Valve to bring major games to Mac with Source gaming engine and Steam gaming service.

After its superb teaser campaign last week, Valve has officially announced that it will bring its games engine, Source, and distribution service, Steam to the Mac platform.

“We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation,” said John Cook, Director of Steam Development.

“We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360. Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates. Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients. The first Mac Steam client will be the new generation currently in beta testing on Windows.”

Action puzzler Portal will be the first Valve game launched for Mac alongside the PC version.

“Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step,” said Josh Weier, Portal 2 Project Lead. “We’re always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac.”

The existing library of Valve games which includes Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike and Half-Life will be available in April.

For more information head to www.valvesoftware.com

Are you excited about top games coming to Mac? Will you be making use of Steam when it’s launched? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @icreatemagazine

Close inspection of the new iPad advert, which aired during this year’s Oscars, reveals the same glinting area at the top of the iPad we’ve noticed before, right in the spot where a camera should be.

The still below has been tweaked in Photoshop to reveal a small dot which resembles the look and placement of cameras found in the latest iMac’s and MacBooks.

We noticed the same thing during the iPad announcement event (below)

We have also seen a few leaked casing images with holes that fit the iSight camera from a MacBook precisely.

With news that the iPad/iPhone SDK also includes sections for utilising a front facing camera, it seems likely there will eventually be a camera in the iPad whether at launch or in a later revision.

Are we clutching at straws? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter @icreatemagazine

Thanks to @razorianfly on Twitter for bringing this to our attention

Sadly, that day has yet to come.

While new Mac models provide the power, in both processing and graphics capabilities, to run the latest games, developers have continued to be cautious when it comes to porting to the Mac. The result? We only see strategy titles, indie games and the bestselling PC titles of the past year or so.

Aspyr and Feral Interactive are doing their best with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Rome: Total War to reinvigorate use of the colon in the English language as well as bring the big hitters to the Mac, and iCreate friends and neighbours at Virtual Programming continue to produce quality with Flatout, Galactic Assault and Championship Manager among its releases.

But it’s today’s rumours of Valve Software’s planned entry into the market that has gaming fans so excited.

It all began with whispers that the Mac grapevine of the currently PC-only game developer and distributor was thinking of moving its stable of games, which include Left 4 Dead and Half Life, to Mac. These rumours have now been given credence with one of the most intelligent, Apple-centric teaser campaigns for a Mac launch outside of Apple HQ. A series of images featuring major Valve gaming franchises have gone viral via six websites with clever Apple-related hints included in each.

The code translated – It’s likely Mac users will soon be able to download and play Valve games via its Steam online distribution service.

Many sites note that this significant sneak peak is well timed given the Game Developers Conference this month where an announcement could likely be made. It’s also worth noting that Apple’s Mac Pro and MacBook Pro lineup are due for an update which could bring about new graphics cards and other enhancements to improve their gaming credentials.

It’s not yet known whether the lure of the iPod touch and its success in the games market brought about Valve’s change of heart from a historically Windows-focussed standpoint or if Apple’s recent surges in market share have gone any way to make dollar signs flicker in the eyes of Valve’s directors but changes are certainly afoot. The possibilities of a partnership between Apple and Valve are not outside the realms of possibility either.

The viral images in order:

Games website Rock, Paper, Shotgun received the first image featuring a reworking of Apple’s first ever print advert for the Macintosh.

Mac Rumors received an image of Half-Life character Gordon Freeman sporting an Apple logo on his chest

MacNN picked up a render taking off Apple’s Get A Mac adverts featuring turrets from Valve games Portal and Team Fortress 2

Shacknews, another games site, discovered an iPod silhouette ad-style image of a Team Fortress 2 character in its inbox

Eurogamer received an email attachment playing on Apple’s Think Different campaign using a character from Valve’s Left 4 Dead

Macworld’s email provided the final piece of the puzzle, a Half Life character acting out a sequence from Apple’s 1984 commercial.

]]> http://www.icreatemagazine.com/news/valve-launches-the-best-mac-teaser-campaign-outside-of-cupertino/feed/ 0 http://www.icreatemagazine.com/news/o2-preparing-for-ipad/ http://www.icreatemagazine.com/news/o2-preparing-for-ipad/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:16:36 +0000 Jimmy Hayes http://www.icreatemagazine.com/?p=3355 News on the pricing and availability of the iPad has been pretty scant in the last few weeks and we were beginning to fear that we would hear nothing at all – apart from the possible bottle-neck in production which may affect availability (9to5Mac) upon release. That was until we spotted this press release from O2, which updates not only the Sim-only offerings for the iPhone but also their mobile broadband pricing:

O2 today launches a range of new value-for-money mobile & Mobile Broadband tariffs including new sim only for iPhone with inclusive Visual Voicemail, unlimited text messages, data and Wi-Fi from just £15 per month.

Tariffs for iPhone and all Smartphone customers

Customers who already have an iPhone or are just happy with their existing Smartphone can choose from a range of sim only tariffs starting at just £15 per month for 300 minutes, unlimited UK texts, data & Wi-Fi on a 12-month sim only contract, or from £20 per month on a 30-day rolling contract.

