Update 13/04/23, 17:11 UTC: the developer involved is playing it down noting it didn't go anywhere and it's not a recent thing, mentioning in a Reddit post ("this article" is referencing The Verge):
I started this hackathon project and it didn’t go much of anywhere, but this article uses wording to make it seem like it’s something under development. Problem is - We just didn’t have the right engineers to do a lot of what we wanted to do in the short hackathon project timeframe. Maybe this odd article can help me pitch this to Microsoft again. Phil Spencer was very nice and tried to drive me to some people that could help, but everyone was tied-up at the time.
Original article below:
This is interesting, it seems Valve have lit a small fire under Microsoft once again, as they've been experimenting with a handheld mode for Windows 11 to help devices like the Steam Deck.
To pre-empt complaints from some comments: yeah, I know, this isn't specifically Linux news but things happening in the industry are important.
With thanks to Twitter user @_h0x0d_ noticed by The Verge, they shared what seems to be an internal video from Microsoft developers talking about a Hackathon they did to optimise Windows 11 for handhelds. The important point here, is that it's largely due to the popularity and success of the Steam Deck which ships with SteamOS Linux.
You can get Windows on Steam Deck but it's not exactly supported, with Valve just throwing up the drivers for download that they occasionally update. Valve's focus of course is on SteamOS, where they have all of the control they want for their own device.
Pictured Credit - @_h0x0d_
During the Microsoft's developers testing they also worked with another developer to work on a project that gives a "windows usermode controller driver for the steam deck internal controller".
It's interesting to see Microsoft developers react to a change in the market like this, although it might never actually become a real thing, it would depend on them gathering more support inside Microsoft to make it happen. Competition is good though, and it might even give Valve perhaps a few ideas or even the KDE team to improve the Plasma Desktop experience.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
mr-victory Apr 13, 2023
Dialed-in support for your Deck's hardwareWait WHAT? I thought this was aimed at Windows devices, not Steam Deck. Do they really expect people to install Windows?
3 Likes, Who?
forget aya neo, asus rog, gpd and etc, this is the thing we should be afraid of.
an good UX is one of the biggest reasons other handhelds are strugling to compete with steamOS/Steamdeck, especially if we consider that this may integrate with all windows launchers.
not to mention that, even if the deck still get the edge when it comes to performance, microsoft can launch their own devices and things can go south , but that will take a while to happen.
an good UX is one of the biggest reasons other handhelds are strugling to compete with steamOS/Steamdeck, especially if we consider that this may integrate with all windows launchers.
not to mention that, even if the deck still get the edge when it comes to performance, microsoft can launch their own devices and things can go south , but that will take a while to happen.
5 Likes, Who?
Regardless of competition in the hardware and software space, a competent handheld really needs Steam to be a good alternative to the SteamDeck. So regardless, valve will still get their cake from Steam purchases on that device.
4 Likes, Who?
forget aya neo, asus rog, gpd and etc, this is the thing we should be afraid of.
However I think aya neo, asus rog, gpd are probably the main drivers behind this project... ?
4 Likes, Who?
I have very mixed feelings about this. From one side is nice to have more attention on the Deck/Handheld-PC-gaming to make developers have games that are more scalable to support "lower-specs" hardware, but on the other hand, this could make developers stop bothering with Linux/Proton at all, since they could say: just install the Windows gaming UI on it. We all know what this would bring: many other decades of bloated and closed proprietary crap. This could be very bad news.
Edit: typo
Last edited by CAVR on 13 April 2023 at 2:18 pm UTC
Edit: typo
Last edited by CAVR on 13 April 2023 at 2:18 pm UTC
12 Likes, Who?
Is there any kind of source about the fact that it is the Steam Deck to have pushed Microsoft more than other reasons or it is deduction/speculation?
1 Likes, Who?
Is there any kind of source about the fact that it is the Steam Deck to have pushed Microsoft more than other reasons or it is deduction/speculation?They talk about it very clearly in the video. The screenshot from it in the article even mentions the Deck directly ;)
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 13 April 2023 at 1:55 pm UTC
4 Likes, Who?
dziadulewicz Apr 13, 2023
Steam OS is optimized for all things on Steam Deck. Install a "crippled down" version of Win 11: there are no guarantees for anything. Working touchpads, networking etc. Never mind any official support from Microsoft IF someone is to start to process on installing and using Win 11 on Steam Deck.
Looks like Microsoft are out of ideas on stopping freedom and Linux.
Looks like Microsoft are out of ideas on stopping freedom and Linux.
2 Likes, Who?
Opinion: the image in this article looks like a concept and not something Microsoft would actually make.
0 Likes
Opinion: the image in this article looks like a concept and not something Microsoft would actually make.
Sure they would. Look what they did with "netbooks", they brought Windows XP out of retirement, just because they couldn't stand that those devices were shipping with Linux. They they moved them to "starter" editions of Vista, and they became quite horrid.
7 Likes, Who?
No way Valve and Linux scared Microsoft to put effort, we're going good! 
