Game changer.....
|
| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Ridcully Nov 06, 2012 8:27 PM EDT |
I strongly believe that this is the game changer that will ultimately bring the Linux desktop into the consciousness of the masses. My info is that Linux allows the games to run faster and more stably. Serious gaming people aren't going to let that situation get away from them. Watch this space - I think we have "interesting times" ahead. |
| Steven_Rosenber Nov 06, 2012 9:13 PM EDT |
Meh. |
| Ridcully Nov 06, 2012 11:25 PM EDT |
Translate "Meh"......there are 101 things it could mean. :-) |
| BernardSwiss Nov 06, 2012 11:32 PM EDT |
I thought each of those 101 things "meh" might mean boils down to "not worth the trouble of actually saying any thing about it"? |
| Ridcully Nov 07, 2012 12:00 AM EDT |
It may very well do, but it's not a word I am familiar with.....it simply doesn't occur in the area in which I live. The translation I was going for was the single word: "Obvious".....Still, it's always nice to get other opinions. Meh...... :-) |
| tracyanne Nov 07, 2012 12:12 AM EDT |
Meh pretty much translates to ::Shrug:: |
| Ridcully Nov 07, 2012 12:53 AM EDT |
"Shrug" I can live with..and therefore, "So what ?" might be another; but then I can get very excited about something for which I have no partiality whatsoever, but which might, very seriously MIGHT lead to much wider adoption of the Linux DE....and that's something to really get upbeat about. "Meh" just doesn't fit. |
| Steven_Rosenber Nov 07, 2012 1:25 AM EDT |
Linux preloaded on consumer PCs is a game changer ... video games? Not convinced. |
| slacker_mike Nov 07, 2012 1:45 AM EDT |
I agree with Steven here I don't think this has much more than a marginal impact on Linux adoption. Until you can order from Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc a Linux laptop (not buried on an obscure page) you won't see much change. Until that happens Linux will remain a niche player in the desktop space with the general public. I think most people don't care what OS they use as long as all their apps, devices, printers, and phones work easily with it. Most people don't want to ever install their OS, they just want to buy a laptop and have it work with as little of effort as possible. Now I find getting all my things working with Linux easy enough but I took the plunge of installing Linux and that is a hurdle most users don't wish to approach, at least from what I have seen. |
| jacog Nov 07, 2012 4:20 AM EDT |
Maybe not a "game changer" but it definitely tips the scale for those people who would switch to Linux if it weren't for the lack of big name games. And especially great for people who just keep Windows around to play games. Valve also seems to be encouraging developers to support Linux, which is most certainly welcome. For those of us already in the choir it's also great. Instead of every second game being a brainless shooter or other kind of vapid affair, we'll now have more variety in games. Look up Dear Esther, Crusader Kings II. |
| Ridcully Nov 07, 2012 7:30 AM EDT |
While I am not a "gamester", my son most definitely is. I cannot count the number of times he has come out of his room (a no go zone for any sane person) swearing about Windows and Steam, principally their stability as a combined unit and their inability "to play nice together".........He is fully aware of the Ubuntu OS and uses it all the time if he is not playing games. For a start, he is very, very interested in the fact that Steam is now available on Linux and there will be a major shift for the better in the not too distant future. Jacog's line about developers is also crucial. Okay, this move may not be earthshaking (although I think it is) but at the very least it is another piece of the jigsaw slotting into place and bit by bit the dominance of Microsoft on the desktop is eroded. |
| jacog Nov 07, 2012 7:32 AM EDT |
Developers developers developers developers *sweat sweat sweat* |
| jacog Nov 07, 2012 7:45 AM EDT |
Steam is a rather bizarre thing. It's essentially a store, but with a built-in DRM solution. Yet even people ordinarily vehemently opposed to DRM often have no issues with it. The reason is largely because it tries to do its best not to get in your way or prevent you from getting on with what you want to do. Gabe Newell's stance on piracy is basically that people pirate software because pirates offer a better service. |
| JaseP Nov 07, 2012 11:25 AM EDT |
