What is Reddit's opinion of
SteamOS?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
➔ SteamOS website
By popularity on Reddit, this Service is:
100 reviews of this app found across Reddit:
Note that SteamOS is a Linux distribution. Valve are doing a pretty good job of pushing gaming on Linux now - it's not universal (and never will be) but it's looking pretty good now.
Sure, I can help.
Actually, it's 2015; there really are no arcane majicks* to "Linux" anymore... as long as you follow directions.
Ubuntu is the big and popular "distribution" of Linux, and directly supported by Valve's Steam platform, and gets great performance on most Valve games.
Steam OS is based on the same code that Ubuntu is based on; but it immediately launches Steam in Big-Picture mode at startup (see below for ShinyCyril's better explanation). In theory, SteamOS and Steam running on Ubuntu will perform identically, though SteamOS is probably easier for Valve to support, as it is meant to be less custom.
^^* ^^Unless ^^you're ^^building ^^everything ^^from ^^source ^^without ^^the ^^use ^^of ^^a ^^package ^^manager. ^^Then ^^you ^^get ^^to ^^be ^^a ^^wizard.
Installing additional apps (and bloatware) =/= modifying OS
Manufactures of Android phones CANNOT modify Android if they want to be competitive, but they can add apps.
> Google's real power in mobile comes from control of the Google apps—mainly Gmail, Maps, Google Now, Hangouts, YouTube, and the Play Store. These are Android's killer apps, and the big (and small) manufacturers want these apps on their phones. Since these apps are not open source, they need to be licensed from Google.
> While it might not be an official requirement, being granted a Google apps license will go a whole lot easier if you join the Open Handset Alliance. The OHA is a group of companies committed to Android—Google's Android—and members are contractually prohibited from building non-Google approved devices. That's right, joining the OHA requires a company to sign its life away and promise to not build a device that runs a competing Android fork.
Guess which super popular Valve's app is not open source and needs to be licensed to distribute it pre-installed on PCs? It's STEAM.
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/oem
> you need a license to redistribute our proprietary STEAM CLIENT, whether on its own or whether as part of SteamOS, and you need a license to use any of our trademarks in a commercial context. That includes, without limitation, using the Steam symbol and terms like Steam, SteamOS and Steam Machine in any of your commercial communication, whether from product design, advertising or PR. And unless you are a licensee, you should not publicly suggest any connection to Valve or Steam.
SteamOS is officially still in beta right now from what the Valve pages are stating:
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos
Hardware for SteamOS like the official Steam Controller hasn't launched yet either. When the Steam machines and controllers ship then SteamOS will likely leave beta and be 'officially' launched.
I think this is why people are talking about SteamOS coming in the future as right now it is still a beta and the hardware for it hasn't shipped either.
The hardware side (the actual Steam Machines) is a bit blurry, but SteamOS is complete, working and getting regular update.
Valve didn't build a whole OS, they customised a Debian distribution to control the available piece of software and provide a Steam user experience. That's not a walk in the park either, but not something I'd call haaaaard.
And there is no such thing as a "SteamOS port"; it's only Linux. And we're seeing big names doing it, along with a lot of indie/small developpers. Nearly not enough for some, but out of the ~683 games I have on Steam, ~285 runs on Linux.
Give it a shot if you're interested.
If you have a spare hard drive, you can give SteamOS a shot. Most likely you have a bunch of games that will run on linux already. (at least dota2!)
If you don't want to screw with your bootloader, you can load all of Ubuntu into ram via the LiveCD, although you may have graphics issues with games because of the LiveCD environment.
Can anybody please tell me what the state of SteamOS is? All I can find is this page:
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/
That's it? No homepage? No Github Repo? No fan pages and YouTube channels dedicated to tutorials, builds, tweaks, reviews, screenshots, troubleshooting, tips, raves?
How long has SteamOS been out now? According to Wikipedia it came out on December 13, 2013; 3 years ago.
Googling around does not leave me with any confidence that SteamOS is a viable gaming platform.
Actually, SteamOS is not a gaming platform but nothing more than a "worse case scenario" hedge against Microsoft's monopoly. The problem is that SteamOS is not being taken seriously by anyone, least of all by Valve themselves. I find this a cynical ploy and a slap in the face of Linux enthusiasts because they Valve has absolutely no intention of following through. When publishers start receiving hate mail from gamers because their Linux games no longer seem to work with the latest versions of Linux they''ll drop the platform like a lead brick a go running back to Microsoft. This will set Linux gaming back a decade.
Microsoft has nothing to worry about with Valve and their cynical half-assed worse-case scenario hedge of an operating system called SteamOS.
Since it’s a linux based OS you’ll be able to install things like XBMC, VLC, providing the dependencies are met, it will be a bit of a steep learning curve if you’ve never used linux and the terminal before.
Edit: This will probably be made easy once it’s out of beta, I’m sure they will included something similer to ubuntu’s software centre when it gets released, if you feel upto giving it a go, instructions can be found here
Is it? http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/
Seems to be in all the usual places in the Store, BPM etc. Would be a surprising move to suddenly stop SteamOS considering the continued efforts with it. They were just showing off some of the frametiming stuff with Croteam at GDC a few days back along with SteamVR
SteamOS is not intended for desktop use. Valve themselves make this very clear:
> Users should not consider SteamOS as a replacement for their desktop operating system. SteamOS is being designed and optimized for the living room experience.
