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.
Quoting: JustinWoodI 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
Quoting: Purple Library GuyQuoting: JustinWoodI 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.
mr-victory Apr 13, 2023
Quoting: dziadulewiczLooks 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
"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
joking aside.. that isn't a joke. Nor is the 'OS level' (before you say valve mines too) data mining.
i think il pass.
Quoting: LEANIJAIt 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.
Quoting: 04ELYNo 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.
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