Are we cool with them after pulling 5?

Anyone know if this thing contains DRM or some dumb 2nd login / launcher or anything else that would sour the option?

If not great.

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I think the takeaway here is that Steam Deck is a low power x64 portable device with impressive graphics capabilities for the size.

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I did a few games with the bois.

Having played for nearly 10 years since Steam on Linux Alpha? Beta? -- it sure is a really big update.

In many ways it's refreshing. In some ways it's really overwhelming and adds yet another layer of complexity.

Jungle drops can now be converted into whichever Jungle item you prefer.

Some heros have been modified and feel different.

I want to like it, but as a weekly player I really don't know how to feel about it. The warp gates are neat from Top to Bottom lane and the trees feel more Jungle like.

It is cool the lanes have room on each side.

Much complicated feels on this one.

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Quoting: mr-victory

Quoting: ElectricPrismNvidia GPU -- 50/50 -- if you have a specific use-case

In my experience an Nvidia GPU is not that bad when combined with an Intel one.

So I had this Wacom MobileStudio laptop drawing tablet ($3500) that I sold.

It supposedly had a really powerful Nvidia M1000 or whatever GPU with Intel fallback.

I ended up having to disable the Nvidia GPU and just using the Intel one to keep the thing from overheating and powering off randomly.

YMMV -- in some ways it went perfectly fine (admittedly it was probably Gen1 and maybe Wacom has squared away weird issues as I see Wacom touts their Linux support on their Cintiq page the last year or so [and this was several years ago]).

For most people, Nvidia is just fine. But I __NEVER__ dual boot -- and it's not like I'm a cheapass either I got at least $4,000 of AMD GPU's in 2022.

I am holding out for a good AMD Linux laptop. I need a laptop I can drag to work, hook up to the servers and not deal with Nvidia weirdness booting my ass to Shell after a software update (Admittedly it wouldn't be the end of the world, but if I ever needed a device to put employee workstations on or family or whoever AMD really does a good job keeping things stable and running -- MESA is great, Intel GPU is adequate but doesn't pack the punch I prefer just yet).

I think I partially agree with you, Nvidia is enough for most people -- maybe a AMD core-boot is much more difficult than I realize or ROI requires a commitment or the available combinations are not as robust as I or they would like. Who can say?

Again just crossing my fingers as the Squeaky Wheel hoping they get inside my head and understand the potential market.

This one is pretty compelling:

https://system76.com/laptops/pangolin [External Link]

But then, lacking core-boot means I don't have that tech "off-grid" level that I strongly prefer halfway from [ 1. Proprietary and Steam is fine ] and [ 2. Wouldn't a FOSS GNU world be great? ] -- If I can shell money at something that increases privacy and freedom instead of takes them away I'm game.

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My Analysis:

Pros:
- Coreboot
- Great Construction
- Linux Software / Hardware 1st class citizen
- Great Refresh Rate Screen
- Matte Screen
- Nice Keeb
- Actual Plugs and Ports (Looking at you Apple)

Cons:
- Intel CPU is "okay" -- and "fine" when paired with Intel GPU for basic usage. Would prefer a AMD Coreboot (but maybe that's too much to ask for idk).
- Nvidia GPU -- 50/50 -- if you have a specific use-case (I'm assuming CUDA), but I find I'm just happier on AMD

I bought a Librem 14 a while ago over 76 since I liked the kill-switches for Camera, Mic, and Wifi on the side. Also having Librem-Boot/Core-Boot was slightly silly but a selling point to me.

For me personally if System76 could "steal" those kill-switches it would be a very noticeable upgrade to me.

Also, I am not a fan of 19:6 even though nearly everything is the "TV" aspect ratio -- Valve doing 16:10 on Steam Deck and Framework doing other ratios are noticeable ⭐⭐⭐Golden Stars ⭐⭐⭐ to me personally.

--

Someone not me -- these things seem to be a beast and absolutely kill it -- It's no wonder System76 are wildly popular when they get so much right and appear to have such great premium construction, style and specs.

(Edit: My eyes are peeled for their AMD releases, and I admittedly am a fully realized tech-snob -- my feedback is a "squeaky wheel" just in the hopes that it gets incorporated into their business so I can take the leap in the future to 76-- after all -- who else is there really? Very impressed by their look and style.)

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Embrace. 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.

My 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".

If anything we should be help Microsoft rip the ground out from underneath them by FULLY supporting their asinine nonsensical self punches to the face.

Windows Login should require you to scan your UN Global Passport and QR code at login.

It should also require retina and thumbprint verification.

Maybe even a stool sample containing bugs to confirm you are a "Good Boi".

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So why don't Valve give out any figures themselves? Valve has always been pretty tight-lipped about details, and this is really no different to their normal operation. They don't need to give out figures either, they're a private company and don't have anyone to please but their own pockets. If they did release regular figures, can you imagine the wider headlines from the major gaming press (and likely other media too)? No doubt it would be instantly talked down like a failure because it's not hitting the levels of the Switch or Xbox.

Soo true. The Gaming Media Apparatus bread and butter for a long time has been the big 3.

After seeing the headlines Q4 2015 go after Valve for "not staying in their lane" -- it's sad Vultures and Predators will exploit Transparency to increase website traffic and clicks.

The 2 rules to success are: 1. Not always sharing everything you know.

Good on Valve, they've done a spectacular job so far and I'm sure will carve out their niche well as they already have.

It feels like a time for celebration.

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Quoting: Pengling

Quoting: ElectricPrismEdit: On that last note @gamedevs -- I am starting to look to buy multiplayer games where say 4-8 Deck gamers can play a thing together that is really fun in-person. It's sort-of hard to navigate the Steam Store to find this kind of thing.

