Hasta La Gadget!

Well that was quick. We’ve only know that Valve is working on a version of Steam for Linux for a few months, but now it seems that the studio is ready to put that incoming version to the test. Valve will be putting Steam for Linux through and internal beta sometime next week, and then later on in October, it will invite a group of people to participate in a small private beta.

When we say “small” we mean it too. Valve will only be inviting 1,000 people to take part in this private beta, explaining in a Valve Linux blog post that the beta will involve Steam, one Steam game, and support for Ubuntu 12.04 and later. It appears that Steam for Linux is still in the early stages of development, at least relatively, as Valve says that the beta won’t feature Big Picture Mode or any additional Steam games.

Valve didn’t say what that one Steam game featured in this incoming external beta is, but we have a feeling it’s Left 4 Dead 2. Valve has been using that game to test out Steam for Linux internally, so it makes sense that the studio would want to use it in the beta. Valve says that a beta sign up form will be coming soon, but didn’t give an specific date for its release.

Valve also recommends that those who are new to Linux sit this beta out and instead sign up for a future beta. If you’re an existing Linux users, however, Valve wants you, saying that this beta will be a good opportunity to see how far the studio has come in porting Steam to Linux. We’ll have more details about this upcoming Steam for Linux private beta soon, so keep it here to SlashGear.

Steam for Linux beta kicks off in October is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The next video game in the Medal of Honor franchise is called Medal of Honor Warfighter. The game is set to launch in late October. Fans who can’t wait that long to get their hands on the new video game will be able to access the multiplayer beta starting in early October.

EA promises that Warfighter will be the most realistic and authentic military shooter of the year. The game is inspired by real people, real places, and real operations. The multiple player beta will allow users to choose from 12 different Tier 1 units operating around the globe.

The available units include the British SAS, German KSK, Russian Spetsnaz Alfa Group, Korean UDT and U.S. Navy SEAL. The video game is powered by powerful Frostbite 2 game engine and is set for launch in North America on October 23. Players who download the beta will be awarded 60 minutes of Double XP the full game launches.

Feel like something’s missing from your YouTube viewing experience — like some good ‘ol multiple-choice questions? The chronic learners among us will be happy to hear that the site is testing an interactive — and potentially educational — feature that lets users add quizzes to their clips. A new page on the YouTube site describes a “Video Questions Editor Beta,” which lets channel owners display multiple-choice questions on top of their videos as they play. The page is pretty blank at the moment, but the beta is up and running for those who opt in. Don’t get too excited, though: YouTube’s disclaimer states the feature “represents work in progress,” and “there is no plan for long-term support of the feature.”

Filed under: Internet

YouTube brings interactive quizzes to videos with Questions Editor beta originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mac gamers are grateful for Blizzard, because it’s one of the few major companies that release Mac versions of their games alongside the more popular Windows version. ArenaNet says better late than never by announcing that they will be releasing a Mac version of their new MMORPG Guild Wars 2. You can even play the beta of said Mac version right now… as long as you buy or already bought the Windows version of the game. Weird, but it’s better than nothing.

So what do we Mac owners have to do to play the beta? Buy the PC version – the only version that’s out now. This will allow you to make a Guild Wars 2 account, which in turn will grant you the privilege of downloading the Mac beta client online. And don’t worry about having to pay twice. Similar to what Blizzard does with their games, your purchase of Guild Wars 2 nets you both the PC and Mac version when the latter finally comes out.

If you think of it as a pre-order that grants you beta access, then it’s not so bad. If you then think harder and wonder why ArenaNet didn’t just have an open or even closed beta for Mac users without requiring a purchase, then it becomes weird again. Head to the Guild Wars 2 website for more details on the announcement.

Valve Software’s hardware division is still in its infancy. Despite having existed for over a year, recruitment is still its primary concern — “prototyping is almost secondary,” longtime inventor/hacker/now Valve employee Jeri Ellsworth told us in an interview this week. As the team ramps up, production becomes more and more prolific, of course; Ellsworth lights up when she talks about the work her team is doing now. She gets verbose when asked about corporate culture at Valve, about how she’s never worked at a company where risk and failure are so acceptable — even encouraged. She’s visibly excited about the prototypes she’s creating at Valve’s new prototyping facility, but manages to contain herself enough to not let slip exactly what her and her team are working on.

When asked what the team’s immediate goals are, she obliquely states, “To make Steam games more fun to play in your living room.” That’s the team’s one-year goal, at least. The challenge is making games that require a mouse and keyboard palatable to people who are used to a controller, or to people who just don’t want to migrate PC controls to the comfort of their living room. Working in tandem with Steam’s newly beta’d “Big Picture Mode,” Ellsworth’s team is creating a hardware solution to the control barriers found in many Steam games. She wouldn’t give any hints as to what that solution is exactly, but she left no options off the table — from Phantom Lapboard-esque solutions to hybrid controllers.

Regardless, it sounds like gamers will have a chance to give feedback on those designs, as Valve’s hardware team is planning a beta for its various products. Ellsworth is hoping to have one for the team’s first product in the coming year — we’ll of course know much more about the product by then, she says. Internal beta tests are already underway, and a variety of the team’s prototypes are available in the office for other Valve employees to tool around with. The next step is getting prototypes into gamers hands — she says Valve already has a production line for short runs, making a beta possible — and iterating on design before launch. As for how the beta will be handled, she posits it’ll be tied to Steam in some way, but no logistics are anywhere near nailed down.

Continue reading Valve’s first hardware beta starting by next year, wearable computing still far off

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Laptops

Valve’s first hardware beta starting by next year, wearable computing still far off originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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