Alienware do like to make some bold statements don't they! Not only have they jumped ship with their "Steam Machine" by not waiting and slapping Windows 8 on it, but they are now claiming Steam Machines will change things overnight.
I still find it odd they are commenting like that when they aren't waiting for SteamOS and are pushing out their Steam Machine with a custom UI on top on Windows.
They said this at E3:
Source
It's nice to see them being positive, but that's not being even remotely realistic now is it? I've stated before that Steam Machines will in no way be a runaway success at the start and will be a gradual build up, especially when some Steam Machines won't even use SteamOS.
What are your honest opinions of how well they will sell? I think it was wise of Valve to delay the controller to allow SteamOS some more maturing time.
No matter what happens I'm personally going to get a Steam Controller they just look too fun to play with not to. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I still find it odd they are commenting like that when they aren't waiting for SteamOS and are pushing out their Steam Machine with a custom UI on top on Windows.
They said this at E3:
AlienwareIt's going to be 20, 30 fold. Overnight.
I mean Valve, you never want to underestimate their initiatives and what they are going to do with Steam Machine’s OS is going to be unparalleled in PC gaming.
AlienwareImagine how many people are gaming today on linux, and how many people will be gaming once Steam Machine launches. It’s going to be 20, 30 fold. Overnight.
Source
It's nice to see them being positive, but that's not being even remotely realistic now is it? I've stated before that Steam Machines will in no way be a runaway success at the start and will be a gradual build up, especially when some Steam Machines won't even use SteamOS.
What are your honest opinions of how well they will sell? I think it was wise of Valve to delay the controller to allow SteamOS some more maturing time.
No matter what happens I'm personally going to get a Steam Controller they just look too fun to play with not to. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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There's no reason for alienware to stick windows on their machines £80 or more to the pricetag. Makes much more sense to stick a lightweight distro like Xubuntu on it with Steam, proprietary drivers, etc pre installed.
Its nice to see the support Linux gaming is getting though.
Its nice to see the support Linux gaming is getting though.
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Still don't think anyone should be able to call something a Steam Machine unless it has SteamOS on it.
Agreed! A Steam machine without SteamOS is nothing more then an ordinary PC.
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Unrealistic, yes. But I think the common guy wouldn't care if it was a xbox, pc, wii or pc under their tv as long as the games come out for the platform. And as I see it, in a few years we can be there.
The problem will be that it will be very hard for hardware manufacturers to build attractive machines compared to ps/xbox since they cross-finance the hardware with services. And I'm not really sure Valve is willing to give a piece of the pie to hardware manufacturers.
Another problem will be that there will be many steam machines. I think the regular customer is happy only having one PS, and the choice PS/XBox is usually hard enough for them. There we're back again to "which SteamMachine should I buy" which we know of regular PCs and laptops very well.
The problem will be that it will be very hard for hardware manufacturers to build attractive machines compared to ps/xbox since they cross-finance the hardware with services. And I'm not really sure Valve is willing to give a piece of the pie to hardware manufacturers.
Another problem will be that there will be many steam machines. I think the regular customer is happy only having one PS, and the choice PS/XBox is usually hard enough for them. There we're back again to "which SteamMachine should I buy" which we know of regular PCs and laptops very well.
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Tempest in a teapot, really. Alienware are sort of high profile, but they're not a high volume outfit; as I understand it they sell small numbers of high spec, high margin boxes with a cool look. No matter what they do, I'm not convinced it's going to have a big impact on how Steamboxes in general go. Currently less heralded outfits selling more down-to-earth high volume machines will determine how the whole thing goes; it seems like other firms planning Steamboxes, even firms with more marketing muscle than Alienware, are so far keeping their powder dry, a wise move given that the OS and controller are, thus far, still basically vapor from a vendor's point of view.
As to the massive lead time needed to make these things, given modern manufacturing I'm not sure I buy it. These things are using off the shelf parts. Once you've decided on the case, the logo, and the basic layout of the guts given the constraints of your case, seems to me it should be possible to practically make them on the fly. Sure, in practical terms for really high volume that's an exaggeration, but still . . .
