6 ms·

Is Valve’s SteamBox a contender for the next developer workstation?

25 points by edoloughlin 13y ago

thearn4 13y ago
> OS X is evolving into a slightly more capable version of iOS, and we’re all dreading the day when the only way we can compile and install our own software is by using Apple’s proprietary tools and going through the App Store. There does seem to be a closed app-store trend in OSs now, but I'm not really convinced that a 100% walled garden on OSX is a forgone conclusion.
eponeponepon 13y ago
Interesting thought. I've personally been totally sold on SteamOS since it was announced, but it had simply never occurred to me that it might have any more utility than the strapline of playing games on your TV. Now I'm just more stoked for it.
noir_lord 13y ago
No (invoking Betteridge's law of headlines). Also this article is silly. "So, yes, if you want to call this fantasy, pie-in-the-sky thinking, I’m guilty as charged. If you think the near-term future of software development will be based on some platform other than the laptop/desktop, I wish I could agree. All these “ifs” aside: if I were Apple, I would be looking over my shoulder. At Valve." He sums up the ridiculousness far better than I can in his own article.
- quarterto 13y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5742893 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5742893
yawniek 13y ago
hopefully they can create an app ecosystem that not only consists out of games.
- adricnet 13y ago
  http://store.steampowered.com/software/ http://store.steampowered.com/software/ 100 titles today. Seems to be building momentum slowly, but it's there.
corin_ 13y ago
This article misses the point of steam boxes, entirely. Misconceptions the author appears to be under: 1.) Valve are releasing hardware. They are not, and do not plan to. 2.) Laptop steam boxes will come in the future. This makes absolutely no sense, the entire purpose of SteamOS is big picture mode for TV gaming. It's not even meant for desktop gaming, yet alone on-the-move gaming. 3.) Ironic that in his discussion of where Mac users might flee to he says "Dell and HP got nothin’." when one of those companies is creating one of the first steam boxes which Valve announced on Monday (Dell) 4.) Also ironic that in that same paragraph he dismisses Linux, without realising that if you close the gaming part of a steam box all that's left is linux. Not even a new OS based on a linux kernel, just linux. Just a really poor article which didn't need to be written. Disclaimer: I work in marketing on behalf of one of the steam box manufacturers, the above views are my own and do not reflect those of any company.
- dkhenry 13y ago
  I am thinking the writer saw a nice piece of hardware that wasn't made by apple and for a second he is thinking what would happen if he stepped outside the reality distortion field that consumes the west coast.
  - corin_ 13y ago
    I think it makes complete sense to someone who knows only very basic information about steam boxes, without any distortion field needed. If you take a look at the beta box Valve released, it's based on linux and it looks sexy. If that's all the information you have then sure, Valve might threaten Apple. But the author's job is to find out more information than that, and with all the recent press that isn't even 3 minutes of research to do.
  - nhaehnle 13y ago
    Isn't Valve located on the west coast as well?
- pjmlp 13y ago
  He also misses the point about developers and Apple. It might be that in US, everyone jumped on Apple's bandwagon. But most European developers I know are still on Windows/Linux/BSD systems on their desktop/laptops.
dkhenry 13y ago
I don't know if I can accept the prognostication of someone who thinks that in 2003 "any self-respecting developer was carrying a MacBook, preferably the one the size of a small aircraft carrier". My preferred development environment has been Linux running on a _desktop_ since I started programming. Why would I move to the much less capable OSX or to a neutered version of Linux, when I can just install fedora or ubuntu and have a much more capable ( and in my opinion better ) workstation ?
- __--__ 13y ago
  Because not everybody wants to spend days or weeks figuring out why their video or wireless drivers aren't working. They want to get to work. Until OS X 10.7, it was a beautiful version of linux that just worked. "Less capable", ok, maybe, but I don't see it. My entire work environment (zsh+bash scripts+vim) seamlessly copies back and forth between linux and OS X. Most linux utilities are available via homebrew. Those that aren't I compile from source. It's just like any other linux distribution on that front. It's not perfect, but I get up and running a lot faster on OS X than on any linux distribution. I'm on Fedora 19 now and in many way I have the same issues with linux I've had since I first installed Red Hat 7 in 2000. The lack of progress on certain fronts in the linux world is staggering.
  - stcredzero 13y ago
    Snow Leopard was just beautiful! It's been downhill from a developer standpoint since.
  - dkhenry 13y ago
    I still don't understand the concept that Linux doesn't just work. I have built multiple desktops and used at least three labtops since 2005 all of which have run Linux and I have _never_ had a hardware issue that wasn't caused by me messing with things. More so then windows and OSX everything has always just worked on Linux. I have had issues with windows needing drivers and OSX not letting me actually use my hardware ( try setting the resolution on a retina macbook ) but the _only_ issue I ever had with Linux was that I needed a special kernel to get my Chromebook pixel to have a working touchscreen.
jiggy2011 13y ago
In that "Steambox" is a synonym for "PC" then yes , I suppose it is.
willvarfar 13y ago
The article bemoans the fear that Apple will insist we use it's app store for macs too. Yet is putting forward a move to SteamOS, an OS named after the app store it is built to promote...
- eponeponepon 13y ago
  I think it's a bit unfair to characterise SteamOS as a promotional campaign for Steam based on name alone. Would you say the same for iOS and the iP\w* device ecosystem? It seems fairly clear to me that these boxes will stand or fall on their own merits. [Edit: typo]
  - corin_ 13y ago
    He didn't mean as a promotional campaign, he meant to promote use of Steam, i.e. to get people to use it - which people who buy steam boxes will be doing.
jbb555 13y ago
But.... A steambox is just a standard PC in a nice box suitable for using on a TV. And sure you could probably do some work using steam os if you install applications. Or you could install a more mainstream linux and then install steam which seems to work just fine already. Not sure of the point of this article.
bryanlarsen 13y ago
I think the article is dead on -- I'm seriously considering one myself. From the perspective of a developer, a Steam Machine is simply a Debian machine that is certified Linux compatible. People have been screaming for this for years. Even if you install Ubuntu or Fedora, you know that the components have been selected for Linux compatibility. That means something. Granted, 99.9% of standard desktop components are already Linux compatible so it's not a big deal, but it's one less thing to worry about. How many devs dual boot to play games? Maybe not the majority, but there's a huge market there too. Plus, don't underestimate the appeal of something that's not just another beige box. From the perspective of hardware vendors, Steam OS makes a lot of sense too. If you want to sell a "Linux" machine, you'll have lots of demands to support Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint, Arch, etc. But now they can sell a Steam machine, and get away without supporting the other flavours du jour. Of course, the ironic thing is that modern development is much more OS agnostic than it has ever been: as long as your machine can run Vagrant, you can run anything you want. Linux does run Vagrant better than other OS's (because you can use vagrant-lxc), but that's minor. Lots of gaming is being done on laptops and tablets. If SteamOS does well on consoles, I do expect Valve to try and get a piece of that market too. That'll be at least a couple of years, though.

