c010rb1indusa t1_j7rd14e wrote
Honestly the thing that has me most excited about Steam Deck isn't the hardware, but SteamOS itself. Valve, for better or for worse, have crowned Arch Linux and KDE Plasma as their distribution and desktop environment of choice respectively. Just as the Deck's success has resulted in a soft hardware floor for PC games, their software choices have created an unofficial 'default' distro+DE for the Linux desktop, which IMO has been one of the biggest limiting factors for its growth and adoption over the years. The value of having mainstream consensus around an OS and design language cannot be understated and it's what the Linux Desktop has needed to get away from its CLI crutches. This is the first time I've realistically been able to see a potential replacement for Windows in the desktop space and not just for gamers. I hope I'm not wrong.
Poyojo t1_j7svnrq wrote
I've never used Linux in my life, but having spent time with my Deck, I can say that given more compatibility with games, I may just eventually want Linux to be my main computer's OS. I just love how customizable and unobtrusive everything has been. Windows, on the other hand, drives me nuts in some new way every single day.
SuicidalChair t1_j7sy5mj wrote
Sorry, we moved your nuts to a sub-context menu so it's harder to drive them now - Windows
Poyojo t1_j7syhkl wrote
Yo! Welcome back to Windows! Everything is different now, there are ads in places you didn't expect, and we reinstalled Microsoft Edge for you since it seems you accidentally uninstalled it. No worries; happens all the time. So would you like to upgrade to Windows 11 right now or like.. later today?
Shotgun5250 t1_j7vw64e wrote
I can’t even uninstall edge. It’s hard coded into my OS and won’t allow me to uninstall it. I just hid it away in the depths of my files, never to be seen again.
King_Tamino t1_j7wlc3x wrote
Not much different to IE. IE was/is as hardcoded into the OS like file explorer itself.
ickarous t1_j7vz52k wrote
JFC, everytime I setup a new user and accidentally click Edge instead of Chrome. Edge then holds you hostage until you tell it multiple times that no I dont want to login, I just want to close this BS and open Chrome.
noeagle77 t1_j7u8n1d wrote
“You don’t meet the minimum requirements for your nuts to be updated”
-Microsoft
bolderdash t1_j7vye4c wrote
This is the game changer. A fully supported OS that's built to run games across the board, has been optimized for performance (because it had to be), that also gives gamers a system capable of providing the customization and modding options that come with Linux - and it's not Microsoft or Apple.
I like my computer, and Windows 10 is great, don't get me wrong; but now I have the option to customize my OS without Microsoft BS interference, AND IT CAN RUN ALL MY GAMES OUT OF THE BOX. Sign me the fuck up.
King_Tamino t1_j7wl0sw wrote
Absolutely hardcore Windows Fan but damn even I’m tired. The amount of Win11 un-installs had to do for family… the work that goes into keeping our servers running.
Their announcement back then to not release Win11 made me cheer since it significantly could reduce permanently effort when it comes to helping end-users. Instead we now get Win11 AND the Win Server Version after 2022 "will be closer to Win11“
I’m at a point where I gladly would support switching most of our systems but windows dependencies especially in businarea is just so brutal..
kaskoosek t1_j7vg1bq wrote
Installing and unistalling on unix is unsafe for beginners.
Tread the terminal with caution.
I usually dont touch my core environment, but use virtual vms in case i wanna develop some stuff.
aDDnTN t1_j7ubtce wrote
you definitely have used linux in your life.
have you ever used an atm? ever used a self-checkout? every looked at a live menu screen?
your smart phone uses a linux based os. playstation OS is linux.
if you ever used an electronic interface that had to be reliable, it was most likely linux based.
ever used a home wifi router? nas? a media player? your smart TV apps? all have OS based on linux.
Poyojo t1_j7ubz9q wrote
Sorry, what I really meant to say was "I've never used Linux as the primary OS on my home computer in my life"
aDDnTN t1_j7ud5f3 wrote
me neither! but i have 3 libreelec +kodi media players, a rasbian server, pihole, and a gameboy shaped emulator kit, all running linux.
i have to use guides while i'm working on things to explain how. i'm practically stumbling in the dark and have no idea if what i'm doing is right, but i'm trying to learn.
3dforlife t1_j7w7siw wrote
The atms, at least in Portugal, are driven by windows XP.
barfplanet t1_j7xy243 wrote
Just to be a know-it-all, the playstation OS is built on freeBSD.
aDDnTN t1_j7yzv7h wrote
freebsd is unix based. linux is also unix-based.
barfplanet t1_j7z0hwx wrote
Yes, that is true.