As to the massive lead time needed to make these things, given modern manufacturing I'm not sure I buy it. These things are using off the shelf parts. Once you've decided on the case, the logo, and the basic layout of the guts given the constraints of your case, seems to me it should be possible to practically make them on the fly. Sure, in practical terms for really high volume that's an exaggeration, but still . . .
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All it takes is a few AAA titles only on SteamBox and bang the old guard is toast
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what the hell is SteamOS to a user ?
- PC1: windows 8.x, autostarts Steam in big picture mode, full collection available
- PC2: steamos, autostarts Steam in big picture mode, partial collection available, $100 less expensive
...
Fixed that for you ;)
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Mu humble opinion about the delay of the Steam Machines :P
You cant ship the Steam Machines without a football game!!!
So they need Fifa or PRO Evolution to be on SteamOS otherwise forget it.
You can't imagine how many people buy Fifa or Pro every year for consoles , I mean they may never buy any other single game but FIFA or PRO is a must for every console.
You cant ship the Steam Machines without a football game!!!
So they need Fifa or PRO Evolution to be on SteamOS otherwise forget it.
You can't imagine how many people buy Fifa or Pro every year for consoles , I mean they may never buy any other single game but FIFA or PRO is a must for every console.
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Well you are also all forgetting that a "Windows-Steam-Machine" will also require an anti-virus running in the background.
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Well you are also all forgetting that a "Windows-Steam-Machine" will also require an anti-virus running in the background.You say that as if Linux is any more impervious to viruses than Windows is... We just have a higher proportion of tech savvy users who are less likely to run random email attachments, between that and our lower marketshare we're merely a less appealing target.
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Yeap, there are problem with resource usage of windows 8. A lot of memory (RAM) and disk space (ROM) usage, license cost equal about 10-15 AAA games on sale 75-80% off
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On one hand I think it's not a big deal because, as others have said they can play all steam games with windows not just the Linux ones
On the other hand, they probably aren't going to get any sales from the Linux crowd that was planning on buying a steam machine.
What if sales go badly and the SteamOS steam machines never even get a real chance because everyone looks at alienware's failure and decides it's not worth it
It is inherently more secure. Even if we ignore user mistakes and the fact that more secure behavior is encouraged on Linux way more than windows (like using a package manager with trusted repos).
Linux is still more secure if only for the fact that it was designed from the ground up to be a multi-user system. That greatly restricts the amount, and the kind of exploits that you would find on Linux compared to windows.
Also, windows and most of it's software pretty much relies on having its code hidden, meaning they aren't able to get a lot of outside help. Linux has only benefited from having an open kernel that programmers all over the world can submit fixes for. (despite having open code that any hacker can view to aid them in developing attacks we still see something like 90% of all servers hosted on Linux for its great security)
On the other hand, they probably aren't going to get any sales from the Linux crowd that was planning on buying a steam machine.
What if sales go badly and the SteamOS steam machines never even get a real chance because everyone looks at alienware's failure and decides it's not worth it
You say that as if Linux is any more impervious to viruses than Windows is... We just have a higher proportion of tech savvy users who are less likely to run random email attachments, between that and our lower marketshare we're merely a less appealing target.
It is inherently more secure. Even if we ignore user mistakes and the fact that more secure behavior is encouraged on Linux way more than windows (like using a package manager with trusted repos).
Linux is still more secure if only for the fact that it was designed from the ground up to be a multi-user system. That greatly restricts the amount, and the kind of exploits that you would find on Linux compared to windows.
Also, windows and most of it's software pretty much relies on having its code hidden, meaning they aren't able to get a lot of outside help. Linux has only benefited from having an open kernel that programmers all over the world can submit fixes for. (despite having open code that any hacker can view to aid them in developing attacks we still see something like 90% of all servers hosted on Linux for its great security)
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