25 points by edoloughlin 13y ago

> OS X is evolving into a slightly more capable version of iOS, and we’re all dreading the day when the only way we can compile and install our own software is by using Apple’s proprietary tools and going through the App Store. There does seem to be a closed app-store trend in OSs now, but I'm not really convinced that a 100% walled garden on OSX is a forgone conclusion.

eponeponepon 13y ago

Interesting thought. I've personally been totally sold on SteamOS since it was announced, but it had simply never occurred to me that it might have any more utility than the strapline of playing games on your TV. Now I'm just more stoked for it.

noir_lord 13y ago

No (invoking Betteridge's law of headlines). Also this article is silly. "So, yes, if you want to call this fantasy, pie-in-the-sky thinking, I’m guilty as charged. If you think the near-term future of software development will be based on some platform other than the laptop/desktop, I wish I could agree. All these “ifs” aside: if I were Apple, I would be looking over my shoulder. At Valve." He sums up the ridiculousness far better than I can in his own article.

quarterto 13y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5742893 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5742893

yawniek 13y ago

hopefully they can create an app ecosystem that not only consists out of games.

adricnet 13y ago
http://store.steampowered.com/software/ http://store.steampowered.com/software/ 100 titles today. Seems to be building momentum slowly, but it's there.

corin_ 13y ago

This article misses the point of steam boxes, entirely. Misconceptions the author appears to be under: 1.) Valve are releasing hardware. They are not, and do not plan to. 2.) Laptop steam boxes will come in the future. This makes absolutely no sense, the entire purpose of SteamOS is big picture mode for TV gaming. It's not even meant for desktop gaming, yet alone on-the-move gaming. 3.) Ironic that in his discussion of where Mac users might flee to he says "Dell and HP got nothin’." when one of those companies is creating one of the first steam boxes which Valve announced on Monday (Dell) 4.) Also ironic that in that same paragraph he dismisses Linux, without realising that if you close the gaming part of a steam box all that's left is linux. Not even a new OS based on a linux kernel, just linux. Just a really poor article which didn't need to be written. Disclaimer: I work in marketing on behalf of one of the steam box manufacturers, the above views are my own and do not reflect those of any company.

