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Find the melon you want to eat which someone has taken from you!

http://store.steampowered.com/...

Good story! :D Such deep!

I'll make sure to let the 7,518,856 other people I play Dota 2 with every month know (that number from just loading the game and looking at the unique monthly players figure).

That is, if I can get their attention while they're all trying to be the next team to win $1m in cash.

(Related aside: check out Valve's Free to Play documentary; it's a great watch for some insight into the lives of professional gamers.)

Steam, the distribution platform, is a closed garden. SteamOS, and the Steam Machines, are not. See http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/.

Can I hack this box? Run another OS? Change the hardware? Install my own software? Use it to build a robot?
Sure.

Path of Exiles. On Steam. Integrates with your steam account for login & purchases. Free to play! Sales are purely cosmetic, with the exception of an (unnecessary) larger stash. It's what Diablo 3 SHOULD have been!

Stash can go up to over 64,000 tabs. Most people never need more than the (free) default. Really over the top skill-tree. All classes can get any skill in the tree, can use any weapon or armor (if you have the stats from the skill tree), can use any spells. Your class just determines where you start on the skill-tree, and what your quest rewards are. Complexity is as high as you want to make it. There is no gold. Everything is traded for "currency items".

Caveats: If you don't know graph theory, that skill-tree will make you learn. My only gripe so far: To few keybindings for spell-gems. (All spells are socketed gems. Some help connected gems.)

Wait, you're saying I can play Thief on the Surface Pro? Pics or it didn't happen.

Looks like gamers are happily using Windows 8 without DX12 as it is: http://store.steampowered.com/...

After all, why would a game developer use DX12 over DX11 (or even DX9) if it is only supported by a small subset of their market?

Almost 25% of gamers use Windows 8 according to Steam hardware stats: http://store.steampowered.com/.... This makes it not only the second place gaming platform but also the fastest growing one. (+0.83% last month). If you look closely, the platform that had the largest loss was not XP or even Vista but Windows 7, at 0.36% last month. Seems like by the time DX12 is released in 2015, Windows 8 will hold a pretty hefty chunk of the gaming market.

You might want to take a peek here sometime.

No, SteamOS is based on Debian.

I don't know about this. Call of Duty Ghosts is currently $30 for PC, $30 for XBox, $36 for XBone. New releases are all $60, right? Savings don't sound like much.

I don't own an XBOne, I just think gaming PCs are inherently pretty expensive. Your example of $379 for a super cheap gaming PC doesn't include the $100+tax cost of windows, so that's pretty much in line with the $500-$600 I was talking about.

Looking at the survey, it seems 1080p is much more popular than 1600x900. Obviously going higher is better and I'll guess lower resolutions are often done by the people running HD Graphics 4000 and the like.

Not quite. For Valve, a limited subset probably means the base DirectX 9.0c library. DirectX 9.0c is not just one monolithic library: it is a set of libraries that has had many addons and updates over time. This is why almost every game you install wants to "update/install" DirectX. It is not a matter of updating the library, it is a matter of ensuring all the different dependencies that were compiled into the game are installed on the machine and at the correct versions.

See: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9974-PAXN-6252

But how would you get such a rule installed? Steam is not using the standard package format of the underlying distribution and I don't even think it run as root*. So it can't just disable a SELinux rule.

*I may be wrong. But there should be no reason for Steam to run as root.

Have you tried downloading Steam for Linux? It's shipped as a deb file.

There's a few Windows + Linux only titles, but they typically don't stay that way for long. It usually just means the Mac port is still in development. For example Cannons Lasers Rockets is Win+Linux only right now, but it's an "early access" game.

Combines Nethack and a 2D platform scroller. Not nearly as complicated as Nethack, but much more fun IMHO. Also has a unique multiplayer component. The developer is active on Reddit, and fixes bugs quickly.

Website: http://www.wazhack.com/
Just released on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/...
Reddit page: http://www.reddit.com/r/WazHac...

