Here's how to transfer files from your PC to a Steam Deck

Did I understand correctly that enabling developer mode (or something alike) would allow me to install KDEConnect easily? I love that little one.

Technically yes, but anything you do in developer mode can be and likely will be entirely overwritten by OS upgrades. Anything you do that you want to stick, should use Flatpaks or direct downloads for ease of use. Unless you want to get much more complicated.

So there is no application overlay for repository installed applications (like Fedora Silverblue does for example)? That kinda limits the use of the desktop

Or just run this in the folder with the data to upload:

 
python -m SimpleHTTPServer 5555

And open in the deck browser YOUR_HOST_IP:5555

or python -m http.server 5555 for when your system is defaulting to python3.

The point is to avoid the terminal for simple guides.

Edit: however, that's pretty cool! I'll add a note.

I can understand that warpinator is cross platform, but not the answer that the point is to avoid the terminal for simple guides.

Why?

Terminal can simplify complex and simple tasks, and this is an excellent example.
The sooner the people will understand that, the sooner we can progrsss instead of involve into dumbness (no offense).
I doubt there is something simpler or even easier than that command, really... software is already installed on both ends (literally, the challenging task here is to know an ip address and the location of a file) let alone install and use warpinator with all of the steps involved on both systems.

It's a repeating problem. What's one of the main things people outside the Linux bubble are afraid of and turn their nose up at learning and using? The terminal. It's about knowing the audience in regards to the Steam Deck, it is *mostly* people coming from Windows and traditional consoles, and largely (in the nicest way) a large pool of tech illiterate people who prefer pressing buttons. You hook 'em in with an easy app, then you can start the terminal talk.

So there is no application overlay for repository installed applications (like Fedora Silverblue does for example)? That kinda limits the use of the desktop

I have no idea what you're talking about here honestly. Got an example?

So there is no application overlay for repository installed applications (like Fedora Silverblue does for example)? That kinda limits the use of the desktop

I have no idea what you're talking about here honestly. Got an example?

Well, Fedora Silverblue still allows you to install RPM packages from standard repositories in the read-only filesystem, but it works as "overlay". Basically those extra apps are installed/layered on top of the base system, so the system update re-imagining does not delete them. Looking at it, it might be OSTree feature though.

So there is no application overlay for repository installed applications (like Fedora Silverblue does for example)? That kinda limits the use of the desktop

I have no idea what you're talking about here honestly. Got an example?

Well, Fedora Silverblue still allows you to install RPM packages from standard repositories in the read-only filesystem, but it works as "overlay". Basically those extra apps are installed/layered on top of the base system, so the system update re-imagining does not delete them. Looking at it, it might be OSTree feature though.

I see, no it doesn't have this by default.

Don't standard network shares work out of the box?

I've always accessed other other pc's (both windows and linux) shared folders/files through the dolphin file manager. Point n click and no extra installs on both sides with the extra advantage of it being the standard way of network sharing on windows.


Last edited by emphy on 7 Mar 2022 at 7:02 pm UTC

It's a repeating problem. What's one of the main things people outside the Linux bubble are afraid of and turn their nose up at learning and using? The terminal. It's about knowing the audience in regards to the Steam Deck, it is *mostly* people coming from Windows and traditional consoles, and largely (in the nicest way) a large pool of tech illiterate people who prefer pressing buttons. You hook 'em in with an easy app, then you can start the terminal talk.

Yes, I understand that and I 100% agree!

Indeed, I was not objecting the use of warpinator per se (I've specified that I understand how it is useful for cross-platform use cases; using python in Windows is not a simple task at all), but the fact that you justified it through the statement: "The point is to avoid the terminal for simple guides.", that's all.

A simple guide should be useful for all people. Since most people have a system crash when they see a terminal pop up, it is not possible to make a guide for all people that has terminal usage in it. So I would have to agree with Liam, a simple guide must avoid the terminal. And "our" definition of "simple" is irrelevant there.

Maybe Windows users can use python solution, but is python installed in Windows by default? Is not it?

Maybe Windows users can use python solution, but is python installed in Windows by default? Is not it?

