Valve announces Steam OS, Steam Machines, and Steam Controller

[Rydian]

Source?

I see what you did there. XD

But I more meant along the lines of swapping the desktop interface and other stuff that's supported and done all the time with Linux, but not done very often and/or not well-supported on Windows.

Well, if it is based on Linux, they will have to release the source code to, at the very least, the OS parts of it which people will be able to edit and recompile.

Only for the parts that require it.

 

[xBleedingSoulx]

Seems pretty pointless to me, my gaming PC is already in my living room and is connected to two 32" TV's...

 

[Arras]

Seems pretty pointless to me, my gaming PC is already in my living room and is connected to two 32" TV's...

But that does not apply to everyone.

I wonder if I can run this on a Raspberry Pi or something and use it exclusively for streaming. That might be neat.

 

[grossaffe]

Shows they're serious about their commitment to Linux as a platform. Hopefully the trend continues and Windows will no longer be a requisite of a gaming PC.

 

[Flame]

Having potential and having support are two different things, and you tend to need both to get anywhere. Especially the mainstream.

Linux might be free and open-source, and highly flexible, but its also painfully difficult to get into. It lacks the support Windows has (which is the main reason everyone uses it to begin with) and while Open-source is cute and all, most open-source software isn't built to deliver depth, its made to get the job done, remain small and simple so the userbase can add what they want. Not to come out of the box usable and optimized, ready for whatever you can throw at it.

Most people would much rather not be bothered, and developers see this.

Think of it this way, food stamps are great and all, it keeps you alive and if your clever you can use them to make some great food for pretty damn cheap and large amounts of it too. But you also know you would much rather have a few hundred bucks extra so you can go out once in a while, or at least buy hot food.

there is long term support for picked Linux version, and if you are on rolling version you get the latest version. companies invest millions and millions into Linux, unlike windows the support is more likely if the team stop supporting the kernel some guy will probably just continue do his own thing. unlike windows once the support is over, its over and no one can continue the work, because its close source .

 

[NinSyeiko]

Wait a moment..

You will be able to download steam digital games using this console, and playing it in your TV?

DONT KIDDING ME, IS F**KING AWESOME!

 

[TemplarGR]

I don't get the hate on Linux. I have been using it as my main desktop OS for at least 10 years no, and as a secondary OS for at least 15...

Sure, it has its problems. Many problems in fact. But so do all Windows versions. Plus, Windows cost money and use anticonsumer practices to force you to upgrade...

People, having a Unified OS that can run on whatever hardware you like(not necessarily x86...), and is free, will be extremely good for gaming.

 

[Taleweaver]

Money, ability to edit the OS, etc.

Erm...I'm not sure if you read my quote correctly here. That sure goes for windows, but I said:

And aside from the streaming feature, I don't see what the benefit over steam on linux is to begin with.

I can just install ubuntu or mint on this computer*, use the package manager to install steam on it and game that way. Why should I instead go for steamOS?
It's all nice and dandy that it's "built for gaming"...but aside from some interesting benchmarks when compared to windows**, I have no idea how it stacks up against other linux clients.

Or how the overall interface will look on an operating system that's built for a television screen to begin with... :-\



*the computer I'm currently working on will become my backup pc in a couple of days; I'm building a new one.
**besides...exactly how fair is such a comparison? On windows, I don't dare to disable my firewall or virusscanner. Kind of obvious that linux benchmarks better then.

 

[rg]

I'm not sure if someone mentioned this before but

This will boost the Linux world like nothing has until today, if this OS is linux it means that games that run on Steam will need to be compatible with Linux.

This is going to do some damage!

 

[WiiUBricker]

Not sure if this leak is legit but the guy sounds as if he knows what he's talking about.

 

[Par39]

A bit off-topic here, but am I the only one for whom the picture in the opening post refuses to load fully or even at all? Even on main page it's just trying to load, but it either "stops" in the middle, or just shows up as [ IMG ]

 

[back25]

Well no, that's irrelevant to the post I was responding to; Steam installed on another Linux distro would also support controllers (big picture mode).