Steam isn't a subscription service,

You should probably read the things you agree to. Steam is most definitely a subscription service.

... allow for harvesting of information on your computer. If you read the full agreement you'll see that it specifically states, "By using Valve's online sites, products, and services, users agree that Valve may collect personally identifiable information (as defined below)."

No where does it say they will go through your DNS cache. At best, the policy covers things such as your Name, Address, Phone Number, CC #, etc for billing purposes, and the use of cookies and the like.

Unfortunately the Steam TOS has a binding arbitration clause which effectively keeps you from suing them. (See section 12 of the Steam TOS)

Linky things:
Valve Privacy Policy: http://store.steampowered.com/...
Steam TOS: http://store.steampowered.com/...

... allow for harvesting of information on your computer. If you read the full agreement you'll see that it specifically states, "By using Valve's online sites, products, and services, users agree that Valve may collect personally identifiable information (as defined below)."

No where does it say they will go through your DNS cache. At best, the policy covers things such as your Name, Address, Phone Number, CC #, etc for billing purposes, and the use of cookies and the like.

Unfortunately the Steam TOS has a binding arbitration clause which effectively keeps you from suing them. (See section 12 of the Steam TOS)

Linky things:
Valve Privacy Policy: http://store.steampowered.com/...
Steam TOS: http://store.steampowered.com/...

How can you say it is "core component" if it is purely optional?

Because it's one of the three main services Steam offer to publishers/developers, alongside distribution via download ('digital distribution' if you prefer tautologies) and game-updating.

I could say the Steam client includes a DRM system, used by nearly all games available from the Steam library. Better? It remains that Steam is DRM.

There are studios that will not sell their games without a DRM system. This means that the fault lies in the hands of the studios demanding DRM and the consumers purchasing drm laden games.

Sure. Valve is one such company.

If you want to fault Steam for something fault them for not being upfront with the consumer with which games have DRM.

They should be more upfront, but they do at least list an Internet connection in the System Requirements.

Since music is a collaborative art, and you are going to want to share music, aren't you better off using what people in your "scene" are using, whether that's your school program or online forum or in the performance venues you frequent? I'd expect that would trump whatever software might look "best" if you were working alone.

Perhaps a program that actually facilitates said collaboration would be useful. Was just looking at some software on Steam earlier and this piqued my interest. It's Windows/Mac only ATM but the base program can be used for free.
"Free version is limited to compressed audio export and 16 bit audio recording."

Accepting you have a problem is the first step out of fanboyism.

On the contrary, I don't have a problem. ATI drivers have a problem. There's a reason why Nvidia has holds 51.67% over ATI's 31.35%, or are those 51% fanboys too? It's easy to throw around labels, Mr. Troll.

I'm not so sure, from my reading of it they're giving away the Valve Complete pack, which they tend to sell for next to nothing every time there's a Steam sale anyway.. My guess is most people interested in these games will already have them.

This is a fair offer but as an interesting fact, you could have gotten the Valve complete pack from a russian reseller for as low as 6-9 TF2 keys = 15 Dollar all day long.

http://store.steampowered.com/...
http://www.steamprices.com/us/...

I'm not going to cram my current desktop rig into my home theater, because it's a powerful machine that is capable of doing far more than spitting out a movie or playing a Steam library.

Well for you there's In-home Streaming

Per Valve:

You can play all your Windows and Mac games on your SteamOS machine, too. Just turn on your existing computer and run Steam as you always have - then your SteamOS machine can stream those games over your home network straight to your TV!

The streaming function doesn't require a beefy machine ( even Tegra 3/4 devices can handle it).

> Maybe you should branch out a bit before you use the word "only" so often.

It’s the word of distinction that I am making with other delivery systems *I* used. I used it with all deliberation.

> It's actually quite common for games to log play time. Heck this extends back to the Quake / Starcraft days.

I do not know if that is true. None of the many non-Steam games I currently have, give any hint of this being true.

