Quoting: pleasereadthemanualbut for professionals, there is a big gap because some software is not available—namely, Adobe/Affinity Suite. If OEMs like ASUS, Dell, Lenovo, HP, and Acer teamed up to work on WINE for a limited number of important creative software like Adobe, Affinity, Ableton Pro, Microsoft Office etc., that gap could be closed in a similar way (essentially what CrossOver does, but more successful). The problem is that the hardest thing to get working is often the DRM, not the actual functions of the software...so Adobe would be the hardest. And it also seems...unlikely to happen. But that's what it would take.

Well, I quite agree there. I myself found, while I was working from home during pandemic closure of my workplace, that while for the most part I had no trouble using my Linux desktop for work (documents on LibreOffice were fine and our specialized library stuff is browser-based), wrangling .pdfs without Adobe stuff was really bad or just couldn't be done, depending what I was trying to do.

Well, maybe if System76 get big enough, they'll collab with CrossOver about pushing that.

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Quoting: CatKiller

Quoting: pleasereadthemanualIn the end, most manufacturers of the ill-fated netbook switched over to Windows. Predominantly because Microsoft offered Windows licenses for less than they do on more powerful devices.

Microsoft made Windows free for those OEMs (while forcing an insipid specs list that would ensure netbooks lost out to tablets), and had a concerted FUD campaign about customer hostility to Linux.

The bottom line is, netbooks with Linux on were a strong success until Microsoft stepped in to change the situation. And I have no doubt that behind the scenes it took a bit of stick along with the carrots. If Microsoft had, or even was perceived to have, less power to do that, something like them could be a success again, especially since Linux is a lot stronger now in quite a few ways (eg it will play games).

Meanwhile, ChromeOS is very user-friendly if you only want to do the very few things ChromeOS lets you do--which actually fits the use case of quite a few people. But far from everyone, even in terms of people you wouldn't really consider "power users" much less programmers. ChromeOS is limited as hell, by design. It's kind of like a MacOS with no app store. Forget walled garden, it's more like a walled planter. So I think there could be serious reasons to put real Linux on a lightweight computer instead of ChromeOS . . . serious reasons which could lead to sales if done right. There are also dumber reasons to prefer a real Linux, like it's easier to tweak the appearance for your "branding" (although it's also easy for users to un-brand it, but by that time they've bought the thing so whatever).

But for manufacturers to consider doing something like that, or other things using Linux that I have not thought of, generally requires a bit of momentum, an example showing the possibilities that gives them the confidence that this isn't an insane doomed idea. The Steam Deck represents that example and momentum, so I think it creates a moment where doing Linux stuff on specialized computers is significantly more business-possible. Consider the way, before the Deck came out, even here on GoL lots of people were saying well, all the users will rip Linux out and install Windows. It didn't happen, like at all, and now that idea as a general piece of "what happens when you sell devices with Linux on them" lore is significantly weakened.

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Quoting: Guest

Quoting: RandomizedKirbyTree47

Thankfully, Cloud Gaming fans still have the likes of GeForce NOW, Xbox Cloud Gaming and Luna

Where do cloud gaming fans who don't like subscriptions go?

Would they have gone to Stadia in the first place?

Only if they figured out the reality behind the crappy and misleading marketing.

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Quoting: sarmad

Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: CatKillerWe can compare them directly now that the Deck GPU shows up in the global stats. The Decks represent 0.37% of the machines sampled for the survey (from the GPU list)

An interesting figure in itself. So like, Linux is at 1.44%. And Steam Decks, almost entirely running Linux, are 0.37% (and climbing). So that means Linux without Steam Deck is 1.07%, and the Steam Deck represents just over a quarter of total Linux use on Steam.
At this point, the Deck is already giving Linux use a substantial boost. And as I understand it, for the first few months of release sales were significantly constrained by manufacturing capacity; they're faster now. If sales continue at the present rate, that's probably at least 0.5% per year and quite likely more. Which, put like that, doesn't sound like a whole lot--but it agrees with Gradyvuckovic's take that Steam Deck could take Linux Steam usage over Mac by 2024.
It's certainly way faster growth than Linux gaming has ever seen.

It should be sooner than that. You are counting 0.5% per year, but Steam Deck sales at the beginning of this year wasn't as big, so the 0.5 figure isn't accurate. If we go by October's numbers: (2.45 - 1.44) / (1.44 - 1.28) = 7 months or so. So, if the current pace continues we should see Linux overtaking macOS in July 2023.

Probably you're right. But, well, I figure that the pace isn't really reliable, and any figures we might derive from the hardware survey are subject to a certain amount of random jitter, and I'd rather make my predictions err on the conservative side so I can be pleased when they're exceeded than have them overoptimistic and then be sad when things don't turn out that well.