3dforlife t1_j7w7zfc wrote
The Switch is the most reliable electronics I have. Is it OS based on Linux?
aDDnTN t1_j7wig0a wrote
it's running on a tegra so probably, let's check the wiki.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Switch_system_software
> Proprietary OS, derivative of Nintendo 3DS system software (partially Unix-like via certain components which are based on FreeBSD and Android)
probably depends on if you consider "unix-like" to be different from "linux-like".
barfplanet t1_j7xygo5 wrote
The Switch OS is really not linux-based at all. It uses a pretty unique micro-kernel instead of Linux. It does have similar (unix-like) architecture, but pretty much every OS other than Windows also does.
3dforlife t1_j7wts4d wrote
It's similar enough, thanks!
PC-hris t1_j7rhorz wrote
Ikr I’m so excited to try Steam OS on my main pc.
NexusOrBust t1_j7sw831 wrote
I don't love the direction things are going with Windows 11, so I'm more than willing to beta test a SteamOS desktop release.
roguebananah t1_j7tplrs wrote
I’m on 10 and I know at some point I’ll need to move to 11 and I have zero interest in it.
More bloat, more privacy violations, more bullshit Microsoft changed that never needed to be changed in the first place. Start menu, control panel is gonna be fucked and all.
Search I’m sure will still suck
OPsButthole6969 t1_j7tvp97 wrote
Have you tried the Everything app for PC that makes search way better?
roguebananah t1_j7u7ecg wrote
I have not! What is it? Hopefully like MacOS’s search?
OPsButthole6969 t1_j7uf33y wrote
Pretty much makes search instant and perfect. It will index the entire PC and when you search it's instant and looks for everything!
roguebananah t1_j7v3p7a wrote
I’ll check it out. Thank you!
killiandw t1_j7xai8o wrote
Come to Linux I just made the switch. Using PopOS
roguebananah t1_j7xo6sr wrote
I’ve used Linux before (Mainly Ubuntu and Mint back about 10 years ago) and thought about it again but being a new Dad I just don’t have time to play around with getting configuration set up and all. Maybe again one day.
I’ll say a massive help to my gripes with Windows 10’s nonsense was a Powershell script that uninstalled a ton of bloat and allows you to uninstall stuff like Candy Crush and the Xbox app.
Wild how much trash it threw out
killiandw t1_j7z8yfy wrote
Oh no you removed candy crush. In my opinion the only games that should come with windows is solitaire , minesweeper, and that ski game from windows 3.1.
I totally get it I have a 2 year old. But I have to say the guys at system 76 made it out of the box ready and steam makes it so easy.
roguebananah t1_j7zokfz wrote
Any non-DLC or upselling type of game I have no issue with.
put_it_in_my_mouf t1_j7tvhew wrote
On the bright side they finally updated big picture to look like steamOS so that's nice
AcusTwinhammer t1_j7v3fv7 wrote
If by "bright side" you include breaking a lot of existing SteamLink functionality, sure. Got the new update yesterday, looks like it no longer understands having controllers/keyboards plugged into both the main computer and the SteamLink, so I wasn't able to properly use any inputs. Thought I would restart the SteamLink via the power option, apparently in the new Big Picture that powers down my actual PC. Not sure what the "Format SD card" option does, or even why it's there other than perhaps a lazy cut and paste of the UI.
put_it_in_my_mouf t1_j80qc4b wrote
Tbf it's not all that surprising an update broke a device that's been EOL for three years
TONKAHANAH t1_j7t19wo wrote
you can do it now with HoloISO, assuming you have an AMD card.
it would be nice to see valve put some effort into getting a system agnostic iso out into the world that they're supporting, or at least pay someone to work on it. I've not heard of them putting any sort of priority into getting a standard system ISO outinto the wild.
only thing that exists right now is HoloISO which is basically just the steamdeck recovery image cobbled together with other standard linux stuffs to make it work. It used to work with nvidia but according to the HoloISO page, its been updated with stuff that makes it just not work with nvidia at all.
​
the other issue currently is that kde via SteamOS isnt set to use wayland for some reason. that probably wouldnt be an issue in most cases, but it does feel like we're ready to move on from X11 and I'd prefer to see wayland be the default on an offical steamOS iso
PC-hris t1_j7t25jf wrote
I’ve tried using HoloISO but it didn’t really work out. I only have Nvidia graphics cards
TONKAHANAH t1_j7t3gzb wrote
yeah as it stands a lot of SteamOS relies on having AMD graphical chipsets to work properly which makes me think a standard ISO isnt gonna happen any time soon.
