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Valve Announces Linux-Based SteamOS
Today Valve Software announced SteamOS, a Linux-based gaming operating system designed for, as Valve puts it, "living room machines." They say, "In SteamOS, we have achieved significant performance increases in graphics processing, and we're now targeting audio performance and reductions in input latency at the operating system level. Game developers are already taking advantage of these gains as they target SteamOS for their new releases." One major feature they're touting is the ability to use the SteamOS machine to stream video games from other Windows and Mac computers in the house to your TV. They mention media streaming as well, but without much detail. "With SteamOS, 'openness' means that the hardware industry can iterate in the living room at a much faster pace than they've been able to. Content creators can connect directly to their customers. 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."
What's to stop them integrating Wine into the appropriate game packages and certifying them to run on Linux? That way, not everything would need a re-write. They'd be able to port a significant library right from the start, Valve would be able to verify compatibility and it'd all be pre-configured out of the box.
DRM will work fine, just as it does on Windows, and it won't be unbreakable, just like its not unbreakable on Windows. It just needs to work well enough to be more of a hassle than simply buying the legal copy on Steam.
There will be cracks and patches for Steam games on Linux just as there are for Windows, and you'll get them from the same seedy corners of the internet with the same risks of getting pwned ("yes this crack absolutely needs root to work, trust us").
So basically, no difference.
The main purpose of the Steam OS currently will be to stream you games from your Windows or Mac desktop. The entire Steam game library doesn't suddenly work on Linux.
Must have missed this part:
Hundreds of great games are already running natively on SteamOS. Watch for announcements in the coming weeks about all the AAA titles coming natively to SteamOS in 2014.
It's a *great* start! Sure it's not the *entire* Steam catalog, but as an install base of Steam Boxes builds up, more and more developers will be encouraged to include Linux on their ports.
The other point of the Steam OS (instead of using and established distro) is Valve can streamline the user experience and optimize the kernel for gaming (which most default kernels are optimized for servers).
Georgia Tech, the leader in Chia(tm) technology.
It was also a wise move on Valve's part to call it SteamOS; following the rule that Linux is only successful with consumers when you don't call it Linux.
You can see this same phenomenon at work on Android. There are lots of GPL apps that are sold on the Play store and earn the maintainer a couple of bucks an install for the work they did in the port. However, being GPL software you can download the source and build the .apk for free and sideload it.
People still buy the Play store version even though there is a free and (unlike in the Steam case) legal alternative. Make it easy and they will come, and likely pay you.
This could have a lot of ripple effects.
1) Improved Wine support.
2) Better cross platform libraries/tools.
3) Linux distro optimized for gaming.
The interesting thing to consider is that Valve doesn't need to turn a profit right away. It's a private company and Gabe is looking at the long game here. He sees his reliance on Windows as a weakness and he intends to change that.
Actually Linux is not Ready for the Desktop. It made it in other areas.
The desktop problem is a problem of too much hardware, in a Windows world. When Microsoft started to push the OS which required drivers, hardware manufactures dropped the idea of following standards and did whatever they felt like, just as long as they made a Windows driver they are OK. Linux, on the other hand, needs to back track and get those drivers made, with or without the hardware vendors support.
Now some vendors are wary of making Linux Drivers, either because of Rabid GNU Fanatics, who will cause all sorts of problem if it is open source. Or they just cannot make their driver open source due to licencing concerns in their own development.
Now with the other stuff where Linux has a strong hold, is where the Hardware Maker, also makes the full environment. A Linux based devices and control all the hardware and software.
The irony is Linux works best on Closed systems.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Nah, that was 2011 or so. Right now i count 6 linux installations in my living room: two android phones, one tablet, this laptop, the tv and the pvr. Only one of those installations exist because i personally am a geek.
Actually Linux is not Ready for the Desktop.
Hey now! I'm a regular Linux desktop user and... and... and you're completely right.
No operating system will enjoy mainstream adoption these days if mucking about in a CLI is ever a necessity. Sad but true.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
It certainly supports older hardware a lot better. Scanners are my biggest beef in Windows. You buy a scanner, and almost guaranteed they won't work at all due to a lack of a new driver, or if you do manage to get an older version of the driver working it's an iffy affair. I can plug in a ten year old UMAX SCSI scanner into my Linux box and she still runs.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Actually it is a great advance over hunting through some damn menu.
But there sure is an astonishing contrast between how much it has enriched Linus' personal fortunes vs., say, Steve Ballmer (never mind Bill Gates), or for that matter Stephen Elop or Carly Fiorina.
Let us never confuse creating value with capturing value; somehow we have to get them better aligned.
It was also a wise move on Valve's part to call it SteamOS; following the rule that Linux is only successful with consumers when you don't call it Linux.
People laugh but this literally seems to be true: If you call it Linux, consumers will try to draw on "Linux" resources (packages, howtos, etc.) whereupon they discover everything having to do with the user interface is fragmented. Most of the times when they have to resolve problems, they'll have to hit the CLI.
Linux is what's underneath. But the intellectually dishonest shortcut of lumping toolchain and userspace stuff under the kernel's moniker (as if Torvalds et al deserved direct credit for them) has garnered bad karma-- a social dynamic that prevents the formation of a readily identifiable, feature-stable OS design.
Let us never confuse creating value with capturing value; somehow we have to get them better aligned.
Do we?
Because you know, I was under the impression that not everybody measured value and success by the fatness of one's wallet.