1 Likes, Who?
I don't get why folks are so opposed to this. While I appreciate wanting support to go towards Linux/Proton, some stuff just isn't going to make the transition (Looking at you Genshin Impact and other titles that require anti-cheat and such), so having a Windows UI that doesn't require I carry a 65% keyboard and try to pinpoint my mouse with the deck trackpad is a benefit in my eyes. Granted it's Windows 11 but still.
0 Likes
I don't get why folks are so opposed to this.When your main objective is to break a monopoly, any move by the maintainers of that monopoly to block challenges is bad news. For quite a few of us, that's our main, or at least a major, objective. Or contrariwise, our objective is the rise of (desktop/ish) Linux, which cannot happen without the monopoly being broken.
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 13 April 2023 at 4:02 pm UTC
16 Likes, Who?
I don't get why folks are so opposed to this.When your main objective is to break a monopoly, any move by the maintainers of that monopoly to block challenges is bad news. For quite a few of us, that's our main, or at least a major, objective. Or contrariwise, our objective is the rise of (desktop/ish) Linux, which cannot happen without the monopoly being broken.
Fair enough. I don't necessarily see this as "blocking" challenges, but I suppose that's looking at it from a more literal point of view.
0 Likes
mr-victory Apr 13, 2023
Looks like Microsoft are out of ideas on stopping freedom and Linux.Nah, just a few employees want to play Destiny 2 and play it nicely
0 Likes
While interesting, there are some aspects about the hackathon project that misses on some stuff compared to SteamOS. Games/applications aren't auto full screened, and it seems as though applications still have windowing controlled the same way as windows normally handled (where the windows compositor defaults to explorer as the UI for handling window management), so apps aren't full screened, and you still need a "mouse" so to speak to handle applications.
2 Likes, Who?
It should be noted that this is not actually in development at Microsoft. This was a project at a hackathon by AndrewMT at MS in Sept. 2022 that didnt go anywhere.
"I started this hackathon project and it didn’t go much of anywhere, but this article uses wording to make it seem like it’s something under development. Problem is - We just didn’t have the right engineers to do a lot of what we wanted to do in the short hackathon project timeframe. Maybe this odd article can help me pitch this to Microsoft again. Phil Spencer was very nice and tried to drive me to some people that could help, but everyone was tied-up at the time."
more & source:
https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/12kjgkh/comment/jg3lsvm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
"I started this hackathon project and it didn’t go much of anywhere, but this article uses wording to make it seem like it’s something under development. Problem is - We just didn’t have the right engineers to do a lot of what we wanted to do in the short hackathon project timeframe. Maybe this odd article can help me pitch this to Microsoft again. Phil Spencer was very nice and tried to drive me to some people that could help, but everyone was tied-up at the time."
more & source:
https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/12kjgkh/comment/jg3lsvm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
4 Likes, Who?
The title of the article should have been: "1000's of free Viruses are now available on Steamdeck"
joking aside.. that isn't a joke. Nor is the 'OS level' (before you say valve mines too) data mining.
i think il pass.
joking aside.. that isn't a joke. Nor is the 'OS level' (before you say valve mines too) data mining.
i think il pass.
6 Likes, Who?
It should be noted that this is not actually in development at Microsoft. This was a project at a hackathon by AndrewMT at MS in Sept. 2022 that didnt go anywhere.Well, so much for that, then.
"I started this hackathon project and it didn’t go much of anywhere, but this article uses wording to make it seem like it’s something under development. Problem is - We just didn’t have the right engineers to do a lot of what we wanted to do in the short hackathon project timeframe. Maybe this odd article can help me pitch this to Microsoft again. Phil Spencer was very nice and tried to drive me to some people that could help, but everyone was tied-up at the time."
more & source:
https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/12kjgkh/comment/jg3lsvm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
I was actually thinking to myself that the main reason not to be too worried about this is that I have doubts about Microsoft's ability to actually do it--not so much lack of technical capacity, although yeah, maybe, as lack of institutional ability to really deliver it. And here we are . . . seems they're not really doing it, because they're institutionally not able to pick up the ball and run with it.
4 Likes, Who?
No way Valve and Linux scared Microsoft to put effort, we're going good!It's not the first time. As alluded to in the article, Microsoft had allowed DirectX to languish until Valve plugged their own game through their own DirectX to OpenGL wrapper on Linux and had it run faster than DirectX on Windows. Then suddenly DirectX was super important to Microsoft again. Liam covered that incident in his retrospective article.
For this development, should Microsoft actually follow through after all, I think it's great. The Steam Deck comes with SteamOS, and will always come with SteamOS, and normal people use the OS that a machine comes with - that's why our market share is low. Those intrepid few that do install a new OS on their machine should have the least-miserable experience possible - just like those of us that have gone out of our way to install Linux on our machines.
The actual challenge to what Valve are trying to achieve with the Deck - casually turning their customers into Linux gamers - isn't Microsoft making Windows better - just like us making Linux better isn't sufficient to lift its market share. Microsoft releasing their own (Xbox-branded) handheld hardware would be the threat; they've got stacks of spare money, a whole bunch of games studios, and an established store that they're trying to juice. That's the way that a competitor could make the same pricing and platform play as Valve have done, and Microsoft doing it would be to try to sink Valve's lifeboat.
4 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me