Does steam OS only open steam or something?

 

[SifJar]

Does steam OS only open steam or something?

Yes, that's sort of the point. It's similar to Chrome OS; a Linux distro stripped down to one program. At least, that's my understanding of it.

 

[back25]

Yes, that's sort of the point. It's similar to Chrome OS; a Linux distro stripped down to one program. At least, that's my understanding of it.

That's kinda disappointing. I'd rather just use other distro.

 

[Foxi4]

Not sure if this leak is legit but the guy sounds as if he knows what he's talking about.

Both FreeBSD and Linux have their roots in UNIX - once stripped down to the bare minimum of components required for gaming, they'll both use a similar amount of resources... sooo... no, the guy's full of it. As for the "1440p - you name it, whatever" attitude, sure - at what price? Is the required setup going to be cheaper than the PS4? If so, I wonder how much fairy dust it requires.

 

[Wisenheimer]

I don't get the hate on Linux. I have been using it as my main desktop OS for at least 10 years no, and as a secondary OS for at least 15...

Sure, it has its problems. Many problems in fact. But so do all Windows versions. Plus, Windows cost money and use anticonsumer practices to force you to upgrade...

People, having a Unified OS that can run on whatever hardware you like(not necessarily x86...), and is free, will be extremely good for gaming.

I do not think anyone hates Linux. I have used it extensively at school and work. If you need to set up a cheap computer cluster to run an intensive n-body simulation there is no point in even considering Windows (though it has gotten into the high performance computing market as well).

But when we are talking about an actual everyday desktop OS? Everyone I know, including the most technically savy individuals boot to OSX or Windows. Linux has come a long way in the desktop environment but it is still far from a viable replacement for a commercial OS for the vast majority of people. Something simple on OS X or Windows, like installing a commercial software program, can take hours of Googling.

Linux's biggest strength is also its biggest weakness. You can configure the software however you want, even make modifications yourself and compile them. However, with hundreds of different distributions out there, it is difficult to support because there is little consistency.

What STEAM looks like it is doing is not making another full distribution. That would be pointless. There are already some great Linux distros out there. What it looks like it is doing is creating a distro that is stripped down, like the embedded version of Windows included in the Xboxes. That distro will run custom software designed to turn a PC box in your living room into the kind of experience you would get on a PS3 or Xbox.

In fact, the biggest issue I see is that of licenses. If you buy a PC with Windows Media center installed you already have the licenses for things like DVD and Blu-ray playback. As far as I know, there is no way to legally play most commercial DVDs and blurays on Linux. Something as simple as watching a movie you legally bought could conceivably constitute a felony in the United States. Since I assume that STEAM will want their distro to have the ability to play movies, we might actually see them offer the first Linux-licensed bluray player available for download for $10 or $20.

 

[FAST6191]

I do not think anyone hates Linux. I have used it extensively at school

In fact, the biggest issue I see is that of licenses. If you buy a PC with Windows Media center installed you already have the licenses for things like DVD and Blu-ray playback. As far as I know, there is no way to legally play most commercial DVDs and blurays on Linux. Something as simple as watching a movie you legally bought could conceivably constitute a felony in the United States. Since I assume that STEAM will want their distro to have the ability to play movies, we might actually see them offer the first Linux-licensed bluray player available for download for $10 or $20.

How things have changes, we were usually lumped with the last version of windows in various schools I bothered to attend.

Video stuff is an interesting issue though I do have to mention you run the risk of blurring the lines between software patents (not so much a thing outside the US and Japan), DRM (which does have its issues) and commercial use of standards (sometimes a separate gig to straight software patents). Game companies are already familiar with all three which is why instead of better formats (H264 would beat them all out) you tend to get old MPEG1 (I see it sometimes on Japanese games and mostly having its patents expired I believe), things like RAD-bink ( http://www.radgametools.com/binkgames.htm ), other middleware ( http://www.cri-mw.com/product/lineup/audio/criadx2/index.html ), OGG video or even having the developers make their own video formats or be provided one by the console makers (MS obviously have their WMV stuff, Nintendo purchased the people behind their VX/act imagine format and Sony does not do so badly either).

