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Microsoft experiments with a handheld Windows 11 mode for Steam Deck

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Update 13/04/23, 17:11 UTC: the developer involved is playing it down noting it didn't go anywhere and it's not a recent thing, mentioning in a Reddit post ("this article" is referencing The Verge):

I started this hackathon project and it didn’t go much of anywhere, but this article uses wording to make it seem like it’s something under development. Problem is - We just didn’t have the right engineers to do a lot of what we wanted to do in the short hackathon project timeframe. Maybe this odd article can help me pitch this to Microsoft again. Phil Spencer was very nice and tried to drive me to some people that could help, but everyone was tied-up at the time.


Original article below:

This is interesting, it seems Valve have lit a small fire under Microsoft once again, as they've been experimenting with a handheld mode for Windows 11 to help devices like the Steam Deck.

To pre-empt complaints from some comments: yeah, I know, this isn't specifically Linux news but things happening in the industry are important.

With thanks to Twitter user @_h0x0d_ noticed by The Verge, they shared what seems to be an internal video from Microsoft developers talking about a Hackathon they did to optimise Windows 11 for handhelds. The important point here, is that it's largely due to the popularity and success of the Steam Deck which ships with SteamOS Linux.

You can get Windows on Steam Deck but it's not exactly supported, with Valve just throwing up the drivers for download that they occasionally update. Valve's focus of course is on SteamOS, where they have all of the control they want for their own device.

Pictured Credit - @_h0x0d_

During the Microsoft's developers testing they also worked with another developer to work on a project that gives a "windows usermode controller driver for the steam deck internal controller".

It's interesting to see Microsoft developers react to a change in the market like this, although it might never actually become a real thing, it would depend on them gathering more support inside Microsoft to make it happen. Competition is good though, and it might even give Valve perhaps a few ideas or even the KDE team to improve the Plasma Desktop experience.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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elmapul Apr 14, 2023
Quoting: CatKillerthat consumers might do all their gaming and computing on something that doesn't come from Microsoft.

yeah, sony tried to turn playstation in an pc (remember Ps2 linux or the otherOS option on ps3?)
they failed at it and gave up, there werent any pressure to improve windows for gaming since then.

im not saying microsoft didnt had any incentive to improve directX, but to improve the windows version of it, they fought playstation with xbox instead of with windows, until valve came with steamOS, sundelly microsoft started to talk about dx12 in public, ported their xbox exclusives to windows pc and did many other moves like that.

Quoting: ElectricPrismMy popcorn and chips are ready to see how they "Solve" their little "Windows 11 devices MUST HAVE A WEBCAM AND TDP 2 or whatever the fuck it's called".

omg, you remembered something good, lol that is hilarious, sundelly microsoft will be forced to stop pretending that those requirements were really nescessary.

anyway, talking about microsoft with people feels like being the apocaliptic profet.
if linux died, then things could go really bad with computing, microsoft would no longer have an big incentive to maintain windows backward compatibility , they would start building an walled garden more and more, faster than they are trying to do that, they would have less pressure to improve windows security etc.

but linux will never die, so people will keep acting like they do, thinking that "linux is useless", that "windows is the only system that should exist" , stupid things like that.

we will never see the post apocaliptic scenario that an total windows domination would create to show to people how bad it is, but might never be able to show to people how much things could be better too.


Last edited by elmapul on 14 April 2023 at 7:55 pm UTC
CatKiller Apr 14, 2023
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Quoting: elmapulyeah, sony tried to turn playstation in an pc (remember Ps2 linux or the otherOS option on ps3?)


It wasn't just Sony; the Dreamcast also had an Internet connection (and could run Windows). And now the consoles are x86 machines, and you definitely don't need Windows to watch media, or access the Internet, or play games. And the Xbox was just after Microsoft had successfully killed Netscape (if everything is on the Internet, there's no particular reason to use Windows over some other OS) by including IE with Windows (exactly as they do with the Windows Store and the requirement to have a Microsoft account now). Exploiting dominance in one area to crush any competitors coming from a different area is a standard pattern for Microsoft, and the only times they've really failed at it - Android and Chrome - were simply because they weren't willing to outspend Google. They can outspend everyone in the gaming space, as can be seen by them being able to throw 70 billion dollars at ActiBlizzard.

Quotethey failed at it and gave up, there werent any pressure to improve windows for gaming since then.


Until Valve.

Quoteim not saying microsoft didnt had any incentive to improve directX, but to improve the windows version of it, they fought playstation with xbox instead of with windows, until valve came with steamOS, sundelly microsoft started to talk about dx12 in public, ported their xbox exclusives to windows pc and did many other moves like that.


It was DirectX 11 that got a boot up the bum from OpenGL. It had been just sitting there since 2009 till that point. Then it got a whole bunch of point updates. DirectX 12 came about because Mantle (which formed a basis for Vulkan) was clearly better, so they made a DirectX version of Mantle (DirectX 12) just like Apple made an Apple version (Metal).

