Will Valve's Steam Machines fail?

I read the link from Jim Lynch's story and I agree with Jim in that the ZDNet author has got it wrong. I am afraid that to me, the ZDNet writer has all the "taint of a dyed in the wool Microsoft supporter". Valve itself has indicated that one of the biggest problems it was facing was the Windows platform and associated lockin......strange this ZDNet writer has ignored that aspect.

As for Adrian's statement: "oddball ideas that are essentially solutions to problems that people don't have.", I find it almost incredible that a person who apparently has "street cred" with operating systems should take that stand. It was because of problems with the Windows platform that Valve took the action it has taken......There are none so blind as those in the Microsoft world who refuse to even look at other options.......just in case it threatens their safety zone.

Or perhaps I am totally wrong ?

He does know better -- but he's writing for ZDNet, and it appears the editor has assigned him to write an "X Reasons the Steam Box Will Fail" article.

I imagine it's a lot like when a highschool English teacher gives an assignment to write a paper describing the "pro" side of some particular proposition. (I hated those things -- I was fine with a "pro's and con's" assignment, but I found the one-sided arguments rather difficult, especially when I wasn't given an option to pick the side.)

Am I really the only person that isn't particularly enamoured by Steam?

I live in the countryside and my internet connection therefore is quite poor. For that reason it is easier for me to buy games on DVD than it is to log on to a site and download it.

Having bought that game on DVD I get frustrated that I then have to go online to register the game before I can play it and to do that I had to install Steam which then updates itself with 200+ MB of data.

I'm sure it is great in a city where you have fibreoptic cables that make it possible to buy and download a game in minutes but for me it is an added level of complexity that I don't need.

It really annoys me on the XBOX as well that everytime I want to play a game on the thing I get a message popping up saying you need to install updates.

Great so I get a few hours every so often to play on the console and the time I do have is now eaten up because I have to wait for updates to download and install.

I'm not particularly enamored with Steam, but only because I'm not a gamer. About the most sophisticated thing I play is Breakout.

Due to being colourblind my gaming isn't much more sophisticated.

My favourite game is FIFA 14 but there has been a major flaw in all FIFA games for years and that is the orange ball (or in my case the invisible ball).

I am a big fan of Grand Theft Auto. The graphics are amazing and they have put lots of effort into the gameplay and storylines.

I have to say that I am happy enough playing Manic Miner and Bubble Bobble though.

Don't hate me, but my games are: Freecell, Patience, Shishen-sho and KMahjong.......and I don't particularly want any others. What I really like about the Valve/Steam moves is that they are forcing locked-on Windows users to actually contemplate that there is a world outside of that dictated by Microsoft, and that it has enormous freedoms. As one of my favourite authors has implied: "One of the most terrifying assets is freedom to do as you wish." Rusted-on Windows users are now being confronted with that situation.

I have no use at all for Valve/Steam, but.....I very, very much value their disruptive influence on the Windows world.

> Don't hate me, but my games are:...

What? No Frozen Bubble?

Jdixon.........dear heavens you have brought back memories.......I haven't played that game for AGES, and I really loved it "way back then" !. I feel old and decrepit now.......You realise this means war ?? (You wascally gwey wabbit you !!)

> You realise this means war ??

Of course. :) Fortunately there's a large moat between us.

Y'know what Jdixon ? Frozen Bubble is STILL in the openSUSE repository...No, I haven't downloaded it, but it was fun to see that it is still there.

Whaddya mean there's a large moat between us ?....A saltwater pond is definitely no impediment to a wabbit.

I used to like and use Steam a lot in its early days, but I no longer have access to the great wads of cash that I used to make as a full time developer, also a move to rural Vermont put the kaibosh on high speed internet as well.

But I do wish Valve well with it, and will still purchase Half Life 3 on DVD if they ever get around to it, "Gordon is alive" ooops wrong Gordon but the Freeman will probably be collecting his pension at the rate Valve work though.

@gary_newell

> Am I really the only person that isn't particularly enamoured by Steam?

Don't know about that, but am wondering if you are somehow more bothered that SteamOS is now based upon Debian Linux rather than your highly-advocated Baboontu?? Seems to me that your recent comments are not-so-coincidentally timed with an article that came out a coupla days ago http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTU2Mjc that explained why SteamOS went with Debian Linux rather than YOUR OWN advocated distro!

My own 2c

"Seems to me that your recent comments are not-so-coincidentally timed with an article that came out a coupla days ago http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTU2Mjc that explained why SteamOS went with Debian Linux rather than YOUR OWN advocated distro!"

Yes that would be a coincidence. I think if I lived somewhere with a great internet connection then I would feel happier about Steam.

It doesn't bother me that they chose to base SteamOS on Debian and if I ever ventured into making a distro I would probably chose Debian as a base as well.

Debian's a great place to have a base (Hey,... I'm a poet and didn't know it!). Even with a mediocre internet connection,... Steam is OK... I've purchased Portal, and the Introversion software pack that was on sale for $10 before Christmas. Happy as a clam. I hear not so great things about the Steam controller, but they can always fix that with a Ver. 2. Works fine on Kubuntu 12.04 with a few tweaks (force_s3tc_enable=true steam [steam app path])... after installing the s3ct patches for Intel hardware...