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Valve Starts Publishing Packages For Its Own Linux Distribution

Posted by timothy on from the ready-for-the-console-at-least dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In preparation for the "Steam Box" game console that will make necessary their own Linux-based software platform, Valve developers have started publishing Debian packages for their platform which looks like their first-generation operating system will be derived from Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS. So far the packages being published include a new "Plymouth" boot splash screen as the operating system loads, a Steam desktop wallpaper, auto-updating system scripts, and experimental NVIDIA Linux graphics drivers."

5 of 310 comments (clear)

  1. Year of the Linux Desktop? by Nerdfest · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It looks like this might finally be the year. With Windows 8 throwing a lot of users away with a bad interface and a marketplace lock-in, The timing is pretty good. A lot of people always claimed that games were the only reason they were still on Windows.

    1. Re:Year of the Linux Desktop? by nine-times · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Maybe not the year of the Linux desktop, but instead the year of the Linux set-top-box.

    2. Re:Year of the Linux Desktop? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, they've said this is the exact reason they're jumping ship. Microsoft doesn't want a cut of Steam's sales. Microsoft fully intends to replace Steam and other digital distribution channels with the Windows Store. Simple as that.

  2. Re:Maybe by TheSpoom · · Score: 5, Informative

    As desktop, Linux still sucks

    ...for you. Which is fine. I love it and use it every day.

    Windows have serious security problems, etc etc but it does not break the existing applications on each relevant update and have behavior/interface consistence

    There's an argument to made that this has happened in the Windows world a few times, but I digress. Gnome fucked up badly with Gnome 3. We get that. A lot of us still hold a grudge against them for that. That sort of update is in the minority. Most (as in 99.9%) updates I install work without any sort of configuration changes needed, and as an additional nice point, don't require a reboot (usually only kernel updates need a reboot in Linux).

    I'm not trying to sell you, I'm just pointing out that what you've heard doesn't mesh with my experience.

    --
    It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
    - E. Debs
  3. Re:Wish I had a mod point for you. by jxander · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've used it. Fairly extensively over the past few months, much to my chagrin

    Both of my younger sisters were gifted with Windows 8 laptops last Christmas, and figuring out how to set them up has been harder than learning Linux. And I'm an MCSE. Not that the cert means all that much, but I've always leaned Windows-way for the majority of my computing needs, only delving into *nix for some back end stuff and my HTPC.

    Up until now, even the bad versions of windows (ME, Vista, etc) were at least functional and somewhat familiar. I could use them, even if they crapped their pants every hour or two. With windows 8, this is no longer the case. Maybe windows 9 will rectify this, but by then it might be too late.

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