Remember Windows PC fans, this is a Linux based operating system.
SteamOS is a gaming platform as well as a full PC desktop operating system
(It will even run office suites and tons of Microsoft windows software through wine)
Here is a video of SteamOS running in a virtual machine. Spatry's Cup of Linux shows off Steam OS.
Review ::: Steam OS - Desktop Ready! - YouTube
Hopefully better videos will be around soon. Of course you can install this into a new partition and dual boot between Windows so you wont have to run it in a virtual machine.
I might try this. Did you know.. Steam has lots of great free games, so anyone can try SteamOS out ! You can register for a free steam account and download some free steam games like Planetside 2 -
Look here
Free to Play games on Steam
I guess Microsoft really wont mind this you know.. a gaming OS that plays all formally Windows PC games LOL I say this because Microsoft doesn't seem to be focused on the PC gaming market like it once was. I know many PC gamers who have said they wouldn't have to use Windows if Linux played games like the PC does.
Microsoft should look at this as a threat. SteamOS is a direct threat to both Windows 8 and the Xbox One. It's Free, based on Ubuntu which can easily be configured to look and feel like a windows system, and will run just about any Microsoft Windows software - including Games ! It's like having an Xbox and Desktop PC in one. (but at a fraction of the cost)
Steam is gaining market share among Windows gamers.
Windows 8 itself ended the month at 12.11 percent, giving the larger Windows 8.x host a combined market share of 18.45 percent among Steam users. That dwarfs, naturally, OS X’s market share among the gaming cohort that uses steam of 3.48 percent, and Linux’s share among the same group of 0.98 percent.
Windows 8.1 Surpasses Windows Vista Among Steam Users, Drives Windows 8.x Over The 18% Mark | TechCrunch
It stands to reason to me lots of those using Steam on Linux and Windows will jump ship as the technology gets better. With this, you can build your own gaming rig that's better than the Steam Box, Xbox One or PS4. It will be faster/better gaming experience because Linux doesn't have the overhead Windows does with background processes and services running that's not needed for gaming.
I don't know how Steam is converting all their games into a format that will work in Linux - I assume they have to somehow replace DirextX (and other libraries) with Open GL etc. If anyone knows, let me know.
I assume the Steam technology is closed source because then anyone could use this to make cracked versions of games run on Linux, further getting all the pirates to jump ship from Windows also.
Interesting times we live in. I'm gonna watch this play out like a soap opera. Popcorn on standby.