It is intended for dedicated gaming machines and optimized for a 10 foot experience. If you want to game on a desktop machine, you'll have a much better time if you just install a desktop distribution like Ubuntu, Mint or whatever you like. Steam and games will work the same, but you also get a real desktop environment for non-gaming use.
> Should I be looking for a different distro?
No, Mint should be fine. However you might want to look at Valve's own distribution which currently is in open beta: http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/download
> Are the "Xbox controllers for windows" hard to set up?
No, just plug them in before launching a game and they should work fine.
> I heard installing AMD Drivers can be tricky, any guides out there?
Look for the driver manager in Mint, it should handle it just fine.
> Can anyone give me a list of fun games to try, that would work well with controllers. > Bonus points for split screen multiplayer
From my library: Legend of Dungeon (local multiplayer, but not split screen), Rogue Legacy (SP only), Awesomenauts (local MP), Broken Age (SP only), Star Conflict (only online MP), Cave Story (SP only).
> Last question, Are there good N64/Snes/PSX emulators out there for linux?
Yes, pretty much the ones you might know from Windows. ZSNES, Snes9x (make sure you get the GTK version), mupen64+, mednafen (which does a lot but isn't user friendly), PCSXR.
You are a condescending one aren't you.
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos
Steam still says SteamOS is still beta.
SteamOS and the Steam program are about as linked as Windows or Linux booting straight into Steam, the Steam client will not make AMD drivers better/worse.
Why would anyone want to release a product that doesn't work well anyways? You're suggesting Valve force the manufacturers to release Steam boxes with AMD cards while complaining about how poorly AMD cards work in SteamOS? That makes no sense. When AMD fixes their drivers for SteamOS, then you'll see more Steam boxes with AMD cards.
AMD drivers aren't great for any Linux distro http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd-r9-fury&num=1
> Unfortunately though, thanks to the current state of the Catalyst Linux driver, the R9 Fury on Linux is a gigantic waste for OpenGL workloads. The R9 Fury results only exemplifies the hideous state of AMD's OpenGL support for their Catalyst Linux driver with a NVIDIA graphics card costing $200 less consistently delivering better gaming performance.
You can download the SteamOS beta and install it on whatever you want today to see whether it's open or not. Basically, as far as I can tell (haven't installed it yet), it boots into a modified version of Big Picture, but you can access the desktop and terminal and generally do as you wish. http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
It is not officially available as a full release yet (expected to be ready around the end of the year). Currently you can get it in beta but it is not friendly to the average user without Linux knowledge yet and undergoes frequent updates and changes. If you are still wanting to give it a spin, start here http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/
It's a matter of perspective, so I can't say you're wrong. But I don't think Valve had any expectation that SteamOS was going to take off on the basis of people installing it on their own PCs. If you look at the SteamOS download page (http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown), they don't direct you to the ISO distribution. They point at the ZIP distribution which makes a lot of assumptions about your configuration. Most people are not going to want this if they already have a gaming PC.
Hi. You might not be aware of this, but Valve is currently developing a Linux-based platform called SteamOS. This platform is supposed to power Steam Machines, PCs that have been built to allow users harness the flexibility and capabilities of a desktop PC while having all the conveniences of a console. It makes no sense that Valve would, in the development of their most critically vaunted franchise, opt to use a graphics API that is completely incompatible with their own platform.
It makes even less sense since the Khronos Group, maintainers of OpenGL, have announced its successor in Vulkan, which will work on not only Linux/SteamOS, but also in OS X (where DirectX also doesn't work) and Windows (where Apple's Metal API won't work).
>So, what is SteamOS Beta? > >SteamOS Beta is an early, first-look public release of our Linux-based operating system. The base system draws from Debian 7, code named Debian Wheezy. Our work builds on top of the solid Debian core and optimizes it for a living room experience. Most of all, it is an open Linux platform that leaves you in full control. You can take charge of your system and install new software or content as you want. > >So, what is it not? > >As an early release, much is changing, so expect rough edges. In its current state, SteamOS is definitely not a finished product ready for a non-technical user.
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos
It's not released in the same way that games in Early Access are not released.
They're super small. You can't fit that sort of power into a box that small building your own. The parts are special made.
That alienware box is about the same size as a Wii. http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/r/s/628x/assets/images/phpyjvpbo.jpg
You'll have a mid-size tower to fit the components of that power.
Other than that, there's no real reason for a DIYer to buy one. If size is important to you, you'll want to buy a premade. If not, make your own.
E: Also, you can make one now if you want. Why wait, if this is something you want and you're going to make your own box? SteamOS is up for grabs here: http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/download
Again, you should actually read the entire page before asking more questions: The default installation image REQUIRES 1TB of disk space. That SPECIFIC installation package REQUIRES 1TB of disk space, so yes it should say that it REQUIRES 1TB of disk space in relation to that SPECIFIC package.
The custom installation package, which is a separate download as it clearly states on the website, works with smaller hard drives. This is why the overall requirements at the top of the page are listed as:
>Hard Drive: 500GB or larger disk
As for why it needs 1TB, that is also inferred through reading the actual page.
>Step 6. Select "Restore Entire Disk" from the GRUB menu.
You're not "installing" SteamOS in the most common sense. What the package actually does is wipe your drive and uncompress a premade partition with SteamOS already installed. Why would they do that? Well, had you read the main SteamOS page that you likely clicked through blindly to get to the Build Your Own Steam Machine page, you'd have seen this:
>As an early release [...] expect rough edges. In its current state, SteamOS is definitely not a finished product ready for a non-technical user.
