this post was submitted on 25 May 2025
882 points (99.8% liked)
Steam Deck
17303 readers
176 users here now
A place to discuss and support all things Steam Deck.
Replacement for r/steamdeck_linux.
As Lemmy doesn't have flairs yet, you can use these prefixes to indicate what type of post you have made, eg:
[Flair] My post title
The following is a list of suggested flairs:
[Discussion] - General discussion.
[Help] - A request for help or support.
[News] - News about the deck.
[PSA] - Sharing important information.
[Game] - News / info about a game on the deck.
[Update] - An update to a previous post.
[Meta] - Discussion about this community.
Some more Steam Deck specific flairs:
[Boot Screen] - Custom boot screens/videos.
[Selling] - If you are selling your deck.
These are not enforced, but they are encouraged.
Rules:
- Follow the rules of Sopuli
- Posts must be related to the Steam Deck in an obvious way.
- No piracy, there are other communities for that.
- Discussion of emulators are allowed, but no discussion on how to illegally acquire ROMs.
- This is a place of civil discussion, no trolling.
- Have fun.
Link to our Matrix Space
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Windows Gamers (who will never switch to Linux): Linux still isn't ready for mass adoption
So you accept that Linux is not the problem. We are litterally at the point where it will get mass Adoption in the next few years. That is what this post is about. That you can litterally go out and buy a fully complete gaming system preinstalled with Linux that performs better than the same system with Windows.
We are very close to the point where the only thing holding Linux gaming back is marketing.
Marketing and market availability are the biggest problems. People need to be able to go into any store, buy a handheld/laptop/desktop and have it include Linux without them asking.
Don't forget educational institutes. Linux should be the defacto OS at such places. The younger generation's first interaction with a PC is at school. If they are used to Linux from a young age, this is greatly help them ease into the Linux mindset (package manager, terminal).
Which is exactly why Google and Apple give free computers to public schools. Good luck getting them to turn that down.
That too, as well as in professional and government settings.
100% agree. That is coming soon though. Microsoft has had vendor lock'in for the last 30 years which guaranteed engineering dollars (drivers, software, testing) spent by OEMs to support Windows. SteamOS is breaking the grip of Microsoft though. If Microsoft is too slow to react, SteamOS will become entrenched for gaming and that will guarantee engineering dollars are spent on SteamOS support (again, drivers, software, testing), which will upstream to Linux. At that point, 3rd party hardware, peripherals, and software will be targeting SteamOS and Linux. OEMs will have already spent engineering dollars to support their hardware in SteamOS (and Linux), so they wouldn't hesitate to start shipping Linux machines to the big box stores. It's Microsoft's market to lose though.
Keep in mind Linux had this opportunity during netbooks, Microsoft simply forced them to abandon Linux and threatened contracts. Yes, many computers shipped Linux and in what I can only describe as a blatantly illegal move (and cornering of the market) Microsoft forced them to use Windows. If OEMs like Dell or HP start selling as many Linux PCs as Windows PCs Microsoft can just threaten contracts.
I had figured that would be the case this time as well. There is no way Microsoft will let their OEMs off their leash if they can help it. At first I thought there was no way any Windows OEM would be allowed, SteamOS on their handheld officially supported, or even sold that way. But I learned recently, at BUILD 2014, Microsoft made Windows free for devices with screens 8" or less, mostly IoT. I think that would count for these handhelds as well. So I think this time will be different.
The way I understand the contracts you are mentioning, the deal is, they have to sell a Windows license with every PC they sell. When a company like Dell or Lenovo sell machines with Linux, it's usually in the 10,000 range, (at least that I can tell) which is something Dell or Lenovo can eat the cost of. Plus, most of the machines go to companies that already have Volume Licensing deals already, so basically the Windows Tax is paid for in some way already.
But I think this time will be different because there will be a ramp up of devices and competition in the handheld space where there is no Windows Tax required. Valve will surely release a Steam Console and that will probably become the new PS2/DVD player that everybody buys. When people are buying consoles instead of PCs, OEMs are already spending engineering dollars on Linux for the handheld market, and 3rd party software and devices are suddenly competing in the Linux space. It's a stretch, but I really think SteamOS is breaking the grip of Microsoft's vendor lock'in strategy and we are just seeing the very beginning stages with Windows OEMs officially supporting SteamOS.
