SteamOS Manager for BIOS updates, TDP and GPU clock controls now open source

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Here's the fun thing: in their full specification, it includes a feature named "EnterDownloadMode" which the code comments notes, "Enter a low power mode for downloads and get a handle that will keep this mode active until all obtained handles are dropped".

Thank God, we've been waiting for this feature for ages! It's interesting that they made this open source though. Maybe they want a universal API to hook into, so that future hardware support for SteamOS is much easier?

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Honestly a standard interface to do this kind of things on a notebook would be very useful already.
On my FW16 I have to use one tool to set cpu power profile or a cap on the clocks, a different tool if I want to adjust the cpu tdp or battery charge modes with any granularity, and a third tool to manage the dgpu power limits.

I have many more tunables than on the Deck, but my ability to control the power usage is worse as it's just too confusing.

If we had a standard application layer that could be even used by e.g. the desktop to expose just a little more control for power modes I could make it so that the different power modes affect the system in a way I find sensible.

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This is super promising! I really hope SteamOS Manager eventually integrates SteamCMD natively. That would open the door to fully remote game management. Imagine being able to wake your Steam Deck with a magic packet, then SSH in or trigger an action from Home Assistant (or whatever) or the Steam app on your phone to start pre-downloading a game while you're still at work (yes, my internet is really slow). Walk through the door, pick up your Deck from the Dock, and it’s ready to go.

If 'EnterDownloadMode' is what I think it is (a low-power background download state with the screen off) then this is exactly what the community has been asking for. Combined with remote wake and some lightweight automation, the Steam Deck becomes an even more powerful hybrid between console and PC.

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I mean this will be nice, once it works, but currently even fwupd is semi broken on SteamOS. Other distros have no such issue and automatically do Bios and Fw updates as part of normal updates or with apps like firmware ( https://flathub.org/apps/org.gnome.Firmware ). I hope they implement better QA for some apps like this. The bigger issue is adoption by hardware vendors. If you look at https://fwupd.org/ and search for your favorite brand, do they have firmware submitted? A lot dont, or have a very limited number of devices. I suggest people contact their device manufacturers and request they start submitting it...

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True, doing BIOS updates without fwupd is puzzling

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