Ep 3 is coming, PROBABLY. :)
http://systemlink.gamersguidetolife.com/2010/06/half-life-2-episode-3-pretty-much.html

The first image in that post is fake. It was taken from Steam forums, where multiple people have proven it to not be real.

OK then, thanks for confirming.
Post here if you know anything. ;)

Hmm Mr. Gabe N. confirmed that this image is fake, and Ep3 won't be the surprise at E3. =(
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/valve-e3-reveal-isnt-ep-3-newell

Would it still be a surprise if he said ep3 is coming? But whatever I'm fed up with needless speculations, I will just sit back, wait and be surprised.

I would be very surprised if Steam does not account for the majority of Valve's income these days. As such, it can hardly be said to be "just a byproduct". Steam is Valve's main product now.

this whole thing is nothing but an advertisement

Think about it this way:
What pushes the new Steam features? L4D(2) and TF2, for the most part.
And pretty much everyone will admit that those are some of the best games out there. I rarely ever see people complain about the gameplay, and instead just complain about the community.
What is pushing these features? SP games. And I have yet to see someone who has played the Half-Lifes that outright disliked them.
Valve are a strange beast. Yeah, most of their income is probably Steam. But they are still pushing Steam with amazing games.

I never said they made bad games. I just said that you can hardly call Steam "just a byproduct" anymore. Not when it has become the core of their business.

But think about it. The guys who code the Source engine and make levels aren't useful for Steam. So that mostly leaves a few guys who do tech support (who should probably be executed), and the rest make the games.
To call Steam their primary focus just doesn't make sense. It is definitely a large focus, but it still largely grows as a byproduct of what they want to do with THEIR products.

Empty words hyping Portal 2? I agree.;)
They'll bring some imaginary cake, sing a song, flip the bird, and carry on. At least they have a sense of humor better than Kotick.;P

oh noez.
company is advertising their product.
what evil bastards they are.

I don't care about L4D too, but I leave it at that. I must be a patient man, I don't mind waiting, I don't mind Valve's release strategies (:P).
Or maybe I'm not as passionate about it...
Anyway, since so many people get worked up about their intricacies (not saying it's bad of course) Valve is obviously succesfull with the way they approach those things.

Hmmm... yet another speculation, but this time isn't from 4chan:
http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=950403
http://www.vg247.com/2010/06/08/rumor-valves-e3-surprise-is-source-engine-2/