Even if that is the case, it is more of an intrusion if the delivery system logs/transmits play times than if individual games do. For example, it’s one thing for Slashdot to log my usage of Slashdot and another thing for my ISP/DoubleClick/NSA logging my use of Slashdot, along with everything else (not a perfect analogy, but adequate).

Your experience seems to be different than mine. I know I have launch problems. I have seen others complain similarly in forums.

See these threads
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=675439
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2280788

There are all sorts of experiences from those who assert, like you, that they have no problems to those who have the very same problems that I do.

I have no experience with Origin, uplay, G4WL so far. I have avoided Sim City and Assassins Creed 3 so far, precisely for the reason of always-on DRM (along with Diablo III and a few others).

All the other digital distributions I bought from, work exactly like any other paid software on my Desktop – never need Internet after install. Steam is the only one that I use (no doubt that Origin, G4WL and uPlay also do – and hence I don’t buy from them), which keeps reminding me that I only have a service.

> I still assert that it's a shitload better than what the competitors are ramming down our throats.

To be fair, I do like that you buy the game once for all platforms. Other vendors often want you to buy it separately for each platform. I am interested in home streaming to my laptop from my Desktop that Steam is said to be working on. No other vendor is working on that now. Some redeeming features. But I still prefer other vendors.

> Maybe you should branch out a bit before you use the word "only" so often.

It’s the word of distinction that I am making with other delivery systems *I* used. I used it with all deliberation.

> It's actually quite common for games to log play time. Heck this extends back to the Quake / Starcraft days.

I do not know if that is true. None of the many non-Steam games I currently have, give any hint of this being true.

Even if that is the case, it is more of an intrusion if the delivery system logs/transmits play times than if individual games do. For example, it’s one thing for Slashdot to log my usage of Slashdot and another thing for my ISP/DoubleClick/NSA logging my use of Slashdot, along with everything else (not a perfect analogy, but adequate).

Your experience seems to be different than mine. I know I have launch problems. I have seen others complain similarly in forums.

See these threads
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=675439
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2280788

There are all sorts of experiences from those who assert, like you, that they have no problems to those who have the very same problems that I do.

I have no experience with Origin, uplay, G4WL so far. I have avoided Sim City and Assassins Creed 3 so far, precisely for the reason of always-on DRM (along with Diablo III and a few others).

All the other digital distributions I bought from, work exactly like any other paid software on my Desktop – never need Internet after install. Steam is the only one that I use (no doubt that Origin, G4WL and uPlay also do – and hence I don’t buy from them), which keeps reminding me that I only have a service.

> I still assert that it's a shitload better than what the competitors are ramming down our throats.

To be fair, I do like that you buy the game once for all platforms. Other vendors often want you to buy it separately for each platform. I am interested in home streaming to my laptop from my Desktop that Steam is said to be working on. No other vendor is working on that now. Some redeeming features. But I still prefer other vendors.

PCs that ship with SteamOS are probably pressure enough

I disagree. The PC and PC gaming market doesn't just consist of people who primarily play games. The industry has long shifted to want to include everybody else, and the "gamer" tag is becoming less and less meaningful these days, as more and more people play games to some degree or another

Here's where the LCD kicks in again. Lots of people are too lazy to setup an HTPC. Lots of people simply accept whatever DRM big publishers push on them. Lots of people actually like Apple's walled garden, or accept that Windows (8) PC as that's the only thing the big name store carries.

Most importantly, lots of people want their PCs to general use, not slanted towards gaming (oh I'm sure SteamOS is fully capable for general use, but that's not the angle it's being sold as). When these non-gamer non-computer-literate people go to a store and ask for a general use PC, the likely response (LCD, path of least resistance) would be Windows (and when they say "I want to play games in the living room, the LCD response is PS4/XBONE or even the Wii U)

I mean, even when Win 8/Vista sucked, many people are still on some variant of Windows

So when publishers are looking to publish for the PC, they'll see that there's still a whole lot of people on Windows, where their existing DRM works, and think it's ok to make what money they can off of Windows people, and think of a port later (that is, if they don't go the route of just pushing more DLCs and rush to a sequel - or in business talk: up selling to existing (Windows) customers instead of expanding your customer base (to Linux/SteamOS))

Ditto for console-focused devs/publishers. I liked Gabe's witty "XBox 3 million? We're at 65 million" response, but that's just speaks to Gabe's ability to smooth talk. Objectively speaking that 65 million is Steam users, not people who will install SteamOS or will buy a Steam machine. Even Steam's own stats show most of them are on Windows.

