I just released a new version, available here. A few people sent me feedback, prompting me to update it more quickly than I expected.

Changes in version 1.1:

• Added extra feedback during installing and uninstalling indicating progress.
• Added support for recognizing Ace minor version numbers.
• Fixed an issue with correctly identifying the currently installed version of some add-ons.

If you play World of Warcraft on a Mac, and use Ace-based add-ons, head on over to my software page. I just released a little program called WoWAceUpdater that manages Ace-based add-ons. It syncs with http://files.wowace.com and compares your installed add-ons and versions with the latest available versions. One click update, install or uninstall, with an elegant Mac OS X interface.

Why did I write this? Primarily because the alternatives either didn’t work, or looked horrible compared to the shiny goodness of Mac OS X.

Oh, and you need to be running Leopard. Apple added so many Leopard-only features to Xcode that they made it virtually impossible for developers to want to support older releases of Mac OS X. Bad for customers, good for shareholders. By the way, if you haven’t yet, go buy Leopard, you won’t be disappointed.

I started playing with Comic Life the other day, which comes free with Intel Macs, and was pretty impressed. It makes comic creation surprisingly fun and easy, provided you have the source material. I thought I’d see what I could produce with it using World of Warcraft for the source material.

Click on the image for the full size version.

Here’s what I used in the production:

• World of Warcraft
• WOWModelView
• Comic Life
• Photoshop
• Large amounts of time

WOWModelView is crucial to be able to stage characters. It’s too hard to do that in-game. Unfortunately, the Mac version seems like it is not being maintained. Luckily, the source-code is available.

Big Red Kitty is an amusing World of Warcraft blog focussed on Hunters. BRK recently requested some data on the popularity of Hunter builds, and I am compelled to provide. Damh’s post on BRK asked about the most popular builds for Hunters, as opposed to the most popular talents. My data on the most popular talents for Hunters can be found here.

Read on for the details…

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This next post in my series on mining the World of Warcraft Armory looks at the crafting professions and secondary skills.

Some interesting statistics:

• Mining is the most popular profession, with 36.3% of level 70 characters taking it, followed by Herbalism at 29.9%. Jewelcrafting is the least popular profession with only 8.8% of characters investing in it at level 70.
• The most popular pair of talents is Alchemy and Herbalism, with 17.4% of level 70 characters taking the pair, followed by Blacksmithing and Mining at 13.3%.
• Currently, only 15.8% of level 70 characters have the ability to ride an epic flying mount. 95.8% of level 70 characters have the ability to ride a regular flying mount.
• Most characters don’t invest in cooking. 25.6% of level 70 characters have cooking 300 or better, and only 4.1% of characters have cooking 375. This is somewhat surprising.
• Even fewer characters invest in fishing. Only 13.3% of characters have fishing 300 or better, and 3.3% of characters have fishing 375. This is not surprising.
• Nearly everyone invests in first-aid, and the vast majority (79.7%) of level 70 characters have first-aid 375.

Read on for the details…

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The analysis of the data I collected from the World of Warcraft Armory continues.

Here are some interesting Hunter weapon statistics:

• Valanos’ Longbow is the most popular Hunter ranged weapon with 31.6% of Hunters using it.
• 40.7% of Hunters using a two-handed weapon use the Sonic Spear. This makes the Sonic Spear the most popular two-handed melee weapon for Hunters by a large margin.
• Only 18.7% of Hunters dual-wield.
• Stellaris is the most popular main-hand weapon for dual-wielding Hunters. 15.6% of dual-wielding Hunters use it as their main-hand weapon, 10% use it as their off-hand weapon, and 4.7% equip one in each hand.
• The Ceremonial Warmaul Blood-blade is the most popular off-hand weapon for dual-wielding Hunters. 10.4% of dual-wielding Hunters use it as their off-hand weapon, and 4.7% use it as their main-hand weapon.

As a dual-wielding Hunter, I’m not sure what to make of the fact that only 18.7% of my brethren are doing the same thing.

Read on for the details…

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Based on the data I’ve collected from the World of Warcraft Armory, I’ve generated the most popular Priest talents.

This is the last of the posts in this series. You can find the data for Hunters, Druids, Warlocks, Mages, Paladins, Warriors, Shamans, and Rogues in my recent posts.

Read on for the details…

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Based on the data I’ve collected from the World of Warcraft Armory, I’ve generated the most popular Rogue talents.

Read on for the details…

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Based on the data I’ve collected from the World of Warcraft Armory, I’ve generated the most popular Shaman talents.

Read on for the details…

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Based on the data I’ve collected from the World of Warcraft Armory, I’ve generated the most popular Warrior talents.

Read on for the details…

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