Windows 10 S might alarm Valve into boosting SteamOS again

Quoting: BlackBloodRumNext up: Monthly subscription for Windows 10!

:O You mad man! Stop giving them ideas!

Actually, what do I care? I don't use Windows. But still, I'm almost sure it will eventually come to that.

This isn't at all surprising. This is the way most commercial operating systems are going. MacOS already has an "S mode" equivalent, and ChromeOS is like this as well (You have to enable developer mode to get more out of it). Having said that, the only place I've seen a Mac locked down that way is at work, and even then, if you're the administrator of your computer, you can still override it by going through a few warning dialogs.

It's certainly not ideal, but Windows was far from ideal anyway. My point is that this is clearly geared toward enterprise and schools (where Microsoft is losing ground to Chromebooks). They can't be stupid enough to alienate their gaming community, especially when gaming is at an all time high. Then again, I've been wrong about them before. :S:

Quoting: julespetrikovthere will be Windows 10's with S lock, upgradable to

shlock? haha sry...

Quoting: webcreature

Quoting: julespetrikov

Quoting: webcreatureS modes purpose is (at least in part) to shrink future market for third party stores like Steam and GOG. New users, who just purchased a machine with a preinstalled Windows S mode, won't change that default, because the system will tell them it's dangerous. Most of them will never even try Steam or GOG.

That intention itself is highly fantastic as you can't push a market to shrink by selling incompatible operating systems. Microsoft's intention and the purpose of S Mode is clearly rigging prices and forcing the consumer to pay an additional fee to both vendors and Microsoft so that they could have their favourite platforms and software installed on those machines. Which will eventually force consumer not to consume such devices and Microsoft will only be selling portable and/or specialist devices which is what Windows 10 S was intended for and is widely being used for as of today. Their Surface book whatever editions are competitors to Chromebooks (and Macbooks as they're too closed environments). Microsoft is making money from cloud-based services and hardware around those services.

There's no way in coming years that Microsoft can, in anyway, compete with Steam or GOG on PC. That's out of question. There's no such future unless Microsoft buys Valve. That's also a laughably distant possibility.

I disagree! When the propriator of the one OS that is pre-installed on almost every sold gaming ready PC, decides to pre configure this OS to a default that makes Steam incompatible, and when the user has to change that configuration against warnings that tell him this step might be dangerous, then a big percentage of mostly new users will not do that. And that will shrink the user-base potential for Steam, not actual numbers of course.
OR.. people decide to use an alternate OS instead, which I'd like very much of course.. Do you believe in it?

Here's the problem. Microsoft holds supermajority because everyone used to use Microsoft and because it comes with almost all prebuilt systems. If they shift away from win32, this is only going to leave them the latter advantage. If valve are clever, they will team up with CrossOver guys and make sure that the older win32 apps are compatible with SteamOS and can break the myth that Linux is hard to game on and develop for. This can potentially quadruple the Linux Market share, and combined with Steam Consoles, they might even match Windows at some point.

Quoting: TcheyI'm always amazed how people keep themselves locked and enslaved, not only with OS choices, but with daily life matters... And it's a choice, based of lack of education and information certainly, but a choice anyway.

Right. It always makes me mad when I see people thinking that freedom is the freedom to choose of the things right before their eyes, and having to do nothing that leads to better choices in the future.
How many people say "I would change to Linux, but not all of my software runs with it". What do they expect? Someone ports every software product to Linux in case anyone might want it? They don't even realize they have to show some interest, so anyone can react on it...


Last edited by on 5 February 2018 at 4:34 pm UTC

UWP junk also prevents applications from using Vulkan even on Windows.

Quoting: webcreatureI disagree! When the propriator of the one OS that is pre-installed on almost every sold gaming ready PC, decides to pre configure this OS to a default that makes Steam incompatible, and when the user has to change that configuration against warnings that tell him this step might be dangerous, then a big percentage of mostly new users will not do that. And that will shrink the user-base potential for Steam, not actual numbers of course.
OR.. people decide to use an alternate OS instead, which I'd like very much of course.. Do you believe in it?

"pre-installed on almost every sold gaming ready PC"

That's the case, they can't do that. That's bad business. That's exactly why Windows 10 S is not the choice for gaming or production, because it's not intended to run all the games and it's not commercialised as one. Same goes for ChromeOS, Android etc. It's much like how people were asking "How the hell SteamOS will replace Windows" in the early days and got the most obvious answer: It's not intended to do that. S Mode itself is not a profitable way of selling gaming ready PCs, since consumer is not always the idiot, but it's a good way of ripping off people.

There's absolutely no possible future in which Microsoft won the gaming industry by such a move. It's just plain dumb. You can't just force an incompatible OS in a market that demands a compatible OS. That won't force people to buy things from their Stores, it will force consumer away from Microsoft and Windows. To Mac and Linux, mainly.

I'm not trying to justify their point here. Just telling people: SteamOS and Windows 10 S or Windows 10 S Mode or whatever stupid thing they could put forward has no relevance at all.

Quoting: ShmerlUWP junk also prevents applications from using Vulkan even on Windows.

Right, I didn't think of that. Thanks!

Quoting: appetrosyanHere's the problem. Microsoft holds supermajority because everyone used to use Microsoft and because it comes with almost all prebuilt systems. If they shift away from win32, this is only going to leave them the latter advantage. If valve are clever, they will team up with CrossOver guys and make sure that the older win32 apps are compatible with SteamOS and can break the myth that Linux is hard to game on and develop for. This can potentially quadruple the Linux Market share, and combined with Steam Consoles, they might even match Windows at some point.

We all know, Valve is smart! They support the Linux gaming infrastructure well, but quite silently. They never tried to own Linux. The choice to use Linux for SteamOS alone tells us they don't intend to control the system, and strive for an open platfom instead. Let's see what's coming from them when they decide to step forward!

Well, locking down Windows to UWP programs might eat a lot into Valve's budget, but at least they can boost Steam OS with full force and stop the perpetual hidden polishing and porting to modern platforms on their secretly finished Half life 3 product like they did for the last 12 years or so. That will include Steam VR of course. I bet Gaben has that all prepped up for emergency release in one of his drawers.

I just hope no one will start calling Linux the Gaming OS once that happens!

:)