Valve is proving that LOTS of people would use Linux if it came in convenient preinstalled packaging.
“User-friendly? Pffftt… Do you mean noob enabling?”
- Toxic Linux fanatic
“I hate noobs. So glad I never was one.”
- That same toxic fanatic
It’s all fun and games until some manjaro user starts asking about manjaro-specific f-ups in an arch chat and telling users there that apparently it’s the same when told such f-ups are discussed in a chat next-door
Yeah unfortunately this is a real issue. I also think it’s an issue that experienced users don’t really want to help newbies, especially those who can’t or won’t do research by themselves. Ideally experienced users would be more helpful, but at the same time that isn’t their job. There are many who learned Linux more or less on their own so it’s understandable they don’t want to help given they didn’t use any help when it was their turn. I think now that the community is growing this might start to change a bit, as the newcomers are more likely to have had help and be willing to help others.
I sometimes try to advocate for using Linux, and I don’t mind giving friends advice from time to time. That being said I don’t want to be stuck answering stupid questions all the time that could have been solved with a google search or a YouTube video. I have my own stuff to worry about both technical and otherwise.
That’s why I think teaching new users how to access resources like man pages, gnu info pages, google, and so on is the correct approach to take. It is empowering having the skills to work through your own issues. That being said I also think it’s important for experienced people to give advice on more complex questions.
Isn’t that technically what Android fix 15 tears ago?
Android may be vaguely user friendly, but it’s horrible to use for anything except launching a self-contained app.
So it’s ok-ish for phones, but horrible as a general purpose system.
Indeed. I’d say majority of people nowadays need just one thing from their computer - working web browser. Mail, office suite, audio and video consumption, even graphic suite (e.g. photopea) is available, and widely adopted, in browser. And browsers behavesbvirtually the same whether on Windows or Linux, so yeah, put person in front of nicely packed Linux PC and chances are there won’t be many issues.
That’s been the case for a long time, this xkcd is at least a decade old!
That’s good one :-)
That would be a Chromebook.
Valve is doing this? Not Android since 2008?
Heck we know people don’t give a shit what’s under the covers since at least the switch between Windows 98 and 2000/XP, the latter being a very different OS. It could have been BSD or Linux and people wouldn’t have bat an eye if the start menu looked the same and Word, Corel Draw, Photoshop and AutoCAD worked.
Android is not (really) a desktop OS. Devices with preconfigured locked-up Linux installations have been around way before that, mainly networking equipment.
Neither is SteamOS.
SteamOS is not locked, and at any point can can be set to desktop mode and used as one. Unlike android which has no compatibility with other Linux desktop apps without a fair bit of tinkering to get working.
I take it you’ve never used a steam deck
I bought a steam deck and it inspired me to build a Linux gaming pc. Haven’t been in the pc world since windows 7. Dabbled a bit with Linux long ago. Well, it was a pretty smooth set up this go around. Everything just worked. I didn’t even need to find a driver for my GPU.
The exception was a VR headset I tried to set up. I decided to install Windows on a separate HD just for VR games. When I did, I was shocked at how bad it is. I mean the UI and UX are dated and bloated, sure, but Windows couldn’t even detect my motherboards wifi. I had to boot in to Linux, download my WiFi drivers and then transfer them via USB drive to windows. Same issue with Bluetooth. I can’t believe in 2024, Windows doesn’t just work out of the box while Linux does.
For VR, if you have a Quest headset and good WiFi, you can try ALVR with SteamVR, it works just fine for me while playing BeatSaber but depending on games your milage might vary.
Yeah, not using Quest. Trying to run an HTC Vive, which is pretty ancient at this point. In any case, I think the issue is I installed Steam via flatpak, but I guess it’s better to install it natively for VR. I’m sure I could technically get it running, but after putting a few hours into trying, I just gave up. Mostly just want to play Half-Life Alyx and after that I’m probably finished with the VR till some other killer game comes out.
If network card drivers don’t work, you can transfer the file the old-fashioned way, or get online using an Android phone in USB Tethering mode (Wi-Fi and mobile data both work).
As someone who has recently begun dipping in to Linux and trying to figure it all out, I agree with this.
I feel like if Samsung or someone embraced Linux in the way Apple have macOS, it could very easily become a serious contender to Windows. But I guess no one could trust Samsung to not fuck it all up and make it a proprietary fork that would end up having nothing to do with Linux.
Fuck Samsung but ValveOS (something aimed at the average user) would be neat to see. At least until Valve goes full on ‘LET’S BE FUCKING EVIL!’