The silver lining however is that if they do make a port, Linux/SteamOS will be a more viable option alongside the other platforms, hopefully at least more viable than... the Mac (oh god the pessimist in me is now even more skeptical)

"With an open platform, you should be free to use whatever input device you want."
Um. You think because the SteamBox platform is Linux that the SteamStuffs running on the SteamBox is an "open platform"?

Exactly what are you thinking here, captain?

No need for thinking since one can check facts instead. While the entire system isn't open the inputs are handled through the opensourced part.
The base system draws from Debian 7, code named Debian Wheezy.
If your input device works on under Debian you can use it.

XP has a number of limitations that Win7 and Win8 supercede -- nearly all XP installs still running are the 32-bit version with a 4GB limit on RAM and a 2TB limit for disk volumes, and as far as I know XP doesn't support TRIM for SSDs. It also limits out at DX9, important for gamers and there are probably other limitations due to its age and end-of-support status.

You could turn that around by saying that XP just didn't need more than 4GB of RAM and 2TB hard disk space. And as for DX9, according to Steam's Hardware & Software Survey, XP use is at 6.35% so it appears that gamers have already figured out that they need to upgrade.

Obviously the people using XP now are still satisfied with the OS. It is a vicious circle that you need to upgrade to use more hardware (RAM/HD), when it is only because that you have upgraded your software that you need to access more hardware.

I have very little faith in website statistics. Rather, check out Steam's Hardware Survey. The total for all versions of Windows 8 and 8.1 are now at 19.97% and climbing.

The main reason for 8's catastrophic failure is the fact that it pushed for touch centric desktop, leaving everyone using mouse/keyboard or mouse only with a crippled interface that simply didn't work properly.

Bullshit. Check out Steam's Hardware Survey. Windows 8 is currently at 18% and climbing. This is to be expected, since a huge majority of people do not upgrade their OS and simply wait until they get a new machine. Windows 8's desktop is not touch centric. It's touch enabled. You can still use a keyboard and mouse to do everything. In fact, you can still use the keyboard only, just as you could with previous versions of Windows. The Start Screen is an improvement over the traditional and tired Start Menu, which most people failed to customize to remove clutter and confusion. Having all one's apps on one large screen that's easy to organize is the better way to go.

Try something not 8 months old, foolish troll.

Bring on the Linux version of GTA, Battlefield, and other major titles, PLEASE!

Try Serious Sam 3: BFE for this holiday.

It's 300 Linux games on Steam. This doesn't count any non-steam games.

Valve is also putting their weight behind this and getting other developers to release their games for Steam OS (and Linux). Metro Last Light is one of the most recent AAA titles. Check for yourself the current steam Linux catalog (hint, you won't find Free Civ on there).

As far as the OS, it's a component in the (not yet released) Steam Machines. When released, consumers will be able to pick one up for $499 pre-built, with a Steam controller .

The OS *by itself* is aimed at fans, early adopters, beta testers, whatever you want to call them. However it's just one part of a larger puzzle that Valve has been putting together piece by piece over the past few years (SteamOS + Controller + Steam Machines + Big Picture Mode + Family Sharing + Trading Cards + Achievements + Social + Steam Workshop + Porting Source to Linux + Optimizing Linux AMD/nVidia/intel drivers + Porting the Steam Client to Linux).

Come January the pieces come together.

Not required, supported. The list is supported hardware. I would assume standard BIOS is supported as well but they wanted to point out that newer UEFI only boards are also supported.