Those customers who don’t ever want to worry about how many minutes or texts or how much data they have used, O2 introduces a set of tariffs offering unlimited UK calls, texts and data from just £45 a month.

iPhone customers who want to use their iPhone as a modem can do so and not pay more than £2 per day with O2’s newest Internet Tethering Bolt On.

Tariffs for non-Smartphone customers

Non-Smartphone customers who are happy to keep their current phone can choose from a range of sim only tariffs starting at just £10 for 100 minutes per month with unlimited texts on a 30-day contract.

In addition, O2 has launched a set of tariffs offering unlimited UK calls and texts from just £40 a month.

“Customers’ habits are changing, with more texts being sent and data being used than ever before. We have listened to our customers and introduced a range of new tariffs with unlimited calls, texts and data offering real value for money. We have also introduced a new £2 per day Internet Tethering Bolt On as we know our iPhone customers want to snack when they are using their iPhone as a modem. We have always been the home for texts and now want to extend that to being home for data.” said Sally Cowdry, O2 Marketing Director.

Mobile Broadband

O2 today launches new mobile broadband tariffs, designed for ease of use.

Customers can now choose a 1GB per month tariff with unlimited Wi-Fi on either a 30-day contract or an 18-month contract.

This is in addition to O2’s existing 3GB with unlimited Wi-Fi tariff for £15 per month.  In addition, customers signing up to any 18-month 3GB mobile broadband tariff will receive their first 3 months free.

Our excessive usage policy and standard terms apply for all these offers, see o2.co.uk for details.

There is no specific mention of the iPad but the change in mobile broadband pricing can be seen as a strategic move towards having competitive rates should there be a lack of UK exclusivity. In theory the iPad is going to be completely unlocked, so a Sim from any operator will work in it – but that doesn’t mean that Apple or a mobile operator wont seek to tie in a deal preventing other operators from offering the device. As yet we’ve heard nothing about UK pricing  – other than a speculative rumour we reported on last week (link). An official announcement still seems way off. We can only assume that there are negotiations still happening and that we’ll all be notified in good time. In the mean time we’ll have to cling to little snippets like this.

Tweetie
Tweetie has, for a long time, been the Twitter client of choice in the iCreate office because it performs most of the tasks you need simply and effectively. It’s unobtrusive and can be set to notify you of new direct messages and mentions. The iPhone version is just as good.

Twitterific
This client provides a clean way to manage your tweets in a sexy opaque window that includes all tweets, DMs and mentions in a single flow. The window can be dragged to any size you require making it perfect for the busy desktop and the Dock icon shows how many unread tweets you currently have.

TweetDeck
Rather than a simple in-line list, TweetDeck shows off your tweets in columns featuring your lists, direct messages and mentions. It also offers support for Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace and can play YouTube video.

Echofon
We’ve been flirting with this app a little more of late and are finding it quite handy. The main window is clean and a slick drawer slides out when more information on a user is required. Cute icons appear in tweets to show images or conversations between you and others. If used in conjunction with the iPhone version of Echofon, tweets are synced between the two.

Socialite
Socialite, like TweetDeck, handles more than one social networking service and does a damn good job. As a Twitter client it’s well designed and offers everything you could want, including a great “profile peek” feature for following users without following them. It also boasts the most attractive icon.

If you ever thought of doubting the power of the App Store, then you should read this. PopCap, makers of the incredibly addictive Plants vs. Zombies, has sold over 300,000 copies on nine days, netting the company over $1 million.

If you haven’t yet played Plants vs Zombies, its a tower defence style game with a cool twist. Its incredibly absorbing and addictive and, as we said earlier, great value. Here is a link to the app – give it a try!

So, as you may have seen from my Tweets and will doubtless hear on the podcast this month, I bought myself a new 27-inch Core i5 iMac which arrived yesterday. As the day went on and my excitement grew, I began building a list of the apps I was planning to install first and, as I promised the Twitter faithful, I am now publishing them here.

This is by no means a definitive list of apps to install on a new Mac (some aren’t in fact apps at all), just those that I felt were essential enough to be picked first and some that just suited my new 16:9 screen.

If you’re interested, beyond these utilities I also installed Aperture 3, Logic Studio, iWork, Civilization, Microsoft Office and Reason as well as transfered an obscenely large iTunes library of movies and TV Shows (that I’ll now need to buy again in HD) and music.