Darth Gaben: To verify your identity, say the gamer word out loud with the hard R explicitly pronounced. If you’d fail to do this check every half an hour (offline included), the VAC ban would follow. I don’t make rules, hahaha, no, I make them up as we speak.
SteamOS is a thing. https://store.steampowered.com/steamos
Oh yeah, I agree. I really only chose Samsung because they’re one of the very few companies with the same kind of market presence as Apple.
Basically like they (and Google) have handled phones. “Wow look, a majority of the OS work is done for us! Sooo if we just…overlay it all with proprietary blobs and un-removable software and locked bootloaders and…”
I have enough PTSD from the aptly named TouchWiz era. I simply can’t imagine all those Samsung executives nodding approvingly with the powerpoint presentation in their offices.
One could make a similar argument with Google (Android/ChromeOS).
You could…
But then one is an open system where you can disable the UI put on top and have a working linux system, while the other is a closed blob destroying compatibility and trying hard to lock you out from accessing the underlying linux system.
and we love them like brothers and sisters.
And we also treat them like such, lol.
Together we can create a dysfunctional OS user base, and this is what we’re missing.
Valve hasn’t sued anyone to give them a portion of their income forever. Valve also doesn’t pursue anti consumer goals on daily basis. Not that it has never done anything wrong but it has done enough good to be on my good side as little as it means
Valve also doesn’t pursue anti consumer goals on daily basis.
Valve pioneered lootboxes and marketing gambling to children, why does everyone forget that?
At one point Apple, Google, etc. were not evil… but yeah, enjoy the moment for sure.:-)
But they are/were publicly traded.
Being publicly traded inherently means you need to show growth every 3 months or your shares are worthless. Cue the enshittification and squeezing pennies from every revenue stream possible.
That’s the sole reason Valve hasn’t gone down that path is its status in this regard.
That is a VERY good point. Let’s hope it remains that way. Reddit was private once too.
While I’ll always be wary of corporations, Valve seems to be maintaining an overall good relationship with the FOSS community (for the time being).
they aren’t publicly traded so that’s probably part of the reason.
I’d bet dollars to donuts that’s exactly the reason. And the minute they start goin public, the enshittification will occur.
Maybe I’m wrong but I’ve got the horrible feeling that once Gabe dies the enshittification begins.
Enjoy it while it lasts. Capitalism will definitely suck out all joy out of life eventually but we can still have a little bit of fun here on the verge.
That’s what was happening so Gabe took it private again.
I mean, the second someone is a billionaire from the business they run, the enshitifaction has begun because that money comes from somewhere.
Gabe has been a billionaire a while now. Like $9.5B net worth with a yacht collection.
Exactly my point
But counter to your point Steam has done a ton of pro-consumer moves since then…?
Me using windows on the steam deck to really make things confusing
Why can’t you just be normal?
[SCREAMS IN WINDOWS 11]
Microsoft is the best advertising for Linux out there
Seriously though for the first time I am seeing long time Microsoft admins start to complain
You haven’t been looking in the right places then, I’ve been seeing it since I started working in IT nearly a decade ago.
It has definitely gotten crappier since I started though.
(Microsoft Admin whining incoming)
More and more snags related to implementation details of ancient functionality that still exists under the hood of their all new shiny crap, but isn’t actually documented properly anywhere anymore because rolling out new stuff is more important than finishing documentation on core sysadmin tools multiple years old.
They got rid of all training courses, certs, and learning material for all their on premise stuff in order to push cloud only setups years ago. They are just barely starting to backtrack that, so there’s a massive gap in official documentation.
Thank god my team has enough requisite greybeards to bridge the gap and train me on what Microsoft wants to pretend isn’t still in widespread use.
I’m planning to get a handheld gaming computer and install one of the open source Linux gaming distros on it, like ChimeraOS or Bazzite
Just skip that step and get the deck. It’s the best handheld anyway.
I haven’t had a gaming system.in over 10 years and I was so glad I got the steam deck. It just worked out of the box, no messing around having to set anything up or play around with settings.
I bought a few games, downloaded them and everything has been seamless. Its been the most worthwhile purchase I’ve made in quite some time.
You can get better specs and pretty much the same UI experience from competitors by installing Bazzite, only the lack of a trackpad might turn some people off depending on what type of game they’re playing…
Unless you referring specifically to the original deck’s screen, I dont see a point in paying way more for specs that if you try using will get you a battery life of 30min.
And as someone who thought the trackpads were pointless: they make a lot of games you wouldn’t expect perfectly playable. I personally have been playing stellaris on the deck and it’s been great.
