This is the smallest obstacle, IMO. You could get rid of (or leave a small dual boot partition of) Windows, and use one of the good Linux distros tailored to a Steam OS-like experience, like Chimera or Bazzite, and just keep ticking along without missing a beat.
I love my Deck, but I’m already researching the process of eventually transitioning off of it simply because the screen is too tiny for my 40s eyes, and I don’t get to use it handheld as much as I’d like. This upcoming wave of Deck-like handhelds with 9 and 10 inch screens will be looking very good in this upcoming year.
Unfortunately it doesn’t really work that way. Those distros need to be adjusted to work properly with the hardware. For instance, if you got a ROG Ally and slapped Chimera on there you would have no sound, no WiFi, and you have to manually adjust the resolution for each game.
This would be a fairly trivial task for Asus or Lenovo, so I don’t really understand why they don’t do it, but they don’t.
Have you actually installed chimera on the rog or are you just dredging up old linux problems that aren’t true anymore like how Nvidia fanboys say AMD drivers don’t work on Linux to this day despite AMD having higher compatibility?
No. I have not. I don’t have an Ally. But these are issues mentioned in Chimera’s own documents, among others. So I assume that they’re not fabricating issues with their own software.
They may be outdated, but the point stands.
I’ve never heard anyone say Nvidia has better compatibility with Linux. Usually the opposite.
Nobara Linux has a Steam Deck edition (basically with gamescope-session and KDE), and I believe it includes patches for complete compatibility with the ROG Ally.
Maybe not a failure of a device, as us enthusiasts would probably still be able to make something cool of it. A failure of a product, definitely, as it probably wouldn’t be successful enough with the casual user for the manufacturer to support it for long.
This is the smallest obstacle, IMO. You could get rid of (or leave a small dual boot partition of) Windows, and use one of the good Linux distros tailored to a Steam OS-like experience, like Chimera or Bazzite, and just keep ticking along without missing a beat.
I love my Deck, but I’m already researching the process of eventually transitioning off of it simply because the screen is too tiny for my 40s eyes, and I don’t get to use it handheld as much as I’d like. This upcoming wave of Deck-like handhelds with 9 and 10 inch screens will be looking very good in this upcoming year.
Unfortunately it doesn’t really work that way. Those distros need to be adjusted to work properly with the hardware. For instance, if you got a ROG Ally and slapped Chimera on there you would have no sound, no WiFi, and you have to manually adjust the resolution for each game.
This would be a fairly trivial task for Asus or Lenovo, so I don’t really understand why they don’t do it, but they don’t.
Have you actually installed chimera on the rog or are you just dredging up old linux problems that aren’t true anymore like how Nvidia fanboys say AMD drivers don’t work on Linux to this day despite AMD having higher compatibility?
No. I have not. I don’t have an Ally. But these are issues mentioned in Chimera’s own documents, among others. So I assume that they’re not fabricating issues with their own software.
They may be outdated, but the point stands.
I’ve never heard anyone say Nvidia has better compatibility with Linux. Usually the opposite.
@HughJanus wait, AMD is better for Linux?
Yes, absolutely
Nobara Linux has a Steam Deck edition (basically with gamescope-session and KDE), and I believe it includes patches for complete compatibility with the ROG Ally.
They both do.
If it doesn’t work out of the box, it’s a failure of a device.
Ignoring drivers not being available.
Maybe not a failure of a device, as us enthusiasts would probably still be able to make something cool of it. A failure of a product, definitely, as it probably wouldn’t be successful enough with the casual user for the manufacturer to support it for long.