoughts that led to Lady Magdaline/Yes I Will. Any chance to hear those two songs in concert.
  Answer: “Lady Magdaline” was inspired by my then wife, Marcia. “Yes I WIll” was inspired by Sammi Davis Jr’s autobiography, “Yes I Can.”
• From anthonycloskey: Is Shilo about a girl, a dog, or an imaginary friend?
  Answer: an imaginary friend
• From denny47: Neil have you ever sang with Jennifer Neetles of Suigarland
  Answer: no
• From JayRM: Did you enjoy doing Saving Silverman/working w/ Jack Black? You were great in it, and it rekindled my interest in your music!
  Answer:  I loved working on that movie. Those people are all slightly crazy but fun.
• From ShellyKramer: Wow. Somehow I don’t believe this is really you, ND
  Answer: Hold on, let me check my driver’s license. Yup. It’s me.
• From shellyslaven:  Just wondered which song you enjoyed writing the most or has the most meaning to you? Thanks!
  Answer: enjoyed writing: “Sweet Caroline”; most meaning: “I Am, I Said.”
• From dennydiamond: do you have any ideas for a new cd?
  Answer: Yes, good songs would be the best way to start and I’m working on that now.
• From blankbaby:  do you ever get tired of singing the same songs over and over again?
  Answer:  when I do, I take them out of the show and replace them with something I’m not tired of.
• From BellaKarma: What’s your favorite ride at Disneyland? =)
  Answer: Pirates of the Caribbean
• From LSchidgen: Hi from Minnesota . . . are you missing us as much as we’re missing you?
  Answer: not this time of year.
• From denny47:I saw you on the Grammys how much did you enjoy that? was great!
  Answer: I loved the performance but hated waiting around all day to do it.
• From DJMyers: Ok. I have a question. What is you’re favorite memory from the filming of the “Last Waltz” movie?
  Answer: Neil Young coming over to me and introducing himself as Neil Sedaka
• From karendinino: Hanukka or Chanukah??
  Answer:  both are correct and I use both
• From franklimpus: So when r you revisiting that Tennessee moon?
  Answer: next time I play Nashville
• From bpiana: American Idol: would you do it again?
  Answer: in a heartbeat
• From oc_submissive: Amazing Grace changed my relationship with my Mistress (capital M!) forever. Whatvus that song really about?
  Answer: the power of women.
• From Mrpolite01, TylerJ, originalrelease: What did you have for dinner? (paraphrased)
  Answer: steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus, NY cheesecake, cappuccino
• From 7thand8thTeach: what was the most memorable performance & why?
  Answer: Glastonbury in England. I’ll never forget it.
• From FOND1407: What is Knackelflerg? Seriously tho, what are some of your favorite memories of the past year?
  Answer: I have no idea, I just write ‘em. Too many memories for 140 characters
• From 6pence: Any plans for a new DVD release for concert live like Hot August Night?
  Answer: Yes, hopefully soon.
• From FADKOG:  do you love me like I love you? You had me at ‘Desiree’
  Answer: I don’t know you well enough to say I love you.
• From JohnnyOCD: fellow martin D-41 owner,does the world know how truly beautiful these baby’s are,or what?
  Answer: it’s an amazing guitar for sure.
• From supersonicstl: Do you play much electric guitar these days? Also, who were your biggest guitar playing influences?
  Answer: just got 2 new electric guitars from Gibson. Began writing my first song on electric guitar last night. I think I love it.
• From w0t: Any imminent plans to work with Rick Rubin again?
  Answer: we’ve already started on my next album
• From GlenHale: Will you come to Hawaii and perform in concert. Kauai never has seen Neil Diamond perform. I’ll set it up if you can come.
  Answer: I performed in Hawaii in 1971.
  (Oddly he has this going to “Nishka” but no such twitter user exists. I think it was a typo.)
• From mariameow: Hi Mr. Neil Diamond, What do you like to do in your free time?
  Answer: I read or spend time with my family.

With that he closed saying good night.

This review is one that I posted over on GameFly.

I’m not sure exactly why this game received such poor reviews. The only thing I can think of is that people came to this game expecting a Final Fantasy system and got a Kingdom Hearts clone. What do I mean by that? Let me try to explain.

For starters, everyone knows there is a major shortage of good RPG games on the Xbox 360. Infinite Undiscovery was, I’m sure, in most people’s mind a good stop over until the release of the next Final Fantasy game. People who have played any of the recent FF games are aware of the complex system of skills that the games have all had in the past handful of games.  Skill trees, classes, combos, and whatnot. Infinite Undiscovery has none of those. Combat is simply two attacks with possible ‘connect’ combos with one of your party members. Very much like Kingdom Hearts. Leveling up means the possibility of unlocking new skills, but you don’t have a choice in them. What skills you do have are leveled up by use. This includes both combat skills/abilities as well as the crafting skills. This can be a pain since the only way to ‘rest to full heal’ is to buy a room at the inn. I think perhaps there might be later food items you can craft that will do this, but i have yet to find a vendor that sells enough of the food items to seriously grind the low level cooking skills. There are two free game addons through Xbox Live that allow you to buy the materials you need for armor and (most) weapons from -any- vendor. Crafted items are exactly the same you can buy from the vendors, in fact most the time I found myself with better equipment through crafting than buying.

The best thing I found about the game was the story itself. Since I rented the game through GameFly I didn’t possess the booklet so I had no real idea what the game was about at all. It was disorienting at first, but I found it immensely fun because I was able to learn the story along with the main character. And what a story it was. I really loved it. Give this game a chance.

Addons updated since February 17, 2009

• *Group Calendar
• Altoholic @Curse or @WoWI
• ArkInventory @Curse or @GoggleCode or @WoWI
• *NotesUNeed @Curse or @WoWI
• *Mapster
• *FlagRSP2
• *Ackis Recipe List
• *Magic Runes

*denotes addons I don’t use but keep an eye on