SteamOS

Steam Windows aint going anywhere. And worse case scenario it does, you just dual boot to Steam OS.

I'd rather that SteamOS became a major operating system. VIVA LA LINUX REVOLUTION!

Never gonna happen. I think the next announcement will be a cheap computer that only can boot Steam OS in order to stream your games from your main console (Or maybe play cheap games that can run on it?)

And as stupid as Microsoft has been, I like windows too much (like .exes and I know how to navigate it)

One time I got a linux computer and I had no fucking idea what I was doing.

This mostly sounds like Valve is releasing an OS for gamers if Windows goes full retard App Store closed platform mode. (And watch the dedicated gamers FLEE windows. FLEE. I know I would.)

edited 23rd Sep '13 11:57:21 AM by Thorn14

Navigating a Linux computer can vary an awful lot from GUI to GUI. Give Linux Mint's MATE or Cinnamon interfaces a try and you'll probably feel more comfortable.

And yes, Linux can run .exes. .exe is still the standard extension for an executable file in Linux. It's just that .exes compiled for Windows won't run in Linux (whodathunkit?).

Maybe Linux has become more user friendly since I last used it. I remember having to open a program just to DOWNLOAD programs and then having to configure them by text...

I'm kind of having a hard time getting it, why not just release a console if you have to dedicate a computer to it, at least that way the quality can be standardized.

Oh, most definitely. Linux has come a long way in the last few years, especially the more mainstream distros like Ubuntu (+derivatives) and Fedora.

Well there are still 2 more announcements so they could be announcing the OS first THEN the Hardware that will run only it (Steambox?)

If they did that, in effect they'd be declaring commercial expansion into four new markets, all at roughly the same time. Very ambitious, but very, very risky.

edited 23rd Sep '13 12:03:35 PM by TotemicHero

It would really just be an expansion of how to access the content you have on your PC than a whole new console. Since a cheap steam box would not be able to run much on its own without streaming.

Hm. While I like the gesture, I do wonder if they aren't biting off more than they can chew. I mean, a whole new OS?

And the expansion of Steam itself to serve for all media streaming needs. (About the only thing left they haven't claimed to be doing is adding an e-book store, which is still a possibility.)

It's not a whole new OS, just a fancy Linux distro. Probably based on Ubuntu, since that seems to be their preferred distro so far.

edited 23rd Sep '13 2:03:13 PM by imadinosaur

And for those of us who use one machine for the whole house (because we're eligible bachelors, obviously)?

Ultimately, for me it's a cool idea, but until SteamOS can handle non-gaming software like a lot of the stuff I also use my computer for, it'll just be a quaint point of interest (I'm fairly certain Valve can do it, just means I'll be a late adopter).

If it's just a Linux distro, it should have access to that entire ecosystem, so it'll be perfectly suitable for anyone who doesn't need specialist software like Photoshop or Autocad (most people who use Photoshop don't actually need it, but the GIMP just doesn't cut it for professional photographers, or so I'm told).

edited 23rd Sep '13 4:01:30 PM by imadinosaur

It's Linux, so LibreOffice = Microsoft Office and Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox = Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

What else do you do other than gaming?

I hope this takes the Open Source world by storm as well. We need someone to start the move towards widespread Pn P-style compatibility and inter-operability

My Creative Suite and a few other bits and bobs mostly.

Not that I'd make the shift before Windows 7 goes off extended support anyway.

One thing that Valve seems to have done really well is reducing or minimizing latency issues with online games and services that use their platform. A while back I played the US version of Maplestory from Australia with less lag than I used to have playing the SEA version from Singapore.

If they can leverage this functionality in Steam OS I can see a lot of people switching over. Imagine all your email and messaging software responding nigh instantly even if you have a bad connection.

edited 23rd Sep '13 4:24:07 PM by Recon5

Biting off more than you can probably chew here, Valve.

edited 23rd Sep '13 4:27:24 PM by Grounder

If I recall that that is, the GIMP is the equivalent on Linux.

In what way?

They're really probably not; all they're doing here (apart from porting Steam to Linux, but then Steam is their core business so they know what they're doing there) is providing a different GUI — all the underlying operating system stuff that they don't have experience with can be left to other people who know it well. This is one of the major advantages of open source software.

It's already possible to boot into Ubuntu using Steam Big Picture Mode as your GUI, and it works perfectly well.

Unless you're talking about them producing their own hardware.

They're doing both, aren't they? The Steamboxes haven't really taken off yet.

I can't see it selling well.

...And I'm probably jealous because I suspect they'll stop supporting Windows now that they have their own thing.

They won't stop supporting Windows. Too big of a business.

Now, if they manage to get most of their business from SteamOS, then something like that might actually happen eventually.

And as a Linux distro, SteamOS probably won't actually cost moneys itself. The money would be in getting more people on board with the whole Steam thing and increasing the capabilities of Steam on the whole.

edited 23rd Sep '13 4:38:31 PM by Balmung