They are at the point in development where there is simply no installer built for the OS yet. The customizable package uses a stock Debian installer, and if it doesn't work properly they'd probably just tell you that you shouldn't have used the custom installer, because at this point in development I highly doubt they have the time or interest in troubleshooting problems for someone who couldn't even be bothered to read the entire webpage.
You can check /r/buildapc, they have useful guides for research on your own, and if you post a thread they can help you find the best value in your budget. A decent PC to run Starbound doesn't have to be 800$ for sure. This game can run on Intel integrated graphics of my now five years old i5 3570K.
If you get yourself a base PC with a processor that has integrated graphics, a motherboard, some memory and a hard disk you'll save some money for now and be able to add in a more powerful video card later as well.
This is just an example of a tiny PC to tide you over. Starbound works on Linux so you can use a free OS. Steam OS should be fairly easy to set up. Not all games will though of course!
Be sure to check out the subreddit though. I'm just one guy and I made this up. Get the opinion and help of others while stating your goal and budget, it will be much more centered on your needs as a result.
> In very simple terms, you need a license to redistribute our proprietary Steam Client, whether on its own or whether as part of SteamOS, and you need a license to use any of our trademarks in a commercial context. That includes, without limitation, using the Steam symbol and terms like Steam, SteamOS and Steam Machine in any of your commercial communication, whether from product design, advertising or PR. And unless you are a licensee, you should not publicly suggest any connection to Valve or Steam.
Straight from: http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/oem
Yep, this. If you're looking to essentially use the PC as a game console, you can download SteamOS for free and it will give you a console-like experience with a PC.
That's pretty much exactly what they've done
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/oem says
> What do you need a license for?
> In very simple terms, you need a license to redistribute our proprietary Steam Client, whether on its own or whether as part of SteamOS, and you need a license to use any of our trademarks in a commercial context. That includes, without limitation, using the Steam symbol and terms like Steam, SteamOS and Steam Machine in any of your commercial communication, whether from product design, advertising or PR. And unless you are a licensee, you should not publicly suggest any connection to Valve or Steam.
Your opinion is not unpopular its just false.
if you had bothered to read http://store.steampowered.com/steamos or just tryed it out, you would have come to the conclusion that SteamOS is just Debian7 (Linux) and that you can still do anything you want.
To be fair theres no Photoshop or Microsoft Office (not considering WINE) but saying its closed down like consoles or Iphones is a flat out lie.
As Steam maschines are obviously more expensive compared to similar powered PC i will not bother buying one. (Might change if i have kids and time is just worth more)
But beeing able to build my own machine and having a lot of games run in a linux enviroment will profit me and everyone else.
Edit: Also you can just put Kodi (xbmc) on it (like on any windows PC) and have the best HTPC experience you can get.
There is still a chance you have UEFI boot mode in your firmware settings. First of try the first 3 steps of the official guide: http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
If your system doesn't support UEFI boot, then you'll have to tweak the USB stick to boot it from MBR: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamOS/comments/1swy8a/steam_os_full_installation_guide_uefi_workaround/
"Pfft. That's just [insert shitting on parade here] bla bla bla" --Some know-it-all.
Realistically, there's >6k games on steam. About 2k run on SteamOS. It's Debian based.
Before its release, ALL performance video drivers were antiquated, barely viable, and required real linux knowledge to install. After Valve announced SteamOS, Intel AMD and Nvidia had updates/patches within a couple months... and that right there is the real metric.
If video cards will support it without being a pain in the ass, then developers are more likely to try support linux. Unity and Unreal engine already support linux to some extent, so performance video support is the next step.
If you had asked that question 3 years ago, the answer would have been "Very far." It's pretty clear that valve started their whole Steam Machine bit because they, along with many other notables in gaming, didn't like the way the Windows 8 marketplace worked.
But today, the bottom line is that linux gaming is part of the conversation now thanks to SteamOS, but it's not a panacea. While it has made linux gaming "viable" to some extent, I would not say that it has made linux gaming a good idea.
>It is just a game device and nothing else.
Maybe you want to install SteamOS then? It's the officially supported release of Steam on Linux and will get you less annoyances than Arch while still having the newest drivers and stuff.
EDIT: THIS LINK IS AN OLD VERSION http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
I went with "Custom Installation" because I only had a 500GB drive and the image "Default Installation" tries to use is a 1TB image. They both give you the same end result.
Looks like aaronfranke has the updated link: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse/announcements/detail/83663183294752597
Wait, what? It's a normal debian-based linux system. You can install just about any program you could install on a ubuntu system without deeper knowledge.
> Most of all, it is an open Linux platform that leaves you in full control. You can take charge of your system and install new software or content as you want.
Straight from here.
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
>What are the SteamOS Hardware Requirements?
>...
>UEFI boot support
So lighten up Francis. They said ask us pretty much anything. That release is based on the Debian core so I don't think the question is out of bounds.
> So What was the original xbox?
>...
> is basically a pc with component soldered and a proprietary OS.
There's your answer. You can download and install SteamOS right now if you want. Xbox OS (Xbox 1 and Xbox One) and the PS4 OS can't be run on anything other than the hardware it was designed for*.
* ^^^Unless ^^^someone ^^^hacks ^^^it ^^^to ^^^run ^^^on ^^^unofficial ^^^hardware, ^^^which ^^^is ^^^unlikely.