 

[Wisenheimer]

How things have changes, we were usually lumped with the last version of windows in various schools I bothered to attend.

Video stuff is an interesting issue though I do have to mention you run the risk of blurring the lines between software patents (not so much a thing outside the US and Japan), DRM (which does have its issues) and commercial use of standards (sometimes a separate gig to straight software patents). Game companies are already familiar with all three which is why instead of better formats (H264 would beat them all out) you tend to get old MPEG1 (I see it sometimes on Japanese games and mostly having its patents expired I believe), things like RAD-bink ( http://www.radgametools.com/binkgames.htm ), other middleware ( http://www.cri-mw.com/product/lineup/audio/criadx2/index.html ), OGG video or even having the developers make their own video formats or be provided one by the console makers (MS obviously have their WMV stuff, Nintendo purchased the people behind their VX/act imagine format and Sony does not do so badly either).

Well, to be fair, I do not think most Universities extensively use Linux, but it is widely used in natural and computer science departments. I do not remember any professors or students running around with laptops running Ubuntu, but an awful lot of time was spent logged onto Linux machines and supercomputer clusters, either in the lab or via SSH. Most commercial scientific software runs on Linux and there are a lot of open-source programs that scientists, engineers, and computer scientists have developed that do not have OS X or Windows ports.

The issue is not just software patents. The companies charge royalties for the standards. I do not believe it is necessarily illegal, per-se, for you to play back bluray movies you own without paying royalties for the drive (the royalties are due by the person who sells the capability). The main issue seems to be the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which outlaws breaking the encryption keys used to play back commercial movies.

We have this odd situation where it is probably legal to enable DVD or Bluray playback on a drive you own, rip the Bluray movie to whatever format you want, but since it requires hacking the encryption keys, you could potentially become a felon. Since the Justice Department is not interested in prosecuting individual home users and since the media companies are not interested in suing them for breaking encryption, I doubt the unfairness of this has ever been addressed by a court, especially in a criminal case.

 

[grossaffe]

Well, to be fair, I do not think most Universities extensively use Linux, but it is widely used in natural and computer science departments. I do not remember any professors or students running around with laptops running Ubuntu, but an awful lot of time was spent logged onto Linux machines and supercomputer clusters, either in the lab or via SSH. Most commercial scientific software runs on Linux and there are a lot of open-source programs that scientists, engineers, and computer scientists have developed that do not have OS X or Windows ports.

I don't know what program you are/were in, but I see a lot of Linux users in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department (as well as the linux servers we can ssh into). We also had computer labs with machines that dual-booted Windows and Fedora (Ubuntu was still fairly young and not as stable as it is today).

 

[The Milkman]

I see what you did there. XD

But I more meant along the lines of swapping the desktop interface and other stuff that's supported and done all the time with Linux, but not done very often and/or not well-supported on Windows.

Oh wow. That was entirely unintentional.

Fraid I still don't understand though, do you mean aspects of the GUI that you can normally change on Linux distros? Like for instance, Valve being able to make a Start button type thing that pulls up your game library instead? Or am I entirely missing your point?

there is long term support for picked Linux version, and if you are on rolling version you get the latest version. companies invest millions and millions into Linux, unlike windows the support is more likely if the team stop supporting the kernel some guy will probably just continue do his own thing. unlike windows once the support is over, its over and no one can continue the work, because its close source .

Well, isn't that sort of like saying "Once Apple stops making iPods, Walkmans will sell like crazy!" (or at least its like saying it if we were all in the late 90s >_>)

Its not like if iPods stopped selling it WOULDN'T happen, its just far from likely. Plus, if Linux development halted, it would be worse then in the case with Windows. The biggest problem with Open-Source (like I said before) is that it often depends on the userbase. Linux is already crazy with massive amounts of Shells and Distros. Imagine if you also had three or four Linux kernals to pick from too!

At the very least, if M$ goes broke and can't support Windows, other software developers will jump on and try to buy the source themselves and continue support. Windows brand is more powerful and well known then Microsoft itself!