Microsoft attempted to address this with Windows 8, but by forcing touch interface styling to a desktop user they created a massive flop. Adding Windows Mobile trying to do it’s own thing in 2015, and failing to gain market share by not investing enough early enough, and they were solidly outclassed. If they had hot the right points, we might have seen smooth Mobile Microsoft gaming 10 years ago.
What might be the real killer feature of SteamOS is the ability to run a Linux desktop. For $400 one can have both a mobile gaming console that can dock with their television and also dock with a traditional PC for other traditional uses.
SteamOS already runs Linux desktop, at least on the steamdeck (it’s just “switch to desktop” in the power menu). The default desktop environment is KDE plasma. Paired with a USBC laptop dock, you have an easily switchable desktop experience too.
Hopefully they don’t plan to change this!
Just need a fucking printer support
From what I’ve read, you just need to start the CUPS service.
sudo systemctl start cups.serviceStart on boot:
sudo systemctl enable cups.serviceFor such a “stripped down” OS to fit in a 5GB / partition, it is very funny that they included printing but just left it turned off.
5 GiB is plenty of space for a Linux root filesystem, at least if you move all writeable parts (logs, temporary files, etc.) to different filesystems. Unless you want to install LaTeX, then you probably need 15 GiB or so.
However, CUPS has had a fair share of security issues (for instance https://www.evilsocket.net/2024/09/26/Attacking-UNIX-systems-via-CUPS-Part-I/), so it is probably a good idea to have it disabled by default, unless the user needs printer support.
Man I bought one of those windows phones, the Lumia 920 and boy did it suck. Had bugger all apps. I feel like I had it for nearly a year before I got sick of it. YouTube app was constantly borked and would crash frequently. The fb app once they got it going just felt like a shitty web app disguised as an app. And that was it, like they just released the phone OS and the Lumia series and just hoped devs would come across to the platform. One of the few times I tried to get off iOS and boy did it burn me hard. Hey at least the screen was strong enough to hammer in nails. So free hammer?
Steam deck changed my life.
I have used Arch Linux as the main OS of my PC since 6 years ago, but I always need to use Windows to play games. I never used Windows again after I got a Steam deck
iPhone + iPad/Mac + Steam Deck can meet all my daily needs.
I like it, want the Steam Deck 2, and also want the Steam console or Steam machine series.
You should be able to play just fine with Arch Linux… The SteamOS is based on arch after all.
Yes. I can and I did. But it costs much extra time to download, install, and adjust. Using the Steam deck is convenient because the default settings have already done everything, I just need to pick it up and play games.
It really doesn’t. Since a few years it’s basically plug and play.
I understand that people are hyped about a Linux distribution developed by a company they really care about. However, please be aware that SteamOS is focused at being an (almost) exclusive gaming OS with very limited hardware support. It doesn’t support NVIDIA video cards, for instance.
Steam already runs perfectly fine in most generalist distributions and you’ll have a wonderful time if you install them.
