Since when did Gordon Freeman become a Mac head? Actually, he’s apparently just hiding Valve’s really big secret. Tuaw , MacNN and MacRumors are all investigating the purpose behind the Valve-plus-Apple teaser images in their inboxes. Could it be that Valve is bringing the best of PC gaming over to the Mac? The rumor is that Valve has some sort of huge Mac announcement to make this week, though Mac news outlets everywhere are trying to pinpoint what exactly the announcement will entail. Will it be the release of a Mac OS X version of Steam? Will it be an epic port over of every Valve title known to man? Or is Portal 2 going to be released for both the PC and the Mac?  Over here at Mac|Life headquarters, we’d be incredibly happy to hear that any of these scenarios could turn into reality. After all, do you know what this means ? Frag fests with your best buddies still chained to their loud, unchic Windows computers, and more ways to utilize that Nvidia graphics processor in your iMac or MacBook Pro. Check below for a look at the photos in question, head over to the sources for a closer look, and let us know what you think in the comments! We really love this one: Image source: MacNN

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The past few days have been a blast, and as first timers at CES we were truly impressed by all the emerging technologies that will surely make waves in the months to come. After roaming around all 3.2 million square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Center, we came back with a pretty good idea of gadgets we can’t wait to see hit the mainstream market–or to spend our money on. Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most interesting displays of televisions, remotes, touch screens, and just-for-fun gadgets we saw at CES. iPod Charging Keychains Our office is cursed by the fact that some wire-eating monster has secretly consumed every iPhone or iPod connector cord we’ve ever had. You can imagine our delight when we discovered that companies like Scosche and Miplug have developed a portable way to keep the iPod connector cable grouped with our car keys, so we’re never left stranded with a dead iPhone or iPod ever again. 
eBooks It looks like the Kindle and the Nook have plenty of competition in store for them for the upcoming Year of the eBook. CES even had its own eBook area, with about a dozen companies competing for the international market. Bigger companies like Samsung and Sony also had their own eBooks on display, but our favorite one by far was the Que proReader . Flying Things There were plenty of gadgets taking flight at this year’s Show. We were especially delighted by the Parrot Drone , which we discovered you can control with an iPhone, and an unlicensed flying X-wing wannabe 

Parrot Zikmu ‘in Color’ by Philippe Starck These colorful stereo speakers deliver a massive, crisp sound and fashionably adorn any Scandinavian-styled household that doesn’t want a regular old iPod dock clashing with the aesthetics. The speakers work with iPods and iPhones and support wireless streaming via WiFi and Bluetooth

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Section: Software + Apps , Games , Reviews Category: Fantasy MMO Developer: Mythic Entertainment Publisher: Mythic Entertainment System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5.7, Intel Core Duo Processor, 2GB RAM, ATI X1600 or NVidia 7300 GT with 128MB of Video RAM, at least 15GB of hard drive space for installation. This game will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems (PowerMac). Review Computer: 2.2GHz 13” Macbook Pro, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM Network Feature: Required (LAN or Internet) Processor Compatibility: Intel only Price: $14.99 monthly subscription, free trial available Availability: Out now The Warhammer games take place in an interesting universe; rather than being set in a Tolkien-insipired, idyllic and mythical England, the ruling empire is stern and Germanic. The enemy is Chaos itself, manifesting in the form of hideous beast men and Lovecraftian monsters who’s aim is simply to spread entropy. The name “Warhammer” itself gives away the tone; rather than the sword of an Arthurian knight, it’s a skull-crushing blunt instrument. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) gets the tone of this right; player characters are not cast as rugged individualists lead by psuedo-story-driven quests that make them feel important. No, right from the start it is made clear that you are one soldier in a war more vast than you can properly grasp. Oh, all the familiar steps are there. You choose a race and a class, you start off on simple quests that lead you to higher levels and better equipment, which lead you on to more difficult quests. But WAR is about large-scale group combat, which is built into the guts of the game. By the time the player has reached the second map of the training level , he’ll be part of mass combat that has an effect on the entire server. It works like this; each side (Empire vs. Chaos) on a server controls several territories

