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Give us a standalone VR headset that runs SteamOS and the world of VR will change overnight. Meta will instantly become a minor player!
this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2024
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Yeah, I'd probably buy that if it was reasonably priced (<$1k). I'm currently hesitating because the Valve Index is $1k, and I'd still need to upgrade my GPU.
Honestly, if they can release a non-standalone VR headset for <$500, I'll probably get it.
That'll be nice. A lot of branding options there. Powered by SteamOS, that'll be nice for knowing that all the devices drivers have Linux support
Steam Included, easiest win for manufacturers. Steam Deck is pretty much an older generation AMD laptop. Slapping Steam Included should be viable for most new laptops these days
Steam Compatible, hardware shipped with approved controller inputs. I guess Android TV boxes shipped with a gamepad for Steam Link or GeForce Now
Steam Link Compatible, that's practically any computing device with a WiFi card or Ethernet these days. I guess anything that doesn't have a gamepad included
I made my own steam deck (ish) with steam link, a 6 year old used tablet, and a gamesir 8+ controller. In fact, it's better. But of course you need the hardware to stream that, but for at-home couch gaming while the wife is watching stuff, it's amazing. Portability is iffy because internet.
With recent SteamOS release notes mentioning the ASUS ROG Ally, I think the writing's on the wall that we'll see a version of the Ally with SteamOS preinstalled soon.
Better than having Win on it. Anyway, it's a smart move. Cap more userbase in the high-end market while still providing a low-end option yourself.
Is this a Mandela effect thing or do I remember steamOS starting as a public distro?
The old SteamOS from 2015 was indeed publicly available. It was to be used on the so-called »Steam Machines« and it was based on Debian.
The new SteamOS from 2022 is based on Arch, is made specifically for the Steam Deck and is not available publicly. Some similar distros exist.
But every buyer could get the source code because of copyleft, right?
Yeah, mostly. Some of the projects they use are licensed under non-copyleft licenses (e.g. dxvk is under zlib which isn't copyleft). Valve pushes many parts that constitute SteamOS into their own forks that then trickle into the mainline projects, e.g. Proton is opensource and changes to Proton's version of Wine are slowly introduced into mainline Wine. You could slap all these changes together and compile your own SteamOS, but Valve currently doesn't publish it as one nice package. There are projects like Bazzite that apply these changes to other distros (in this case Fedora).
It existed for a while but was kinda pointless until games were able to run reliably enough on Linux.
Yes, but SteamOS 3.0 rebased from Debian to Arch Linux and made it specifically for Steam Deck hardware.
There was already a linux based steamOS, even Alienware had some pre fabric pcs with SteamOS, but it didn't went far. Not sure if that steamOS and this one are the same
Finally, an approachable arch distro
Endeavoros is approachable.
Using the domain name steampowered.com will finally make sense 20 years later.
It still reminds me of how it took me about a decade to finally realise the connection between steam (as a gaseous substance), Steam (the platform), valve (as in that rotating thing to release pressure) Valve (the corporation), steampowered (the domain name) and steam-powered (as in a steam engine).
The logo of steam is the crankshaft of a steam engine
The old steam consoles were called "steam machines" with the "piston" being one of them
The distribution system is called "steam pipe"
I'm sure I've forgotten some of their puns
Edit: Ah. There's also "Steam Cloud" of course
Wishing SteamOS 3.0 releases before Windows 10 end of life in October 2025.
There are still some games that won't work, mostly those with really invasive anti-cheat
Fortunately, those games aren't worth playing unless you are already addicted to them.
I'm excited for this because I want a pocket sized device that runs just the lightweight fraction of my Steam Library.
Or literally just Rogue Legacy 2 and Monster Train would be fine, actually.
This is great news!
What's the biggest benefit of linux fof handheld devices? Less cumbersome for the developers and practically perpetual security updates? Asking because there are ones that run on Windows.
That, and it's easier to make a unified experience. Windows handhelds are notoriously difficult to use due to ui issues. I believe windows handelds tend to have a designated launcher designed for the device input, but it can't integrate well since you are still stuck with explorer.exe
Didn't they already announce this quite awhile ago? I know they said the ROG and LegionGo were getting it. I think some other smaller brand released one already as well. I'll have to find it.
Is SteamVR tracking 2.0 the current version for the index?
Yes. It uses basestation 2.0s which use slightly different technology than basestation 1.0. Basestation 2.0 devices like index, vive trackers and tundra trackers have backwards compatability with the 1.0 basestations but you cant use og vive and other 1.0 devices with basestation 2.0