The Clonezilla method has a disk image that must be decompressed to 1000GB (much of that is empty space but Clonezilla does not care). Your 64GB SSD is too small.
Don't use the Clonezilla method. Use the Custom Installer method.
What's proprietary about it? Standard hardware, open source operating system.. it's a pre-built PC, possibly in a snappy small case, with SteamOS on it and it includes a controller. The fact that anyone can build their own Steam Machine, and there's a guide on how to do so on Steam, is pretty conclusively not proprietary.
Sure. Valve could spend more money and time trying to support a feature that doesn't even work perfectly in other Linux distributions and then take heat for it failing in the inevitable cases when it fails...
...or they can assume that the BIG FAT RED-BORDERED WARNING on their download page is in a language that the downloading person can comprehend, and put the responsibility on the user to take five fucking minutes to know what the fuck they're doing.
I know what choice I'd make.
~~if you just want it for steam, you might consider the steam os, which literally just boots your machine into steam. There are tons of premades available online.~~
I rescind this comment.
Chicken and egg.
SteamOS was based on Linux, which meant the number of games available for it was super limited. Which in turn meant that OEMs didn't really care to make Steam Machines, because nobody wanted SteamOS, because they couldn't play their games.
SteamOS still exists. It's just not much worth it except as a streaming target.
Because Linux is free, in the Linux world anyone can take all of the pieces and put together their own custom version of Linux. The customizations could be as simple as different default options and themes and backgrounds, or the differences could be huge with the main pieces being substituted out with an alternative. These are called Linux "distributions".
You can build a Linux distribution that's specialized to do one thing. For instance, Valve has SteamOS, which is a version of Linux that functions as a game console. You can buy Steam Machines off the shelf which are PC hardware in a very compact case with a controller and SteamOS already installed.
If someone wanted to build a distribution of Linux specialized for emulation out of the box, they could. RetroPi isn't exactly a distribution but it helps you turn a Raspberyy Pi single-board computer into a retro-emulator console.
These things are relatively close to what you were asking about. They won't actually run on Xbox hardware, though, because Xbox hardware is locked-down by Microsoft. The Steamboxes are regular unlocked PC hardware and the various ARM boards are all unlocked so you can do whatever with those and build your own console.
Uhm...Valve already did release their Steam Machines and also SteamOS. :s
They've both been available for a few months now, in fact.
You mean like SteamOS?
Yeah, that's worked out real well. And developing video drivers for two very different GPU lines that they themselves don't produce? Yeah, that's not how the world works, kiddo.
If that annoys you you can disable mouse acceleration in other distros: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+disable+mouse+acceleration+in+ubuntu
But you can't install other software on SteamOS unless you add repositories from other distros or download the .deb by hand, both of which are stupid ideas. This is so because SteamOS is meant to be used as a console OS, and not as a day-to-day OS, from http://store.steampowered.com/steamos :
> Users should not consider SteamOS as a replacement for their desktop operating system. SteamOS is being designed and optimized for the living room experience.
And your proTip is as absurd as the rest of your answer, why the hell would I install two sepparate distros, in order to boot on one and chroot into the other!? why not just install the second one that offers me all that the first one does plus a bunch more?.
But if you like that idea by all means do it on your computer, at least the time you'll spend killing the X session from SteamOS, chrooting into the second distro and starting an X session will not be spent answering questions with stupid ideas.
> Took them long enough.
From what I know Nvidia doesn't have a fully GPL compliant driver. So It's Nvidia who's late.
http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/AMDGPU-PRO-Beta-Driver-for-Vulkan-Release-Notes.aspx
Since when does SteamOS not support AMD GPUs? http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
Also Valve just ported Dota 2 to Vulkan which was started by AMD technically.
You're full of outdated information, aren't you?
It's out. The big noise at the moment seems to be around Vulkan (the new GPU mumbo-jumbo).
SteamOS still has a chicken/egg problem. There are no players because there are no games. No games are made because there are no players...
The situation is slowly changing and hopefully a critical mass can be achieved in the next few years.
Performance in most games is acceptable. It's really up to the developers though. Titles like Serious Sam 3 and Binding of Isaac are completely designed and built to run well on Linux-based systems and can easily outperform their Windows counterparts.
Then there's the developers that first built and optimized their games for Windows and hacked in Linux support later on, those aren't gonna run as great as on Windows but overall performance is still going to be good.
There's also a lot of terrible and unfinished port jobs which make you want to get your money back. Killing Floor and Dungeon Defenders are perfect examples of those, better stay away from them or wait until they've been patched (I wouldn't wait for Killing Floor though, don't think they're going to patch their game after all those years).
As for new games being released: Yes, they just keep coming! More and more developers and publishers are pushing their games to Linux and the catalog is expanding rapidly. I like to follow the http://gamingonlinux.com/ blog to keep up with new releases and performance reports.
If you've never built a PC before there's going to be a bit of a learning curve. The /r/buildapc community is definitely willing to help you with that though!
Installing SteamOS on your freshly built Steam Machine is going to be as easy as installing any OS. You can find instructions here: http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
Good luck!
SteamOS is optimized for a living room experience. It's a Linux-Based OS and it's not intended for a desktop setup. You will have less features than Windows and more Linux Features.
If you're going to be doing a lot of video editing, SteamOS isn't ideal.
