https://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/
So Valve made an OS.
This is the merging of PC and console gaming some people have been predicting.
It’s pretty awesome, IMO.
I hope they make a desktop version of it.
Hope they do too. If it’s as flexible as Linux, I’ll certainly download and install it.
I’m wondering what kind of distro will be:
1- Will it be Debian-based(probably)?
2- Will it use X.org?
3- Will a user be able to be admin of the system?
it is based on ubuntu due to its user friendliness
If it can run Windows-based programs I’m so going to get it.
Tell me why I should want that while I can just do the same by connecting a TV to my computer and have it set as a secondary monitor.
It just sounds like a replacement for a very long HDMI cable at best.
It seems to be going the route of a google play or apple TV but with the ability to run as a stand alone system. It can run titles natively or stream from a computer. for a single dude living alone with no girlfriend to complain about the cable mess it seems redundant but for a middle aged open source loving nerd with kids and a wife/GF who likes a cable free livingroom, this looks to be pretty awesome
Astounding. If some big time video editing software like Sony Vegas or Adobe Premiere find support on SteamOS, I’ll never use Windows again.
Doing that is the whole point of SteamOS. It’s an OS designed specifically with a TV and couch in mind, so you can just connect any computer to a TV and have a straightforward userfriendly way to play your games and multimedia.
The Steambox would just be a computer with certain specifications and design with SteamOS preinstalled.
I’m super interested in how it affects performance. They’re building an OS specifically designed to play games, it’d be really cool if you could get some more life out of old hardware using the OS.
In what world is setting up an OS on a $200+ box with second-grade hardware(*) more user-friendly than simply connecting a TV to your computer with a $5 HDMI cord?
Sure, SteamOS might be able to draw an extra 5-10fps compared to the current selection of OSs, but that alone does not make me want to set this up. It just feels redundant.
Also, I very much doubt all your Steam games will be able to run on SteamOS, simply because I cannot imagine Microsoft licensing DirectX to Valve and the majority of PC games these days still hang on to Microsoft’s nut sack when it comes to OpenGL vs DirectX.
Or one of the following 2 announcements is some sort of new graphics system that can run both OpenGL and DirectX natively.
(*) Guesstimating the price for a box of mobile-sized (aka: second-grade compared to proper PC parts) hardware.
PS: I could also be totally misreading the purpose of this thing, but right now I’ll just go with “glorified HDMI cable”.
Well I think one of the bigger selling points is that the OS will be designed such that you can use it with a controller. Completely cutting out any need to touch a keyboard and mouse. And if the in-home streaming is very effective it could be very useful for people with a powerful desktop in one part of the house and a living room mediocre desktop in another part. Or you have a weak laptop and a strong desktop and you move the laptop around as you feel.
But on the whole I agree with you, it’s cool and all but doesn’t have that many uses. I guess it’d be good for someone who really wants a console with a console form factor but doesn’t like sucking Sony or M$'s dick and wants a shared library between their PC and console. Also do keep in mind that you don’t need to buy a steambox to use steamOS, it’s an OS packed full of features that’s completely free.
I’ve brought this up a couple times before and people never seem to like the idea, but I REALLY REALLY want to see one of these updates mention the addition of splitscreen to source games. It fits perfectly with what they’re doing right now and with splitscreen dying away on the console market (a combination of money grubbing and shit hardware) it’s somewhere where steambox could really get a leg up on the competition (and PC would nullify one of its biggest weaknesses it has against consoles).
Also it kind of feels like the Xbone and PS4 are taking everything bad about PC gaming and merging it with their consoles while Steambox is taking everything good about consoles and merging it with PCs.
Wut. You’re not supposed to set up an OS on some random 200$ box.
The OS separately is intended for those who don’t want to buy the Steambox. It’s intended for a userfriendly experience (you know, in actually using the OS, not setting it up or whatever) with usage of a TV and controller.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s not really another way to use windows than with mouse and keyboard. And it’s definitely not practical when using it with a TV.
The Steambox (the 200$ shit you refer to) is intended as a replacement for consoles, obvously. It wouldn’t be any harder to set up than an Xbox or PS.
There are programs that allow you to control your computer with a controller or mobile phone, but yea, it’s not ideal.
It also doesn’t change the fact that it won’t be able to run DirectX so all of the gaming companies will have to start developing for OpenGL (and I mean proper development, not some cheap wrapper service).
Sure, Valve can boast that AAA developers are already on board, but I think you can already rule out Ubisoft and EA, because Uplay and Origin like to consider themselves as Steam’s superior siblings.
I really can’t see this being something big. Maybe bigger than the Wii, but the PS4 and even Xbone will still triumph in the living room.
I can’t play mass effect or deus ex because computer is old. I should definitely run these into my TV so that I can experience choppy and laggy gameplay on the big screen!
Steambox seems like a good deal to me, cause that $5 cable isn’t going to solve my problem.
One of the main features is that you can stream games from your main Windows PC to the SteamOS PC through your home network, so you can play there.
It is Supposed to bridge the gap between the closed OS ecosystems of fruit and microshaft. Think of it as an HDMI cable that runs games natively
Yeah, with some luck this will break M$'s stranglehold on the gaming industry. The more developers move away from DX exclusive development, the better.
Also, don’t they already have to work with OpenGL anyway for the PS? By Bolteh’s logic PS wouldn’t do so well either.
Not many PS games use OpenGL actually. Sony created their own api for PS game development, which I believe will be used on the PS4 too.