Half-Life and Counter-Strike updates coming

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New Steam-administered beta's of Half-Life 1.1.0.9 and Counter-Strike 1.4 will be made available to the public next week.

CS 1.4 introduces several new features to the world's most popular online action game, including new missions (de_chateau, cs_havana), further integration of Valve's spectator technology, and more. The updates also mark the introduction of Valve's anti-cheat network, hosted in partnership with Speakeasy on the ISP's National Broadband Gaming Network (www.speakeasy.net).

In addition, this release begins the public migration of Valve's games to the recently announced Steam broadband platform (see www.steampowered.com). While it is not required, if players join the free Steam beta before next Tuesday, they will be updated seamlessly via Steam and be able to skip the traditional download process completely.

Then, after this release, those in the Steam beta will be enabled to play with those on the 20,000-plus public servers around the world. Steam-enabled players will also have the benefit of early access to the platform's integrated communication components for in-game messaging, friends tracking, and more. To join the Steam beta, follow the directions listed here: .

The Steam beta has over 100,000 players currently. The complete migration of Valve's games to the Steam platform is scheduled in the CS 1.5 release. Later this summer, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero will ship worldwide via Steam as well as in retail stores everywhere.

News source: GameSpyDaily

The email I got this morning, make your own mind up..

LindowsOS Sneak Preview 2 debuted last week and a lot of you have sent me questions about Click-N-Run™, one of the most innovative features housed in the LindowsOS Sneak Preview 2. We're excited about Click-N-Run because we're getting closer to the day when any computer user can experience the benefit of Linux®.

If you want to try our Sneak Preview 2 of LindowsOS – sign-up for our Insiders program at www.lindows.com/signup

Below is a list of the most common questions I've received concerning Click-N-Run.
Michael Robertson,
CEO Lindows.com, Inc.
michaelr@lindows.com

Q: What is Click-N-Run?
A: Click-N-Run is a new feature included with LindowsOS which makes it extremely easy to customize a LindowsOS computer with programs for a wide variety of tasks. LindowsOS comes with a web browser and an email program, enough to get users started, however, most people will require more software to fully maximize their PC. Click-N-Run makes it easy to load business, education, entertainment or other categories of software, by making it a straightforward point-and-shoot process.

Q: How does Click-N-Run make software loading easy?
A: Normally, finding software for your computers means visiting multiple stores or web sites trying to find software that interests you. Then, there's multi-step installation and registration process, which can be slow and cumbersome. Newer products from Microsoft require a 40-digit-activation code. Click-N-Run puts a warehouse of software all in one place with an easy-to-use interface to browse. A simple mouse click on the Click-N-Run button will download and install the software, so it’s ready to run on your computer.

Q: What kind of software programs are in the Click-N-Run warehouse?
A: There will be a wide variety of high quality software programs in the warehouse. In fact, a user with LindowsOS may be able to save hundreds of dollars by taking advantage of the low or no-cost software programs available via Click-N-Run, compared to what they are use to paying. The publisher determines the cost of the software, if any. Many of the programs are available for free. Other software programs may have a charge associated with them.

Q: Are only Lindows.com software products available?
A: Our goal at Lindows.com is not to develop or publish software titles, but to empower publishers to make their programs available. Lindows.com has selected a couple of high quality software programs to use as an illustration, see our warehouse www.lindows.com/warehouse

Q: How can I try Click-N-Run?
A: Click-N-Run is available to all of our Insiders for testing. We've made it very easy to run LindowsOS on the same machine running Microsoft Windows 98, so it’s easy to install and try out. Once you're running LindowsOS, simply double-click on the Click-N-Run icon on your desktop or visit www.lindows.com/warehouse. Please note, LindowsOS and Click-N-Run are not in their final form, but they should work well enough that users can get a feel for the technology and visualize the general direction we’re headed toward. If you're interested in trying LindowsOS and providing us with feedback, please sign-up as an Insider (www.lindows.com/signup).

Q: Do I need to have LindowsOS to browse the software programs available through Click-N-Run?
A: Any user with a web browser can peruse the Warehouse by visiting: (www.lindows.com/warehouse). In order to use Click-N-Run to install programs, users must install LindowsOS.

Q: Are there Microsoft Windows compatible software programs or Linux software programs in the Warehouse?
A: There will be both Microsoft Windows compatible software programs and Linux software available in the Click-N-Run Warehouse. Generally, most software titles will be Linux based. However, because LindowsOS can run some software programs written for Microsoft Windows operating systems some Microsoft Windows based programs may appear in the Warehouse. All software programs are designed to install in the same easy manner through Click-N-Run.

