60°

Valve's inevitable march towards Linux

Icrontic writes: "Steam is being ported to Linux, and it's running well. Could a Valve Linux distro be far away? Let's call it Gabenix..."

Read Full Story >>
icrontic.com
ATi_Elite4692d ago (Edited 4692d ago )

Valve's march towards Linux and having Steam on Mac is a way for Valve to keep Microsoft from taking PC Gaming for granted and also a way to reach gamers on other Operating Systems.

Windows has been a very nice and enjoyable OPEN platform for gaming but if Microsoft does anything to disturb the flow of openness in gaming, Valve can easily leap to another Operating System with ease.

OpenGL is just as good as Microsoft's DirectX api and can be used on Mac or Linux. So in other words PC Gamers can play PC Games WITHOUT Microsoft software being on their PC's.

Zha1tan4692d ago

At the same timt though I dont understand the kickup about windows 8, seems like its built for the MS surface.

Ive yet to hear or see one viable reason why windows 8 is bad for gaming, I just see people saying its bad without any reason.

However if it is really that bad il be transitioning to linux with steam in a flash and im sure most other good PC devs will.

Bladesfist4692d ago

Really doubt it. The vast majority of people will stick with windows because of its ease of use and the developers will stay where the money is.

morganfell4692d ago

Windows 8 is bad for gaming because it funnels users away from sources like Steam and will push and in some cases force them to make purchase from the MS Storefront. It is currently showng a remarkable potential to damage certain sectors of gaming suchs indy gaming. In some instances it locks down features completely.

But should that be our focus? No. Products, like political candidates, should concentrate more on what they are than they do on what the other guy is not.

Personally I am not thinking about why Windows 8 is bad but why Linux will be better. Let MS do what they will. Let them lock the interface so you are forced to hack it in order to boot directly to the desktop, which happens to be the case in the latest builds. Its their software, let them do it. If you want to use it by all means do it.

I have been using both Linux and Ubuntu since I first messed with Linux in late 91. The potential for the software as a gaming platform is phenomenal. The system is incredibly stable (What's BSOD?). It also lacks all of those minor annoyances. When I copy a file and it says 5 seconds left it means 5 seconds. When I shut down, it shuts down. And importantly it has a far lower resource overhead than Windows. On top of this Ubuntu is free. It's included Office Libre is flexible and fast, opens and saves major MS Office files and is free. Ubuntu is updated regularly with new builds arriving every 6 months. Each build bears a number that tells you the month and year. 12.04 came out of beta and became the official release in April 2012. Each of these builds is supported for 18 months minimum after launch.

Every 4th release is called a LTS (Long Term Support) release and is supported for 5 years. The current build 12.04 known as Precise Pangolin is a LTS build. Upgrades to next versions, LTS or not, are nothing like those between Windows versions as they are less intrusive and do not maintain the amount of redundant code seen in the Windows based platforms. "Very clean" would be an apt description.

So far Left for Dead 2 is running 45 FPS faster than on Windows. And it's an Alpha build. With Valve moving more and more resources to the Linux development they are offering gamers an incredible opportunity.

Think about it. Suppose every time Sony or MS upgraded the PS3 or 360 YOU HAD TO PAY FOR IT. Does that sound fair? Well Canonical (the people behind Ubuntu) think not and you get Ubuntu versions for free.

Zha1tan4692d ago

well if its as good as you say it is, I may have to try it!

but game publishers and devs need to get behind it first.

shutUpAndTakeMyMoney4691d ago (Edited 4691d ago )

well up until this point you could just browse the web and find steam of other games and you still can. But on the mobile & desktop you can but most people will find xbox live only since it's right there and if you want new people to know you exist you want to be on the front page store right?

So that will come down to making metro apps which mean you must give MS 30% of your profits on an "open platform".