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If you’re having problems with your new 27-inch iMac, you’ll be interested to know that Apple released a fix via Software Update for the machines that’s said to resolve screen flicker issues. Now your expensive new purchase will only disappoint you in two or three other ways. Many users are also reporting issues with cracked screens and yellow tinting on the displays, with a gradient from cool to warm as you move from top to bottom down the monitor. I had the latter issue on two replacement iPhone 3GSes, too, so I can’t help but wonder if Apple’s increased ability to move product isn’t affecting quality control. Apple’s also passing the buck in the description of what the new fix for the software-based flicker problem actually does. To wit: The 27-inch iMac Graphics Firmware Update applies to the graphics firmware on ATI Radeon HD 4670 and 4850 graphics cards to address issues that may cause image corruption or the display to flicker. Elsewhere, the company notes that the firmware update isn’t a cure-all: If your screen remains black after applying the updater or if you continue to experience image corruption or display flickering after successfully completing this update, contact AppleCare or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. So not only does Cupertino seem to be blaming ATI for the issue, it’s not actually promising to necessarily fix anything with this update, either. Whether Apple goes with ATI or NVIDIA, it just can’t seem to avoid graphics card-related issues.

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A new hackintosh might make some Mac users–and Xbox users–jealous. Engadget reports on a hackintosh system built by Will Urbina that has an interesting case design. It is the power of a $4,500 Mac Pro in an Xbox case. This hackintosh features a 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550s, NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT card, 8GB of RAM, an 16GB SSD, and four traditional hard drives and was built for only $1,500 plus the many hours required for achieving this awesome mod.  Check out Will’s website where you can find more information about this mod. You can also see a video below of the building magic happening.   

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We Might Need to Start Calling Them "Big iMacs"   Apple’s latest all-in-ones are bigger, brighter, and simply the best yet. Glancing at a spec sheet, Apple’s latest iMacs might seem like run-of-the mill product refreshes. Sure, there’s the requisite processor bumps and storage updates, but an iMac’s an iMac, right? Ah, not so much. When you see these machines in person, their differences are much more apparent, striking even. The new line-up includes four new machines–two small ones and two bigguns–and we had the chance to review one of each size for this article. The most obvious improvements are the larger displays. The early 2009 iMacs were available with 20- or 24-inch screens, but Apple’s newest models rock 21.5 and 27 inches of display majesty. These changes are important in a couple different ways. First, the new models have native 16:9 aspect ratios: 1920×1080 for the 21.5-inch model and 2560×1440 for the 27-inch iMac. Home-theater geeks will notice right away that this new aspect ratio looks demonstrably different from the 16:10 proportions of the previous generation of iMac screens. Essentially, the new displays are a bit “squatter” than previous models, but fall in line with current HD standards. It’s tough to say if that has anything to do with the possibility of Blu-ray drives eventually making their way into the Apple stable, but it’s good news for anyone who watches HD content on his or her Mac. The 27-inch model is gunning for a spot on your living room wall. The new larger screens also feature LED backlighting.

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Section: Software + Apps , Games , Mac + Computers , Software Don’t think for a moment we missed yesterday’s announcement that Star Trek: D-A-C is heading towards the Macintosh system. Currently available for the Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network and Valve’s Steam digital distribution service for Windows PC, the Mac version comes out in December via TransGaming Inc.‘s GameTreeOnline.com digital distribution platform courtesy of Paramount Digital Entertainment. Now, when you grow up being asked, “As in ‘Captain?’ ” every time you tell someone your name, you tend to grow bitter towards the source of the joke. Therefore, my interest in Star Trek begins and ends with Star Trek II. But I’m told it’s still very popular, so one of my readers will likely be able to tell me what D-A-C stands for. Until then, game details: Star Trek: D-A-C is a fast-paced, top-down space shooter where up to twelve players can compete in intergalactic battles between Starfleet and the Romulan Empire. Star Trek: D-A-C supports online multiplayer, online co-op and single player gameplay. There are four different game types—Survival, Team Deathmatch, Conquest and Assault. In the single-player Survival Mode, Starfleet captains have only three lives to blast through waves of enemy ships. When destroyed, enemy ships and drones drop special ability and score pick-ups, and players are challenged to grab as many as they can before their lives run out.

