Steam

March Madness: Three products you can use while you watch the Final Four

It's March Madness time again, and you know what that means: I'm spending a lot of time fighting for the right to watch a little "24" instead of basketball. But for those of you who actually care about the NCAA college basketball tournament, Whirlpool wants to make sure the only surprises are on the court--not in the kitchen.

You've seen the Amana Jot refrigerator, with its dry-erase finish on the door panel. Use the fridge to manage brackets, track game times, or display correct picks.

And even though the magic of DVRs lets you pause … Read more

Play Unreal Tournament III Black for free this weekend

Have any plans for the weekend? Yeah, I'm talking to you. If not, here's a suggestion: how's about some online Capture-the-Flag action (or Deathmatch action, whatever floats your boat) on Unreal Tournament III Black. Oh, and it's free. OK, so it's for the PC only and doesn't apply to the PlayStation 3, but it's still a pretty cool deal and it's something to do.

Whether or not you have the game, it's all good. The free weekend includes the game, the Titan Pack expansion, and the 2.0 patch. Now, all … Read more

GameStop CEO: Amazon will fail at game trade-ins

Earlier this week, Amazon announced a new program for customers to trade in used video game titles in return for credit at Amazon.com.

This program should be able to work for Amazon thanks to their superior inventory and distribution system. Expanding into a realm such as used games is probably a relatively low-cost endeavor that should will squeak enough profit to be worth it.

Nonetheless, it didn't take long for GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo to call the program a failure in an interview with Edge:

"I give the probability of this working at zero," DeMatteo told … Read more

Sharp gets steamy in the kitchen

After a long day at the office, you'd like nothing better than to follow simple instructions and get a great, home-cooked meal--without a lot of effort. The second-generation SuperSteam oven from Sharp (model AX-1200) can help.

The oven offers six different preprogrammed meals for two, so that an entr?e and two side dishes--such as chicken breasts with sweet potatoes and asparagus, beef kabobs and corn-on-the-cob, salmon served over brown rice and peas, fajitas, or even a brunch medley--can be cooked simultaneously in the oven for time savings and convenience.

It's a whole new level of plug and … Read more

More popular games coming to a browser near you

Several announcements today further cemented the fact that the Web browser is the new game console.

"Quake Live" will enter public beta on February 24, offering players a stripped-down version of the full game. (Side note: interesting use of social-media tools Twitter and Facebook to promote the launch.)

Square Enix announced a deal to offer some of its games on Steam's Valve platform.The first Square Enix game to be available to Steam users will be the Unreal Engine 3-powered role-playing game, "The Last Remnant." It will release on Steam on April 9, days after … Read more

The changing face of 'games-as-a-service'

Speaking at the Dice Summit in Las Vegas, Valve Software Chief Executive Gabe Newell provided some pearls of wisdom that are as applicable to gaming as they are to pretty much any kind of software.

Fundamentally, the Steam on-demand gaming platform is so successful because the service disintermediates middlemen and allows the platform developers to engage directly with customers. This strengthens not only the social networks but also the core platform.

Newell says the future will be "providing ongoing value." Once you start thinking from a service perspective, he continues, "It starts to help you understand the … Read more

Amazon launches casual-game download service

Amazon.com on Tuesday launched its first foray into digital downloads for games. The new online store offers more than 600 casual titles without the need for physical media. Amazon says all the titles at launch are under either $6.99 or $9.99 with older titles leaning towards the lower end of the spectrum. As an added promotion, the company is giving away three free titles, which gamers have a week to scoop up before the prices return to normal.

The launch comes just a little over two months since Amazon acquired Reflexive Entertainment, a casual-game service that is … Read more

EA to offer 'Spore' DRM-free

Starting Monday, Electronics Arts will sell its popular video game Spore free of any digital rights management restrictions.

It's part of a slew of titles which EA will offer on Valve's Steam distribution platform, according to a report by Ars Technica. Besides Spore, the collection will include Warhammer Online, Need for Speed Undercover, Mass Effect, and FIFA Manager 09. Crysis, Crysis: Warhead, and SiN Episodes: Emergence are already available on the service, and there are more on the way.

Prices for the DRM-free versions are said to be on par with what the games would sell for in … Read more

First 'Steam Cloud' game coming this week

Later this week Valve Software, makers of the popular Half Life series, and the Steam software distribution system are releasing the first version of the Steam Cloud service in the demo for the upcoming cross-platform title Left 4 Dead. The service will keeps things like game saves, mouse and keyboard settings, and player profiles the same across multiple PCs.

Up until now the Steam application, which lets you use the same game license on multiple computers, required users to take and make these changes across all their devices. Announced back in March, Steam Cloud puts the onus on Valve instead, … Read more

Bushels of flavor: Baked apples in moments

When I was little my grandmother would make baked apples as a special treat on cold nights, she'd load up apples with cinnamon and sugar and let them cook for what seemed like hours. I still crave a tasty baked apple every now and then, but I don't spend as much time in my kitchen as my grandmother spent in hers. The Apple Baker Set from Harriet Carter, however, lets me make baked apples in just a matter of minutes. The tasty treats this set, as it turns out, are healthier than quite a few other cold weather … Read more