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One interesting point I've seen online is that the steam machine is more of a budget Mac than a pc. As valve controls the whole stack including the OS which cre

by mmusc 3mo ago

One interesting point I've seen online is that the steam machine is more of a budget Mac than a pc. As valve controls the whole stack including the OS which creates a very streamlined experience that just works. Maybe its what will make Linux more mainstream!

ekianjo 3mo ago
Valve's vertical control over SteamOS, the UI, and the hardware specs indeed gives the Steam Machine that taste of Mac. Not sure if Apple would have gone for something like that if they ever made a console: one key difference is that Valve keeps it open like a regular PC which is a major benefit to keep the device alive down the road for years to come.
fendy3002 3mo ago
Yes, sometimes it's difficult to find the correct driver for Linux and set it up. Having steam machine be start and play like steam deck really brings the console feel on PC. Moreover it's still Linux which you can use for other things, so people doesn't feel loss for this.
- dannersy 3mo ago
  Nvidia has been historically tricky, but in the last two years or so (maybe longer), I have not needed to do any manual work for drivers. Sometimes, you may see some diminished performance on hardware that is brand new until drivers catch up, but that is usually just about waiting for an update on driver you already have. I've been of the belief that 2026 has been year of the Linux desktop. As a user of MacOS for work and Linux at home, and being a former user of Windows for decades for video games, Linux has come so far that I think it has surpassed the mainstream OSes in terms of experience. The barrier to entry isn't really troubleshooting anymore, it is that we don't have any dominant desktop environment. Which is "bad" for adoption, but has been great for iteration by teams who are not bogged down by the need to support legacy users who don't want things to change.
- drnick1 3mo ago
  > Yes, sometimes it's difficult to find the correct driver for Linux and set it up. It's interesting that you say that, because it isn't how drivers normally work on Linux. Finding, downloading and installing drivers is very much a Windows thing.
  - deleted 3mo ago
    [deleted]
Agingcoder 3mo ago
Linux has gone mainstream a long time ago - from dvd players to android phones. It just hasn’t succceeded on old preexisting markets ( personal computers ) but has taken large parts of most of the newly created ones ( servers , mobile devices , embedded devices etc )
- Forgeties79 3mo ago
  I feel like this is a little nitpicky. Clearly they are talking about mainstream for the average home computer user as a daily driver OS. Even with the steam deck it’s barely touching 5%. It’s still obscure and mysterious to the vast majority of the population in a way windows and macOS aren’t.
  - sejje 3mo ago
    I've been a techie my whole life, and for me, the mysterious OS is macOS. I haven't used it since high school (late 90s), which is when I picked up linux at home. I was never able to afford mac products as a young person, and now that I can, I wouldn't part with linux.
    - Forgeties79 3mo ago
      I really don’t feel like I need to explain how this is not what I’m talking about.
      - sejje 3mo ago
        Okay, well this is: I've installed ubuntu for my elderly father, who is the opposite of a techie. He didn't know the difference. He can still browse the web and play solitaire, just like on windows. He ran it for a few years. Then he bought a new device and hasn't asked for my help.
        Forgeties79 2mo ago
        This is still not what we are talking about. This has nothing to do with ease of use when set up or the practical considerations of swapping. Linux is not mainstream in the consumer world. People do not really know what it is. It is still mysterious and personal computer installation is far from turnkey.
gessha 3mo ago
It was always the disconnect between the people who made it work and the people who couldn’t that prevented wider adoption.
pjmlp 3mo ago
It doesn't control the games though, hence Proton. If they controlled the whole stack Linux native games would be a requirement.
m4xp 2mo ago
The only reason why Linux hasn't gone mainstream (talking about desktop pcs) is because of schools and prebuilt-pcs. Majority of pc users don't even know what OS they are running.

by mmusc 3mo ago

ekianjo 3mo ago

Valve's vertical control over SteamOS, the UI, and the hardware specs indeed gives the Steam Machine that taste of Mac. Not sure if Apple would have gone for something like that if they ever made a console: one key difference is that Valve keeps it open like a regular PC which is a major benefit to keep the device alive down the road for years to come.

fendy3002 3mo ago

Yes, sometimes it's difficult to find the correct driver for Linux and set it up. Having steam machine be start and play like steam deck really brings the console feel on PC. Moreover it's still Linux which you can use for other things, so people doesn't feel loss for this.

dannersy 3mo ago
Nvidia has been historically tricky, but in the last two years or so (maybe longer), I have not needed to do any manual work for drivers. Sometimes, you may see some diminished performance on hardware that is brand new until drivers catch up, but that is usually just about waiting for an update on driver you already have. I've been of the belief that 2026 has been year of the Linux desktop. As a user of MacOS for work and Linux at home, and being a former user of Windows for decades for video games, Linux has come so far that I think it has surpassed the mainstream OSes in terms of experience. The barrier to entry isn't really troubleshooting anymore, it is that we don't have any dominant desktop environment. Which is "bad" for adoption, but has been great for iteration by teams who are not bogged down by the need to support legacy users who don't want things to change.
drnick1 3mo ago
> Yes, sometimes it's difficult to find the correct driver for Linux and set it up. It's interesting that you say that, because it isn't how drivers normally work on Linux. Finding, downloading and installing drivers is very much a Windows thing.
- deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]

Agingcoder 3mo ago

Linux has gone mainstream a long time ago - from dvd players to android phones. It just hasn’t succceeded on old preexisting markets ( personal computers ) but has taken large parts of most of the newly created ones ( servers , mobile devices , embedded devices etc )

Forgeties79 3mo ago
I feel like this is a little nitpicky. Clearly they are talking about mainstream for the average home computer user as a daily driver OS. Even with the steam deck it’s barely touching 5%. It’s still obscure and mysterious to the vast majority of the population in a way windows and macOS aren’t.
- sejje 3mo ago
  I've been a techie my whole life, and for me, the mysterious OS is macOS. I haven't used it since high school (late 90s), which is when I picked up linux at home. I was never able to afford mac products as a young person, and now that I can, I wouldn't part with linux.
  - Forgeties79 3mo ago
    I really don’t feel like I need to explain how this is not what I’m talking about.
    - sejje 3mo ago
      Okay, well this is: I've installed ubuntu for my elderly father, who is the opposite of a techie. He didn't know the difference. He can still browse the web and play solitaire, just like on windows. He ran it for a few years. Then he bought a new device and hasn't asked for my help.
      - Forgeties79 2mo ago
        This is still not what we are talking about. This has nothing to do with ease of use when set up or the practical considerations of swapping. Linux is not mainstream in the consumer world. People do not really know what it is. It is still mysterious and personal computer installation is far from turnkey.

gessha 3mo ago

It was always the disconnect between the people who made it work and the people who couldn’t that prevented wider adoption.

pjmlp 3mo ago

It doesn't control the games though, hence Proton. If they controlled the whole stack Linux native games would be a requirement.

m4xp 2mo ago

The only reason why Linux hasn't gone mainstream (talking about desktop pcs) is because of schools and prebuilt-pcs. Majority of pc users don't even know what OS they are running.