Valve joins Linux Foundation

[Silverthorn]

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We already knew that Valve was quite interested in Linux, seeing that more and more games released on Steam are compatible with Linux and that the operating system of the Steambox (SteamOS) is actually Linux-based.
Also, Gabe Newell made it quite clear back then that Windows 8 wasn't really to his liking.
It seems they've now taken another step in this direction by joining the Linux Foundation.

SAN FRANCISCO, December 4, 2013 -- The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that Cloudius Systems, HSA (Heterogeneous System Architecture) Foundation and Valve are joining the organization.
The newest Linux Foundation members represent both nascent open source endeavors as well as established industry leaders. Companies from diverse markets, such as gaming, cloud computing and virtualization are seeing the value of Linux and collaborative development to put them out in front of competitors.
For example, Valve recently announced its plans to expand its Steam platform, with 65 million active accounts and games from hundreds of developers, into the living room with the Steam Machines project. An innovative living room device, the Steam Machines will be powered by a Linux-based operating system dubbed the Steam OS. At the same time, emerging cloud, virtualization, big data and device-driven computing companies are taking advantage of open development and collaboration to ignite innovation.

Source

 

[DinohScene]

Yay linux!

 

[FireEmblemGuy]

Nice that they're reaffirming their dedication to the platform, although in the end I'm not sure it means much.

Somewhat off-topic, but does Steam for Linux have an option for installing non-Linux games under WINE or something, without requiring a separate instance of Steam for Windows under WINE? I know they've said they preferred games running natively, and it certainly wasn't there in the beta, but I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to it recently since my current laptop barely runs flash games.

 

[Skelletonike]

Hum... Linux is fun and all, but good luck with trying to get the masses to turn to Linux as well.
I for one rather love Windows 8, it's fast, convenient and has a nice look.

Valve is pretty big right now and they certainly have lots of fans and stuff, but I doubt this will change anything, people will still prefer Windows over Linux, even if for the most part Linux can do the same things and it's free, Windows is just too powerful of a competitor.

 

[The Catboy]

This pleases me!

 

[Gahars]

"Linux Userbase Climbs 0.00000001% After Valve Announcement"

Truly the tide is turning!

 

[chartube12]

And almost no one cares except for 4 of the people above me? (don't know if Sliverthorn cares he didn't interject his opinion on the matter)

 

[Foxi4]

Can't wait for the "Compile your Kernel!" minigames in-between of relaxing Guru Meditation sessions.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Can't wait for the "Compile your Kernel!" minigames in-between of relaxing Guru Meditation sessions.

Yeah! Cuz it's not like Valve is making this Linux build user friendly or anything! They're gonna make you compile your kernel and everything!

C'mon Foxi, Valve knows full well their main userbase are Windows users, they're not gonna make SteamOS incredibly complicated You can bitch about Linux all you want, but this is Valve, they know what they're doing and who their main market is.

 

[grossaffe]

Hum... Linux is fun and all, but good luck with trying to get the masses to turn to Linux as well.

Don't need the masses switching to Linux immediately, just need developers to develop for Linux so those who prefer Linux aren't forced into Windows.

 

[Foxi4]

Yeah! Cuz it's not like Valve is making this Linux build user friendly or anything! They're gonna make you compile your kernel and everything!

C'mon Foxi, Valve knows full well their main userbase are Windows users, they're not gonna make SteamOS incredibly complicated You can bitch about Linux all you want, but this is Valve, they know what they're doing and who their main market is.

Entertain the joke, sourpuss. We all know that SteamOS won't be user-unfriendly since it's likely going to be a glorified version of standard Steam, much like ChromeOS is a glorified version of the browser.

 

[Sicklyboy]

I feel this is relevant.

Spoiler

 

[Satangel]

Another step closer to a duopoly in the PC gaming market. Interesting, I can see this happening, in 10 years from now. Atm, Linux just isn't popular enough to use or to have a real gaming market.

 

[Skelletonike]

Don't need the masses switching to Linux immediately, just need developers to develop for Linux so those who prefer Linux aren't forced into Windows.

My point remains the same, most people use Windows so for most companies, the loss is less than the one they'd had by investing on making another version of that software.
I've worked in several places in different business before and they all had windows on it, even when I was working at a computer store fixing computers, not a single computer of the workplace had a linux os (although I guess that's because people that use linux are seen as self sufficient to fix their own computers instead of wasting money at a store).

 

[Taleweaver]

I've read and reread the article a few times, but I don't see how this news adds anything that valve's announcement earlier hasn't added. In that regard, cloudius systems (handling virtual clouds) and HSA (developing standards for architecture specifications for some major companies) are actually much more interesting to see where linux is heading.

This isn't to say valve's decision is bad. But we all know that it will take some exclusive killer apps (games) to make people even remotely interested. I doubt even releasing half life 3 just for linux is going to turn the tide.


Skelletonike: the steam machines might change that a bit (basically a small pc with steamOS on it). I don't know if that thing will be widely distributed or even counts, though (android is built on linux, but it's not like we can say that the millions of its users are "using linux").

 

[grossaffe]

Skelletonike: the steam machines might change that a bit (basically a small pc with steamOS on it). I don't know if that thing will be widely distributed or even counts, though (android is built on linux, but it's not like we can say that the millions of its users are "using linux").

They may not be traditional linux users in that they know their way around linux, but if they buy games for these machines, that's a userbase for games on linux which will help to convince developers that Linux is worth developing for. If we can get some momentum pushing that direction, when the software starts to come you'll see more users jumping aboard creating a positive feedback loop.

 

[Skelletonike]

Skelletonike: the steam machines might change that a bit (basically a small pc with steamOS on it). I don't know if that thing will be widely distributed or even counts, though (android is built on linux, but it's not like we can say that the millions of its users are "using linux").

Well, android is based on Linux, but it's nothing like it. Android can't run Linux games and vice versa (well, you can if you use emulators of sorts, but not directly. SteamOS seems like it'll play Linux games, so it'll be just another version of Linux in essence. At least that's what everything I've read about it seems to point to. A linux version centred on Steam.

 

[xxNathanxx]

This is good news. I know several people who use Windows only because they can't play their games on Linux. It's nice to hear that Valve is helping out with giving people a choice.