PC-hris t1_j7vupz4 wrote
They did say they plan to make a general use version of the os. Hopefully they do it soon
TONKAHANAH t1_j7w9eee wrote
Yeah but that was a long time ago and they've not made a single mention of it since.
I was expecting them to do this before updating big picture mode cuz that didn't seem like a high priority yet here we are.
Suppose maintaining a whole os for various hardware is more complicated though. Would be nice to hear if they've put any work into it.
sarlackpm t1_j7tzn8i wrote
Yeah, this is a game changer. Many Linux Distros have been ready for casual consumer desktop use for years now. I would have said Arch least of all actually! But here a major party has thrown their hat into a format/OS war.
On the one side there is windows, which has all the compatibility and packages that define the software universe, for better or worse. On the other side a system that is totally free and open, and now compatible with the two most important things for the casual computer user...games and internet browsing.
If that's enough to get people to switch, the true power of a Linux OS will become apparent to any user soon enough, and then...I think there's no going back. Microsoft may even have to delete web office support in order to stay relevant.
It's like the early days of home computing again, diversity abounds and it's quite exciting.
tepig099 t1_j8d1gjt wrote
I can’t get videos in games to work on my Steam Deck and that’s a big bummer for me.
mkakram t1_j7tn98o wrote
That’s exactly what i was thinking when they released I really hope it works out and linux becomes more and more suitable for gaming
Omnisegaming t1_j7ve2r0 wrote
Valve also made a tool to help windows applications (mostly games) run natively on Linux with some success - it's not perfect and it depends on the kind of application, but more things that can be done on linux without a VM is a huge deal for an average user.
what595654 t1_j7w0grv wrote
Man, Ive tried switching to linux several times throughout the years. On the surface, it looks and works great. Especially, for basic things. Try to do anything remotely sophisticated and you are knee deep in terminal commands, outdated tutorials, and workaround hacks. Something that is either a non issue, or trivial to accomplish in Windows, becomes a day long project, and wasted time not getting the actual thing done.
Until Linux solves that, it isnt a realistic choice for many heavy workflows, or people who actually just need things to work, with time crunchs.
c010rb1indusa t1_j7w2q0c wrote
But that's the point of my post. The reason linux can get so complicated is because there is no 'default' distro or DE to build a consistent knowledge base around. In linux even if the distro under the hood is the same, the DEs aka the GUIs vary even among the same distro. There is Matte, Gnome, Cinnamon, KDE etc. are all popular so there is no way to know for sure that GUI has x settings panel, or the settings are in different places etc. But now focus is on Arch and KDE Plasma specifically. If a setting isn't available in the GUI, now someone can build it in themselves and they know it will just work on Arch and KDE Plasma, w/o having to worry about Ubuntu or Mint or Manjaro or any of the DEs I already listed. And that target audience will be PC gamers who are the pro-sumers that are savey enough for some DIY, but not to the extent that they want live or rely on the CLI, they will demand more elegant solutions. And this is the very crowd you need to win over cause they're the people that are going to tell their friends to build install SteamOS not Windows etc. They aren't the biggest market but it's the biggest pro-sumer demo in the PC space by far, and they act as the gatekeepers to wider acceptance among general audiences.
[deleted] t1_j7zrao9 wrote
This is a very bad outcome, though. The "default" district should not be Arch. It's an awful choice for mass adoption. And no, most PC gamers aren't going to want to DIY shit. I CAN do that, but I WANT to just install a normal OS and for it to work normally. Arch is the antithesis of that.
And frankly GNOME is a million times more polished than KDE.
c010rb1indusa t1_j80tty3 wrote
I mean DIY in a way that building and setting up your own Windows PC is DIY. Linux is far from that right now but if you are truly able to hide the CLI in 99% of cases that won't be the case that's my point.
And the distro doesn't matter, it's that Valve chose a specific distro and DE to go with. They could have build SteamOS on Debian and gnome and I would have been just as excited and thought SteamOS had just as much promise. The point is when someone goes to google how to do something or troubleshoot or w/e, they are given clear instructions how to do it through the UI, not through the CLI. There needs to be consensus with the UI/UX, does't matter what that consensus is, just that there's consensus.
