We were so close to seeing another gaming handheld ship with Linux out of the box that isn't the Steam Deck, but it seems AYANEO with the AYANEO NEXT LITE weren't convinced enough and so they've changed their minds.
Originally announced as shipping with SteamOS, but then clarified later it would be HoloISO, which is a Linux distribution that's pretty close to SteamOS. AYANEO aren't entirely dropping it though, as they will still be offering HoloISO Linux (it's like SteamOS), but the device will now instead ship with Windows 11.
Writing on X (Twitter) they put out a statement and here's the relevent bit copied out of the image:
Following the announcement of the operating system for AYANEO NEXT LITE, players and friends have shown great interest and engaged in lively discussions. Some players provided feedback indicating the continued preference for a Windows operating system. "Real Gamers, Know Gamers," and in response to this valuable feedback, we are pleased to announce that AYANEO NEXT LITE will come pre-installed with the genuine Windows 11 64-bit Home Edition operating system. Of course, players can still choose to install HoloISO on their own. AYANEO's official website provides HoloISO system images that are officially adapted and compatible for players to download and experience. The streamlined and efficient HololSO system aims to offer players a more convenient game management, smooth and stable gaming performance, lower overall power consumption, and native compatibility with both controllers and touchscreen operations. This approach aligns with the gaming habits of handheld device users, providing players with a richer selection of operating systems.
Real Gamers, Know Gamers huh? That's…a peculiar thing to say here.
This is a shame to see, as this could have helped to continue the Linux push for gaming. At least they will still be offering it up for download, but as we long-timers know, most people don't generally change their operating system on any device.
Hopefully sometime soon Valve will finally properly release SteamOS 3 for other hardware vendors, as SteamOS carries more weight to it than community-rebuilds like HoloISO. A lot of it is in the name, as players and hardware vendors would likely be more confident with SteamOS directly.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
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.
ElectricPrism Jan 26
Could the sub-components come from the mainland, or could there be concerns of the mainland effecting Taiwan companies? Sure -- I woulds say the same is possible for Samsung (South Korea) and LG (South Korea) the same as any other tech from the region, even Japan does manufacturing in mainland China for some things.
The same is possible for most "American" companies, like Apple.
The conversation is about Ayaneo and ASUS not "Apple and Merica".
Race baiting strat got nerfed last year.
Any attempt at redirecting the existing conversation to "Hwhat bout Merica" will result in mute and block.
Confession through projection. Nobody wants to talk about that. We want to talk about how much Ayaneo sucks for not shipping Linux, and clarifying that ASUS is infact Taiwanese. (Literally just read their Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus )
1 Likes, Who?
Confession through projection.
What was I confessing or projecting? I never disagreed with your point, just said it applied more widely.
0 Likes
Aya are a Windows OEM. So they have almost certainly signed an agreement with Microsoft that includes language that in return for lower prices for Windows, they agree to (among other things) obtain a license for Microsoft's patents on every Windows-compatible system they sell. Shipping a licensed Windows install on the device grants the license, anything else pre-installed requires an additional fee paid to Microsoft to license their patents.
They probably thought that if SteamOS (or their own Linux distribution) didn't violate Microsoft's patents they wouldn't have to pay, and Microsoft reminded them that doesn't get them out of the terms of the agreement because those devices can still run Windows so it wouldn't matter.
The only way out of it is to not be a Windows OEM at all, use some kind of Windows-incompatible boot process, or fight Microsoft in court over the terms of a contract they entered into, all of which Aya aren't willing to do.
You are truth. There are rumors from companies in European telling court, MS sign trade ordering it to pay MS for each sold devices as it has Windows preinstalled, even if it does not. Of course, Windows license normally costs 100$ (around), but MS makes big deal for companies, which sign devil trade with MS. In this case, companies could install Windows on device, for example, for 20$, but it must install Windows on every device.
Companies sign trade, even if Windows is bad, because client seen this: same PC configuration without Windows license costs 70$ less and Windows license costs 100$. And people thinking Windows is good, because it normally costs 100$, so that's a deal!
In that way Windows got world domination - simple by users dull. User thinking Windows is good, because there no option in many stores to buy devices without Windows and Windows costs 100$. But this is only magic.
And, if user order device manufacturer/reseller to refund Windows costs, they must refund 100$, because Windows real costs is secret. In this case, hardware vendors does everything to not refund Windows, even telling lies about Linux, creating rumors, etc.