You can install an operating system via USB. If you have another computer available to use you can make one yourself, they are incredibly easy to create and use. If you do not have another computer available you can purchase a live USB here as an example. You didn't include any OS in your build, so I will take this opportunity to recommend you give linux a try before defaulting to windows 10. There are many variations to choose from, including a Steam operating system that is intended for gamers.
Seems they no longer host that file, the article I linked is pretty old. Here's one from steams website with very similar directions and up to date.
>Been hearing this for years, it was a specially popular topic when the PS3 launched at $600 and even then sony was losing money on every unit, and yet they still made a ton of money at the end, enough to make SCE the biggest division at the company.
That was before we had a potentially game-changing new concept for consoles, namely the "build your own" model that SteamOS and it's freeware followups will bring.
>You're seriously miscalculating how tech-illiterate the average joe is. I remind you that tricksters have managed to convince apple users on every iphone launch to do obviously stupid shit like trying to bend the phone, recharge it using a microwave and that the phone was 100% waterproof, and they always fall for it even though the official website says nothing about these "features". If you think this people are going to trade the dumb-proof functionality of consoles to build a PC you're being delusional.
Installing and utilizing this software is something a teenager could do. The instructions are incredibly simple. If you can install Windows, you can install SteamOS. Will everybody be able to do it? No, but there are enough tech savvy people out there to cover the people who aren't.
And you don't even have to build a PC. You can by an off-the-shelf Dell and load the OS onto it and you're off and running for a fraction of the price.
First make sure your machine uses UEFI boot.
Then, if your windows installation uses your whole disk, then you'll have to shrink it.
After that follow the expert install provided here and partition your remaining disk accordingly (is the same process as any other Linux install) without touching your Windows partition and only selecting the efi (fat32) as provided.
Of course, I'd not recommend doing this in a machine you're not ready to screw up with (or if you really want to try this out, at least backup any important data before).
Does anybody know if UEFI is still required? Valve lists it under hardware requirements, but the download page from OP specifically states, > Supports both UEFI- and BIOS-based machines
Maybe BIOS works, but isn't "supported?"
If you know your way around linux and are willing to try, you could try patching the kernel with a fix posted on this steam thread from 2 years ago. This is not something you should try on the steam link if its you first time compiling the kernel, but maybe if you have some old junker device you can dump the steam OS .iso onto for testing. Steam OS is a stripped down Debian with a fresh coat of paint meaning you can really do almost anything you want without violating terms of service, because there are non other than steam client's. Its linux, have fun
> Yes, and Microsoft "loves Linux"
That's just Microsoft propaganda to make people like them, they don't really love Linux. They have actively taken measures to ensure difficulty in porting their software to other platforms.
> Win10 DRM isn't difficult to use either.
Ever replaced a motherboard? Suddenly even your legitimately acquired license is invalid. Windows activation is a nightmare in general.
> But Valve doesn't make operating systems.
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos
> Yet no one makes this argument about "MS loves Linux"
Let me know when Microsoft does anything to show that they "love Linux". Let me know when they release MS Office for Linux. Let me know when they release the Xbox Live app for Linux. Let me know when they release an official Windows DE. Let me know when they update Skype for Linux. Let me know when they tell thousands of companies that they should support Linux.
I was wrong, it seems it is 1 TB. It doesn't if you use the custom installer instead. That allows you to use drives less that that, it's just the "automatic" method they came up with. It notes this on the landing page that the custom version allows smaller disks. You can use the SteamOS landing page's Alchemist version, or future proof yourself a bit with the Brewmaster version. The later isn't the "official sanctioned" version, but is far more updated and does work fine. The decision is up you you, as Alchemist works fine.
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos
or
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse/announcements/detail/83663183294752597
have you tried the SteamOS? Dude its not the actual software and if you follow it you would see how silly your argument is. http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown "SteamOS Beta is the first public release of our Linux-based operating system. "
Also, an OS. You can get a Linux OS for free, including SteamOS, but if you go to MicrosoftSoftwareSwap you can get Windows for free (Windows 7 Home Basic for $8, for instance)
Steam box mainly refers to the Steam OS that is running on the PC. For the most part Steam boxes tend to be in HTPC (Home Theater PC) Cases, as they tend to fit the best in the living room, similar to a console. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Right now they have 1887 games that run on Linux. And SteamOS is based on Debian Linux.
Sure, there still are some bugs and issues, but the tide is changing.
Not sure about the steam controller, but the alpha was originally designed to be a steam machine so I think the controller will work fine.
I have already installed a dual boot of steamos beta and windows/alpha ui on my alpha and both are working great.
You can download the steamos here http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
From Valve itself:
>Users should not consider SteamOS as a replacement for their desktop operating system. SteamOS is being designed and optimized for the living room experience.
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos
Which I think is a mistake. Don't they want everyone to switch over to linux for gaming eventually, not just living room gamers?
(Yes I realize I can play Steam games on other Linux distros but I'm not really a fan of the ones I've tried, and I trust Valve to come out with a good product)
SteamがOS作り始めました 。で、それ上で動くゲームのセールみたい
>SteamOS Beta は、弊社の Linux ベースのオペレーティングシステムの最初の一般向けリリースです。根幹となるシステムは Debian 7（コードネームは Debian Wheezy) のものを利用しています。 SteamOS は堅牢な Debian コアの上に築かれており、リビングルームでの使用に最適化されています。
リンク元
Have you followed through the initial post-install steps? Specifically step 7 (which, you do actually have to log in to accomplish). Until you get SteamOS running as intended, I wouldn't go about changing any of the X11 configuration.