I can see why devs hate that. Not to mention the win8 forces you to jump back between metro & desktop for certain things. You have to use it even if you don't want to. I have win 8 now but at least performance is way better.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4691d ago
shutUpAndTakeMyMoney4691d ago

The big problem is getting other devs to make linux games & also there older games won't work. But this is a great way to start a ne generation & perfect timing?
http://www.engadget.com/201...

tachy0n4690d ago (Edited 4690d ago )

i rather live under microsoft rule, Direct X(windows) vs OpenGL(linux)

DirectX is better,: better tesselation, detail, lightning and better performance.

dont like Windows 8? stay on windows 7 and wait for service pack 2 for windows 7 for enhanced performance.

go with linux and you will end up using "wine" to emulate windows xDD

proof:

Letros4692d ago (Edited 4692d ago )

Their march towards the land of free software, donations, and mandatory trials, sounds profitable.

kneon4692d ago

Yes I'm sure that linux with it's <2% desktop market share will be hugely profitable./s

I've run just about every flavor or unix and linux imaginable starting way back with AT&T, SCO, BSD, minix, xenix and more linux distributions than I can remember. It's still not ready for the mass market despite what the zealots would have you believe

halocursed4692d ago

Linux isn't going to be the solution.

Kinggger4692d ago

I actually can see the "gabenix" distro as very possible since valve just announced that the first software that are not games on steam will be released soon. Seems suspicious to me on why they would release non-gaming applications even though we don't know what the actually applications are yet.

ATi_Elite4692d ago

Eventually there will be an Operating System on PC that has people dropping Windows.

Will it be Linux or a Linux based OS who knows but it's gonna happen and when it does companies like Valve will be first in line to ditch Windows completely which seems to be the trend anyway as Devs wanna program directly on the GPU without an Api!

i strongly believe Apple will OPEN UP OSX and start selling it on the PC. That move will only make Apple even more Billions.

hellvaguy4690d ago

Under the current business models, Apple cannot just open up its OS to PC users. It has way too many patents tied up into its hardware/software combo that wouldnt be allowed by federal courts to monopolize they way they do.

Apple only gets away with all thier b.s. because they own the hardware and software. This is why they are able to do basicly whatever they want and why MS gets nailed to a cross if they even have a pre-installed option to use one of thier products.

80°

Valve Makes Up for Steam Deck Repair Delay by Gifting Free Game

Valve gave a user Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for free as compensation for the long wait during their Steam Deck repair.

UltimateOwnage29d ago

I had a similar experience when I initially pre-ordered my Deck. There was an issue during shipping and they offered me a customer service perk for the hassle and let me pick any game on Steam. It was super nice of them. I got a copy of Rime.

10d ago
250°

89 million Steam account details allegedly leaked, but no one seems to know how

A LinkedIn post from Underdark AI made the discovery, stating that datasets are being sold for over $5,000 on a known black market forum.

Cockney32d ago

Biggest hack in gaming history if true

Christopher32d ago

No personal details, mostly account names, no passwords. Likely would need other account leaks to hope that someone reuses a password with a similar account name on another already leaked service. While a lot of users, the data is useless. Kind of notably by the $5k request for the data.

FinalFantasyFanatic30d ago

Plus, if you have 2FA enabled, then you were at zero risk anyway, from what I've read, Steam isn't even recommending password changes as it's apparently unnecessary.

VariantAEC26d ago

@Christopher
Where are you getting that from?
The linked article above says, "The seller claims this is a “fresh” leak and says it includes usernames, passwords, two-factor SMS logs, message contents, metadata, delivery status, and other sensitive details." Which sure sounds like they might have a lot of other information. If this leak is legitimate I better stop hearing people falsely say PSN is the worst secured digital storefront (even though that hasn't been true for a very long time with far larger data breaches since 2011 all over the world including the Equifax breach which was several times larger).

VariantAEC26d ago

@FinalFantasyFanatic
That seems true only if you use Steam Guard. If you opted for T2A via SMS the article suggests it's time to make the switch to Steam Guard and of course change your password.

Christopher26d ago (Edited 26d ago )

From the credit URL: https://x.com/MellowOnline1...

The article doesn't do a good job of going into the updated detail, they just mention part of it.

