Given many new handhelds coming on the scene and general disinterest of Microsoft to support the market, do you think SteamOS will take place of default OS the same way Android did on phones some time ago?

  • HughJanus@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Most of the SteamOS features are also available on Windows by launching Steam in big picture mode.

    No they aren’t. They’re vertically integrated. I don’t think you understand what the SteamOS features actually are. It’s more than just a GUI.

    • Skull giver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl
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      1 year ago

      I mean the features end users care about. You get the console interface, the button remapping, the save game sync, and even the FPS overlay. You’ve got a usable desktop environment through Windows (that’ll also work better for most people despite Microsoft’s attempts to make Windows worse) with things like eGPU support.

      You probably don’t get the performance sliders, but every handheld has their own little overlay bound to a special button that’ll offer the same options anyway.

      If you install Steam on your Linux distribution of choice because you dislike Windows, you get all the Proton tricks for free as well. You may even get the performance sliders if you’re on an AMD handheld and the kernel packs the right drivers.

      Of course SteamOS has a lot of features hidden from the user (A/B boot setup for seamless updates, a custom Wayland server dedicated to playing games) but those only matter to diehard Linux users.

      People buying a Steam Deck just want to play video games.

      • HughJanus@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        I mean the features end users care about.

        Yes that’s what I was also talking about.