Major Steam Update Coming Next Week

[badman]

Two SiN Episodes-related updates in one day? What's the world come to?! Anywho, it looks like Steam will be getting a major overhaul next week, with Valve Software rolling out a host of new features, including the long-awaited guest passes and a re-worked client application. Here's a rundown of the changes and additions:

• Guest Passes
  Guest Passes allow owners of certain Steam games (purchased either via Steam or at retail) to let their friends play games for free, for a limited time trial. The first game to take advantage of this new feature will be Day of Defeat: Source.
• Background Client Updates
  Since the Steam client was first released, it has always kept itself up to date -- but now it'll do so without making you wait during startup. Instead, it will acquire new updates in the background and then (once they're downloaded) ask if you'd like to restart and apply them. Steam will also let you know what's new whenever a new update is ready to apply.
• New User Interface
  Steam's got a new coat of paint. We've stripped away all the non-essentials and created a new streamlined appearance, available in five different colors.
• Favorites
  Steam's catalog of games has grown quite a bit over the past year or so. The new Favorites feature in the My Games tab of Steam allows for quick access to your favorite Steam games and additional functionality for personalizing your Steam library of content.

Head on over to Shacknews to read the full announcement.

[Raveness]

Guest Passes allow owners of certain Steam games (purchased either via Steam or at retail) to let their friends play games for free, for a limited time trial.

Good to see Steam still manipulating consumer rights in the great battle against piracy At least now I can try for a limited time something that my friend fully purchased and owns completely.

[CommanderZx2]

Originally Posted by Raveness

Good to see Steam still manipulating consumer rights in the great battle against piracy At least now I can try for a limited time something that my friend fully purchased and owns completely.

You are complaining that they are going to let you try a full game for a limited time before buying.

How exactly is this manipulating consumer rights?

They are letting you try a full product, for a limited time, without any cost to you and you some how find this as manipulating consumer rights?

Sigh.

Anyway the updates are all great.

[Raveness]

Originally Posted by CommanderZx2

You are complaining that they are going to let you try a full game for a limited time before buying.

How exactly is this manipulating consumer rights?

They are letting you try a full product, for a limited time, without any cost to you and you some how find this as manipulating consumer rights?

Sigh.

Anyway the updates are all great.

I think I read this wrong I thought it was in reference to full products, but it seems to be a type of demo access.

I was hoping that they could create a guest account that would give full access to the games and lock the games down that are being accessed by a friend, so that it virtually achieves the same effect of physical borrowing of the game CD. How it currently works is a friend gives you his/her account name & password.

I don't really like Steam, for I prefer to purchase complete ownership of the product, the traditional way, and not just buy into a leasing contract in which conditions are subject to change by only one party (Valve).

[Blade_cop]

Originally Posted by Raveness

What movie is that, that Arnold is in?

[CommanderZx2]

Originally Posted by Raveness

I think I read this wrong I thought it was in reference to full products, but it seems to be a type of demo access.

I was hoping that they could create a guest account that would give full access to the games and lock the games down that are being accessed by a friend, so that it virtually achieves the same effect of physical borrowing of the game CD. How it currently works is a friend gives you his/her account name & password.

I don't really like Steam, for I prefer to purchase complete ownership of the product, the traditional way, and not just buy into a leasing contract in which conditions are subject to change by only one party (Valve).

Hehe, did you know that when you buy it retail from the shops you are only buying a license to use it. You cannot buy the ownership.

When you buy software you only gain the right to use it, nothing more. If you actually bought the ownership of it then you could make copies of it and sell those copies legally.

For example when you buy windows XP, you buy the right to install it 3 times. Once you have tried to activate that XP a fourth time it says you have used up your installations. You do not own the product, only the license to use for a limited amount of installations.

Another example are anti virus and firewall software. When you buy those software they only come with a year worth of use for updates. You have to pay more money to extend the license to receive more updates.

With games you only receive a license to use that software on one PC and that is it.

Originally Posted by Blade_cop

What movie is that, that Arnold is in?

Predator...

[Grandpapa]

I think it's even better than just a demo, cause you really have a chance to play a full game, even it's just a trial. And it's legal

[Raveness]

You're confusing ownership with mercantile rights. When I purchase anything, I gain ownership of that single item, not the rights to copy and sell that type of product. That would require a merchant license.

The EULA is a slippery slope for the very reason that EULA's are not legally binding contracts, at least not in my realm. Here, binding contracts cannot be altered by either party without consent of the other. Since many EULA's specifically say that the software publisher may change the EULA at any time, it is already void. Also here you cannot be bound by a contract that has not been signed and witnessed.

Furthermore, vendor's cannot place any additional restrictions or conditions on you, the buyer, after you have paid your money for a product. If it's not on the outside of the box, it's assuredly wastepaper. Even if it is on the box, but contradicts local warranty consumer protection laws, it's still garbage. Our laws permit illimitable personal control of purchased property as long as it does not conflict with other laws.

Most of this only comes into affect when presented with a legal precedence, but rest assured that if you live in BC, you can install your software on as many computers as it wants, or it lets you. If it limits you based on a per-user licensing scheme that you did not assent to, return the software for a refund, and if the store bitches about open software, tell them to call my law office and we'll have a nice chat about an even more basic consumer protection law of reasonable return

And now for something completely different......

[Standoff]

Man why do people bother spouting legal crap. Who cares? Things are the way they are, no matter how it's interpreted.