Not a dev, and I don't even know if the game that I'm namedropping here has LAN support, but I'd imagine that Bail or Jail (Obakeidoro!) [External Link] would be a riot when played like this. :grin:

Quoting: MayeulCAn awesome feature would be "family sharing" over P2P wifi for Steam decks: throw an impromptu LAN party, only one game copy needed. IIRC PSP (or was it DS? Game Boy?) used to work like that.

The Nintendo DS did this, as did a few Game Boy Advance games. :smile:

Thanks I added it to my radar, I often use the term LAN ambiguously loosely. However with the world events of the last few years and the Internet not being guaranteed with possible war on the horizon I am skewing away from putting my eggs in just one basket.

So -- "That Offline LAN functionality" has increased in value to me as a consumer -- I bought and downloaded a bunch of games on GOG (and I don't even really like GOG that much) just because they're more future-proof ready to go if the Internet goes out.

Same thing with Source code -- we really aren't prepared if any websites we suddenly loose access -- like how am I going to install a thing from the [ AUR ] if GitHub has issues suddenly, or Email, or Google Docs, or Drive, or whatever really.

How much of the source code of Linux & FOSS would not make it in the event somebody big fucked up -- I knew a few people who lost their Git repos just due to accidents try to reach out to me to see if I had a copy to save their bacon.

TL;DR -- 4x Window Managers -- 1x 4k 50"+ TV. This is da wei.

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Quoting: MayeulC

Quoting: ElectricPrismStay strong bruddah, someday (I just meant my post as a squeaky wheel for game-devs and the bigger world to realize that we Linux peeps are a legit thing and some of us do odd things like sling decks -- after 23 years of Halo and organizing Halo LAN parties I am going to be really tempted to do Deck Halo parties on MCC.)

Edit: On that last note @gamedevs -- I am starting to look to buy multiplayer games where say 4-8 Deck gamers can play a thing together that is really fun in-person. It's sort-of hard to navigate the Steam Store to find this kind of thing.

If only they could add splitscreen to Halo MCC, that would make it much better for LANs.

Salt in the wound -- I can't remember if it was Halo 4 or 5 but it was painful when they stopped 4 player split-screen. It killed the social element -- suddenly every 1 or 2 players needed their own console, game, and extra TV -- it was no longer as feasible to do 12-16 gamers sitting around 4 TVs on couches having Pizza and doing nanners moves in game.

It's been a few years but I've done some tests -- theoretically if you have a decent size 4K TV 50"+ there's the possibility of Multi-instancing the game and then separating the additional keyboards and mouses in Linux.

There's nothing stopping you from having 2 mouses on the screen -- one for each hand -- each with a different Cursor -- I did this as a test in Arch a while ago and some apps get confused with 2 cursors while others work.

And then there's the possibility of dividing up the 4k into 4 1080p Window Manager Sessions using multi-seat.

Back in the day you could designate different screen geometry and then combine them together using a thing called Xinerama.

There is untapped potential for Steam or someone to create a "Split-Screen Linux Desktop" for large displays. this would be perfect for Warframe, Halo MCC, Halo Infinite, Black-Mesa Multiplayer (is surprisingly awesome) etc...

[quote=MayeulC]

Quoting: ElectricPrismAn awesome feature would be "family sharing" over P2P wifi for Steam decks: throw an impromptu LAN party, only one game copy needed. IIRC PSP (or was it DS? Game Boy?) used to work like that.

That wouldn't really be a huge loss for publishers, more people would likely discover the game and want to play it on their own this way.
And to avoid cheating... restrict it by latency, <4ms should prevent relaying over the Internet (though, is it that much of an issue?).

That'd be great -- I wish publishers would optimize long-term profits a little more instead of shooting themselves in the balls trying to squeeze every coin out of gamers -- like maybe there will be a bigger payoff IF my friends get addicted to your game (as in the case of Halo 2000-2010)-- BEFORE purchasing because then they will KNOW what they are buying.

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Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: ElectricPrismI literally have 4 Steam Decks

I literally have 2 goggling eyes.

I started slinging them as gifts to further normalize the Linux cause and I can safely say they are well received -- the gamers have put down their Nintendo Switches and Windows gaming and been using them.

I bought the first one on the release date as a sort of "Victory" of the "Linux Gaming Desktop" and 10 years of being an invisible cheerleader.

I can't help much with the goggling eyes except make them goggle a little more by saying that I wasn't sure if at first I would get sucked into it as a device -- but after playing some Katamari, OOT and several Halo campaigns -- there is definite utility in a dedicated gaming device you can play in your bed, couch, on the go or with your family / friends.

I am pleasantly surprised.

Also the device doubles as a low-power computer, so if the energy sector were to theoretically get more shaky it could serve an additional function -- I am surprised for its size how many multitudes better it performs than say Librem 5 or PinePhone or other similar screen sized devices.

Granted you do have to be okay with 800p but at the screen size it's really not as much of an issue as you would think.

The NVME m.2 2230 upgrade is pretty easy too, I swapped all 4 to rotate the NVMEs to get > 64GB /deck

Stay strong bruddah, someday (I just meant my post as a squeaky wheel for game-devs and the bigger world to realize that we Linux peeps are a legit thing and some of us do odd things like sling decks -- after 23 years of Halo and organizing Halo LAN parties I am going to be really tempted to do Deck Halo parties on MCC.)

Edit: On that last note @gamedevs -- I am starting to look to buy multiplayer games where say 4-8 Deck gamers can play a thing together that is really fun in-person. It's sort-of hard to navigate the Steam Store to find this kind of thing.

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