It would require a little setup on the Windows side.

Can't you just connect the Deck to a PC using USB and transfer files that way?

Tried that, no dice.

That's really strange, but I guess it's because of the immutable filesystem. Since SteamOS would have to format microSD cards, I imagine you can't just put files on your card either.

It's not like no files can be added or changed. I mean, you can download games, flatpaks etc., and presumably there are save game files and so on.
Does SteamOS have to format the SD cards? Well, if you were a Windows user I guess for practical purposes because SteamOS wants them to be ext4, and I doubt Windows will format something to ext4. Presumably you could plug in an SD card, have SteamOS format it, then put it in your other computer and add things . . . can Windows work with ext4 if it's already there? You'd think, since Linux is so big in the server space and Windows still does server stuff, but I don't know. If you're a Linux user you'd be fine though, right?

I'm not a Windows user. My concern is that SteamOS formats the microSD card to its immutable filesystem and I become unable to drag-and-drop files from my PC onto the card.

Also, if SteamOS formats the card into ext4, would it even have write permissions for another user (in this case, my PC)?

SD Cards have a standard ext4 format, you can do whatever you want with them.

So I can drag-and-drop files to an SD card? I hope that is the case. I was already let down by the inability to use the Steam Deck as a controller through USB.

I can understand that warpinator is cross platform, but not the answer that the point is to avoid the terminal for simple guides.

Why?

Terminal can simplify complex and simple tasks, and this is an excellent example.
The sooner the people will understand that, the sooner we can progress instead of involve into dumbness (no offense).

So as long as you're explaining to me about the command line, let me explain to you something about rhetoric: An insult doesn't actually stop being one just from saying "no offense" after.

There are certainly cases where the command line is the quickest and simplest way to accomplish a complex task. But you sound like one of those people who gets hot under the collar about nobody understanding how to do simple maintenance on their cars, failing to understand that lots of people don't bloody want to do simple maintenance on their cars.

The thing is that for many things, the command line is only quicker and simpler if you already are familiar and comfortable with it. Not because it is difficult to copy/paste a command, but because if you don't know the command line well, after you've done that you aren't sure if it worked, or what to do next. And because for any given problem, there are often various different command-line solutions proposed, and if you don't already know the command line you don't know what the difference is. The command line is occasionally useful for almost anyone, but frequently useful only if you're willing to spend a bunch of time and effort up front becoming a person for which it is useful. And if you are not someone who uses a computer for a lot of advanced stuff, this is not an effective investment of time.

So, you're simply wrong. It would not be a good thing or represent "progress" if everyone used the command line all the time. It would be a net drain on most people's time, with a heavy investment at the front end that was never fully paid off later. You don't understand that because you aren't thinking past your personal use-case, in which the up-front investment is paid off. But this is not true of most people, and it is short-sighted to try to impose what's optimum for you onto others without bothering to think about whether their situation might be different.

I can understand that warpinator is cross platform, but not the answer that the point is to avoid the terminal for simple guides.

Why?

Terminal can simplify complex and simple tasks, and this is an excellent example.
The sooner the people will understand that, the sooner we can progress instead of involve into dumbness (no offense).

So as long as you're explaining to me about the command line, let me explain to you something about rhetoric: An insult doesn't actually stop being one just from saying "no offense" after.

There are certainly cases where the command line is the quickest and simplest way to accomplish a complex task. But you sound like one of those people who gets hot under the collar about nobody understanding how to do simple maintenance on their cars, failing to understand that lots of people don't bloody want to do simple maintenance on their cars.

The thing is that for many things, the command line is only quicker and simpler if you already are familiar and comfortable with it. Not because it is difficult to copy/paste a command, but because if you don't know the command line well, after you've done that you aren't sure if it worked, or what to do next. And because for any given problem, there are often various different command-line solutions proposed, and if you don't already know the command line you don't know what the difference is. The command line is occasionally useful for almost anyone, but frequently useful only if you're willing to spend a bunch of time and effort up front becoming a person for which it is useful. And if you are not someone who uses a computer for a lot of advanced stuff, this is not an effective investment of time.