Seems you got modded up, despite being WRONG. UEFI booting is required for the installer, which is why UEFI Support was listed as a hardware requirement in the FAQ you looked at. The requirement is also mentioned further down in the FAQ. Also reference:

http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown.
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse/discussions/1/648814395741989999/
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/12/valve-releases-steamos-beta-early-build-your-own-system-requirements/

One benefit to this is that people won't be trying to install this on an old piece of crap and then complaining it's slow.

"Are they providing a sensible version of GNOME? I very want to shuck Ubuntu, and this would let me have my Steam games *and* a usable desktop system."

This isn't the Linux you're looking for. This is stripped down and intended to run Steam in Big Picture mode all the time. No desktop at all. The standard Steam client on a Linux system is what you're looking for.

Personally, I shy away from the bleeding edge Linux systems and stick with CentOS.

"Users can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want. Gamers are empowered to join in the creation of the games they love. SteamOS will continue to evolve, but will remain an environment designed to foster these kinds of innovation."

- Sounds like it's meant to be hacked however the end-user sees fit. If I want to add a desktop I will. I agree that adding the steam client to a current linux desktop might be best if you want stability in your desktop apps. But don't you think games would run best on Steam when run on the official OS made by Valve?

You say you have 88 titles working on Linux - most of them are indie - which is great, but I want 90%+ of my current library to be natively supported.

As of this writing, there are 408 Linux titles in the Steam library.
http://store.steampowered.com/browse/linux/

I agree that they need more titles, but they are working on it. More are added every day. And yes, much of it is indie titles, the same holds true for the Windows and Mac libraries of games too. And some of the titles that are out on Linux are AAA titles... the latest incarnation of the Metro series (4A, formerly a THQ title) is available on Linux, as is the latest incarnation of Sega's Football Manager series, just to name a couple. Steam for Linux is gaining traction, and has the attention of some of the bigger names in gaming. It'll be a while before studios like EA take notice, but once they do, it won't take them long to jump on the bandwagon... Porting their titles from PS3 to Linux is probably easier than porting to Windows. ;)

Anecdotally? I've spent more on gaming in the last 6 months than I have in the last 3 years, and every single title I've bought has been a Linux-native title though Steam. I realize that the plural of "anecdote" is not "data", but I doubt very much that I'm the only one who feels this way.

"Even with the few games released so far, [...]"

Actually, Steam already lists hundreds of games for Linux and if it keeps up this pace, it's set to pass the number of Mac games in half a year.
In fact, you may want to take a look around during the next couple of days.

Skyrim: Legendary Edition (which includes 3 addons) is on sale for $20.39 for a few days.
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/28187/

Like I said, $30 is $10 too much. It pays to wait for Steam Summer / Christmas sales.

Valve's been quoted as saying that users "can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want".

Does your quote (from this page) apply to all devices that ship with SteamOS or only to commodity PCs onto which the end user has installed SteamOS? If SteamOS device manufacturers lock out game sideloading the way AT&T did for the first six months that it offered Android phones, SteamOS in practice will end up as closed as the major consoles. I'd like to see the source of your quote so that I can try to glean more information from the context. I guess I'll just have to wait for the release of SteamOS devices to see if a manufacturer tries to lock the device down with an inflexible implementation of UEFI Secure Boot.

The Valve SteamOS page still says:

You can play all your Windows and Mac games on your SteamOS machine, too. Just turn on your existing computer and run Steam as you always have - then your SteamOS machine can stream those games over your home network straight to your TV!

From a marketplace that used to be served by 6 competing vendors into a duopoly marketplace that is currently served by only 2 vendors --- the pace of innovation has slowed to a crawl.

We're most definitely not in a duopoly marketplace at the moment. There are currently only 2 companies offering high performance 3D consumer priced cards, but there are other companies in the graphics business. The most popular graphics card used by people using Steam is the Intel HD Graphics 3000, for example. Matrox is still about, too, but not competing in consumer 3D.