Just because the seller claims something, doesn't make it true. If it truly contained that data, it would be worth way more than just $5k. SMS systems don't rely on getting passwords for accounts they're sending an SMS to, just the username, phone number, and timestamp info.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 26d ago
Profchaos30d ago (Edited 30d ago )

You don't remember the psn hack I take it

Cockney30d ago

I do remember it being 77 million, thats why I made my comment

BlueDaBaDee31d ago

Update:
"Valve has now confirmed that “this was NOT a breach of Steam systems” and users do not need to change their passwords as a result. However, it continues to recommend that you set up the Steam Mobile authenticator for extra security."

https://store.steampowered....

Fishy Fingers31d ago

Shame. I liked the idea someone paid 5 grand just for my silly steam name.

DivineHand12531d ago

The government needs a taskforce with serious fundung that can opporate across borders to go after cyber criminals.

It is getting out of hand and it is the regular citizens of the world that suffer the consequences of these hacks and breaches.

My fear is that if left unchecked, state sponsored hackers from corrupt or governents under sections may use this as a method of raising revenue at the expense of everyone else.

Fishy Fingers31d ago

Bro teeing up a Mission Impossible movie.

ZeekQuattro31d ago

Not in this administration. If anything hes been dissolving existing task forces meant to protect consumers.

Amplitude30d ago (Edited 30d ago )

Why? They’d just use the funding to funnel hundred of millions of dollars into fake NGOs that then funnel it into democrat pockets while doing zero cyber criminal defence work.

Then if anybody tried to defund them it’d be a whole thing with the mainstream media claiming that there will be endless cyber attacks. NGOs would then fund protest groups to attack anybody that supports defunding the government’s cyber attack defence branch and then it would turn out it was also being used to stabilize or destabilize governments in other countries and overthrow elections to benefit America. Which is fine until they start using it on us again.

Let’s just not. Private companies who know what they’re doing (Valve) can deal with it

RIP USAID. God bless

Profchaos30d ago (Edited 30d ago )

It's not a may use this not we know state sponsored attacks do this already.

It's a global problem you couldn't have one government playing world police it would require joint collaboration with foreign governments and the problem is many laws have not kept pace with advancement of technology.

even then it's hard to say with certainty if an attack was a state sponsored attacks or a cybercriminal group operating outside of governments

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 30d ago
pwnmaster300031d ago

remember when certain groups were saying PC gamers don’t want other subscriptions because it was not safe and steam was the spot lol.

Shiore2u31d ago ShowReplies(6)
badz14931d ago

it's time to riot, right, pc gamers??

pwnmaster300030d ago

Be careful, PC gamers are the most touchy out of the gamers lol

staticall30d ago

@badz149
@pwnmaster3000
Have you guys actually read what was «leaked»? It was SMS messages from 3rd party provider (not from Steam itself) with one-time 2FA codes (that are active for 15 minutes). No Steam account details, access to an account or any of that jazz.

Let me quote official Steam response:
«The leak consisted of older text messages that included one-time codes that were only valid for 15-minute time frames and the phone numbers they were sent to. The leaked data did not associate the phone numbers with a Steam account, password information, payment information or other personal data. Old text messages cannot be used to breach the security of your Steam account, and whenever a code is used to change your Steam email or password using SMS, you will receive a confirmation via email and/or Steam secure messages.»
Source: https://store.steampowered....

The only bad thing about this is the phone numbers. But while that sucks, attacker doesn't know which Steam account this phone number belongs to. IMO, the only thing people should be rioting about is how unprotected the SMS are and the 3rd party service that was used by Steam. I'm all for punishing people who screwed up and/or lacked the security. But this is not it.

FinalFantasyFanatic30d ago

Why riot? They have nothing of value, can't even steal an account with the details they have, they would have to attempt a brute force attack, you can already do that with a Steam user's account name (or any account on any site) if you really wanted to spend the time and processing power to do it.

Show all comments (34)
60°

Creature Collector Fest hits Steam with some epic discounts

The Creature Collector Fest event has come to steam until May 19. Here are some epic discounted games to scratch the critter gathering itch.

Read Full Story >>
powerupgaming.co.uk