So, you're simply wrong. It would not be a good thing or represent "progress" if everyone used the command line all the time. It would be a net drain on most people's time, with a heavy investment at the front end that was never fully paid off later. You don't understand that because you aren't thinking past your personal use-case, in which the up-front investment is paid off. But this is not true of most people, and it is short-sighted to try to impose what's optimum for you onto others without bothering to think about whether their situation might be different.

In addition to this excellent comment, I would like to add that there would be way less people using smartphones, consoles, cars, and whatnot, if they had to resort to command line to use them (and this comes from someone who launched a lot of games as run"mygame" on an Amstrad CPC as a young kid)

When it comes to command line usage in a standard consumer environment, Linux IS the exception ; everything else has a nice GUI to guide the user.

When it comes to command line usage in a standard consumer environment, Linux IS the exception ; everything else has a nice GUI to guide the user.

Your Linux doesn't have a nice GUI? Mine does. Or is the availability of the CLI a problem in itself? Because I sure as hell remember having to resort to running commands on an extremely awkward command line interface to fix stuff back in my Windows days, 20+ years ago. If you do any advanced tinkering or troubleshooting (or software development), you're going to be typing commands into some sort of a CLI at some point, regardless of operating system.

All that said, I agree with Purple Library Guy in that being comfortable in the terminal is not a sign of intelligence. The terminal is a powerful tool that doesn't limit the ways you can mess with your system, or that you can mess up your system, and hardly a day goes by that a professional nerd like me doesn't do something using a handy CLI tool simply because it's faster or more comfortable (for me) than messing about in a graphical UI of some sort. Learning it is definitely useful if you want or need to get the most out of your computer, but I'm sure most people have better things to do with their time.

When it comes to command line usage in a standard consumer environment, Linux IS the exception ; everything else has a nice GUI to guide the user.

Your Linux doesn't have a nice GUI? Mine does.

Yes, it does. Not for everything though: I had to install a GUI separately for quite a number of programs though, and I still have to resort to CLI, because either the online tutorials use this, or there is no GUI for a particular program

Or is the availability of the CLI a problem in itself? Because I sure as hell remember having to resort to running commands on an extremely awkward command line interface to fix stuff back in my Windows days, 20+ years ago.

I discovered PC with Windows 98, and even back at the time, no CLI was required. The only command line that sometimes saved me was sfc /scannow (which is also quite easy to remember)

If you do any advanced tinkering or troubleshooting (or software development), you're going to be typing commands into some sort of a CLI at some point, regardless of operating system.

What if you don't, like most end users ?

All that said, I agree with Purple Library Guy in that being comfortable in the terminal is not a sign of intelligence. The terminal is a powerful tool that doesn't limit the ways you can mess with your system, or that you can mess up your system, and hardly a day goes by that a professional nerd like me doesn't do something using a handy CLI tool simply because it's faster or more comfortable (for me) than messing about in a graphical UI of some sort. Learning it is definitely useful if you want or need to get the most out of your computer, but I'm sure most people have better things to do with their time.

Emphasis mine. Yep, this was the point

In addition to this excellent comment, I would like to add that there would be way less people using smartphones, consoles, cars, and whatnot, if they had to resort to command line to use them (and this comes from someone who launched a lot of games as run"mygame" on an Amstrad CPC as a young kid)

When it comes to command line usage in a standard consumer environment, Linux IS the exception ; everything else has a nice GUI to guide the user.

What you seem to miss here, is that the command line is not only something that can save your ass when you exhausted other UI solutions,, but a resource per se that can be used to do certain tasks much better than a gui would ever do.
And expressly avoiding even to name it because some people fear it is not something that meet my approval.
[...].

It's not a question of "avoiding to name it" (Liam even added the command line way to the article), it is a question of "appealing to most people", which usually favor the GUI way, such as Warpinator

The sooner the people will understand that, the sooner we can progress instead of involve into dumbness

See the use of "we" instead of "you"? I mean everyone, "me" included, but mostly.. "we".
See the use of the verb "to involve"? I'm not an english native speaker, but i think it can be used to express the process of involution; indeed, the writing was addressed mostly to the ones that already are able to use the terminal today;

So let me rephrase:
If I am able to use the terminal, but no one write interesting articles that stimulate that skill because he thinks that it is better to not use it, because there are users unable to use it, then my skill will vanish with the time and my unavoidable involution into dumbness (referred to the act of loosing a skill) will be faster.