> Although the more recent sources I found were saying it was an ubuntu fork.
Yes, making a distro does not take all that much effort. Maintaining it does.
A custom OS that's based on either FreeBSD or Windows and with a lot of the work on rather mundane things already done? Sure, we've got that. API hooks for game creators to tie into? Got that too. In spades. In fact, both of those probably are ported to the XBONE and PS4 already. Multiplayer servers? Got that. Central login servers? Got that too, if you want that.
If you're not trying to re-invent the wheel, the engineering hurtles really aren't that high. About the only difficult logistical thing that the console makers have to do is manufacturing and testing at scale. Both the current machines are so PC like in their hardware and even software (after all, both use protected mode and have processes and multitasking) that I could say that any compliant engineer could easily design and prototype a largely equivalent clone. And thankfully for us, lots of folks already have, giving us a thriving consumer PC market.
This entire post is confusing to me!
Why didn't you just dd the ISO and install via a USB key? Which exact SteamOS image did you use?
EDIT: Oh, it seems you tried to use the clonezilla install, use the custom installer: http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
I installed it using the custom installation instructions in http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
Didn't have any problems installing it. But it is pretty clear that SteamOS isn't quite ready yet :)
SteamOS is Debian based and it's primary functionality is Steam, without a doubt. You can do other things with it but Valve officially states that it's not designed to be a desktop replacement OS. You load it on a machine to run Steam and that's basically it.
A "Steam machine" based on Windows is not primarily designed to run Steam. It is just Windows with a Startup shortcut. I could create a Netflix shortcut in Startup but I wouldn't call it a Netflix machine.
I'm pretty sure that your box meets the hardware requirements for a SteamOS box, if you are so inclined. http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
How is it locked down? The SteamOS FAQ http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/ says it uses APT so you can add any packages you like from the debian repos and this page http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse/discussions/1/648814395741989999/ tells you how to get sudo.
Not sure. You can build and sell your own Steam Machines with a license from Valve, but that's for OEMs. Just to be sure, I'd ask how he received permission. Also, because SteamOS is Linux, he'd still need to abide by any licenses such as the GPL where applicable (Basically, he needs to provide the source code for the changes).
>So why did these guys make the cut and something like the Xi3 Piston didn't?
Xi3 was a partner, but backed out because they didn't like Valve going the Linux route. Video and relevant Reddit thread. Likely the makers of the 13 Steam Machines were the ones to contact Valve while other manufacturers chose not to.
>so how does one get an invite to the official Valve club?
Probably different before SteamOS's launch, but OEMs can contact Valve to get a free license to distribute SteamOS (License because of branding and the Steam Client is still proprietary).
>but why do most of them just look like common-or-garden, pre-built small form-factor PCs?
I do think a few of them were ugly, but others actually had good cases. They really are just pre-built small form-factor PCs though, OEM Machines always look like that (though dimensions vary).
From your comment:
>then who exactly were they a 'prototype' for?
They were a prototype for SteamOS and user-friendliness, not as a hardware template.
>If the 300 beta testers aren't testing the machines, only the OS and controller, then why not just ship out 300 Steam Controllers? Why bother going to all the trouble of designing and building a bespoke (and very sexy) machine. It just doesn't add up
You can't really test out an OS without proper hardware. Steam Machines are designed for a console-like experience and having to install the OS isn't really console-like. I'm not sure myself, but Valve probably included the machines to test how well SteamOS and the hardware run together.
IMO the Steam Machines were expensive and a niche. IMO Steam OS not for mainstream is also part of the problem.
https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/2yfx1l/psa_what_steamos_is_and_is_not/
As in: >SteamOS is not designed for regular desktop usage
You could just install almost an popular Linux distro on any PC and just run the Steam Client on it and have a daily driver with a desktop and repo of programs.
and many other misconceptions listed in that old post.
If and when they end support for free "Steam OS" itself, it will then be a total failure.
I think Linux gaming, titles, and more support is needed.
Considering how hard they are to come by here in the US even unless you specifically look online, I'd imagine they're pretty hard to come by in the UK. They never really took off and the ones that exist are quite expensive and not really worth it.
You'd be better off building your own with a mITX or mATX format motherboard/case. Or have someone build one for you. Or even buy a HTPC, which is basically what a steam box is but with SteamOS.
Valve actually has a whole guide on how to make your own here. Or you can get the installation only here if you go the buy your own HTPC route. Make sure to also disable secure boot and fast boot in your BIOS/UEFI if you go this route otherwise it won't work.
Is there any reason you wouldn't just install SteamOS outright on a dedicated PC like that? Seems to be the best option if you're looking to have a living room console-like PC...
>indie game blog
What's the kind of games you want to play, stream, and capture? Can you make some examples? Because if you include games as the coming Hellblade for example into that list, we've probably got a little problem with your budget.
>The media build
The media build isn't meant to stream and capture footage, it's meant to have a build that can keep up with current consoles and work as an entertainment system. I wouldn't go that route.
>+ a capture card
What do you mean by "capture card"?
>windows OS
You can save a good buck by installing SteamOS. Having such a tight budget that would be my suggestion. Here's a list of steam OS games. Maybe that fits what you want. But it doesn't play "the majority of what's out there in the world". However, I doubt you'll ever play that majority anyway. But for a universal solution, yes, Windows is best.
