That’s the sort of attitude that IMO has made Steam basically the least-evil software distribution store. Not a high bar, unfortunately, but it’s something.
They’re doing some pretty good work with Proton too, they claim the whole Steam library will be playable on the Steam Deck when it releases. Maybe the day I can switch my gaming PC to Linux isn’t too far off.
Yep, and it coincidentally started happening just around the time that Microsoft was saying that the MS Store would become the only way to install programs on Windows 10. Somehow, Microsoft eventually decided that was a bad move once Valve started putting serious work into Linux compat and helping game developers port their games.
Though it also means that about half my own game library works pretty darn well on Linux, so, can’t complain too much.
Obviously it’s in their own self-interest to do it, and they’ve been pushing it so that they don’t have to pay Microsoft to preinstall Windows on their consoles, but it’s still a good thing overall.
Yeah, I believe this is part of the reason Valve has embraced Linux since so long ago. Basically a bit of insurance against the dominance of Windows. I imagine they were well aware of the extreme dependence on MS playing nice (or whatever). I feel like I’ve read more about this very subject, will see if I can dig up any links or anything…
I’m really curious about this. The closest any of these kernel-mode anticheats has come to Linux before is EAC, where they had an extremely basic version briefly for the game Rust, and were also working on a version that worked in WIne. Those were cancelled the moment Epic Games bought them though, so I’m unsure if they’ve managed to build limited support for the drivers into Proton, or whether they’ve made a deal with Epic to get that wine version going again.
All things considered, it’s quite amazing that it just takes 8 screws to open the unit and 3 more to replace the thumbstick. Replacing the internal SSD takes 4 more screws but they strongly discourage people from changing it just because they claim that the one that comes installed on it is selected for (1) power consumption and (2) minimal interference with the wifi module (but they also upcharge for more storage, so maybe they just don’t want people to buy the cheap version and swap the ssd on the side).
It seems that they put some thought on trying to make the steam deck as serviceable as possible given its form factor.
This is probably the most thorough look at the hardware of a consumer electronics product I’ve ever seen posted by the product’s own vendor! Very cool.
I am very relieved to see the SSD and battery (and many other things) are quite easily replaceable. I’d almost consider ordering some replacement parts upfront just to have them on hand for “one day”…
I’ll be really curious to see how it fares as a full-on “desktop PC” too, by hooking up a larger monitor, keyboard and mouse. Obviously I’m going to try this even if it’s impractical. Maybe it will actually be awesome? haha :) We shall see. Either way, hugely looking forward to Steam Deck… here I was thinking I wouldn’t buy a new gaming system, but this thing seems super cool (and not just for gaming).
One thing I noticed they didn’t touch on - replacing the screen. I’d imagine both the screen and thumbsticks are going to be the first things most people break on this device. Somehow I’m guessing a screen replacement may not be as straightforward? Guess we’ll see when iFixit gets their hands on one.. haha
I love the attitude: you probably shouldn’t take it apart, but it’s your hardware, so here is instruction how to do this correctly.
That’s the sort of attitude that IMO has made Steam basically the least-evil software distribution store. Not a high bar, unfortunately, but it’s something.
They’re doing some pretty good work with Proton too, they claim the whole Steam library will be playable on the Steam Deck when it releases. Maybe the day I can switch my gaming PC to Linux isn’t too far off.
Yep, and it coincidentally started happening just around the time that Microsoft was saying that the MS Store would become the only way to install programs on Windows 10. Somehow, Microsoft eventually decided that was a bad move once Valve started putting serious work into Linux compat and helping game developers port their games.
Though it also means that about half my own game library works pretty darn well on Linux, so, can’t complain too much.
Obviously it’s in their own self-interest to do it, and they’ve been pushing it so that they don’t have to pay Microsoft to preinstall Windows on their consoles, but it’s still a good thing overall.
Yeah, I believe this is part of the reason Valve has embraced Linux since so long ago. Basically a bit of insurance against the dominance of Windows. I imagine they were well aware of the extreme dependence on MS playing nice (or whatever). I feel like I’ve read more about this very subject, will see if I can dig up any links or anything…
Apparently they are getting anti-cheat software to be work in Linux too (EAC for example) which I thought I would never see happen in my lifetime.
I’m really curious about this. The closest any of these kernel-mode anticheats has come to Linux before is EAC, where they had an extremely basic version briefly for the game Rust, and were also working on a version that worked in WIne. Those were cancelled the moment Epic Games bought them though, so I’m unsure if they’ve managed to build limited support for the drivers into Proton, or whether they’ve made a deal with Epic to get that wine version going again.
GoG is [almost] DRM-free, so I try to buy most games there. I wonder how to balance all of the evils against one another to choose the “least-evil”.
All things considered, it’s quite amazing that it just takes 8 screws to open the unit and 3 more to replace the thumbstick. Replacing the internal SSD takes 4 more screws but they strongly discourage people from changing it just because they claim that the one that comes installed on it is selected for (1) power consumption and (2) minimal interference with the wifi module (but they also upcharge for more storage, so maybe they just don’t want people to buy the cheap version and swap the ssd on the side).
It seems that they put some thought on trying to make the steam deck as serviceable as possible given its form factor.
This is probably the most thorough look at the hardware of a consumer electronics product I’ve ever seen posted by the product’s own vendor! Very cool.
I am very relieved to see the SSD and battery (and many other things) are quite easily replaceable. I’d almost consider ordering some replacement parts upfront just to have them on hand for “one day”…
I’ll be really curious to see how it fares as a full-on “desktop PC” too, by hooking up a larger monitor, keyboard and mouse. Obviously I’m going to try this even if it’s impractical. Maybe it will actually be awesome? haha :) We shall see. Either way, hugely looking forward to Steam Deck… here I was thinking I wouldn’t buy a new gaming system, but this thing seems super cool (and not just for gaming).
One thing I noticed they didn’t touch on - replacing the screen. I’d imagine both the screen and thumbsticks are going to be the first things most people break on this device. Somehow I’m guessing a screen replacement may not be as straightforward? Guess we’ll see when iFixit gets their hands on one.. haha