Nerd News: Valve Linux Beta

http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/

Valve is beta testing Linux.

I know a lot of Nerds are excited about this, I am interested, though I am just getting into Linux myself.

Motivation for me is to get my old XP machines back into use, and also for security using Live CD, thinking I will probably study pen testing a bit as well.

Don't think I will get very serious about doing pen testing myself, but it will help a lot for understanding computer security.

Nerd News: "Ubuntu port of Steam, Source engine, and Left 4 Dead 2"

Story at Ars http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/5n3_nAq1AkM/

They linked to Valve/Steam press release http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/steamd-penguins/

This news should make a lot of Nerds happy!!!  ^_^

Sounds like they plan to port more games to Ubuntu, hopefully in the near future!

Nerd News: Valve’s Gabe Newell

In case you missed Penny Arcade's interview of Gabe Newell, here is link, and teaser [Gabe Newell's response to a question]:

It’s not my job to track down or supervise everyone and make sure they’re doing the right thing. It’s more like I’m a resource here and I can be helpful at addressing a problem. It works surprisingly well, but it takes a while for people to get used to it. We’re optimized for people who are very experienced and have been working for a long time and don’t really need someone looking over their shoulder or second-guessing their decisions. 

Sounds like a really cool place to work, I am a fan of Valve, though I tend to think of them as Steam, cause I was buying games from Steam before I knew what Valve was, if your not clear on the difference take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_Corporation

Gabe Newell also mentions wearable computers and related hardware, something that I am interested in, since it seems to me the logical interface for smaller and smaller electronic devices.