Valve, a Video Game Maker With Few Rules is a New York Times article on Valve Corporation, offering their own take on the developer's unusual approach to their business. They discuss the company's forward-thinking approach and unstructured structure as well as Gabe Newell's publiccriticism of Windows 8. They also outline the current state of Valve's hardware ambitions, giving firsthand impressions of a prototype of the wearable computer and the company's big picture UI mode, which they say will enter public testing tomorrow: "On Monday, the company will begin a public test of a new television-friendly interface, Big Picture, for buying Steam games and playing them on computers in the living room."

ManiaPlanet News announces a new beta version 1.3 of ShootMania Storm is now available, detailing the "Elite Exp" mode that's part of the new version. They also offer a new trailer showing off the power of the level editor for NADEO's upcoming first-person shooter. Those interested in participating in the beta test can sign up on the ShootMania Storm Website. Thanks Frans.

The Marvel Heroes Website is accepting signups for the closed beta of this upcoming superhero MMORPG, saying testing will commence next month (thanks GameSpy via HARDOCP), saying: "Closed Beta starts October 1st, 2012! Enter your email address for the chance to be selected, and also be the first to know about new game information."

ArenaNet continues its post-launch tweaking of Guild Wars 2, posting patch notes for an update yesterday and another set from today. Most of the changes are bug fixes.

• Amazon caves in, will remove ads from Kindle Fire for $15 fee.
• WSJ: next-gen iPhone to have global 4G LTE compatibility.

Thanks Frans.

• Mozilla Firefox version 15.0.1 is now available. Release Notes.
• Mozilla Thunderbird 15.0.1 isn't yet on the Website, but it is on their FTP.

• Kenyan gov’t embraces open source. Thanks Linux Today.
• Survey: Americans are Stressed Out by Their Computers. Thanks HARDOCP.

Thanks j.c.f.

• 3 years later, hackers who hit Google continue string of potent attacks.
• Anonymous- behind the masks of the cyber insurgents. Thanks Acleacius.
• Facebook Timeline Eraser Chrome Plugins Dupe Tens of Thousands of Users.
• Finnish Developer Demoes Breaking into the OS X Keychain.
• New Attack Uses SSL-TLS Information Leak to Hijack HTTPS Sessions.

• How the DOJ E-Book Ruling Will Affect the Way You Read. Thanks Acleacius.
• Norton: Cybercrime cost $110 billion last year. Thanks j.c.f.

• Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition on TweakTown.
• Endless Space on PC Gamer.

• AMD Radeon HD 7870 on Eurogamer.net.
• Cyborg F.R.E.Q. 5 Stereo Gaming Headset on eTeknix.
• HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook on t-break.
• Hydra 3×1 HDMI Cable Switch on Test Freaks.
• Zalman ZM-NC3500 Plus Notebook Cooler on eTeknix.

• Skyrim Workshop: Mod #10,000…

Okay, I didn't completely think through my proposal to compete with any of you who want to see who can pick more NFL winners, or the first thing I would have decided was to post my picks before Sunday to give others the chance to post their own before the games. I also didn't anticipate the pain associated with a Giants fan picking the Eagles, for example, to win, so maybe I'll have to reevaluate this. In the meantime, since I said I would, here are my picks for this week:

Bears, Eagles, Lions, Texans, Chiefs, Vikings, Saints, Bills, Patriots, Seahawks, Packers, Bucs, Steelers, Ravens, and Chargers.

Picked Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Huebrix.
Stories:	Scotts Miracle-Gro to pay big fine. 'Hummer Hero,' Uses Vehicle To Shield Four Children. Airplane! voted funniest film ever. Surely they can't be serious.
Media:	Sh*t Apple Fanatics Say, Part 1 and Part 2. Who Makes Better Sound Effects- Guys or Girls? What Happened To All The Milkmen?