That was great strategy!
3 Likes, Who?
Of course another thing that they're going to have to consider is whether they're going to have to increase the price of theirexcept that it will run more games due to... windows (in theory, im not considering games that might not run because the hardware is a potato) so they still have an argument to sell their device.SteamOSHoloIsoWindows 11 device to account for the licensing fee or whether whatever deal they managed to get for folding to Microsoft pressure will let them keep the same price point.
"Worse than a Steam Deck for more money than a Steam Deck" isn't a great place to position your product.
1 Likes, Who?
Aya are a Windows OEM. So they have almost certainly signed an agreement with Microsoft that includes language that in return for lower prices for Windows, they agree to (among other things) obtain a license for Microsoft's patents on every Windows-compatible system they sell. Shipping a licensed Windows install on the device grants the license, anything else pre-installed requires an additional fee paid to Microsoft to license their patents.
They probably thought that if SteamOS (or their own Linux distribution) didn't violate Microsoft's patents they wouldn't have to pay, and Microsoft reminded them that doesn't get them out of the terms of the agreement because those devices can still run Windows so it wouldn't matter.
The only way out of it is to not be a Windows OEM at all, use some kind of Windows-incompatible boot process, or fight Microsoft in court over the terms of a contract they entered into, all of which Aya aren't willing to do.
You are truth. There are rumors from companies in European telling court, MS sign trade ordering it to pay MS for each sold devices as it has Windows preinstalled, even if it does not. Of course, Windows license normally costs 100$ (around), but MS makes big deal for companies, which sign devil trade with MS. In this case, companies could install Windows on device, for example, for 20$, but it must install Windows on every device.
Companies sign trade, even if Windows is bad, because client seen this: same PC configuration without Windows license costs 70$ less and Windows license costs 100$. And people thinking Windows is good, because it normally costs 100$, so that's a deal!
In that way Windows got world domination - simple by users dull. User thinking Windows is good, because there no option in many stores to buy devices without Windows and Windows costs 100$. But this is only magic.
And, if user order device manufacturer/reseller to refund Windows costs, they must refund 100$, because Windows real costs is secret. In this case, hardware vendors does everything to not refund Windows, even telling lies about Linux, creating rumors, etc.
That was great strategy!
this strategy is as good as its illegal, but i heard about it a long time ago.
thinking about it for a moment, if an company sell 100.000 computers with windows and 1.000 computers with linux, microsoft may force then to sell windows on all the computers threatening to rise the price from 20 to 100, then the company will have to pay 10 millions instead of 2 millions.
i wonder if aya really planned to ship devices with linux or that was just their way of negotiating an better deal with microsoft.
2 Likes, Who?
i wonder if aya really planned to ship devices with linux or that was just their way of negotiating an better deal with microsoft.The thing with megacorporations like MS is that any business negotiation with them is likely to be very one-sided. Ayaneo has no bargaining power to speak of.
2 Likes, Who?
i wonder if aya really planned to ship devices with linux or that was just their way of negotiating an better deal with microsoft.The thing with megacorporations like MS is that any business negotiation with them is likely to be very one-sided. Ayaneo has no bargaining power to speak of.
While it's entirely possible that MS intervened, it's also entirely possible someone at AYANEO itself took the decision. Could be malice, could be incompetence, could be branding related. Maybe someone at Aya took the rumbling about the HoloOS revelation as a sign they can't just brand the device with SteamOS and pulled the plug. I could actually understand that if they put their hopes in the SteamOS branding. Who would want a Handheld that relies on a community developed distribution beeing customized by a chinese manufacturer that has no history with Linux support at all. If it was official SteamOS, that's entirely different situation.
So I wouldn't count out non-Valve Linux handhelds just yet. Valve needs to release SteamOS to the public and build up a upstreaming and QE System to protect the brand. That would have serious impact.
Last edited by const on 27 January 2024 at 10:17 am UTC
2 Likes, Who?
Keyword: mostHonestly, it's not worth getting involved with most of the chinese handhelds. Ayaneo especially have terrible customer service.
So, Asus and Lenovo are both Chinese as well. Is their customer service also bad, or is it only worth mentioning it's Chinese if it's bad?
2 Likes, Who?
Stories like this happen every few years. In the early 2010s, a local government in some European city (I forget which) announced they were entirely switching to Linux in all their public service departments. 2 weeks go by, "no, sorry we're sticking with Windows". Turns out they had a visit from a Microsoft sales rep.