[deleted] t1_j80u5fv wrote
I'm not debating this with you. If you care about Linux adoption at all, and you seem to do, you need to learn that you're dead wrong about this.
c010rb1indusa t1_j80ujbd wrote
Lol what a reply! "You're wrong, you don't understand anything I'm done debating you." How convincing.
[deleted] t1_j80w60q wrote
I mean this very honestly and very sincerely: a lot of Linux nerds are literally incapable of seeing the problem with Linux. And I mean it when I say literally. You think Linux is good because you are incapable of perceiving the flaws everyone else sees. So it's pointless to argue with you or debate you. It's like trying to debate a blind man about whether or not the Moon exists. It's there, but he can't see it regardless. The only way you're ever going to understand this is by inferring it through the fact that users don't like using Linux. And even then you ignore that conclusion by assuming it's because of other forces at work.
[deleted] t1_j80xb05 wrote
[removed]
killiandw t1_j7xa8gp wrote
Steamdeck convinced me it was time to switch to Linux. Tried it years ago and failed with wine but streams proton layer is just amazing. As far as arch being the default I guess but I went with pop cause of the support
spaceminions t1_j7zf3h4 wrote
Ubuntu and it's derivatives were already very n00b popular.
c010rb1indusa t1_j7zz054 wrote
[deleted] t1_j80iwty wrote
And you think Arch overcomes this problem?
c010rb1indusa t1_j80vplr wrote
No Arch nor KDE plasma have nothing to do with it specifically. It's that there is now a 'default' UI/UX that general consensus can be built around. That's what important. Valve could have chosen debian+gnome for SteamOS I would have felt the same way. Ubuntu tried to be noob friendly, but it's been offered with several different DEs. And Linux Mint which is meant to be the most like Windows, has existed for years with the cinnamon DE that is different from what Ubunutu would ship with and/or recommend over the years. Windows doesn't have the best UX/UI, but people freaked out when Windows 8 removed the start menu because it was different, not that it was necessarily worse. You need UI/UX consensus for a desktop OS to grow in the mainstream. Hell Windows still has the legacy control panel with redundant settings because it's difficult to not only redesign but to replicate the UI/UX w/ the new settings panel even though the new settings menu debuted in Windows 8 almost 10 years ago!
spaceminions t1_j82ngau wrote
It's a lot bigger deal to do the arch thing than to use a less-common DE if you aren't changing it a lot. (the arch thing being "if you were really 1337 you'd compile your audio drivers from scratch instead of complaining that they're not preloaded!" in my mind lol). Windows is a nightmare and I am glad I don't have to work for MS.
spaceminions t1_j82n5a0 wrote
I've been less than impressed with that channel for a long time, so I didn't watch that, but I think it would help if I mention that my definition of n00b popular is for non-gaming purposes. Ubuntu (and to a lesser extent Mint, although I prefer to use that one) is universally understood as a very convenient and perfectly decent platform that's basically guaranteed to have people who've already used whatever software you need to run. There are more minimalist distros, which may be reasonable to use as a base for tweaking and optimizing, but if you want to spin up a machine in a limited amount of time and have everything you need as soon as possible, it's great for that. Doesn't even make you stop and remember commands, because you can count on the GUI way of changing whatever you want to be reasonable.
[deleted] t1_j80iprt wrote
The fact that you think Arch+KDE being established as the "default" distro would improve Linux's ability to compete with Windows is an outstanding example of why Linux doesn't and likely never will. It's closer to a worst-case scenario.
c010rb1indusa t1_j80sm3p wrote
It doesn't matter which distro or DE Valve chose, just that a distro and DE were chosen period. I said better or for worse for a reason. Having a consistent design language and UX is what is needed for the Linux Desktop. Normal people don't want to mess around with the CLI and any FAQ/guide isn't going to show you how to do something in every popular DE available. People lost their minds when Windows removed the start menu from Windows 8. Didn't matter if it was better or worse, it was different.
[deleted] t1_j80tfyp wrote
Yes, it absolutely does matter, because the choice they've made as the "default" is the most expressly antithetical to mass adoption. If that's the platform that most people know about, if that's the platform most guides are tailored toward, it's going to hurt Linux adoption. You're saying you're excited for this and I'm telling you you shouldn't be unless you own stock in Microsoft or Apple.
JustMrNic3 t1_j9cm3eq wrote
KDE Plasma, at least, is truly amazing:
https://kde.org/plasma-desktop/
And it has so many features:
https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/ymeskc/what_do_you_like_about_kde_plasma/
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