Q: How many programs are in the Click-N-Run Warehouse?
A: There are a handful of software programs available today in the Warehouse. Our hope is that this number will greatly expand as we build the publisher (www.lindows.com/publisher) interface.

Q: Who can be a publisher?
A: Any individual or company is eligible sign-up as a publisher and make software available via the Warehouse. There is no cost to sign up. We're working on the online forms to signup and load software. We expect these documents to be completed by early May 2002. You can get on our mailing list to be notified about this feature when it’s complete by signing up here.

Q: Will Lindows.com decide which software programs are made available in the Warehouse?
A: Any software title that’s legally sound and able to pass a simple quality assurance test, to make sure it works with LindowsOS, is eligible to be published.

Q: Why is Click-N-Run a positive development for computer owners?
A: By making available a wide range of software choices in an easy-to-install manner, users will be able to affordably tailor their computer to perform the tasks they want it to. There is a growing world of affordable high quality software programs that aren't found in stores and can save people hundreds of dollars. We'll do our best to make these programs available via the Click-N-Run Warehouse.

Bringing choice to your computer!

Lindows.com has just released a Sneak Preview 2 of LindowsOS to a select group of Insiders. The Sneak Preview is not a fully completed product but showcases many of the unique features such as a “Friendly-Install” alongside an existing Microsoft Windows operating system, a streamlined installation process which requires no computer knowledge and the ability to run popular Windows-based programs. For more information see www.lindows.com/products

(2 replies) #1 Toxicfume on 19 Apr 2002 - 14:09

err...so as time goes by, will we 56k users be not known about? How in the hell are we going to download the whole game each time we want to play it? Steam i no like. :disappoin

#1.1 Fonze on 20 Apr 2002 - 04:04

i want to clarify something to you guys because i see it mentioned alot but it isn't true! i was a official beta tester for the Steam beta. i got the e-mail, the whole deal. you do NOT!!! and i mean not! have to download CS every time you play it. you download it the first time you play, just like getting it off the site or from fileplanet except steam is faster. after your first time playing it will load just as quick as normal CS does, and it even has cool tracker so you can change servers in game and chat with your friends in your buddy list, even on different servers! 56k people, don't worry about it. it will be just as good as it is now

#1.2 mr_da3m0n on 20 Apr 2002 - 15:28

Exactly. I myself is a beta tester too. Steam indeed does only download the "minimum footprint" and then the basic game files from their server. It's exactly like downloading the game at the first place then playing. I was really surprised.

(2 replies) #2 zionath on 19 Apr 2002 - 14:34

get cable

... sorry if u can't afford :disappoin

#2.1 Toxicfume on 19 Apr 2002 - 14:39

well, the problem is, it's not widely available here. In addition to that, if the price was as cheap as cable in your place, i'd surely have it but it's not and it's alot more expensive.

#2.2 zionath on 19 Apr 2002 - 20:04

ok then

(2 replies) #3 Troop101 on 19 Apr 2002 - 15:03

God Damn 56K GOD DAMN IT TO HELLLL!!

#3.1 Toxicfume on 19 Apr 2002 - 17:46

Not everyone is as fortunate as you are. :roll:

#3.2 zionath on 19 Apr 2002 - 20:05

heh true

#4 liar2 on 19 Apr 2002 - 19:32

really? cable isn't cheap in your area? i mean, i only pay $30 a month (for a crappy 256k connection) for something that is barely considered broadband.

#5 willywonka69 on 19 Apr 2002 - 21:05

wut if there is no cable in your area

#6 liar2 on 19 Apr 2002 - 23:02

there's always satellite

. but that can get really expensive....

#7 Texasmeatpacker on 20 Apr 2002 - 00:53

We ain't even got electricity here. Ohh! hang on! err, scratch that :lick:

(4 replies) #8 afext on 20 Apr 2002 - 09:45

I really hate the stupidity cable/dsl users treat dailup users with. "Blah blah blah you have no reason not to have cable." Well, OK, excuse us people who don't have $40-$60 a month to waste on internet access. Excuse us people who don't have mommy and daddy to buy us internet access. Excuse us people who have to work for a living and buy food and actually take care of ourselves. Let me run it down. I live in SoCal. My girlfriend manages to bring in $1,000 a month (I am unemployed). Rent is $700, a car payment is $210, (those of you who are bad at math: $910 so far, leaving us with $90). MSN (which we are stuck with due to contract) costs $22, phone bill costs generally $35, electricity bill costs $40. That equals $1,002 right there. Groceries usually cost $300 a month, and that's skimping... Really skimping because we don't have money to pay for it! So, before you go off on one of your leet cable/dsl sprees, think of the people who don't have silver spoons shoved down their throats. You people who say you shouldn't be able to play games online if you don't have cable/dsl are sick. $40+ for a game, and I'm expected to pay an extra $20 a month to play it with decent pings? Whatever. I'd play everquest if I want monthly subscription fees. It's even worse when fucks kick people on dailup off of servers due to having bad lag. I wish these goddamn game makers would think of REAL PEOPLE before they program games on their fat pipes. Bullshit.

