Get Portal PC and Mac absolutely free

If you've yet to play the classic, beloved first-person puzzle game Portal, now's your chance to do so--free.

(Credit: Valve)

The game Portal is regarded by many to be one of the best of all time. GameSpot awarded it a 9.0 and an Editors' Choice. IGN called it "quirky, clever, polished, and presented with a spark of a subtly evil humor."

Originally part of Valve's The Orange Box bundle, then later a $20 standalone game, Portal is now available absolutely free. And not just for PCs, but also for Macs. (Speaking of which, be sure to check out Rich Brown's recent hands-on testing of Portal on four different Mac systems.)

The one and only string attached is that you'll need a free Steam account and Valve's Steam download client. Hardly a string at all, if you ask me.

I don't know if this is Valve's way of celebrating the release of the Mac version of Portal or what, but I do know this: I'll take it!

Actually, if I'm being honest, I purchased Portal a while back and couldn't get into it. But that's just me: my brain gets bored if it's not blowing things up.

You, on the other hand, should definitely give the game a try. Most of my game-playing friends think it's the greatest thing since sliced Half-Life, and most critics agree. Plus, it's free! We all like free, right?

Valve's offer is good until May 24, so there's no major rush on this. Thanks to reader Kevin, the first of many to bring this deal to my attention.

Bonus deal: Starting today, Navigon is once again dropping the price of MobileNavigator for iPhone to $49.99. (That's the full North America version, by the way.) It usually runs $79.99; the price reduction is good until June 11. I've tried numerous iPhone GPS apps, and MobileNavigator remains my preferred, um, navigator.