Captain_Yuri said:
Well it is trying to put all the typical linux experience in the backend and trying to push its UI onto the front. Valve is trying to make sure that Steam OS is gaming first and everything else later where as all the other versions of Linux are not... You look at all the different Linux OS's out there whether it be Ubuntu, SuSE, Redhat, Kali and etc, they all have similar enough UI experience even though they are used for different purposes but Steam OS on the other hand want it to be a very different experience. Granted the coding itself and how Distro works isn't all that different and you can do all the linux functions without too much of a hassle once you know what you are doing but Valve certainly wants the "Big Picture" experience at the forefront of Steam OS rather than what the typical linux experience is. Oh and its not like they can't make their own distro in the future since valve has the money to do so |
Not true actually. There are many uses of Linux. Some are set up for servers, some for desktop, some for gaming, some to be light for older machines, and some ultra light for any machine. The UI is far from the only difference. A UI can be used with any distro, for the main distros they are quite different with how they are set up. Take it from the file system, the file managment, as well as the most noticable, the package manager. With that, it incorporates how each system is set up and programs are installed. Quite different.
The UI is similar with many distro's because of the desktop, generally Gnome or KDE, but beyond that the back end can be quite different. Steam OS actually uses one of the most used desktops, ie Gnome, but have the Steam overlay on top of that. So no, it's not different. It's based on Debian, one of the most used distros, along with Gnome, one of the most used desktops and has steam installed, like most desktops running Linux.
Of course they want Bit Picture at the forefront. It's what gives most users a simple experience, quite similar to PSOS, or Wii U OS, or even X1 OS. They all have their simple overlay that helps with simplicity so that people don't have to deal with a normal desktop, executables or the command line.
They COULD make their own linux distro, but they likely won't. They would have to create their own package manager and likely desktop as well. That is one hell of an under taking, and one not to be taken lightly. There is a reason there are only a few of them. Plus if they were to build their own, it would likely be build on Unix as opposed to Linux since they would need to create almost everything from scratch. Sony has had the ability to create their own but multiple devices use it, TV's, DVD/Blu-rays, their MP3's use the back end, and of course there is the PS3 and PS4. Nintendo has done the same but they are at a disadvantage with this and it shows at times. There is a reason MS has utilized Windows as thier OS. Valve is a large company and they have lots of money, but they also aren't ignorant to how much manpower and resources it would take to do what you suggest. Perhaps they might if Steam Machines take off. This way it's free, and they don't need to supply the OS to anybody to have them develop for them which could cut down their development resources that give full support.
Gotta figure out how to set these up lol.
I just wouldn't touch a "steam" machine with a rubber gloves and a 40 foot pole.