Quotebut linux will never die,

Microsoft can't kill it, although they gave serious thought to how they might try (see, for example, the Halloween Documents). All they can do is try to marginalise its use and support, and keep developers dependent on Windows-only technology.
elmapul Apr 14, 2023
Quoting: CatKillerUntil Valve.

exactly what i said, but you might be right about mantle.



Quoting: CatKillerMicrosoft can't kill it, although they gave serious thought to how they might try (see, for example, the Halloween Documents). All they can do is try to marginalise its use and support, and keep developers dependent on Windows-only technology.
yeah and now they are trying with WSL.

i think that if microsoft had any chance to kill linux, it was when it was small.
as for they dominating game? well, if they try to eat too much, all other companies might try to form an alliance to fight against it.
the fact that even sony is porting their games to windows is scary, and the fact that companies couldnt resist puting their games on steam dont help either, if they cant find valve they have no chance against microsoft.
Pengling Apr 15, 2023
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Quoting: ElectricPrismEmbrace. Extend. Extinguish.

Now enter [[[ MICROSOFT AZURE DECK ]]] ... ( / kidding )

Kidding aside, FTA: they act like they're not seriously considering it -- but don't fall for their smoke, mirrors and lies. It's Microsoft -- the AntiHero -- nobody asked for -- to do things -- nobody wanted or needed because it feeds their Narcissism Complex to show up and fuck the party.
As usual, it feels like we've seen this before, doesn't it?

Quoting: CatKillerthe Dreamcast also had an Internet connection (and could run Windows)
It's a common misconception, but the Dreamcast didn't run Windows - it was just compatible with the Windows CE framework, to make porting certain games easier.

Quoting: CatKillerExploiting dominance in one area to crush any competitors coming from a different area is a standard pattern for Microsoft, and the only times they've really failed at it - Android and Chrome - were simply because they weren't willing to outspend Google.
Don't forget the Zune!
Lib-Inst Apr 15, 2023
Quoting: CatKiller
Quoting: elmapulwhy would microsoft improve directX for windows, if they already have an monopoly on OS for desktops, and dont make money directly from games being sold for windows?


DirectX is one of the moats protecting Windows' market share and Microsoft's control of the desktop. If game developers switch to OpenGL (or Vulkan now) that moat is breached.

Quotewhy would microsoft improve DirectX for Xbox, when they DO make money on each game sold for it?


DirectX is the whole point of the Xbox. It's literally a "DirectX box." Consoles doing general computer things as well as games would mean that consumers might do all their gaming and computing on something that doesn't come from Microsoft. This is unacceptable to Microsoft, so they poured loads of money into making a console that used Windows and DirectX so that game developers and consumers couldn't ignore them. And now that they have that additional moat, they can use that to get people to use the Windows Store - Game Pass.

Quoting: elmapulthe question is:
it will run xbox and it subset of games? or it will run windows and all it games?
if it runs windows, valve still would make money since steam is king there, not to mention they would incentive their own audience to use other stores by doing that.

on the other hand if they try to lock it to xbox games, then steamOS will still have more games (not that the ammount is more important than the names involved)

To protect their monopoly it would run almost all games from all generations of Xbox (Xbox games run in a VM already, so the hardware is abstracted), and all games from the Windows Store, and have access to Game Pass. Then they'd flood the market, since they've got more than enough money to absorb loses from hardware costs (exactly as they've done with Xbox). Control over game developers is re-established.

Is open gl still big an important? im new to linux.
mr-victory Apr 15, 2023
Quoting: InstallIs open gl still big an important? im new to linux.
Vulkan is the "cool new thing" now.
elmapul Apr 15, 2023
Quoting: InstallIs open gl still big an important? im new to linux.

a lot of devices (eg: old phones) dont support vulkan, so openGL will still important for a while if you want to target the largest possible audience.

newer video cards or drivers might use something like glove to translate openGL calls to vulkan, so they only have to care about supporting one api, and get support for both, with an better performance than if they tried to implement support for both.
Linuxer Apr 15, 2023
Lol so it just can't be done windows is goin down
Nanobang Apr 19, 2023
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It's amusingly ironic to see Microsoft in the position of trying to adapt to a Linux device for a change. Or it would be if the whole thing weren't DOA---dead on arrival. And it's depressingly ironic to me to think that this article could be used to bring the idea back to life.

Would-be intellectualism aside, fuck Microsoft.


Last edited by Nanobang on 19 April 2023 at 2:50 pm UTC
Purple Library Guy Apr 19, 2023
Quoting: NanobangIt's amusingly ironic to see Microsoft in the position of trying to adapt to a Linux device for a change. Or it would be if the whole thing weren't DOA---dead on arrival.
That part's just amusing.
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