Earlier, we put up a post saying that World of Warcraft's 2.4.3 test patch would be coming soon. Well, the patch isn't quite here yet, but the announced changes for the patch are. Find the 2.4.3 PTR patch notes after the jump!

If you've been busy blasting aliens to smithereens in Altar Games' UFO: Afterlight, you might want to take a breather first and read this particular article. We'd like to inform you that the latest patch for the game has just been released, v1.6. Ain't this great news? Read more on that patch after the jump.


Download: UFO Afterlight patch v1.6

Your screen is working just fine, don't worry about it. The glow you see on the left is caused by the multicolored crystals found in the Un'goro Crater in Blizzard's World of Warcraft. It's one of the many sights that can be experienced in the game. You can find the full screenshot and its details in the full article.

Astronomers believe that there's a strong possibility that life could exist on the icy Saturn's moon called Enceladus. This is due to several findings pointing out at several organic molecules and icy crystals. See the image that made NASA and the astronomers believe after the jump!

Wondering what you have to do to make the most of your time leading up to patch 2.4's public release on World of Warcraft? We managed to pick up a handy list that should give you an idea of what sort of items you may want to start stockpiling. It's available for reading over in the full article.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft was recently given the task of investigating the plumes of water vapor and ice crystals found erupting from the South Pole of Saturn's Enceladus. Any information gathered from this latest space mission will look into the nature of this strange phenomenon, as well as the possibility of the tiny moon being able to sustain life. More details about this in our full article.

A Japanese trailer for the DS remake of Square Enix's Final Fantasy IV has finally been released into the wilds of the Internet. Thanks to GameTrailers and whoever invented the embed feature, you can check it out below all these introductory blocks of text.

From what this blogger remembers about the game as well as the limited Japanese that I am in command of, this trailer takes place either right after or right before the Red Wings have taken the Water Crystal. The "right before" idea is reinforced by the final scene in the trailer, which shows an army going towards a mountain.

It features Cecil, still in his bad-ass Dark Knight get-up, talking to Rosa about (now this is just guesswork) his misgivings over Baron's actions in regards to their merciless acquisition of the Crystals. Cecil talks about the wizard village of Mysidia, which houses the Water Crystal. Kain Highwind also makes a cameo, looking on as the couple talks.

Judging by the quality of the graphics, Final Fantasy IV for the DS will be one heck of a beautiful game to play. Final Fantasy IV for the Nintendo DS handheld system is slated for release in Japan this year. Hopefully a North American release will also be announced soon.

The Final Fantasy XI development team has released some new info on the game's upcoming version update on PlayOnline's official Final Fantasy XI website. Read on for a quick look at some of the additions, fixes, and supplements included in the upcoming update.

New missions will of course be included in the update, and text display issues during chocobo races will also be addressed. In addition, players will also be able to get condensed updates from trainers. Players will also be able to feed their chocobos with multiple servings once the update goes live.

Speaking of chocobos, Choco-gals will also begin offering chocobo rentals from the teleport crystals in the Eastern Altepa desert, the Yhoator Jungle, and from the leypoint in the WaENom Woodlands. New NPCs have also been stationed in Bastok, San d'Oria and Windurst offering transportation to Aht Urhgan Whitegate. Of course, it's not free, but the fee will reportedly be minimal.

The level restriction on players allowed to use the outpost teleportation services located in Bastok, Windurst, and San d'Oria will be lowered. A fee adjustment is also being considered.

If your girlfriend/wife/life partner is a techie with a hankering for shiny stuff, then you better pray she doesn't see Phillips and Swarovski's new collaboration. The electronics giant and the world-famous crystal company have joined forces to release a line of "fashionable tech accessories" called Active Crystals.

According to Geeks of Doom, the Active Crystals line has four sets of headphones out: Space, Icon, the Amazone in-ear headphones, and the Mirage ear hook headphones. All of the headphones are made of polished silver metal embedded with crystals.

The line also has high-fashion USB memory keys. These 1GB keys are all password protected and come in four varieties: Heart Ware, Heart Beat, Lock In, and Lock Out. The first two are pendants that open to reveal a USB key, while the latter two models are attached to a keychain.

Products in the Active Crystals line will be available this August at Swarovski, department, and consumer electronics retail stores.

In 2000, two miners for the Industrias Peñoles mining company were excavating a tunnel when they came upon what turned out to be the greatest display of underground treasure. The Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of Crystals) or "The Sistine Chapel of crystals", as fondly called by geologist Juan Manuel Garcia-Ruiz, was discovered 300 meters (1,000 feet) below Naica mountain in the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico.

Home to some of the largest natural crystals ever found, the cave hides in its refuge translucent gypsum beams that reach up to 36 feet (11 meters) long, weighing in up to 55 tons. It truly was a natural marvel inasmuch as it was a mystery.

   

Fast track to 2007, and the mystery has been solved. Garcia-Ruiz of the University of Granada, Spain, has claimed that he has finally unlocked the mystery beneath all those shiny, shimmery, splendid gigantic crystals. Studying tiny pockets of fluid trapped inside, Garcia-Ruiz found out that the crystals zoomed up to that size because of the mineral-rich water,which engulfed the crystals at a constant temperate range of 136 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius).

What this combo does is to dissolve the mineral anhydrite into the gypsum, that soft mineral which can be held responsible for the formation of crystals in the cave. Another factor adding in to the equation is the volcanic activity that started out some 26 million years ago, creating Naica mountain and stacking it to the brim with high-temperature anhydrite (anyhydrous: lacking water) form of gypsum.

  

As the magma cooled down, so did the temperature to 58 degrees Celsius. Because of this, the anhydrite started to dissolve and gradually mixed in sulfate and calcium molecules to the water. These lay deposited for millions of years within the cave as huge selenite gypsum crystals.

Incredibly, "There is no limit to the size a crystal can reach," says Garcia-Ruiz. We suggest you click on the thumbnails to better appreciate these beauties.