A Special Linux Delivery At Valve Software

[GreatEmerald]

Fedora? OSS drivers? That doesn't sound like a viable console at all... So perhaps it's not a console?

Ballmer has to have a strategy for "embracing and extending" (or extinguishing) Linux. It's absolutely certain that a company that rich with that strong of a stance against free software has to be actively coming up with some subversive, probably illegal plan to get rid of the competition so they can retain market dominance. Or, if they don't want to get rid of it, they'll end up profiting from it somehow. What they're not doing is sitting idly by, watching Linux slowly erode their market share on the desktop and mobile fronts, and utterly own them on the server front.

Eh, MS is too busy to bother with that. They have more important things to do, such as, oh, shooting themselves in the foot.

[eXXz]

Microsoft is most certainly still undercutting free software and open standards whenever it can.

[Guest]

OK Michael, you made me laugh.

But I still like to think of Deus Ex-esque conspiracies in the software world.

Ballmer has to have a strategy for "embracing and extending" (or extinguishing) Linux. It's absolutely certain that a company that rich with that strong of a stance against free software has to be actively coming up with some subversive, probably illegal plan to get rid of the competition so they can retain market dominance. Or, if they don't want to get rid of it, they'll end up profiting from it somehow. What they're not doing is sitting idly by, watching Linux slowly erode their market share on the desktop and mobile fronts, and utterly own them on the server front.

Is Valve a part of Ballmer's grand plan? I have no idea, and I don't even want to speculate. But I do know that we shouldn't take the free desktop for granted, because people are working around the world to try and put a stop to it, or otherwise monetize it.

They already came up with Secure Boot. That's their plan.

[schmidtbag]

OK Michael, you made me laugh.

But I still like to think of Deus Ex-esque conspiracies in the software world.

Ballmer has to have a strategy for "embracing and extending" (or extinguishing) Linux. It's absolutely certain that a company that rich with that strong of a stance against free software has to be actively coming up with some subversive, probably illegal plan to get rid of the competition so they can retain market dominance. Or, if they don't want to get rid of it, they'll end up profiting from it somehow. What they're not doing is sitting idly by, watching Linux slowly erode their market share on the desktop and mobile fronts, and utterly own them on the server front.

Is Valve a part of Ballmer's grand plan? I have no idea, and I don't even want to speculate. But I do know that we shouldn't take the free desktop for granted, because people are working around the world to try and put a stop to it, or otherwise monetize it.

what sandy8925 said is probably right, but note that unless someone goes and murders linus torvalds, linux isn't going anywhere. even if linus were killed, i'm sure he's got someone to replace him for future kernel updates, so him dying would just simply slow down production. microsoft can't single-handedly take down linux because nobody owns it. all they can do is discourage others from using it, such as the Secure Boot thing and it wouldn't surprise me if someone finds a hack around that within a few months after win8 is released.


anyways back to the topic, i think its great valve is giving all this linux attention but its not like this is revolutionary. its POTENTIALLY revolutionary but it isn't yet. i'm excited for this but i wouldn't be very disappointed if it never happened.

[AJenbo]

what uid313 said.

This isn't a hard news site, lighten ip and or skip the articals you doun't like

[89c51]

They already came up with Secure Boot. That's their plan.

somebody could easily(-ish) come up with a coreboot enabled pc or create a company that will compete in the high end pc sector using linux but i don't think anyone wants to invest in something like that sadly.

[TheComrade]

Dear Michael, you are a disgrace to Bavarian culture, or rather what's left of it. Wearing Tracht on the Oktoberfest or elsewhere as a wanna-be-Bavarian is somewhat like smearing clown's paint in your face. It's a ludicrous pseudo-folklore carnival. You certainly don't have the right habitus to fill your Lederhose. And for these shoes alone you need to be smacked. Actually, you remind me of Chevy Chase in "European Vacation".

All of you, do us a favor: don't visit the Oktoberfest in a carnival costume. Even better: don't visit the Oktoberfest at all! No real Munich people do these days. Look for a nice beer garden, visit Kloster Andechs, whatever. Everything these days is better than the Oktoberfest. Hell, even the famous (or infamous) Hofbr?uhaus is a better representation of Bavarian culture today (and its beer garden is still, curiously, an insider tip). Munich certainly has a Biergartenkultur. But the Oktoberfest is not culture. It's a freak show. If you wanna drink yourself into oblivion you can go to Aldi and buy 10 or so six packs. After a few bottles it doesn't matter if the beer is good or not. Cheap beer can do the job just fine. And you don't need to stand on a beer bench, singing "Anton aus Tirol". And whoever pays 9 Euros for one Ma? and some 10 Euros for half a chicken is certifiable insane.

[kwm1800]

Here is independent proof (not from/related to Phoronix) that Valve is indeed working on Linux.

http://phoronix.com/forums/showthread.php?70629-Independent-proof-that-Valve-is-working-on-Linux-client-of-steam

[fuzz]

Phoronix: Trolling conspiracy theorists and Bavarians.

[Vax456]

Please stop posting pictures of beer and talk about beer and lederhosen.
I come to this site to read about Linux, Unix, etc not beer and lederhosen.

++

Put this in a section clearly labeled "Michael's Blog".

I took a look at your Twitter page, and you said you were going back for another visit. Why did you not take this opportunity to interview any single one of the developers at Valve? Did you try getting interviews, but they wouldn't tell you anything? Did they have only negative things to say about Linux? Did you get any kind of useful information at all? Did you even bother asking to set up an interview?

I've lurked around Phoronix for a long time, and I've quickly learned to never get my hopes up when I see one of Phoronix's "articles". This Valve trip could have been such a huge breakthrough and gave Phoronix the much needed credibility it desperately needs. But instead, we first get a half-assed article, then a crappy video, and then beer. Lots and lots of beer.

Michael, I can't believe you. You treated this trip as a vacation rather than an opportunity to give your site a debut story that no one else has the chance to report on. You had a chance to gather so much information. If you couldn't get any information, you didn't report it in 3 of your articles! Instead you turned it into a beer-fest and a promotion for how great Phoronix is.

The worst part is you keep acting like Valve is determined to release Linux when the most we have to see is a shotty fifteen-second video (which you spent a lot of time hyping up, by the way). We don't have recorded interviews or anything! Until Valve has a product going into its final stages, they are never going to do a press release about Linux. Gabe Newell learned the hard way to never talk about something that hasn't solidified yet, a.k.a. Half Life 3. Michael, when all of these things add up, can you blame us for doubting your "articles"?

There's too much widespread dismissal on Phoronix's credibility and Michael missed an opportunity to bring it back. I've been frustrated with Phoronix for a while, but it these three articles have pushed me to finally say something (that Michael will probably never listen to).

Michael Larabel is an American entrepreneur, software engineer, and technology analyst.

Michael, you claim you're an entrepreneur, so start writing like one.