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At this point I think we can say pretty firmly that the Steam Deck is a success, and likely to continue succeeding because as they say, nothing succeeds like success. It has the momentum.

Makes me wonder about, not just copycats, but other experiments with Linux-based hardware that might not even involve gaming as a focus. I mean, Valve just demonstrated that you can successfully make a thing that runs Linux, that is user friendly, and that nobody switches the OS on to Windows even though in theory they could and one thing that has always seemed particularly hard to do on Linux is games. Companies may start to think, if you can do that, you could put Linux on any hardware and hope to succeed in selling it. You could make Chromebook-alikes with real Linux on them. You could make tablets as anime-themed merch. Who knows? The example of the Steam Deck's success could spark the growth of a wider Linux-hardware ecosystem.

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Quoting: CatKillerWe can compare them directly now that the Deck GPU shows up in the global stats. The Decks represent 0.37% of the machines sampled for the survey (from the GPU list)

An interesting figure in itself. So like, Linux is at 1.44%. And Steam Decks, almost entirely running Linux, are 0.37% (and climbing). So that means Linux without Steam Deck is 1.07%, and the Steam Deck represents just over a quarter of total Linux use on Steam.
At this point, the Deck is already giving Linux use a substantial boost. And as I understand it, for the first few months of release sales were significantly constrained by manufacturing capacity; they're faster now. If sales continue at the present rate, that's probably at least 0.5% per year and quite likely more. Which, put like that, doesn't sound like a whole lot--but it agrees with Gradyvuckovic's take that Steam Deck could take Linux Steam usage over Mac by 2024.
It's certainly way faster growth than Linux gaming has ever seen.

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Quoting: itscalledrealityUbuntu sucks with is snap packages. Sorry new people but choose Arch or Manjaro (which the latter sucks because it’s so heavily Manjaro’d…I run Manjaro).

Ehhh, if your main problem is Snap packages, then new people should go with Mint, which is a more user-friendly Ubuntu without Snaps.

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Quoting: PhiladelphusIt's not a Paradox game, but the recently-released Terra Invicta [External Link] (by the studio created by the guys who made the Long War XCOM mod) is a grand-strategy game which fits that "early solar system exploration with alien combat" theme to a T.

I was actually thinking less "alien combat" and more "conflicts between Earth, Mars, the asteroid miners of the Belt, and the 'outer planets moons' crowd".

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Quoting: NumericIn general, they don't want to know anything about their computer (mobile device), it just needs to function near 100% of the time and be able to "run the apps/games" and "visit the sites" that they want or need. Updates of any form are met with resistance or pure apathy. Good practices regarding data safety or backups are not considered or understood. As a FOSS advocate, I want to help these people have a safe and successful computing experience, but the lack of motivation/desire/understanding I encounter make it near impossible to recommend any Linux distribution.

I don't really get it, to be honest. These are real issues I guess, but what do they have to do with not recommending Linux distributions? I mean, it's not like Windows is nice to work with vis-a-vis updates, or does anything for you in terms of data safety or automagically creating backups without you having to notice. And Linux distros can visit the sites, run the games, and run apps that are generally equivalent (but cheaper) to what they're used to. The more user friendly ones do it with LESS need to fiddle around than Windows. So I mean, assuming you can't actually ban these people from using computers, why shouldn't they do it with Linux?

Y'know, I use Windows at work, but because we have IT people I don't have to administer it. But a few months ago, i bought a basic little computer to attach to the TV, just to surf the web so my wife can watch the news and stuff. It came installed with Windows and, feeling lazy, I initially just left Windows there--why not? Just running a browser. It was a massive pain. Windows is nagware. My wife was constantly calling me over because of some mysterious message that she thought meant something serious but was actually just Windows saying something you can click and forget, for no particular reason except to look vaguely ominous as far as I could tell. Or because they wanted you to switch to fucking Edge. Or because they wanted to know if you really meant it when you set settings to "don't phone home very much" or if you wouldn't rather switch to doing things the Microsoft spy-on-you way. And the updates, argh. Wiped Windows, put in Mint, clear sailing ever since.

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I'm a Mint person myself, but I'm not really going to disagree with Liam here. Mint is the best Linux distribution for general use. Really, it just is, sure there's individual taste and some people like their window managers modern and interesting or whatever, but basically, for the average computer user, Mint is better. Rough edges of all the others, knocked off. Stable. Comfortable interfaces. Stuff Just Working. No imposed Snaps. In general, no fuddle-duddling around.

But it tends to be kind of old package-wise, and for gaming you want stuff to be a bit fresher, and maybe Ubuntu is a better Linux distribution for gaming because of that. My gaming tends to the light side so I haven't actually had any problems with that kind of stuff, but if I wanted to be even not-particularly-bleeding edge I might.

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