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AppleGazette’s Kevin Whipps addresses the quandary over how to choose between a MacBook and a MacBook Pro, noting that it used to be that if you wanted a 13-inch Mac laptop (excluding the MacBook Air), the only option was the original MacBook. Now with a 13-inch aluminum MacBook Pro on the market, the decision has become more complex. Kevin allows that the 13″ MacBook Pro doesn’t give you a lot more value for your dollar, comparatively. I beg to differ, but there’s a large element of subjectivity in any such judgment, with many variables such as how much you value FireWire support (some of us a lot), how important a SD Card slot is to your needs, and whether the premium look, fit, finish, and durability of the Pro’s aluminum unibody construction justifies the 20 percent higher price. 20 Percent Higher Price — 20 Percent More Value? Personally, I think these factors do add up to 20 percent more real value and then some, although Kevin has a point about the two machines being pretty much clones when it comes to core computing power. For example, it now appears that even Apple’s nominal 4GB maximum RAM upgrade spec for the MacBook is completely arbitrary. OWC is offering 8GB memory upgrade kits for the plastic unibody MacBook. The MacBook comes with a 250GB hard drive, which is more than respectable for standard equipment, especially since the 13″ MacBook Pro’s base $1,199 model comes with a more modest 160GB drive. With the MacBook, 320GB and 500GB drives are BTO options, but that bumps the price to MacBook Pro levels. The Case for the 15″ MacBook Pro Kevin actually includes the 15″ MacBook Pro in his comparison, noting that at 5.5 pounds, the unibody 15-incher is not a whole lot heavier than the 13″ MacBook and MacBook Pro units at 4.7lb. and 4.5lb. respectively, and offers much more expansive screen real estate at its 1440 x 900 resolution. Being a former 17″ PowerBook user who recently switched from the big, old ‘Book’s 1440 x 900 display to an aluminum unibody MacBook’s more cramped 1280 x 800 13.3″ screen, I have to agree, and the latest $1,699 entry-level 15″ Pro is especially price-enticing

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The new plastic unibody MacBook is arguably the second-best MacBook model Apple has produced yet (trumped only by the late 2008 aluminum unibody MacBook). So why am I finding myself unexpectedly underwhelmed and disappointed with it? When rumors began circulating in late summer about an imminent new unibody MacBook in polycarbonate plastic. Being a consummate Apple laptop aficionado, I was excited. Speculation that it would sell in the $700 – $800 range further whetted my anticipation but I was also expecting something insanely great. After all, Apple could build on what it had learned making polycarbonate MacBooks for three and half years (the best-selling Mac model ever) combined with the unibody engineering of the MacBook Pros adapted to plastic materials. Instead of Insanely Great, We Get…OK However, instead of insanely great, we get OK — or perhaps just a bit more than OK. I like it a lot better than the original MacBook, but there’s nothing really exciting or special to get up in the night and write home about. It’s just a good, solid-performing machine with better case engineering and build quality than its predecessor, and better-looking, but alloyed with some strange compromises that undermine its desirability and the “must-have” factor. The case aesthetics are definitely a major step up from the iBook-esque previous model, whose looks were getting tired after eight and a half years. I like white computers and I like glossy finishes, and this has both, although I think Apple is blowing an opportunity by not offering it in black as well, and the high gloss is proving quite controversial with some. I think the MacBook’s all-white keyboard looks more attractive and inviting, and will be easier to see (I’m not a touch typist), than the black keys on my aluminum Macbook, which are probably my unfavorite element of its generally pleasing appearance. As for robustness, I haven’t got my hands on one yet, being out here in the Nova Scotia backwoods 150 miles from the nearest Apple reseller, but reportedly this new unibody machine has a solid feel, with no case flexibility or squeaks and rattles, and excellent panel fits, which is what I would expect based on my own aluminum unibody machine

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Calling it a “new, mightier mini,” Apple (s aapl0 updated its smallest desktop with special attention to the optical drive. No, Blu-ray wasn’t added, rather Apple now offers a model with no optical drive at all. However, contrary to rumors and wish-fulfillment on my part, Apple did not lower the price of the entry-level mini to $499. On the low end, the $599 Mac mini has a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, up from 2.0GHz, and 2GB of RAM, up from a measly 1GB, and a 160GB hard drive, up from 120GB. You still get five USB ports and one FireWire, as well as NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and a SuperDrive. The $799 model now has a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. So, same price, a little faster, more memory, a bit more storage on the low-end. It’s not much of an update to talk about, if not for the Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server. For $999, you lose the optical drive, but do get two 500GB hard drives (5400 RPM) on a Mac mini running OS X Server. The other specs match the $799 model. Essentially, for another $200 you are getting an additional 500GB of storage and OS X Server (upgrading the $799 model to one 500GB drive balances out against buying an external SuperDrive for the $999 model). But why? Apple advertises this curious machine as a “simple” server “perfect for any small business or group,” but how many of those types of customers are going to drop a thousand dollars on a server

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