Anyway I think it's pretty cool. I've shown a few people Emergence and they liked it. This would be a better way to do it.

[Cynosure]

How will these changes affect the sin skin? Will it still work? Will you release a new one?

[Xenogenetic]

Originally Posted by Raveness

...if the store bitches about open software, tell them to call my law office and we'll have a nice chat about an even more basic consumer protection law of reasonable return

Then watch everyone lol at you for spending way too much effort on such an embarrassing little whim of yours.

badman will hopefully make a new skin, I doubt it will still work

[Raveness]

Originally Posted by Standoff

Man why do people bother spouting legal crap. Who cares? Things are the way they are, no matter how it's interpreted.

[Standoff]

Yeah I suppose its your life but in the case of games its a really pointless argument.

If somethings wrong with the world, you either work against it or live with it, and I don't see anyone in here working against it, so hey.

On a completely unrelated note, I finally got DSL.

[Raveness]

Tell you what, you can ignore my legal spouting if it hurts your little sensibilities, and I'll ignore your hokum statements on life.

What I said was informational, not argumentative. It's true that most sheeple can't grasp it and are more comfortable being ignorant of the law, finding it easier to trust a store policy, or a professional looking document with big words, as the truth of the matter.

[Raveness]

Originally Posted by Xenogenetic

Then watch everyone lol at you for spending way too much effort on such an embarrassing little whim of yours.

You'd be amazed at how much little effort it takes. Store managers tend to proselitize their policies as a golden rule, then you mention that you are a lawyer, and their tune changes faster than a hot knife through butter.

Only happened once with me, as I remember when Half Life 2 came out, and the validation servers were not working, I wanted to return it and get Vampire Bloodlines instead. The EBGames store manager was so assured that they don't have to accept open-box returns, instead trying to push me store credit. Briefly explained consumer privileges, flashed the card, and watch the standard ass-rape of sheepish customers fall like a windy deck of cards. I guess when people are challenged based on the shit that comes out of their mouth, they tend to balk.

But hey if you'd rather not waste any effort for your earned money, and remain a consumer patsy, more power to the people suckering you out of that cash.

[Xenogenetic]

What a great example, a temporary technical inconvenience and it's suing time. You want to return a completely undamaged item after freely purchasing it yourself?

Also, did you just want to inconvienence the store clerk? "I wanted to return it and get Vampire Bloodlines instead. The EBGames store manager was so assured that they don't have to accept open-box returns, instead trying to push me store credit" EBGames doesn't sell that game?

I hope you don't treat everyone you come in contact with like this.

I don't get suckered out of money because I am not as dumb as say a person who "would buy HL2 without knowing how it works and then trying to return it claiming my ignorance as a reason, then going straight to suing".

[Raveness]

Suing time? By no means was I going that far, as I had just explained that people whom talk out of their asses generally balk when the truth of the matter is laid out before them.

Yes I wanted to return a completely undamaged item for something else because it did not work for me. They did not have Vampire Bloodlines in that store at the time. It didn't take more than 2 minutes to convince him to give the refund, and now the manager hopefully has a clear understanding of how much he can get away with in regards to his customers.

I hope you don't treat everyone you come in contact with like this.

What does that even mean? Do you assume I was screaming my head off at him? My written introspective of the subject may sound harsh, but the exchange between the manager and I was pleasant and all was achieved. But of course you have equated me with being a bitch because I conduct myself as a customer with a more than basic understanding of what I am entitled to on my side.

I don't get suckered out of money because I am not as dumb as say a person who "would buy HL2 without knowing how it works and then trying to return it claiming my ignorance as a reason, then going straight to suing".

I'm sorry, but this just completely lacks anything pertinent. Having more than a rudimentary understanding of your local consumer rights is the best way to tell if you were being suckered out of money.

Half Life 2 did not work at the time due to the validation servers being down. That happened at release, and a phone call to Valve is how I found out, so no ignorance there.

If you have a problem with a female showing some confidence, and equate that to being a "boss bitch", then perhaps adding me to your ignore list would benefit us both I say that because I gather you plainly don't care for my diatribe from your responses. Instead of a "way to stick it to 'em" type of reply, I get a "you're a whimsical bitch for not being a good little customer" type.

Sorry for derailing the news thread Badman. I am the type who tends to go off on a tangent and not right it once it does

[Standoff]

Originally Posted by Raveness

Tell you what, you can ignore my legal spouting if it hurts your little sensibilities, and I'll ignore your hokum statements on life.

What I said was informational, not argumentative. It's true that most sheeple can't grasp it and are more comfortable being ignorant of the law, finding it easier to trust a store policy, or a professional looking document with big words, as the truth of the matter.

My....what? I have sensibilities? Huh, I did not realize this.

So, then, at least at a local level, you chose to fight it. That works, and my corny statement still holds. But in general, it is still accepted if not legal.

The problem with returns is they have no guarantee the item is actually in its original condition. If you've used the cd key, then it isn't necessarily in its original condition and they've only got your word on that.

At any rate, you'll probably have to put up with my overgeneralized crap for a while since I don't plan on leaving, so life's like that.

[Xenogenetic]

You seemed like the type who would turn this into some feminist bullshit when it has absolutely nothing to do with that at all. People who act the way you do piss me off.

Steam updated and the SiN skin isn't working I think.