Gabe Newell calls Win8 a 'catastrophe,' wants Linux to thrive

[paulbagz]

Eh I don't mind Win8/Metro at all now after using it for a solid month, its even hard in some respects to go back to Win7.

Adapt to change or get left behind. This style or way of doing things (re: Metro, App programming etc) isn't going anywhere.

Just look at the Office 2013 RP and Server 8 Beta's (the other major chunk of Microsoft's revenue).

Yeah its annoying on desktops at first (tis great on Tablets/touch devices), but I think developers and end users should embrace the change.

-PB

[DeathReborn]

Richard Stallman of GNU & FSF isn't entirely happy with Steam on Linux on the basis of "freedom" and "non-free software". His blog post if linked below:

https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/nonfree-games.en.html

[EniGmA1987]

Why does something HAVE to be free if it is on Linux? It doesnt. To call games that arent free unethical is very shortsighted. If every developer in the world started to work for free, we would not longer have A+ titles around because all our developers would only be able to work in their spare time after their new boring job they are forced to get. Why should those developers be punished so that someone can enforce their idea of getting everything for free? The world doesnt work that way.

[Manicdan]

To call games that arent free unethical is very shortsighted.

agreed 100%. i cant imagine a world where everything is a donation.

lets imagine i dont pay for my cell, car, cable, utilis, rent, school, ect. then i also shoudnt be paid anything either since i dont have to pay for anything, and so i would have to do "volunteer" work instead of having a job
if everything is worked out perfectly where we didnt earn anything or spend anything, all we did was create a 100% socialist economy (right?).

[[XC] Lead Head]

You are mixing up Monetary "Free" with Open-Source "Free". You can have "Free" software that still costs money.

[Kallenator]

lets imagine i dont pay for my cell, car, cable, utilis, rent, school, ect. then i also shoudnt be paid anything either since i dont have to pay for anything, and so i would have to do "volunteer" work instead of having a job
if everything is worked out perfectly where we didnt earn anything or spend anything, all we did was create a 100% socialist economy (right?).

What you are implying reminds me of Star Trek economy, just minus the replicators
http://stexpanded.wikia.com/wiki/Uni...lanets#Economy

Apart from that I do not think you fully understand what makes an economy socialistic, economies used today in different forms are quite complex. If you are interested in reading up on it, then I suggest a trip to wiki
We should not continue discussing this here, we might open a can of worms and attract the vacation hammer ^^


I think Richard Stallman is a bit too eccentric for his own good. "Why Software Should Be Free by Richard Stallman" is just one example.
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/shouldbefree.html

[tiro_uspsss]

Agreed. Install ATI proprietary drivers on linux, my card immediately gets warmer, video playback is not as smooth as it was with the generic drivers. Uninstall the proprietary drivers, the system no longer starts X or even boots to the command line. My mouse does not work correctly either.

It's silly nonsense stuff like the above that will prevent Linux distributions from going mainstream. It certainly doesn't help that many small, silly, commonly used system administrative tasks still can't be performed through the GUI.

IMO, Google had the right idea. Bury the CLI, and get the GUI portion right so you won't ever need the CLI. As long as desktop distributions still need fiddling in the CLI on a semi-often basis, Linux will not succeed.

++++++++++++11111111111 seriously. I willing to give Linux a go. So I did. Late last year I think it was... pathetic. So much command prompt crap to still do I thought apples one button mouse sucked, but linux's fetish for the keyboard is scary - I have a mouse & its easier & quicker to use, GUI please!

[alpha0ne]

++++++++++++11111111111 seriously. I willing to give Linux a go. So I did. Late last year I think it was... pathetic. So much command prompt crap to still do I thought apples one button mouse sucked, but linux's fetish for the keyboard is scary - I have a mouse & its easier & quicker to use, GUI please!

But that's the way its designed, so only coders have even half a clue how to use Linux

[Kallenator]

I decided a couple of years ago when the netbooks came out that I would start playing with slim Linux distros, because of the limited processing power. And I started with Arch Linux which many of you in here might know is not the easiest place to start, however they have such an extensive wiki, and if your specific laptop is in that wiki then its pretty straight forward. The cool thing is that the super slow Atom N270 boots fast on Arch Linux, very fast.
Thing is that most of what you have to do is setting up basic features that should have been there from the start, which is why I have started to use CrunchBangLinux instead, which is much simpler and is basically a slim Ubuntu. However, drivers is an issue, the only one in my eyes. The rest is pretty plug and play.

The hardcore Linux users have a Keyboard fetish, kinda agree with that, but given that I for one used DOS to get into my games when I was a child has made me like console, there is beauty to it. I also think that about the Linux boot screen.

To save a bit of money I also use Linux on my workstation, where I am running Windows in Vmware over Ubuntu (It's excellent for redundancy btw). No issues so far.

[NapalmV5]

the 'catastrophe,' is the billions of poor making gabe newell/valve/microsoft multi billionaires

[N19h7m4r3]

But that's the way its designed, so only coders have even half a clue how to use Linux

So it's designed to never gain popularity and stay in the background for ever?