>can this be done with a laptop?
Building a computer yourself will be a better solution.
You could install SteamOS. I honestly don't know how good it is, and I don't think it would be very good for regular desktop use - but if it is strictly a gaming PC then it wouldn't be a bad option. You can get it here:
That Alienware box isn't a console anymore than the other one is. It's just a regular ol' Windows PC in a console looking case. You could build something that yourself inside a Fractal Design Node 202 or Silverstone RVZ02.
A steambox, from a hardware standpoint, is also no different from a regular PC except it's running a custom Linux distribution called Steam OS. You can install and run Steam OS on your own box if you wanted to:
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
As for the boxes you linked, neither of them are a good option. The Cyberpower box is running an AMD processor. It's a weak processor with no viable upgrade options. The Alienware box is running a last generation core i3. You could build something better for an extra $100-150 no problem.
SteamOS is available for 'regular' PCs and it is possible to leave the Steam overlay and get to the standard desktop environment. Only difference between a desktop and HTPC is what you use it for which might inform your hardware choices and form factor. Ex: A slim ITX build so it fits well in an entertainment stand or using an i5 instead of an i7 since the hyper-threading in i7s doesn't do anything to benefit games or basic web browsing/streaming. Leave the i7 for the graphic editing and rendering.
So long as the hardware is compatible you can build your own Steam machine without much more work than a standard install. SteamOS is optimized for living room/entertainment use.
Oh, and SteamOS is based on Debian. Seems like everything is based on Debian. You can venture out to to rpm based distros like Fedora and OpenSUSE, or pacman like Arch and its derivatives, or portage based like Gentoo and its derivatives or with more independent distros like Puppy (uber-lightweight) or Void Linux (often likened to Arch) if you wanted to shake it up, but Debian is a great OS, so whatever.
>Also not everybody lives in city with 50mb/s internet.
People on dial-up might think twice before choosing a platform that sells all its games through internet downloads.
From Valve's SteamOS Page (http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/), emphasis mine:
> "So, what is it not?
> We expect most SteamOS users to get SteamOS preinstalled on a Steam Machine. Although we have made SteamOS freely available for anybody to install, the installation experience is not intended for a non-technical user.
> Most importantly, SteamOS only supports a certain set of hardware (you can read more in our FAQ). We will add support for newer hardware over time, but we have no plans to add more support for older hardware.
> Users should not consider SteamOS as a replacement for their desktop operating system. SteamOS is being designed and optimized for the living room experience."
I'm not sure where you got your misconceptions about what SteamOS was meant to be, but you did not hear it from Valve.
I use SteamOS in my living room for the functions it was intended, and I use desktop Linux distros on my desktop systems. You can build a perfectly capable SteamOS system yourself, but you'll need to do homework and expect to get your hands dirty resolving quirks specific to your own creation.
This is the build I'm putting together: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/NtpfPs
Parts won't be in until Tuesday so I can't comment on performance. The CPU is a combined CPU/GPU. If I ever decide to repurpose it for higher-end gaming I'll add a dedicated GPU, but it's not in the cards right now. I've already got a gaming rig for that. You may find another build that better suits your tastes.
I'd also add that I chose the case because I like the look. You can find cheaper cases, some of which even have built-in power supplies, which could save you some cash.
As far as the OS, I'm weighing my options. I think I'm going to install SteamOS since this is a dedicated gaming box, but it's tempting to run some Ubuntu variant that boots directly into Steam Big Picture Mode, so I've got some more robust capabilities. We'll see. Valve may not be putting much into SteamOS development in the future, but for now it seems like a simple setup. You can download the OS from here: http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown and install from a USB stick.
I haven't included controllers in that build, so if you don't own any, figure that as an added cost. The wireless keyboard is added in there, but you may find that not to your needs, so drop another $23 off the cost.
Except for the fact that 1) Steam Machines have basically failed at this point and 2) SteamOS is so poorly designed you can't even install it as a dual booted OS normally.
If Valve's strategy was to show Microsoft that they don't need them, that failed as well.
I just looked and you can get windows 10 pro for £30 off ebay. If not you can always run SteamOS too, which is free. Or any other Linux distro. Games are becoming more and more compatible with Linux.
> because at least MS had the decency to not do this crap
sorry, you mean crap like this, which they did? Not sure what you mean here.
> Except, that doesn't happen with monopolies, proprietary tech, and other bullshit that makes customers stick to certain businesses like glue, leading to MS finally doing this stuff because "they can and get away with it."
yeah, that's basically why I've been a fan of "any team that plays against Microsoft" for a long while now. It's unhealthy for an industry to have this much dominance.
> BTW, OS X is proprietary mostly.
I'm not sure what percent of it is open source, but here's a list of all the parts that are, which is a rather long list at least.
I'm mostly a fan of all gamers deciding to go to some linux variant such as SteamOS although I have no idea how committed Valve actually is to it, nor how much traction it has.
That's the thing you are streaming, the powerfulPC in the other room does the work. so a powerful laptop or PC with powerful graphics card would not be needed? Should be no more trouble than hooking up a Steam Link. And you'd go with an under powered without powerful graphics card,$50 SteamLink over that? Okay.
https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/2yfx1l/psa_what_steamos_is_and_is_not/
And you can turn almost any newer used under powerful PC into a Steam Machine the OS is free.
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
But ya I understand, got to have that Steam branding.
Steam machines are rather pointless.
