SteamOS - releasing "soon"

SteamOS is linux based and gaming specific. Sounds intriguing... if they can get game devs to develop for it.

http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/

I think it's sort of exciting. I hope it is possible to install on a Mac in Boot Camp, but I suppose that is wishful thinking.

This part I really like:

"In the past, sharing Steam games with your family members was hard. Now you can share the games you love with the people you love. Family Sharing allows you to take turns playing one another’s games while earning your own Steam achievements and saving your individual game progress to the Steam cloud."

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Sounds like multiple accounts and not having to have their own copies of the games!

I have a Wii, XBOX 360, PS3, 3DS, VITA and a gaming computer. I definitely think this is exciting news. My only problem at this point is I'm getting tired of all of these separate ecosystems at this point. This could definitely be a game changer but lately I've started thinking of seriously going with one system (ecosystem) next gen. I have a PS4 pre-ordered as I like what Sony has been doing in terms of PS PLUS, courting indies, and even enjoyed their exclusives more than the other guys at this point. I definitely think this may help competition especially in terms of game pricing which is 1 thing we all really want (cheaper games) but I'm not sure how heavily I'm going to invest moving forward.

I understand why they went to Linux (open-source) but I'm guessing game compatibility won't be where we all want it to be upon launch. The streaming option definitely helps though (and is sweet).

This is definitely cool news but I'm not sure I want to do the whole 2,3,or 4 ecosystems this upcoming gen. Just when I want to downsize this happens...lol.

I think the real story here is that Valve is trying to escape their dependence on Windows and DirectX.  Here are my thoughts on the whole thing: Valve’s SteamOS Could Change the PC Gaming Industry

I really like the "soon" part. This is Valve, after all.

I will be dual booting this on day 01.

There are so many services and background applications running in Windows these days and it's odd to see people elsewhere arguing against the option of using a gaming focused OS when, done properly, it could offer a substantial performance boost by removing a lot of general OS overhead.

Yeah but unless the streaming (from Windows PCs) is pretty good, I have a feeling this won't take off at all. Also hopefully they work something out which requires little to no fee for playing purchased Windows games on the SOS version.

Half-Life 3 will be a timed exclusive to SteamOS. Lets be honest, they'll get millions of users overnight. 

BigPopov said:

Also hopefully they work something out which requires little to no fee for playing purchased Windows games on the SOS version.

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Pretty much all games on Steam already work this way. When you buy a game on Steam, it will work on any system it has been ported to. You don't have to pay twice to get the Mac or Linux version. I bought Cave Story+ on Steam, and it runs on everything. I've installed it on my Windows laptop, my Mac Mini, and my Ubuntu box. You already don't have to pay any extra to get multi-platform support on Steam.

You'd be surprised how many users are fed up with Windows, and would welcome a decent alternative. I already do most of my internet browsing on my Ubuntu box, just because I don't have to worry about invasive viruses and malware.

The only reason that I even have Windows on my machine is for games as I do everything else in Linux. That has nothing to do with not liking Windows or Microsoft but rather just my personal needs in terms of security, privacy, and the applications and server software that I rely on.

We don't yet know what their solution is or how it performs or even how/if it works in relation to getting a Windows game running in Linux but should they be able to finally crack that nut beyond something like WINE then that alone would be massive. Hell, just something on-par with WINE performance-wise would likely be enough to satisfy most. Either way it's going to be an interesting week for people who mainly use Windows for gaming.

I can't secure Linux, because I don't really know anything about it.  I can secure Windows.  So I'll stick with Windows.

WindyCityGamer said:

I can't secure Linux, because I don't really know anything about it. I can secure Windows. So I'll stick with Windows.

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Linux is already remarkably secure, because the vast majority of viruses and exploits are written for Windows. I also expect SteamOS will have loads of ease of use features, which should make the hurdle jumping from windows way easier. Plus it's free, so I'd at least give it a go before you write it off

Disclaimer: I'm a confessed Linux fanboy and will rejoice the day I can drop Windows completely ^_^

It's like he said, Windows is 95% of the market and what large companies and targetted people use, so that's what they will write viruses for.

The only thing you're still prone to on Linux is the phishing websites, since they aren't actual viruses. But if you fall for those no anti virus or OS in the world can save you.

A gaming specific OS will really shine if Valve is able to strip it down and remove all of the non-essential resource eating features that you can't get rid of in Windows.  This would allow any gamer to get more performance out of his/her system regardless of the configuration.  I will definitely be dual booting this OS when it is released.

MrNinjaSquirrel said:

Linux is already remarkably secure, because the vast majority of viruses and exploits are written for Windows.

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"Not being Windows" doesn't make an OS secure. As the saying goes, security through obscurity is NOT security. I can use BeOS or something else very few people know about, but that doesn't, by itself, make it secure.

And I'd kind of contest the claim that "Linux is secure" anyway. Security Tracker always has far more issues for Linux than for Windows.

WindyCityGamer said:

I can't secure Linux, because I don't really know anything about it. I can secure Windows. So I'll stick with Windows.

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As someone who fixes computers, I routinely use linux distros to do all kinds of things to existing Windows partitions. Without complete and robust encryption of all files present on a drive, physical access to said drive still obliterates basically all measures of supposed 'security'. (often even with encryption)

Mind you that I'm not saying that Windows can't be secured but rather that almost no one properly encrypts files to a level which can't be easily circumvented.

The very idea of "securing" a PC in this day and age is laughable. The only way to prevent a PC from being accessed from the internet is to unplug it from the internet. There is no way to secure a PC that someone else get's their hands on. If they have the necessary technical skills, or are willing to pay someone who has those skills, they can get anything off of a PC that they want to. It's just a matter of time and expense.

Also, Valve has released the basic range of specs for their prototype SteamMachines. It's somewhat gratifying for me. The gaming rig I built earlier this year is essentially in line with the higher end of the range. My CPU and RAM are very much in line with what they are stating, and my hard drive is actually better. I did compromise on the GPU, and the GPU I'm sporting is the same as the low-end spec. But I did get two of them, and am running them in SLI, so there is that.

I won't be switching my gaming rig over to SteamOS until the native game selection for the OS improves somewhat. But I do have plans for putting together a new micro-box. These specs will help.