Several reports are now circulating about Valve now accepting beta applicants for Steam on Mac. The perspective applicant should have experience with Mac gaming, own a Mac (or 3), and like Valve! You can read more here. If this sounds like you be sure to sign up for a Steam account. Visit Steampowered.com to signup and put your name in the hat too!
Good Luck!
Tag Archives: Mac
Technology: Steam for Mac Coming in May April
This story has been picked up and kicked around a lot lately, but I just had to post because of this part of the article:
In addition, the article revealed that Windows users who already have a Steam account will be able to re-download games using their existing keys on the Mac. If true, that means PC users could easily migrate to the Mac and play their favorite Valve games — including Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 — without having to buy them again for a new platform.
OMG, How cool is that?! Have a read of the rest of the article here: Apple Insider
[UPDATE]
MacRumors.com has just got confirmation on Steam release for April! See the story here: MacRumors.com
Discussion: More cool math … Valve + Mac + iPad = Awesomer iPad Gaming
I’m not trying to be just a lunatic, or too crazy, but it seems to me that some of the games on Steam, would run just great on the iPad given what we’ve seen demo wise. That said, when i see an article like this and I think about the possibilities for Mac users, it dawned on me “How cool would it be to extend the iPad platform and turn it into a gaming powerhouse?”
I’m mean it’s not like there’s a vastness,nay abundance, nay a Plethora of games for the iPhone that can be converted to native resolution on the iPad, but to have STEAM on there? Of course, we could also be seeing OnLive coming to the iPad. Oh my…how exciting is all this?!
I for one look forward to seeing the changes that come with such a device, and other such devices.
Rumor: Steam + Mac + Valve = Pure Awesome?
Valve might be releasing Steam for Mac sometime in the near future. Have a look over at MacRumors.com for the pictures.
I must say, I like this one best:
Shocker: Steve Jobs Hates Flash
I have been thinking that Steve Jobs and Adobe have been at each other’s throats for a while now, but this article at macrumors.com is again enlightening. I’m kinda pissed at Adobe if they are in anyway trying to delay HTML5, but now this seems to be actually escalating into a bit of a verbal war between the companies more formally than before.
Here’s a shot Adobe Fired Back with recently as well about the subject. It has me wondering if there is a middle ground and if there will actually be a winner or if we will all suffer through this together with no clear resolution anytime soon.
Take care all, and Oh yeah, maybe we should all pop some corn to sit back and watch this unfold. Geeez!
Gaming: TellTale Games has Launched a Ton of Mac Games!
This is pretty cool for Mac users, gamers, and those of us that even tread on the thin ice of Hackintoshes.
Here’s the letter from the site:
You can also click the image to go to their site and vote for the next game to go Mac yourself!
Discussion: First Gen iPad … Buy or No Buy? What I really want.
Been a while since I posted any articles on the iPad, and I thought I’d bring up the discussion again since we’re nearing the middle of February and we’re still no where near a launch date, I have speculated for a bit that prices might come down, but let’s start the discussion.
1. I want a subsidy – This will help everyone get an iPad, and I might be able to just add-on to my current family plan for this, and yeah, I’d probably just get the 15$/month plan, and have an awesome excuse to use it at StarBucks, just make that damn VPN work with custom crazy Microsoft VPNS, ok Apple?
2. I want a front camera – While I’m at StarBucks, I might actually wanna chat with someone, like those now remote workers I have to deal with because we’ve all been kicked out of our offices, instead of losing our jobs. And despite what some article says, I’ll believe it when I see it.
3. I want a global document sharing API – I can only imagine what DropBox on the iPad would be like if I have iWork and iBooks, etc, that could be truly powerful and awesome, it’s not that I don’t like MobileMe, I just think DropBox is simpler. If there was a filesharing API, it could make things like sharing with the iPad a lot easier, despite the new API rumors, I still want this registered!
4. I need wireless iTunes Sync – This isn’t to be said that iTunes should *host* my music, but I want to be able to have some sort of sync with iTunes either in the form of HomeShare, or actual sync over wifi, including scheduling, contacts, photos, the works. Yes, I really want this and I think this device can just do it. Even if it were Mac exclusive.
5. May I please have handwriting – This is just an obvious capability, but damn, I really should be able to somehow write on the iPad. I mean come on, it’s a tablet, I have fingers, and I’m *not* surprised about the touchy keyboard. I *would* be surprised about some Newton style writing on this thing. (only better of course)
6. I want iPhone Tethering with the iPad – that is the iPad and the iPhone will work together to tether while I’m on the road. I would want this functionality if I have an original iPad (1G) and only had WIFI, and no 3G. I might even decide to pay extra…hmmmmm?! (You listening AT&T, Apple, Verizon?)