That's stupid. Some distros really do try and make it user friednly. Sadly it's not close enough to Windows or OSX just yet in that regard.
Like Tiro and Lead Head I think the less amount of CLI the better. As it'll allow more people to try and use it, that along with slowing getting games on it will make it gain popularity.

In my College I only knew of one person that liked linux, and yet in the end he ended up the most die-hard Apple fan out there.
Even in the college Software Development and Games Development courses Linux is but an afterthought, with just the basics taught.

Windows is extremely prevalant and this needs to change. I had Linux on my original Asus Eee Pad, and it was usable, but there's so much room for improvement.

Personaly I can't stand Win8, and I wish Vavle all the best in bringing more games to Linux, even if it's just Ubuntu at the start.

I do hope more developers focus on OpenGL in the future compared to DX as well.

[Motiv]

Whenever I try and use linux, I feel someone behind me has a sign saying "Welcome to 1990"

[Manicdan]

Whenever I try and use linux, I feel someone behind me has a sign saying "Welcome to 1990"

when i tried linux, i feel like the sign says "your not smart enough to use this OS"

really i just dont care to invest so much time in learning something that will make no difference in my everyday life.

[DeathReborn]

Even John Carmack @ QuakeCon 2012 isn't seeing Linux as a successful gaming platform. Has Gabe bitten off more than he can chew?

I personally would like more games on Linux natively & better drivers but right now that is nothing but a pipe dream and will stay that way while Linux fails to make the break from geek to chic. I don't want the CLI buried and never used but I want it to be optional from inserting the Disc to end of use. A GUI is not the devil and it's about time they caught up with modern societies limits on complexity.

[Particle]

No kidding. Back in 2006 when I last seriously played with Linux, doing something like installing a video driver was usually a 1-6 hour affair with the console. Of course it was never supposed to take that long, it's just that nothing ever worked the way it was supposed to, guides were always out of date, and problems had to be resolved by chasing down arcane error messages and tracing out dependencies that were inevitably no longer generally available and not managed by the package manager.

[Vardant]

Even John Carmack @ QuakeCon 2012 isn't seeing Linux as a successful gaming platform. Has Gabe bitten off more than he can chew?

What do you really need from an OS anyway these days? Browser, game support, working video and other drivers and some audio/video player. That's it.

They can easily build all that on top of a distro and call it a Steam OS. If it ran games faster, like they showed us, then I could see this happen.

[DeathReborn]

What do you really need from an OS anyway these days? Browser, game support, working video and other drivers and some audio/video player. That's it.

They can easily build all that on top of a distro and call it a Steam OS. If it ran games faster, like they showed us, then I could see this happen.

LLinux I hoped would become a truly modular OS where you get basic functionality as standard and bolt on extra modules for Multimedia, Gaming, Tweaking etc. A Steam OS would be a start although they still need to get better driver support and hopefully those "optimisations" in the Linux version of L4D2 are made to the Windows version too.

[EniGmA1987]

What do you really need from an OS anyway these days? Browser, game support, working video and other drivers and some audio/video player. That's it.

They can easily build all that on top of a distro and call it a Steam OS. If it ran games faster, like they showed us, then I could see this happen.

And probably get a lot better driver support for their OS as well because of Steam's following and the easy of burden for AMD/Nvidia by knowing what major distro they would support with driver builds.

[gosh]

OpenGL will excel as mobile phones is gaining speed.

[Syn.]

The truth is finally revealed:

Steam Expands Beyond Games
Press Releases - Valve 18:50
Launch Set of "Software" Titles Coming Sept 5

Aug 8, 2012 -- Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the first set of Software titles are heading to Steam, marking a major expansion to the platform most commonly known as a leading destination for PC and Mac games.

The Software titles coming to Steam range from creativity to productivity. Many of the launch titles will take advantage of popular Steamworks features, such as easy installation, automatic updating, and the ability to save your work to your personal Steam Cloud space so your files may travel with you.

More Software titles will be added in an ongoing fashion following the September 5th launch, and developers will be welcome to submit Software titles via Steam Greenlight.

"The 40 million gamers frequenting Steam are interested in more than playing games," said Mark Richardson at Valve. "They have told us they would like to have more of their software on Steam, so this expansion is in response to those customer requests."

http://store.steampowered.com/news/8584/

[naokaji]

if steam starts selling software other than games there might actually be a chance a valve linux distro could have some success as it would allow them to make linux compatible software far more visible than it is these days.

[Manicdan]

so steam will eventually run linux?

next thing on their list is to turn that into a console maybe...

/conspiracy

[zanzabar]

so steam will eventually run linux?

next thing on their list is to turn that into a console maybe...

/conspiracy

as long as they still support all platforms it cannot be to bad of a move to get a gaming linux distro or a console from a company that likes games.

[herderien]

You are mixing up Monetary "Free" with Open-Source "Free". You can have "Free" software that still costs money.

very true

[Syn.]

if steam starts selling software other than games there might actually be a chance a valve linux distro could have some success as it would allow them to make linux compatible software far more visible than it is these days.

No need for a Valve distro. They will just make Steam work with Ubuntu.