In no particular order (other than maybe AppleJack) here they are, the first 10 apps on my new iMac:

AppleJack A product you hope you’ll never need but could be a lifesaver. AppleJack is a text-based trouble shooting tool that can be invoked any time your Mac wont launch into its GUI (Graphical User Interface). The best part about AppleJack is that you don’t even need a system disc to boot from in order to repair permissions and cache files which could be causing your boot problems. An essential tool to install and forget until you need it. http://applejack.sourceforge.net/

Adium This all-in-one chat tool brings the instant messaging tools you use most often into one app. The interface is customisable in numerous ways and you can group your contacts by friends, family, co-workers etc. Supports all the favourites including; iChat, AIM, MSN and Yahoo. http://adium.im/

Tweetdeck I’m normally a fan of Atebits’ Tweetie as a Twitter client but, with so much screen real estate at my disposal, I decided to give this wide Adobe Air app a try. I’m excited to see Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace integration is included and the organisation of direct messages, tweets and replies into different columns makes the whole Twitter process a great deal easier. www.tweetdeck.com/

Skype You know what it does, it’s clean simple and easy. Perfect for saving money on international calls and even better for video and audio podcasts when you can’t be in the same place as your co-hosts or guests. www.skype.com

VLC A free and very obliging media player that will play just about any media file you throw at it. It’s open source which means it’s updated regularly. I had a quick blast of The Hangover in HD using VLC and it worked flawlessly. www.videolan.org/vlc/

Perian If you can’t handle using a video player outside of Apple’s default QuickTime, you should investigate Perian. I downloaded this in seconds and within a couple of clicks I was playing an AVI inside the beautiful new QuickTime X interface. Mac purists rejoice. http://perian.org/

Cooliris With such a massive screen, browsing Google Images just got a whole lot more entertaining. Cooliris is a plugin for Safari and Firefox that displays your searches as a wall of images that you can scroll through smoothly until you find what you’re looking for. It’s a bit flashy but then who cares if it looks great, huh? http://www.cooliris.com/

Flip4Mac Back to the video department, this is another set and forget tool that simply allows QuickTime (and Quick Look) to play those annoying WMV (Windows Media Video) files that you see from time to time. www.flip4mac.com

Fusion 3 Following Flip4Mac, there’s a slightly more expensive alternative for using Windows file formats and that’s by running Windows itself. With a copy of Windows (XP upward) and Fusion 3 you can run Mac OS X and Windows side by side, even seamlessly using Windows apps and native Mac software alongside one another. It was a little unnerving seeing Windows 7 up so large but it can be handy to dip into Microsoft’s OS now and again, if only to realise that the grass is definitely not greener. www.vmware.com

UnRarX If you download a folder of files with the .RAR extension you can use this tool to piece them back into the original file. Rar files are favourites for torrent users (keep it legal guys) who split large files into smaller pieces for easier sharing. These files are sometimes password protected which UnRarX also caters for. www.unrarx.com

As I said, this is by no means a definitive list and I welcome you to add your favourites in the comments section below or via Twitter to me (@benharvell) or the magazine (@icreatemagazine)

140,000 apps on the App Store and 10,000 added every week. How are consumers and developers expected to keep up? PositionApp.

In the week Apple began culling overtly sexual software from the iTunes Store, a utility called PositionApp seems an unlikely contender to fare well… but it has.

Over the last fortnight we’ve been using this great app by our friends at ustwo to chart app positioning on the App Store. PositionApp not only shows the current position of any application in the top 300 but also shows historical data so you can chart its rise and fall over time. The app has a dual personality too, not only is it great for consumers wanting to see what’s hot, it’s also ideal for developers who want to quickly chart the movement of their own app across iTunes App Stores worldwide.

PositionApp has a slick interface that allows users to easily find apps, track their positions, download and share them with friends. They can even see historical chart information up to six months prior.

The app was developed in association with AdMob, the mobile advertising specialist, and was widely anticipated within the industry leading to substantial funding which has allowed the app to be offered for free for the first two months. It’s rare that an application of this calibre is made available for free and even more surprising given ustwo’s recent app pricing protest which saw the company to raise the cost of its 59p apps on the App Store, but PositionApp is picking up the right kind of download numbers already.

This week the application leapt up the charts appearing in the new and noteworthy sections of the US, Canadian and South African App Stores and as a Staff pick in the UK. As a result, PositionApp has skyrocketed to number five in the US Utility App charts. How do we know this? We used PositionApp of course.

Get PositionApp while it’s free here

Check out more from the infamous yet irrepressible ustwo here

CEO Les Moonves says the broadcaster will mark down the price on some of its shows from $1.99 to 99 cents.

“There are certain shows that will be sold on Apple for 99 cents,” Moonves said today, adding, however, that details have not been worked out.

How long it will be before the rest are ushered in to line, we don’t know but the potential market of the iPad and the extra revenue that it could generate must be pretty alluring to the networks, who may now want to keep up with the competition.

1. September 2003 – The iPhone

For a while, this image was one of the defaults used when any blog mentioned rumours of Apple’s phone. Four years later, Apple announced its phone. We got the name right at least.

2. March 2003 – Mac Media Centre

There’s undoubtedly more to come from Apple on this subject but with 27-inch iMacs, vast cinema displays and the Apple TV media centre, we weren’t far off with our ideas of a Mac for the living room.

Click below to move to the next page

The iXL is reported to cost around $79.99 and will be launched at this week’s Toy Fair in New York and to the public in July.