dkhenry 13y ago
I am thinking the writer saw a nice piece of hardware that wasn't made by apple and for a second he is thinking what would happen if he stepped outside the reality distortion field that consumes the west coast.
- corin_ 13y ago
  I think it makes complete sense to someone who knows only very basic information about steam boxes, without any distortion field needed. If you take a look at the beta box Valve released, it's based on linux and it looks sexy. If that's all the information you have then sure, Valve might threaten Apple. But the author's job is to find out more information than that, and with all the recent press that isn't even 3 minutes of research to do.
- nhaehnle 13y ago
  Isn't Valve located on the west coast as well?
pjmlp 13y ago
He also misses the point about developers and Apple. It might be that in US, everyone jumped on Apple's bandwagon. But most European developers I know are still on Windows/Linux/BSD systems on their desktop/laptops.

dkhenry 13y ago

I don't know if I can accept the prognostication of someone who thinks that in 2003 "any self-respecting developer was carrying a MacBook, preferably the one the size of a small aircraft carrier". My preferred development environment has been Linux running on a _desktop_ since I started programming. Why would I move to the much less capable OSX or to a neutered version of Linux, when I can just install fedora or ubuntu and have a much more capable ( and in my opinion better ) workstation ?

__--__ 13y ago
Because not everybody wants to spend days or weeks figuring out why their video or wireless drivers aren't working. They want to get to work. Until OS X 10.7, it was a beautiful version of linux that just worked. "Less capable", ok, maybe, but I don't see it. My entire work environment (zsh+bash scripts+vim) seamlessly copies back and forth between linux and OS X. Most linux utilities are available via homebrew. Those that aren't I compile from source. It's just like any other linux distribution on that front. It's not perfect, but I get up and running a lot faster on OS X than on any linux distribution. I'm on Fedora 19 now and in many way I have the same issues with linux I've had since I first installed Red Hat 7 in 2000. The lack of progress on certain fronts in the linux world is staggering.
- stcredzero 13y ago
  Snow Leopard was just beautiful! It's been downhill from a developer standpoint since.
- dkhenry 13y ago
  I still don't understand the concept that Linux doesn't just work. I have built multiple desktops and used at least three labtops since 2005 all of which have run Linux and I have _never_ had a hardware issue that wasn't caused by me messing with things. More so then windows and OSX everything has always just worked on Linux. I have had issues with windows needing drivers and OSX not letting me actually use my hardware ( try setting the resolution on a retina macbook ) but the _only_ issue I ever had with Linux was that I needed a special kernel to get my Chromebook pixel to have a working touchscreen.

jiggy2011 13y ago

In that "Steambox" is a synonym for "PC" then yes , I suppose it is.

willvarfar 13y ago

The article bemoans the fear that Apple will insist we use it's app store for macs too. Yet is putting forward a move to SteamOS, an OS named after the app store it is built to promote...

eponeponepon 13y ago
I think it's a bit unfair to characterise SteamOS as a promotional campaign for Steam based on name alone. Would you say the same for iOS and the iP\w* device ecosystem? It seems fairly clear to me that these boxes will stand or fall on their own merits. [Edit: typo]
- corin_ 13y ago
  He didn't mean as a promotional campaign, he meant to promote use of Steam, i.e. to get people to use it - which people who buy steam boxes will be doing.

jbb555 13y ago

But.... A steambox is just a standard PC in a nice box suitable for using on a TV. And sure you could probably do some work using steam os if you install applications. Or you could install a more mainstream linux and then install steam which seems to work just fine already. Not sure of the point of this article.

bryanlarsen 13y ago

I think the article is dead on -- I'm seriously considering one myself. From the perspective of a developer, a Steam Machine is simply a Debian machine that is certified Linux compatible. People have been screaming for this for years. Even if you install Ubuntu or Fedora, you know that the components have been selected for Linux compatibility. That means something. Granted, 99.9% of standard desktop components are already Linux compatible so it's not a big deal, but it's one less thing to worry about. How many devs dual boot to play games? Maybe not the majority, but there's a huge market there too. Plus, don't underestimate the appeal of something that's not just another beige box. From the perspective of hardware vendors, Steam OS makes a lot of sense too. If you want to sell a "Linux" machine, you'll have lots of demands to support Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint, Arch, etc. But now they can sell a Steam machine, and get away without supporting the other flavours du jour. Of course, the ironic thing is that modern development is much more OS agnostic than it has ever been: as long as your machine can run Vagrant, you can run anything you want. Linux does run Vagrant better than other OS's (because you can use vagrant-lxc), but that's minor. Lots of gaming is being done on laptops and tablets. If SteamOS does well on consoles, I do expect Valve to try and get a piece of that market too. That'll be at least a couple of years, though.