Warlords of Draenor Have Garrisons?

The November 13th expansion pack for WOW features garrisons.  How do they work?  Here is Blizzard's four part answer.
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/14001702

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/15978457/garrison-preview-part-2-all-buildings-great-and-small-9-25-2014

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/16218937/garrison-preview-part-3-who-are-you-calling-your-people-10-9-2014

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/16788662/garrisons-part-4-take-your-place-on-the-front-lines-11-13-2014

Blizzard has a Guide to Garrisons if you don't want to bother to read all the above.
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/garrisons/

WOWHead has a nice summary article.
http://www.wowhead.com/news=241230/guide-to-garrisons-in-warlords-of-draenor-buildings-plots-followers-missions-and

If you are interested in getting ready for the expansion, the background downloader is already available here.
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/16043924/warlords-of-draenor-patch-602-background-download-begins-9-23-2014

If you want to pick up items that are going to be removed, here is the listing.
http://www.wowhead.com/news=242815/preparing-for-6-0-guide-to-removed-mounts-pets-transmog-gear-titles-achievements


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First Stage of Cataclysm Downloader Available

Looks to me like Blizzard wants Cataclysm out about the time of BlizzCon (October 22-23).  The first stage of the Patch 4.0.1 is available to download in the background.  According to the comments here, it is buggy and incomplete and 1.58 GB.  In the Comments Zef adds this tip, "If you are having trouble opening the downloader from the launcher window, just find the 'BackgroundDownloader.exe' file in your World of Warcraft folder and open it directly."

http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/16/patch-4-0-1-now-available-on-background-downloader/

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Cataclysm Beta Updates Streaming Launcher

WOW Head reports that the next beta version will update the streaming launcher that downloads game info.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=167434

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Cataclysm Beta Uploader IMPORTANT UPDATE

There is a new launcher/uploader/downloader program that will be added to the Cataclysm Beta shortly.  It will arrive for all players when Cataclysm arrives this fall sometime.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=165181

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR OCEANIA PLAYERS:  Apparently to test the beta of this program, you have to erase your Cataclysm beta and download everything all over again. Details here about how to avoid the broken download URL.

Remember to be very careful when you get an email list this as your WOW email address login is known to every spamner or con artist on the planet.
http://pwnwear.com/2010/08/05/new-launcherinstaller-available-for-beta/


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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Review: Steam's OS X Client UPDATED

How Valve's brand new Mac client downloader works in real life just after release.  The article is by a Valve user (and critic) who points out the service is brand new and that a lot of its success depends on game developers making their games playable on the Mac as well as the PC.
http://ctrlclick.com/2010/05/steam-comes-to-os-x-a-bit-bumpy-but-welcome-nevertheless/

UPDATE:  Steam is now releasing Prima Guides via their service.  They can be viewed inside the game and also read outside the game.  Interesting development!  Details, including the games with guides available so far, here.  Thanks to Kotaku for pointing this out.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3179417

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Authentication Servers Down and Background Downloader Active

Last night Blizzard announced the authenticator servers would be down for maintenance late overnight.  They should be up by 4 a.m. EST.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/17/authentication-maintenance/

Along the same lines, the Patch 3.3.3 background downloader is active with new data.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/16/patch-3-3-3-background-downloader-active-with-new-data/

If you are curious about all the changes in this new large patch, refer to the information here.  Bascially, you can expect changes to Wintergrasp and the Battleground system, changes to the Auction House, changes to quest tracking, and changes to the dungeon finder system, particularly to the Vote Kick system.
http://www.wowhead.com/?blog=145532

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Patch 3.3.3 Downloader Active

WOW Insider is reporting the downloader for Patch 3.3.3 is active.  They don't expect the patch to show up for a few weeks, however.  Not today, in other words.  By the way, the article has a link to their constantly updated article about what's planned for this new big patch.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/09/patch-3-3-3-background-downloader-active/

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com