For Linux Enthusiasts Especially, The Steam Deck Is An Incredible & Fun Device

[chithanh]

Thanks for this review, Michael! One question, if you connect a FreeSync monitor, will FreeSync work by default or does it have to be enabled manually (and if the latter, via GUI or command line)?

Have you tried to install Clear Linux? I would not expect it to run out of the box.

I expect it will run, though probably not better than Ubuntu because mainline Kernels before 5.18 have only partial support for the Steam Deck. But amdgpu driver is in Clear Linux.

[tinywrkb]

After using Pacman's "-r" option and adjusting the PATH, etc, the installed packages were happily running while keeping to using SteamOS immutable snapshots.

Don't use pacman's `-r` option when making changes to an existing offline Arch Linux installation. One issue that I hit is that pacman will follow absolute symlinks to the host OS, and that can be a problem if the system is read-only.
I think there are other issues, but last time that I looked at the code was about a year ago, so I don't remember them well, maybe related to config file changes tests.
A better way to make changes to an offline Arch Linux rootfs is with systemd-nspawn or arch-chroot, I'm using the former to update a snpashot of my read-only Arch Linux installation, and it's been working for me pretty well for the last year.

[andrei_me]

Steam Deck is the culmination of a decade of investments from Valve into Linux, their answer to the Windows Store and/or microsoft plans to take ~30% of income like Apple does in their store

[onlyLinuxLuvUBack]

can't wait to get one with a nvidia chip

[Quackdoc]

boy do I wish I had the money to afford one of these

[theuserbl]

The SteamDeck and SteamOS is a WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN situation with one LOOSE.

WIN
for the opensource community.
Valve helps to improve WINE, Linux video drivers and so on.
Valve creates proton, which is opensource and can be used outside of Steam.

WIN
for the Linux community.
Since Valve is active on Linux, there are a lot of more games running native on Linux. And there are a lot of more Windows games, which can run on Linux (with Proton, WINE or so)

WIN
for the game developers.
Valve respects there wishes, to have closed source anti-cheat mechanisms and digital right managements.
They have helped, to let Windows games with different anti cheat techniques running on Proton.

WIN
for Valve.
Because Anti cheat software and digital rights management software isn't opensource, only with Steam most games running on Linux.

WIN
for other Linux distribution creators.
For example, there will be comming chromebooks with Steam

https://9to5google.com/2022/02/19/steam-chrome-os-supported-chromebooks/

It is possible, that there are people who have at first buyed a low cost chromebook. They now wants to play games, but still like ChromeOS. So they will buy a newer chromebook with better hardware, where rund Steam.

So it is a WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN situation.
Ok with one ....

... LOOSE
Microsoft looses with Windows in this situation.
Ok, Windows is still the destop operating system Nr.1.
And there are running no more games on any other operating system.
But it is again a step againt Windows and Microsoft.

If people need to browse in the internet, Linux works perfect.
If people want to see videos, Linux is perfect.
If they want to use Office software, they can use LibreOffice and if they need MS-Office because of the VBA-Macros, they can run older MS-Office versions on WINE or Crossover.
But one of the hardest points was for gamers. Gamers have had to use Windows. But Valve helps to change it.
So there are now only the special software for special solutiones, which existing only on Windows.
But the things, which only existing for Windows will be lesser and lesser.

[Volta]

The Steam Deck is basically a Linux powered Xbox 1.5 or PlayStation 4.5.

Well, indeed!

[rene]

pretty nice hardware, but I think I will install #t2sde Linux on it ;-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWa3mlC4iHs

[Spacefish]

I think the Steam deck will be useful for industrial applications as well. Think of a handheld controller for robots, drones, CNC machines, cranes. Maybe as a gimbal controller for a remote operated TV Camera as well.

[pete910]

can't wait to get one with a nvidia chip

Any particular reason ?