The Munich affair? Yeah, that was something. It's FOSS has a piece on it: https://itsfoss.com/munich-linux-failure/
So I've followed that story since it was first reported in 2003. The last I read about it was in 2018/2019 when they ultimately decided to stay with Linux. Despite the link you shared dating to within the last year, I cannot find any other bit of news or info about them switching back to Windows a second time. That article reads a lot like the articles from 2015.
From what I know and from what I've been able to find, Munich as been using Linux for their workstations for the past few years and have not gone back to Microsoft.
ZDNet article from 2020
Edit: yup. I'm right. The article says "after a decade of using Linux" which puts it at about 2015 when they had announced going back to Microsoft. The article you linked to has comments going back 6 years (around 2017/2018 when the news was making the rounds). And the link to the source in the article is dead.
As of right now, Munich is the Linux and FOSS success story we want.
Last edited by cbstryker on 27 January 2024 at 6:20 pm UTC
4 Likes, Who?
As of right now, Munich is the Linux and FOSS success story we want.
Unfortunately not:
https://www.heise.de/news/Neue-IT-Referentin-in-Muenchen-Kein-zurueck-zu-LiMux-aber-Open-Source-staerken-7191854.html
1 Likes, Who?
As of right now, Munich is the Linux and FOSS success story we want.
Unfortunately not:
https://www.heise.de/news/Neue-IT-Referentin-in-Muenchen-Kein-zurueck-zu-LiMux-aber-Open-Source-staerken-7191854.html
Google Translate....
https://www-heise-de.translate.goog/news/Neue-IT-Referentin-in-Muenchen-Kein-zurueck-zu-LiMux-aber-Open-Source-staerken-7191854.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
1 Likes, Who?
Stories like this happen every few years. In the early 2010s, a local government in some European city (I forget which) announced they were entirely switching to Linux in all their public service departments. 2 weeks go by, "no, sorry we're sticking with Windows". Turns out they had a visit from a Microsoft sales rep.I think this must happen a lot based on my anecdotal life experience. My company had a CTO who was planted from Microsoft for a while. He was making us do a lift-and-shift to Azure. Thankfully, that guy was fired after only 1-2 years, and the next CTO was like, "Stop that!"
I say this to point out that things that change for the worse can change again for the better.
5 Likes, Who?
I wonder what would happen if they would have the option to choose your OS, and take off the price of Windows for the Linux version? I know OEMs get a major discount, but I think Lenovo does something similar.
Looked a few years ago into that, here in the EU you can get windows refunded if it's preinstalled, most manufacturers have some doc with how to ask for it and how much you'll get. The average was between 15 and 30€. Honestly, not worth the hassle, as they make it as hard as possible to get refunded. Because you know these kinds of laws only say they have to do it, not that it should be easy. I have seen it as low as 5€, but the manufacturer asked for a registered mail, and they cost ... around 5€.
Another example, here in France there is a new law forcing ISP and mobile carriers to have a link to cancel your contract on their website. The law doesn't say it should be easy to find, so most of them have it somewhere on their website, but not on your online dashboard, and none communicated about that new law. For my mobile carrier, it's on the front page at the very bottom. If you don't know where it is good luck to find it and if you don't even know it exists you do it the old-fashioned way via mail (no not e-mail, actual paper).
Last edited by DerpFox on 30 January 2024 at 5:20 am UTC
4 Likes, Who?
Couple of things to digest here. The switch from SteamOS to Windows does suck and I'm sure Microsoft had a hand in it. I have a feeling that they are currently "tolerating" gaming on Linux since the market share is so low. If Linux market share were to go up, you would guarantee that Microsoft would go out of their way to stop the growth.
In China, they do have Kylin and Ubuntu Kylin as options. You would think that China would want their population to use a CCP sanctioned operating system vs the western based Windows. Many of these communist countries would love to remove their dependence on the west so they could have shipped a Kylin based OS for their Chinese customers and still use SteamOS or a custom Ubuntu for western.
In China, they do have Kylin and Ubuntu Kylin as options. You would think that China would want their population to use a CCP sanctioned operating system vs the western based Windows. Many of these communist countries would love to remove their dependence on the west so they could have shipped a Kylin based OS for their Chinese customers and still use SteamOS or a custom Ubuntu for western.
1 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me