Valve has released Steam Mobile app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad which allows users to get connected to Steam community while on the go. Steam is a game distribution platform and before it has Mac and PC clients. Description “With free Steam app for iOS you can chat with your Steam friends, browse community groups and user profiles, read the latest gaming news and stay up to date on unbeatable Steam sales.” Download Steam for iOS

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Nissan’s high-performance GT-R returns for 2010 with 5 more horsepower for its twin-turbocharged V6. The GT-R uses Nissan’s 3.8-liter, all-aluminum VR38DETT engine. Although this 24-valve, DOHC V6 is loosely based on Nissan’s familiar VQ engine, it has many advanced features, including a stiffer, closed-deck cylinder block; plasma-sprayed cylinder bores to reduce weight and friction; and an unusual wet/dry-sump oil system to ensure proper lubrication in high-g turns. Curiously, it does not use the sophisticated Variable Valve Event and Lift (VVEL) system from the 370Z; [...]

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Valve launches its Steam game-download platform for Apple Macs this month, with the Half Life publisher planning to release all games and all updates simultaneously for Mac and Windows in future. It’s a massive deal, but at the same time it also begs the question: “Does Steam have an unfair monopoly in the PC gaming market?” What about all those other PC gaming download services that are currently available? And what of Microsoft’s much-hyped ‘Games For Windows Live’ service on PC? Has Valve simply Steam-rollered all over them? UK games industry analyst Nick [...]

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Amazon could be taking on the might of Valve’s Steam in the game download market, if a new job listing is anything to go by. Downloading content is becoming increasingly big business for the online retailer, which already has download offerings for its Kindle eBook, MP3 music and movies. So it makes total sense that it would try to add videogames to its list of content download stores. Amazon has so far refused to comment on the rumours. Steam gets some competition? Valve might have some serious competition in the near future according Colin Sebastian, an analyst at investment bank Lazard [...]

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Valve’s Gabe Newell has slammed copy protection on computer games – accusing some digital right management of ‘wrapping negatives’ around a user’s experience. Valve are one of the leading lights in gaming, and Newell’s comments at GDC follow Ubisoft’s decision to install a copy protection that requires an always on internet connection for the games to run. “One thing that you hear us talk a lot about is entertainment as a service,” said Newell. “It’s an attitude that says ‘what have I done for my customers today?’ “It [...]

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Valve has been teasing us with the suggestion that its game download service Steam was on the way for the Apple Mac and the company has finally confirmed that Steam will launch for Macs in April. Additionally Valve’s top games – including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal and the mighty Half-Life series – will also be made available in April. “As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality internet clients,” said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. “The Mac is a great [...]

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Steam, the achingly popular games distribution service for PC, is set to get a Mac makeover, courtesy of its makers Valve. Although Mac addicts aren’t exactly known for their gaming habits, it seems that Valve is happy to take a plunge into the world of Apple, hinting at what is to come in a series of cryptic adverts. The best of which include Half-Life‘s Gordon Freeman wearing Mac colours and a parody of the original Macintosh print ad which is filled with send-ups. Steam fortress Steam’s popularity on PCs is nothing to be sniffed at, with 25 million users, 1,000 odd games and [...]

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Designed to demonstrate some of the star quality of the larger A30, the A10 integrated valve amplifier is the newest and least expensive arrival in a range from Pure Sound which includes amps, preamps and phono accessories. In fact, due to market enthusiasm for the new amps, the A10 may well rule the roost in sub-£1,000 models. Vacuum minimalism The A10 is a class A Ultra Linear push-pull design. It uses a relatively conventional complement of valves, consisting of a pair of 6N3 valves in the preamp section and a quartet of 6P14 valves for the output stage. Power is quoted at 10 watts per channel, [...]

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