Quoting: Gabe Newell's stance on piracy is basically that people pirate software because pirates offer a better service. I agree with that. DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) is in place not to thwart piracy, but to control content delivery and create a continual market for the same things we were sold before, repackaged, reformatted and sold with a "New! And Improved!" label. The recent DMCA exceptions, enacted by the Librarian of Congress, in the US, support that position (repealing cell phone jailbreakinng, not adopting exceptions for jailbreaking computers, tablets, and Not permitting format shifting exceptions). This is special interest dollars at work,... hand in hand with vendor lock-in through hardware lock-out (UEFI secure boot, for example). There's no politics in it,... It's straight, old-fashioned bribery. The bottom line is that the proprietary software providers and the content industry have used their collective cash reserves to keep the playing field un-level. FOSS is analogous to IBM's original idea for computer hardware, ... To sell the hardware and support, and essentially give the software away for free. That model works,... except that early on software needed a distribution system, and prior to the internet, the only viable one was retail. Now,... the proprietary IP folks want the genie back in the bottle. Unfortunately, as Stewart Brand told Steve Wozniak: Quoting: On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other. If Valve, and their Steam for Linux, can walk Brand's tightrope,... all the more power to them. They'll help give Linux a popularity boost, and continue to help themselves define a profitable business in the new economy. Now,... if only other content providers could understand the new marketplace,... Maybe we could have $5 downloads of DRM free (or relatively DRM free) HD movies for any platform of our choice. THAT would put a serious dent in piracy, ... more than all the DRM (not in) China could ever do... |
| Steven_Rosenber Nov 07, 2012 4:24 PM EDT |
I see nothing wrong with Steam's business model. If pairing it with Linux is a better technical solution for gamers, this could be bigger than I might have thought. |
| BernardSwiss Nov 07, 2012 8:37 PM EDT |
Quoting:Gabe Newell's stance on piracy is basically that people pirate software because pirates offer a better service. Someone kindly remind me: which game was it, that the company solved a major release-bug/support issue by pointing its users at the pirated version? |
| Jeff91 Nov 07, 2012 11:19 PM EDT |
If games do in fact run faster on Linux (which really I have no doubt that they will) I know a number of friends that are tied to Windows based strictly on performance. These are the same type of people that spend hours tweaking their rigs to gain even a few FPS on average - so if they can gain an increase just by a simple operating system change that seems like a no-brainer. ~Jeff |
| jacog Nov 08, 2012 4:57 AM EDT |
So I have had a look at the Steam beta last night. I'm not in the beta, but hey whatever. :) It's pretty close to how it looks/works in Windows. An interesting addition was that it pointed out that I would get better performance from the new NVIDIA "301" experimental branch drivers, and one click opened jockey for me with the option to enable said drivers. |
| helios Nov 08, 2012 12:05 PM EDT |
jacog, that would be the 310 driver and buddy let me tell you...even though it's listed as "beta", I installed it via sgfxi yesterday on my ancient Nvidia Gforce 8800 GT. I had been using the 295 release. The difference is absolutely, quantifiably amazing. It increased my FPS by almost a third, the rough spots and poor video quality in Amnesia is gone. No more pixelation as I enter a new environment, no more lags...it's actually gotten me back into the game again. Even on this old video card (the very last one this driver supports), its like getting a vitamin B12 shot for my computer graphics. I only mention this because the huge improvements in this driver can be directly attributed to the folks at Steam and Nvidia getting together and releasing the improved, updated version. I do know that an inordinate amount of Windows users have sited the lack of gaming on Linux as a stumbling point and whether superior performance in gaming in Linux will change anything remains to be seen. However, I don't think that advances like this in GPU development can be sluffed off as not important. Improvements that are directly attributable to Steam's foray into Linux. Myself, I am amazed at the improvement, even on my old card. |
| jacog Nov 09, 2012 4:35 AM EDT |
Pfff, I type like I'm lysdexic. And agreed, it benefits everyone when people can't use the old "the video drivers are rubbish" excuse any more. Companies contributing to Linux when it benefits them directly can easily be spun as a bad thing, but I'm throwing out a wild guess here that most of the high profile FOSS stuff works that way, and with stuff like this, I'm definitely not complaining. Also it seems that Valve "gets" how the FOSS ecosystem works. Now... how about improving the audio situation? :) |
Posting in this forum is limited to members of the group: [ForumMods, SITEADMINS, MEMBERS.]
Becoming a member of LXer is easy and free. Join Us!