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Well, they hired a Hardware Engineer (or something of the sort), and if you bother to read the article, it seems more to me like they may start designing periph

Well, they hired a Hardware Engineer (or something of the sort), and if you bother to read the article, it seems more to me like they may start designing peripherals for the PC. Which still is something to be excited about! Valve could really make some great ways to interact with their upcoming "Steam Full Screen Mode" or whatever it's called. Plus, We PC gamers are in dire need of our own controller. I'm tired of using my 60 controller.

apendleton 14y ago
That this person is going to design peripherals is pure speculation on the part of the article's author, and it seems to stem exclusively (looking at the original ad) from this sentence: "Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years." In context, though, that sentence could just as easily be just an example of one way in which innovation in the Mac/PC space has stagnated. The alternate interpretation that this person will be designing whole systems is equally plausible to me, especially given their investment into the Linux space. Initially, that move didn't make a whole lot of sense because the Linux desktop space is so small and (particularly where issues around graphics drivers and the like are concerned) requires a fair bit of technical acumen. A ChromeOS-like strategy makes much more sense, though: heavily tailor the OS user experience to fit your specific target audience, and vertically integrate so you control the hardware, and the user never has to touch drivers or configs. Then it's not "Linux," anymore, it's "SteamOS" or whatever.
- mkl 14y ago
  That this person is going to design peripherals is pure speculation on the part of the article's author, and it seems to stem exclusively (looking at the original ad) from this sentence: "Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years." Actually it seems as much to do with the more solid "Valve has a patent on a controller with swappable parts". Said patent is here: http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20110105231 http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20110105231 But yes, there is a lot of speculation, of course.
benholmen 14y ago
Ben Krasnow is a peripheral hardware designer (and all-around hacker) that recently went to Valve to work on "Top Secret" projects. Previously he developed specialized input devices for use around MRI machines so I assume his "Top Secret" projects at Valve involve peripherals. His blog is really interesting and definitely worth following. G+ profile: https://plus.google.com/115054970849159689228/about https://plus.google.com/115054970849159689228/about A post on his blog where he discusses his previous business and mentions working at Valve: http://benkrasnow.blogspot.com/2012/08/tour-of-bens-shop-2012.html http://benkrasnow.blogspot.com/2012/08/tour-of-bens-shop-201...

apendleton 14y ago

That this person is going to design peripherals is pure speculation on the part of the article's author, and it seems to stem exclusively (looking at the original ad) from this sentence: "Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years." In context, though, that sentence could just as easily be just an example of one way in which innovation in the Mac/PC space has stagnated. The alternate interpretation that this person will be designing whole systems is equally plausible to me, especially given their investment into the Linux space. Initially, that move didn't make a whole lot of sense because the Linux desktop space is so small and (particularly where issues around graphics drivers and the like are concerned) requires a fair bit of technical acumen. A ChromeOS-like strategy makes much more sense, though: heavily tailor the OS user experience to fit your specific target audience, and vertically integrate so you control the hardware, and the user never has to touch drivers or configs. Then it's not "Linux," anymore, it's "SteamOS" or whatever.

mkl 14y ago
That this person is going to design peripherals is pure speculation on the part of the article's author, and it seems to stem exclusively (looking at the original ad) from this sentence: "Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years." Actually it seems as much to do with the more solid "Valve has a patent on a controller with swappable parts". Said patent is here: http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20110105231 http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20110105231 But yes, there is a lot of speculation, of course.

benholmen 14y ago

Ben Krasnow is a peripheral hardware designer (and all-around hacker) that recently went to Valve to work on "Top Secret" projects. Previously he developed specialized input devices for use around MRI machines so I assume his "Top Secret" projects at Valve involve peripherals. His blog is really interesting and definitely worth following. G+ profile: https://plus.google.com/115054970849159689228/about https://plus.google.com/115054970849159689228/about A post on his blog where he discusses his previous business and mentions working at Valve: http://benkrasnow.blogspot.com/2012/08/tour-of-bens-shop-2012.html http://benkrasnow.blogspot.com/2012/08/tour-of-bens-shop-201...