To be honest, I can't really remember a time in which there were more than 3 (possibly 4) major players in the high end consumer 3D market. Matrox dabbled, but never got close to a cost efficient gaming card, really IMO... the closest they came was the G400 IIRC. That was the era when you could possibly claim there were 4 competing vendors. Soon after, Matrox left the market to concentrate on 2D, and 3dfx dissapeared up their own arse. I'm not sure who the other 2 you are alluding to are.... SiS, VIA?

...we even have a video game for it called Papers please!. Get it from steam to preview how your TSA screenings will be in the near future.

No need to use the past tense. Even among the obviously gamer/enthusiast slanted systems represented in the Steam Hardware Survey, they place surprisingly well. Among people who don't care, buying a discrete video card went away some time ago, and Intel gets a default win on anything non-AMD.

Not a terribly thrilling market to dominate; but you make it up in volume, I imagine.

QWOP is just a silly web game purposefully eliciting utter hilarity, but calling this thing a "Surgeon Simulator" is intellectually insulting. It's just an advanced QWOP.

It's a joke on "Train Simulator" and "Farming Simulator" and all those other "Thing Simulator" games on Steam. That's why the PC version is called "Surgeon Simulator 2013" - to mock things like Train Simulator 2014, Farming Simulator 2013, or Euro Truck Simulator 2. I'm sure there are more.

Incidentally, for a laugh, go to that Train Simulator 2014 link, find the DLC section, and hit "see all." Currently at the bottom I see "$2953.65 - Add all DLC to Cart".

QWOP is just a silly web game purposefully eliciting utter hilarity, but calling this thing a "Surgeon Simulator" is intellectually insulting. It's just an advanced QWOP.

It's a joke on "Train Simulator" and "Farming Simulator" and all those other "Thing Simulator" games on Steam. That's why the PC version is called "Surgeon Simulator 2013" - to mock things like Train Simulator 2014, Farming Simulator 2013, or Euro Truck Simulator 2. I'm sure there are more.

Incidentally, for a laugh, go to that Train Simulator 2014 link, find the DLC section, and hit "see all." Currently at the bottom I see "$2953.65 - Add all DLC to Cart".

QWOP is just a silly web game purposefully eliciting utter hilarity, but calling this thing a "Surgeon Simulator" is intellectually insulting. It's just an advanced QWOP.

It's a joke on "Train Simulator" and "Farming Simulator" and all those other "Thing Simulator" games on Steam. That's why the PC version is called "Surgeon Simulator 2013" - to mock things like Train Simulator 2014, Farming Simulator 2013, or Euro Truck Simulator 2. I'm sure there are more.

Incidentally, for a laugh, go to that Train Simulator 2014 link, find the DLC section, and hit "see all." Currently at the bottom I see "$2953.65 - Add all DLC to Cart".

QWOP is just a silly web game purposefully eliciting utter hilarity, but calling this thing a "Surgeon Simulator" is intellectually insulting. It's just an advanced QWOP.

It's a joke on "Train Simulator" and "Farming Simulator" and all those other "Thing Simulator" games on Steam. That's why the PC version is called "Surgeon Simulator 2013" - to mock things like Train Simulator 2014, Farming Simulator 2013, or Euro Truck Simulator 2. I'm sure there are more.

Incidentally, for a laugh, go to that Train Simulator 2014 link, find the DLC section, and hit "see all." Currently at the bottom I see "$2953.65 - Add all DLC to Cart".

Steam already does sell non-game software: Steam Software

Seems like a bit of an overreaction if you can just do a fresh OS install, fresh Steam install and get them all back. Have you tried doing a manual uninstall of Steam? They provide instructions right on their web site:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9609-OBMP-2526

Yes, I have. Everything else about the computer works fine, so why the hell should I reinstall my computer because their app stinks?

Seems like a bit of an overreaction if you can just do a fresh OS install, fresh Steam install and get them all back. Have you tried doing a manual uninstall of Steam? They provide instructions right on their web site:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9609-OBMP-2526