Robag's blog

The Brisbane Times has word that Valve has lost a legal dispute in Australia that first surfaced a couple of years ago over Valve’s claims at the time that customers were not entitled to refunds for games purchased on Steam (thanks HARDOCP). Here’s word on the decision, its implications for Valve, and for other companies doing business down under:
The Federal Court found Valve, which operates online game website Steam, engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by telling Australian players they were not entitled to refunds for digitally downloaded content.

The company, based in the US, now faces fines of up to $1.1 million a breach.

Bethesda.net announces a March 31st start date for closed beta testing of DOOM, saying id Software’s return to the first-person shooter series is still on track for release on May 13th. They offer a new multiplayer trailer to celebrate the news, and its description offers more details:
DOOM’s multiplayer is not for the faint of heart. It’s bloody. It’s brutal. And it’s VERY FAST. Prepare yourself with a glimpse into DOOM’s multiplayer mayhem in the latest trailer.

Players eligible for the DOOM Beta through their purchase of Wolfenstein: The New Order, your chance to play DOOM Multiplayer is coming! We will be running the Closed Beta between March 31 and April 3. To check eligibility requirements, please visit www.doom.com/beta. Participants will be able to try out Team Deathmatch and the recently revealed Warpath mode on two maps: Heatwave and Infernal.

Way back in 2003, I spent in excess of £1,600 ($2,500) to buy my first laptop, which was a Samsung X10. My thinking was naively simple: I wanted a laptop that could do everything and I was prepared to invest heavily to obtain it. The flaw in that plan was that such a laptop didn’t exist back then, and it arguably doesn’t exist today either.

full article

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Robag

Origin’s On the House program now offers Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and the Yuri’s Revenge expansion for the classic real-time strategy sequel as free downloads (thanks PC Invasion). The only requirement is a free Origin account to get them during this offer and they will be yours to keep.

Here’s the description of the game, in case you don’t recall it from when it was released in 2000:
The world erupts in conflict as Soviet forces invade American soil in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. Time travel has helped to eliminate the German threat, and now the Soviets are expanding into the West unchecked. You are the Supreme Commander. Arm yourself to the teeth with top-secret technologies and lead the Soviet or Allied troops to victory.

Plus, defeat an army of mind-controlled Soviet forces in the expansion Command & Conquer: Yuri’s Revenge.

This one made me giggle

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Robag