They only run SteamOS, which means you can only run maybe 25% of your steam library. And only steam games. And here is the kicker: you can run SteamOS on any system you buy or build yourself, if you want. But you can also run Windows or Linux on it. Or all of them, just boot in whatever you like.
I would suggest looking into getting a system that is not branded as a Steam machine, but can do the same thing. You can check out some 'barebones', those are an interesting option, small form factor, but with more options. Or you could look into buying or building a nice little microatx system. It won't cost you more than a steam machine with similar specs, you can run SteamOS on it which effectively turns it into a steam machine, but you can also run Windows on it, and play The Squad and thousands of other games (even non-steam games) that are not supported on steam machines.
Shit last time I checked you couldn't even watch Netflix or Youtube on a steam machine. Why spend your money on such a limited system if you can have the best of both worlds for the same prize. I'll say it again, you can run steamos on any system you buy, for free, so there is no reason to limit yourself to the handful of systems branded as 'steam machines'. Even Valve is smart enough to suggest you build your own 'steam machine' ;) http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
Hm, that makes sense. > edit: ITs called Expert Installer. http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
They really underestimate users if they call it "Expert Installer". Excuse me if I am mistacen but, I believe that anyone use it, at least for a basic setup. Furthermore I don't think it's a bad thing for someone to use his mind
You can download a traditional installer and install it to a smaller hard drive. Steam also provides a complete image which requires at least a terrabyte. The image is geared at beginners since all you need to do is answer a few questions and the image installs itself. At the end of the install you get a complete working SteamOS. With the traditional installer you need to go through the debian installation steps.
edit: ITs called Expert Installer. http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
Don't forget about steamos. http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/
> . The base system draws from Debian 8, code named Debian Jessie
At least you have the choice of Distros (arch for me) where you know what you are getting. And besides, you can verify the integrity of your system by compiling it if you are fully paranoid. Or just verify the integrity through the signed packages.
TL;DR You have a choice, you can install what you want and believe you want with nix.
Forgot to say from I just want the OS. I dont want to pay for windows so I will download SteamOS for free http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown Thanks for the help bro. How do USBs works? Will there be a wire from the mobo to the case USBs or will the mobo be stuck onto the case where the USB is?
But it isn't standard. If I install SteamOS and then change the window manager, will it work? Who knows. I'll bet if I call tech support and tell them that config they're going to be 'So sorry, no support for modified'. SteamOS is a specific set of technologies at a specific version level as supported by Valve.
From here:
> So, what is it not?
>
> We expect most SteamOS users to get SteamOS preinstalled on a Steam Machine. Althogh we have made SteamOS freely available for anybody to install, the installation experience is not intended for a non-technical user.
> Most importantly, SteamOS only supports a certain set of hardware (you can read more in our FAQ). We will add support for newer hardware over time, but we have no plans to add more support for older hardware.
> Users should not consider SteamOS as a replacement for their desktop operating system. SteamOS is being designed and optimized for the living room experience.
My understanding of POSIX was if a *nix OS was 'POSIX compilant' you could pick up any 'POSIX compilant' software package and it should run without hassle. Having said that my knowledge of the subject is fairly shallow and probably very out of date. :)
If you haven't once seen any effort from valve then you aren't looking very hard. Here is a link to the official SteamOS page. The very first link on that page is to build your own steam machine. http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/
Thanks for all the info, I now have a new install of SteamOS that says: SteamOS 2.0 update 1:2.40
Weird, the version I initially installed was downloaded from the Steam website here. I just assumed it was the latest version, but apparently not.
I will give installing Kodi a try again.
Thanks again!
> A PC, on the other hand, would cost at least $350-400 to run games decently, but would also require an OS that could cost as much as $100. Granted, I know that linux is free, but I have no experience with it and limited time to learn.
SteamOS is a specialized Linux-based OS, designed to be easy to use: http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
I am using a Mac to prepare the USB so I formatted it with Disk Utility then unzipped the Custom download (http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/download/?ver=custom) then copied all the files from the folder to the USB, <- This maybe where I went wrong. I then turned my computer with the drive in and booted from it (secure boot off) and I got to the GNU Grub prompt. My motherboard is a ASUS A88XM-A and my GPU is a MSI GeForce GTX 950. Thanks for the help.
Hi! Just followed these steps. Actually I had zero issues with hd graphics on my Acer machine. It's brand new, bought past weekend. Don't wanna be one of those fellas but it came with windows 8.1 and I knew what to do. SteamOS actually came to mind after I download the Mint iso. No regrets.
And zero issues, too, with a Dell one that has both hd graphics/nvidia, even though with this one I didn't plug so far on my tv. With this one I'll re-install the latest mint again, since it's not made for gaming purposes. Wireless x360 controllers run fine, just as my Logitech one, on both machines. Keep in mind I didn't even test out the other functions, such as the desktop mode, youtube and browser. Just gaming, so far. Cheers!
ps: I'm actually playing right now this and it rocks!
I've been using Linux exclusively since Slackware 3.1 and seen lots of progress in the gaming front, but a lot of this progress has come at the expense of the underlying open source philosophy. Things like binary blobs and proprietary, closed source drivers and software (see SteamOS) are currently the only way one can get even close to parity with Window's gaming performance.
Judging from here, you'll need to enable UEFI on the VM's property pages. Then build the USB stick like the instructions say. Use USB passthrough to let the VM see the stick and proceed with the installation.