I see. Well, there are problems with "involve", but it was really "dumbness" that was the trouble. On "involve" as a verb for "involution"--involution is a very rare word I think. Certainly in over 50 years of being a voracious reader I've never seen it before (hmmm . . . thinking back, maybe once or twice, long ago). I had to look it up. So while it may be that "involve" can technically be a verb form of "involution", nobody has ever heard of that, and worse there are far, far, far more common meanings for "involve". But I got the gist, frankly by assuming you'd misspelled "evolve". Perhaps a term close to what you meant but common enough for people to get would be "devolve", although I think if I were trying to say what you turn out to have been trying to say I would have said something about "atrophy" or something like that.

But the real problem is "dumbness". I think maybe you have a slightly off feel for how the connotations of "dumb" work in English. The words "dumb" and "dumbness" don't refer to ignorance, lack of skills and so forth, they refer to stupidity--lack of ability to reason, understand and so on. It's an insulting term. There's a slight paradox in that while "dumbness" is seen mainly as an innate thing, at the same time it isn't uncommon to see talk of becoming dumber. But this doesn't seem to be conceived as losing information, the idea is that being exposed to certain kinds of things that are themselves stupid enough (youtube comments, daytime TV soap operas) can actually shrink someone's reasoning ability by a sort of contagion, or picking up habits of poor thinking. It's mostly a joke but not entirely. But the point I'm making is, nobody uses "dumb" to talk about lack of skills--its usage is squarely in "stupid" territory.

So I read what you said as saying that "we" the overall community would become dumber through pollution by people who have become dumb through failing to use the command line or who don't use the command line because they are already dumb. I was perhaps sensitized by someone a couple of days ago here on GoL making a comment about "point and drool". There is definitely a current of command-line elitism around, and I thought you were doing that.
I see now that you were actually talking about atrophy of skills, and ran into problems with subtle English language issues. No worries.


Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 8 Mar 2022 at 6:40 pm UTC

While discussion has sidetracked to discussing meaning of words, I would still like to add few things, even if I'm bit late to the party.

I wouldn't worry too much about that people getting dumber. It's just that more varied types of people are able to computers (including even Linux), which shouldn't be a bad thing. Those that are already somewhat technical will discover the command line eventually. Google has tons of guides that are easy to stumble upon accidentally.

As Liam said, it's all about the audience. I do recommend command line at least indirectly at work, but there assumption is that audience is more technical than average person. Command line is great for people are aspiring to learn more, especially if they are planning to work with IT infrastructure.

There will still be room for Linux From Scratch and things like that. After all, with Linux you can fork it if you don't like the direction things are going.

Just tried Warpinator for the first time yesterday for my use case of, every so many weeks, getting the photos I've taken off my phone and onto my computer, and it worked great. (Much better than connecting via cable, which always seems to randomly unmount if I so much as bump my phone once it's connected.) Thanks for making me aware of it!

Just tried Warpinator for the first time yesterday for my use case of, every so many weeks, getting the photos I've taken off my phone and onto my computer, and it worked great. (Much better than connecting via cable, which always seems to randomly unmount if I so much as bump my phone once it's connected.) Thanks for making me aware of it!

Does your cable not get plugged in all the way? You might have gunk in the usb port (of the phone). I used a tooth pick sliced in half to be super thin, then scraped all the gunk out.

Just tried Warpinator for the first time yesterday for my use case of, every so many weeks, getting the photos I've taken off my phone and onto my computer, and it worked great. (Much better than connecting via cable, which always seems to randomly unmount if I so much as bump my phone once it's connected.) Thanks for making me aware of it!

Does your cable not get plugged in all the way? You might have gunk in the usb port (of the phone). I used a tooth pick sliced in half to be super thin, then scraped all the gunk out.

Ah, the complex mysteries of sophisticated technology!