Yahoo! Games has word that they will be debuting the playable demo for the PC edition of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare at Noon Eastern time on Thursday, October 11. There is a streaming video embedded in that page to offer a preview of the demo for Infinity Ward's coming military shooter sequel. Thanks Planet Call of Duty.

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Website offers a status update on the Linux editions of Splash Damage's first person shooter from id's Timothee Besset:

On the server front, we've now released stable server builds for the demo and the retail release. There are over 1,300 servers running the Linux version already (more than Windows in fact) so as a Linux proponent myself, I'm really pleased with its popularity.

I've also been making steady progress with the Linux Client, and it's coming along really well. We've been running a closed-beta test for 'friends and family' for a little while, and for the past couple of weeks have had a fully functional version of the demo running. The closed-beta testers are now able to play alongside Windows players on the same version, with full Punkbuster support. The major systems including the renderer and audio are working great, and performance has been good on both the NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards.

Alongside my other responsibilities at id, my focus now is on optimization for the Linux Client. If everything goes to plan, we should have the Linux Client ready for release in just a few weeks.

Steam News announces a new client update for the Team Fortress 2 beta is now available. The new version fixes three bugs, adds a low pages memory pool warning, and fixes an exploit.

Last night's Steam client update left some folks unable to connect to play games, telling them they were unable to connect to the internet, when this was not actually the case, they were just unable to connect to Steam. The Steam Users Forums (thanks Frans) offer a simple workaround, saying that deleting the "clientregistry.blob" file gets things working again.

Shooting For Perfection: The Cevat Yerli Interview on GameInformer talks with Crytek’s Cevat Yerli about Crysis, their eagerly anticipated first-person shooter (thanks inCrysis). Topic include DirectX 10 support, possible console ports, engine licensing, opening new studios, Ubisoft developing Far Cry 2, and more. The article also offers a pair of new screenshots.

The Battlefield Pirates 2 Website now offers the first update for this seafaring Battlefield 2 modification, updating it to version 1.2, as version 1.1 was an internal build (thanks Ant and Planet Battlefield). Word is: "This major overhaul not only features a range of bug fixes, including for the notorious crash issues, but also introduces a couple new treats to our swashbuckling mod. In addition, the developers have done their magic and have been able to reduce the file size as well as fix the broken maps, delivering a more stable game for all pirates out on the Seven Seas."

• Crysis on GameSpot.
• Kane and Lynch on bit-tech.net.
• Pirates of the Burning Sea on GameSpot.

• Arm Yourself For Battle Contest on the Enemy Territory QUAKE Wars Website. Win a High-End Gaming PC.
• CAL's Enemy Territory Quake Wars 6v6 Open.
• Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Contest creative writing contest on Shacknews.

• Demo: Looney Tunes ACME Arsenal on Xbox Live. Availability: Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
• New entry-level Xbox 360 model imminent? Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Hellgate London DX10 Shader Comparison on Voodoo Extreme.
• Tiny 'tin whiskers' imperil electronics. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• A Chat With Intel's Pat G and Tech ARP.

• Mobile Platform Wars: AMD vs. Intel. Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Dark Horse Prez Candidate Dennis Kucinich Opens Second Life HQ.
• In the Race to Buy Concert Tickets, Fans Keep Losing (registration required). Thanks Mike Martinez.

• U.S. blocked California state Web sites to stop porn. Thanks Mike Martinez.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Bush admin: RIAA win shows copyright law is 'effective'.
• Why the digital-download divide is only going to widen.
• Left Behind Games Gets Apocalyptic with Bloggers.
• If You Play Your Radio Loud Enough For Your Neighbor To Hear, Is It Copyright Infringement?

• Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII on YouGamers.
• Medal of Honor: Airborne on ComputerGames.ro.

• BlueAnt’s Z9 Bluetooth Headset on Legit Reviews.
• CoolerMaster HyperTX Heatsink on Modders-Inc.
• Cooler Master RC-690 Case on techPowerUp.
• Gigabyte 3D Mercury Water Cooling Case on 3DGameMan.
• Ideazon Merc Stealth Gaming Keyboard on Top Review Shop.
• Microsoft SideWinder Mouse on ExtremeTech.
• MSI X38 Diamond Video Card on XSReviews.co.uk.
• PowerColor HD2600 Pro 512MB Video Card on Overclockers Club.
• Project PDA Palm Treo 750 on Project PDA.
• Silverstone Element ST50EF-Plus 500W PSU on HardwareLogic.
• Super Talent VIDEGO24T MP4 Series Media Player on TweakTown.
• Thermalright HR-03 Plus Cooler on techPowerUp.
• Zalman Z-Machine GT1000 Case on HardwareLogic.

• Steam News announces that Loki, Cyanide's action/RPG, is now available for purchase via the online service…
• Booze Cruise video game gives teens reality check. Thanks Mike Martinez…
• Study: Games narrow spatial skills gender gap…

Some folks are coming by the BlueTower today for a cookout, this is the Columbus Day weekend, so this could be considered the rationale for a get-together, but we didn't actually realize when we made our plans. Anyway, the weather is going to be surprisingly cooperative, with the forecast calling for temperatures in the mid-80s, and with children coming this will help them stay entertained. In further bit of quasi-summer action I was able to score a couple of bags of charcoal, after being unable to locate any just a couple of weeks ago; the store had a pretty healthy supply, so I think I'll pick up a few more bags soon to cover our grilling needs for the winter.

Warm Links!	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Stories:	Customs find beetles stuffed with cocaine.
Science!:	Bird flu mutating, infects people more easily. Tests help mutt owners find identity.
Media:	Monkey Riverdance. Juggling hammers while driving a nail in the ceiling. Un Gros Billet.
Follow-ups:	Did Russia Stage the Father of All Bombs Hoax? Lead Recall Hits Scout Badges. Sam's Club recalls beef patties.