7. I would really like more storage on the base model – Everyone 16GB is nothing. We all can put 16GB of videos we bought off of iTunes in a bout 12 minutes. That’s almost useless without a proper remote storage and streaming technology on a device with limited storage capacity, MobileMe not withstanding … Again.
8. Maybe remote storage with iPhone 4G? – I would love to be able to use the new iPhone, with higher storage capacity and device capabilities, to somehow integrate more closely with the iPad platform. If mobile computing and such is the goal, then this sort of functionality should just be rote. Please, allow my limited storage capacity device to use a share or something from my iPhone. It would be awesome, and an impossible to break “Killer iPad App.”
9. Please help me VPN and sync to Exchange via Exchange proxy and import self signed certificates – This is a common scheme in the enterprise space. Companies have Microsoft stuff left and right, and they use self-signed certificates also. Importing this certificate for use with Exchange would be awesome with the iPad’s formfactor and nifty new apps.
So, I hope that TUAW.com is correct with this article about the possibility or at least speculation, of iPad price drops. If you look at the link you’ll see that this is very important aspect could be true, or at least happen, but the problem with this is that it’s only one of the 9 things I posted. Hmm..percentage, 1/9th is … 11.1 percent. And that might still happen, but it will be a long shot at launch.
Let’s all keep our fingers collectively crossed, and maybe I’ll be at StarBucks with an awesome 64GB iPad by July!
Flashback: What people used to think about iPod.
I saw a piece over at Edible Apple about the original iPod release it really got me thinking. Well, ok, remembering is probably more accurate. Those of us in tech-land, cyberspace, whatever you wanna call it, understand things seem to get dead before they are really classified as “old.” After taking a look at the original iPod discussions, it sounds like more of the same for iPad, and perhaps that’s where I differ with some in the industry as a whole. I remember the first 20MB HDD I had and how just ridiculously awesome it was *AND* it cost $300 bucks, was used, and proprietary to Seagate, controller and all. It was way faster than floppies of course, and I could put a crapload of stuff on that stinkin’ hard drive, and then Windows 2.0. Awesome. (not really, but it was sort of cool at the time) Don’t even get me started about Desqview, Tandy, and Amigas, but I digress.
Let me get to the point here: You know, it’s been a pretty long time since the iPod v1.0 release. I wasn’t mad at Apple about it, but I was skeptical about how well this “new MP3 Player” would do and “Why the hell did we need another one?” and “That’s all it does?” I couldn’t freakin’ exist the way I do today without my iPhone. No way, no how, and I don’t even have a 3GS. (I do have 3G though, so I am happy about that at least. ^_^) So when I read This Article over at Edible Apple, it’s no surprise that we can apply the same “fast paced cyberspace tech-race keeping up with the joneses” mentality with the iPad.
I for one, think we are on the verge of a new wave of computing prowess and usefulness. It’s one of the reasons that the iPhone is so popular and *why* Apple locks things down. The “KISS” method, right? Keep it simple stupid! Well, the iPad is very similar in it’s usefulness and even if a new iPad like device comes out with OSX on it, it will not be in the same league as iPhone/iPod Touch devices because it will do something the iPad wasn’t meant to do. I don’t like that Steve or whoever at apple kicks us in the crotch every time we wanna jailbreak or whatever, and tinker with our devices, but I can understand the need to keep support costs low by locking down a “mass market” device that *most* people don’t have the ability to hack on, let alone even the desire to hack on it. They do indeed just want a device that works, and I think, regardless of Flash support, and all that BS, that the iPad is going to be just as successful in changing how we compute as the original iPod was at changing how we listen… to music at least, even if not one another.
Look Here: More iPad, but with a twist
The rumor mill seems to be working over time about iPad, I think because so many people wanted this thing to be so ridiculously awesome and it’s only really cool.
An example of this “coolness” can be described a bit here: http://www.appadvice.com – Good editorial with a bit of a fresh perspective, and if you can tell, still seems to be only part of the strategy for Apple.
A more interesting and almost perfectly understandable rumor is found at http://www.TechCrunch.com – This rumor has an interesting perspective on what apple might be doing and almost makes perfect sense to me. Steve is so good at marketing, this is entirely plausible to 1. get the foot in the door with the original iPad, and 2. barge through said door with an awesomely cool device with a real touchy Mac OSX.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed and if it turns out to be true, it will be one happy day for anyone who loves Apple, or just plain likes the concept Apple is pursuing. Good luck to us all.
Austin Gonyou's Tech Blog 