I hadn't heard of free windows for smaller screen devices, but from reading on it I think it only applies to phones/tablets/IoT devices. I'm guessing handheld PCs would be excluded from that discount.
From reading on how Windows licenses are priced before, there's also usually variable rate license pricing depending on the "power" of the device, with more powerful devices having to pay a larger OEM license fee. With handheld PCs being gaming focused devices, I would assume that means Microsoft is charging more per license than the base rate.
I believe you. I know I'm stretching it here. Only because it's just not like Microsoft to allow their OEMs off the leash. It's not unlike Microsoft to bring the full force and weight of the legal system down on their partners. And we definitely know Microsoft wouldn't hesitate to tie another company up in court just the for the sake of draining them of their operating cash. I'm just thinking, maybe there is a way that these handhelds fit into the free Microsoft licensing. I mean, knowing Microsoft is just going to crack the whip, why even spend the engineering dollars supporting Linux hardware in the first place. Maybe to give them leverage against Microsoft I guess.
My partner and I have been transitioning to Linux over the past month or so, dual booting for now.
Linux still isn't ready for mass adoption.
If you don't mind me asking: What problems did you run into? And what distro were you using?
I've tested out Manjaro, KDE Neon, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Debian, Mint, and Fedora - across two desktops and a laptop.
Problems have been all over the spectrum. Not being to install at all, trouble getting it to dual boot after installing (despite following a guide), getting NAS drives to be writeable, hardware compatibility, finding alternatives to proprietary software which may or may not do everything the original did, and more.
I'm semi enjoying the tinkering for now, and I'm not regretting trying to de-Windows as much as possible, but I think people who say Linux is ready for mainstream are out of touch with the average person's computer literacy.
dual booting anything with windows (including another copy of windows) is an insufferable nightmare caused by windows.
Not all instances were dual booting, nor are all of the problems I've encountered or described above related with dual booting.
👍 completely valid. just pointing out windows is a malicious cohabitant on a drive
Even among that I've varied. In one installation I have Windows sharing a drive, separate partition for Linux. In another computer they're on completely different drives.
If you want gaming you should try the nobara distro, great stuff
I do a lot of things other than gaming.
Oh ok very interesting. Thanks for the insight.
And good luck :D
Imagine the hardware compatibility issues you'd have trying to install MacOS on your machine. Probably a nightmare. Better to just buy hardware that is compatible with the OS you want to run.
Well it's not a very compelling sales pitch to tell me to ditch the multiple thousands of dollars of hardware and just buy new stuff. If the goal is to get people to switch to Linux from Windows, I hope you're not the one leading the charge.
I think setting expectations appropriately is a reasonable expectation of new users. Microsoft expects it of Windows users. Apple expects it of MacOS users. For Linux, nope, we must have a different standard. If we don't, Linux isn't ready for the average user. Got news for you, average users don't install Windows, they don't install MacOS, and they don't install Linux or any other OS. They buy pre-built machines where everything is taken care of. Average users buying pre-built machines do not experience the woes of a tech nerd.
Even gamers do more than just game on their PC, though.
That's fair, but unless what you do requires windows in some way (like, say, Photoshop), Linux tends to be better for productivity as well, if you learn it
But of course, I understand that it takes some upfront work and learning to change your workflow, so I don't blame people for not doing it
i’m using photogimp and haven’t looked back, it’s surprisingly robust
Sure, but they are comparing SteamOS, which is a stripped down OS that does not have all the capabilities of a full Linux OS.
Just try using any photo editing software on SteamOS. Even ones compatible with Linux.
Most people dont use Windows because its compatible with more software, they use it because thats what their computer came with. If computers just starting shipping Linux then software will come.
Most people just need a web browser for most of their needs, unless you have a need for a specific software that's Windows only and doesn't have a good Linux alternative,
It's gotten so seamless now, and wine has gotten pretty good. I can download a Windows executable, double click it, go through the regular Windows installer, and then have it make a shortcut on my desktop which will launch it.
Your average user won't even know all the Dark Magics making it possible, or that they were supposed to have looked around for a Linux alternative, it just works
I personally like using my Legion Go for LLM training /s
I’m still waiting for games with big anticheats to run on Linux. Until I can play Fortnite with my nephew on Linux I won’t swap over.
Unfortunately the Epic CEO is explicitly blocking Linux. Fortnite runs, but he doesn't like Linux.