#8.1 Space Guy on 20 Apr 2002 - 15:28

d00d.. chill.. no one is saying it to u.. i know some people have problems.. i have cable.. but u know what? i am not going to go around saying that i do.. because i do.. so i do.. u dont because you have money probs (which is not a bad thing.. err.. sort of) so.. just chill ok?

laterz

#8.2 Divide Overflow on 21 Apr 2002 - 17:40

#11 If you get a job, like everyone else, perhaps you could AFFORD cable and wouldn't have to live on $300 a month in food (which IMO is a lot of food to begin with.) I don't know what the job market iis like where you live, but it's not hard to get a job, it's the high paying ones that are hard to find.

Last edited by 578 on 21 Apr 2002 - 17:41

#8.3 zionath on 22 Apr 2002 - 09:28

welp alll i can say is cut down on ya food (any alcohol cut down on that and cigarets cut down on that aswell) ....... u might get FAT and ermmm get a better job and ermmm why should they think of 56k users when there is not many ppl using 56k now dayz (welp not where i live)...

Last edited by 9532 on 22 Apr 2002 - 09:29

#8.4 zionath on 22 Apr 2002 - 09:31

and i also must say ur lazy "My girlfriend manages to bring in $1,000 a month (I am unemployed)." if u want cable modem so bad then GET a JOB! think b4 u complain

Last edited by 9532 on 22 Apr 2002 - 09:32

#9 ziddey on 20 Apr 2002 - 13:53

eat shiatsu massager and die

#10 linsook on 20 Apr 2002 - 17:47

well #8 thats really touching..... but i came to a conclusion that u should get off ur butt and look for a job rather than rant about games

(1 reply) #11 afext on 20 Apr 2002 - 21:46

I came to the conclusion that you should learn to type correctly before you talk shit. Otherwise, you don't have a right to do so, and you sound like a moron. Twelve year olds aren't allowed to talk back.

#11.1 zionath on 23 Apr 2002 - 15:26

and i came to conclusion that u should get a JOB instead of sitting on ya arse all the time playing gamez

#12 jajohnson on 21 Apr 2002 - 00:55

Hey #11 - I am a real person - I work fulltime as an AS400/OS390 Operator for about $16.50/hour. I pay $115 a month for digital cable and 768/256kbps broadband access. I live in the Northeast, I own my own condo and I don't have a silver spoon anywhere in my body hehehe .... I play alot of rtcw and now sof2 beta in my freetime and I can always tell when 56kers come on ... they lag the hell out of every game. So it's not your fault you have no job/future/whatever, all the 56kers do is punish us by lagging us to death ... so just check your MSN and stay offline ... Also - I'm 25, not 12 - I hope my spelling is adequate and to your approval ...

- Jim

(1 reply) #13 iconman on 21 Apr 2002 - 05:54

Cool can't wait for the updates

#13.1 zionath on 23 Apr 2002 - 15:28

hehe me either

#14 bungle on 21 Apr 2002 - 13:28

I don't care what any of you say, 56kers have as much right to play games online as anyone else. The internet is there to be used by anyone who wants to make use of it, wheather you have money coming out of your ears or not. As soon as you narrow minded people realise that, the better!

#15 Losimagic on 21 Apr 2002 - 18:45

until recently, i had 56k, but have been fortunate enough to get adsl. when i had 56k, i wasnt happy with the amount of games that would only play well if you had adsl, and now that i have adsl, i feel the same way...its stupid that people who have 56k should be left out of games. most of the world is still using 56k (or less) and by making games that are only playable online if you have cable/dsl is stupid, theyre cutting out a huge % of the market.

#16 BroChaos on 21 Apr 2002 - 19:07

56k lags out games? i was always under the impression that 56k draws the least BW from a server. how do they lag out games?

#17 Robert_Hague on 22 Apr 2002 - 00:00

Hey if everyone had broadband then all those shat CS players with 20ping wouldent be able to awp all the 56k users and get leet scores. IMHO people with low pings spoil the game just as much as 56k users. I just have a modem btw and if they are taking it to steam only in 1.5 then they can go do something very nasty to themselves with a large pole.

Its a very nice way to reward all the loyal players, great stuff.

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