I think you have to be very shortsighted if you don't see how beneficial steam is for linux. People that like to speak about freedom - software freedom, but what about people's freedom. Should people stop using closed source software just because you think it is unethical? Come on, if you don't want to use it grab a copy of ututo or whatever and stop complaining. Nobody is trying to mess with your freedom to choose crappy software.
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Is Valve's Steam Client Bad & Damaging For Linux?
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Originally posted by jan1024188 View PostYou are not a developer, huh? You do not know how hard it is to battle fragmentation on Linux. If I was an enterprise, I would partner up with Canonical too.
Yes you can screw things up by hardcoding paths and such instead of using environmental variables but I'm going to assume you're not that stupid.
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Originally posted by GreatEmerald View PostI have already said my view on this. Steam is bad - I will never accept its EULA or its DRM, - but at the same time it's a good tool for creating interest in the GNU/Linux platform, which could lead to more open-source efforts in the long run. So let's allow people who don't value their freedom to create more interest in the platform that is friendly to us, people who do value it. In the mean while, we have HIB, Kickstarter and Desura.
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Open Source is great for the platform itself, but for some things being closed source is mandatory. Besides steam itself is not LINUX, its an optional application that can be installed...its not like a Proprietary Display server or something that will be included in all distros as a default....
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Originally posted by GreatEmerald View PostI have already said my view on this. Steam is bad - I will never accept its EULA or its DRM, - but at the same time it's a good tool for creating interest in the GNU/Linux platform, which could lead to more open-source efforts in the long run. So let's allow people who don't value their freedom to create more interest in the platform that is friendly to us, people who do value it. In the mean while, we have HIB, Kickstarter and Desura.
I can accept Steam being there for those who want it, but it has actually recently caused me some concern as more and more studios are just trying to get on Greenlight instead of looking at alternative distribution like many used to. People screaming about it simply being a choice should also realize that some choices could be being robbed from those of us who do decide to opt out of it merely due to Steam's dominance. And Steam's monopoly has been causing some harm to PC gaming, as any monopoly would.
The screeching in this thread is unreal though...
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Originally posted by Bomyne View PostNo offense but that's a very narrow view. How is supporting closed source companies not valuing our freedoms? Apples and oranges. I don't have a right to the source code of a Linux software just because it runs on Linux.
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Originally posted by Prescience500 View PostAs a Fedora user, I can assure you're guess is very wrong. It took me a great deal of time to get the steam client to work. It also took a a lot of effort to get some of my games to work. Some of my games I still haven't gotten to work.
Originally posted by Prescience500 View PostThere is a distro neutral approach. They could have a separate Steam install directory. Sometimes this would mean duplicate installations, but it would take most of the headache out.
Originally posted by Prescience500 View PostI promise you that no one without extensive knowledge of Linux will get steam running on anything other than a debian based distro.
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Mixed bag
I think it's a mixed bag:
Even though I'd never use Steam personally because I am a strong supporter of free software, I guess it is a great way to make GNU/Linux more popular among inexperienced users and, which is more important, hardware vendors.
The only thing we have to take care of is that we must not be happy with binary blobs when it comes to hardware support in most areas; the spirit of free software lives from having access to the sources code and being able to freely modify and share it.
Granted, a gaming-platform like Steam is in itself proprietary and is not as sustainable as having bought a CD and _owning_ a copy of a game (which I also prefer), but when it is the direction of the current market and the common users are not eager to stand up against it, I guess there is not much we can do about it.
Having watched the recent Valve-presentation, they also made their point clear: They want to make more money, like any other company, especially with most Chinese computer-users who have new hardware but old Operating Systems, rendering the Software-Implemented DirectX unusable for newer games. But they are able to run ones with OpenGL, which is implemented on the Hardware-side.
With Microsoft's latest shift to Windows 8 and offering an own store, their move has been almost predetermined, because now it's all about getting the most users they can.
It is an unforgiving market.Last edited by frign; 07 April 2013, 12:58 PM.
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Originally posted by Hamish Wilson View PostDid he even ever say that he wanted the source code? He said he could not accept the EULA and DRM, which means he is doing the honest thing by not using it. You should all calm down and stop acting like someone sacrificed a baby on your doorstep or something.
The DRM isn't required. A lot of games ship on Steam without it.
So stop being so defensive.
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Originally posted by Prescience500 View PostAs a Fedora user, I can assure you're guess is very wrong. It took me a great deal of time to get the steam client to work. It also took a a lot of effort to get some of my games to work. Some of my games I still haven't gotten to work. There is a distro neutral approach. They could have a separate Steam install directory. Sometimes this would mean duplicate installations, but it would take most of the headache out. I promise you that no one without extensive knowledge of Linux will get steam running on anything other than a debian based distro.
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