Quoting: NathanaelKStottlemyerIt seems that everywhere I go, people from Linus Sebastian from Linus Tech Tips and the random sword YouTubers, I watch are saying they want to run steam OS on their desktop computer. I've been running Linux for 4 years, mostly on Debian based systems, but I've tried to keep abreast to other Linux news. And I can't help but to think that is a terrible, stupid idea. SteamOS is immutable and can practically only get apps from Flatpak. (Which is a reason it's so good for a console like experience) However, for most people who like to install AI models or tinker with random projects most of which are not on Flatpak, it sounds terrible. In my mind, when I hear about installing SteamOS on desktop it sounds like installing the PlayStation's OS on your computer, it's good for gaming but not really anything else.

Am I missing something?

I think it's just that 90% of online "tech" discussion is gaming banter. Everything is marketed to "gamers", and the numbers are good for steamos right now, it's trendy with gamers.

Personally I've been migrating away from Steam in the past 2 years, going as far as rebuying some of my games on GoG. I don't think you are missing much if you are not a diehard steam fan.

Quoting: dvd

Quoting: NathanaelKStottlemyerIt seems that everywhere I go, people from Linus Sebastian from Linus Tech Tips and the random sword YouTubers, I watch are saying they want to run steam OS on their desktop computer. I've been running Linux for 4 years, mostly on Debian based systems, but I've tried to keep abreast to other Linux news. And I can't help but to think that is a terrible, stupid idea. SteamOS is immutable and can practically only get apps from Flatpak. (Which is a reason it's so good for a console like experience) However, for most people who like to install AI models or tinker with random projects most of which are not on Flatpak, it sounds terrible. In my mind, when I hear about installing SteamOS on desktop it sounds like installing the PlayStation's OS on your computer, it's good for gaming but not really anything else.

Am I missing something?

I think it's just that 90% of online "tech" discussion is gaming banter. Everything is marketed to "gamers", and the numbers are good for steamos right now, it's trendy with gamers.

Personally I've been migrating away from Steam in the past 2 years, going as far as rebuying some of my games on GoG. I don't think you are missing much if you are not a diehard steam fan.

I'm not talking about Steam as a service I understand the pull there, the thing is from what I heard I doubt SteamOS can do what a normal computer can, and a lot of the people who are talking about using SteamOS will when they try it be disappointed.

Because the reality is: they're jumping into what's popular, what name they can speak about to generate views and clicks. They know little about the Linux world really. It's because it's the talked about thing.

Quoting: Liam DaweBecause the reality is: they're jumping into what's popular, what name they can speak about to generate views and clicks. They know little about the Linux world really. It's because it's the talked about thing.

Ah, so my suspicions are right, and that SteamOS really would be a junky desktop operating system?

Quoting: NathanaelKStottlemyerIt seems that everywhere I go, people from Linus Sebastian from Linus Tech Tips and the random sword YouTubers, I watch are saying they want to run steam OS on their desktop computer. I've been running Linux for 4 years, mostly on Debian based systems, but I've tried to keep abreast to other Linux news. And I can't help but to think that is a terrible, stupid idea. SteamOS is immutable and can practically only get apps from Flatpak. (Which is a reason it's so good for a console like experience) However, for most people who like to install AI models or tinker with random projects most of which are not on Flatpak, it sounds terrible. In my mind, when I hear about installing SteamOS on desktop it sounds like installing the PlayStation's OS on your computer, it's good for gaming but not really anything else.

Am I missing something?

You are missing the fact these people use Windows on their desktops. Anything is an upgrade.

More seriously, for many people it is their first positive experience with some Linux. They get KDE which is moderately similar but doesn't have the obnoxious ads on start menu, doesn't try to push you to use OneDrive and Cortana and Edge and Bing and LinkedIn, doesn't have bloatware (and doesn't reinstall the bloatware a few months in). It doesn't hit them with "you must update now, can't turn off your laptop to leave". They might not know why, but it feels good to not have the enshittification, and to use something more akin to older windows in its simplicity.

And, if they tried some other Linux before, it feels easy because everything is preconfigured, everything is guaranteed to work decently. They haven't tried to do the complex things that run into the limitations of the immutable model - software availability, changes to configs that might be lost, workarounds to get pieces of software, managing updates themselves. And because the deck is one single device configured to work, they haven't hit problems like getting their nvidia cards to work or getting their multiple monitors with VRR to work or trying to use unsupported peripherals or waiting for kernel/mesa updates to enable features. And this is probably why they want SteamOS and not some other Linux, it is the Linux that worked for them - for unrelated reasons, of course, but of course they aren't (and don't want to be) involved enough in everything to know why some things are like they are and who is to blame.

Quoting: eldaking

Quoting: NathanaelKStottlemyerIt seems that everywhere I go, people from Linus Sebastian from Linus Tech Tips and the random sword YouTubers, I watch are saying they want to run steam OS on their desktop computer. I've been running Linux for 4 years, mostly on Debian based systems, but I've tried to keep abreast to other Linux news. And I can't help but to think that is a terrible, stupid idea. SteamOS is immutable and can practically only get apps from Flatpak. (Which is a reason it's so good for a console like experience) However, for most people who like to install AI models or tinker with random projects most of which are not on Flatpak, it sounds terrible. In my mind, when I hear about installing SteamOS on desktop it sounds like installing the PlayStation's OS on your computer, it's good for gaming but not really anything else.

Am I missing something?

You are missing the fact these people use Windows on their desktops. Anything is an upgrade.

More seriously, for many people it is their first positive experience with some Linux. They get KDE which is moderately similar but doesn't have the obnoxious ads on start menu, doesn't try to push you to use OneDrive and Cortana and Edge and Bing and LinkedIn, doesn't have bloatware (and doesn't reinstall the bloatware a few months in). It doesn't hit them with "you must update now, can't turn off your laptop to leave". They might not know why, but it feels good to not have the enshittification, and to use something more akin to older windows in its simplicity.

And, if they tried some other Linux before, it feels easy because everything is preconfigured, everything is guaranteed to work decently. They haven't tried to do the complex things that run into the limitations of the immutable model - software availability, changes to configs that might be lost, workarounds to get pieces of software, managing updates themselves. And because the deck is one single device configured to work, they haven't hit problems like getting their nvidia cards to work or getting their multiple monitors with VRR to work or trying to use unsupported peripherals or waiting for kernel/mesa updates to enable features. And this is probably why they want SteamOS and not some other Linux, it is the Linux that worked for them - for unrelated reasons, of course, but of course they aren't (and don't want to be) involved enough in everything to know why some things are like they are and who is to blame.

I think you're right. Also this explains why Valve is dragging their feet on releasing a normal version of SteamOS if Linus Sebastion and 20 others says they'd use that they have a problem, because it'll make SteamOS look very bad.