The Steam Deck kicked off great however, I see people flocking to the Windows alternatives like the ASUS ROG Ally because they don’t want to deal with Linux or the Bash shell.
Edit; I don’t know why this is being downvoted, I haven’t touched SteamOS so I’m comparing it to Debian 12 where BASH knowledge is essential.
they don’t want to deal with Linux or the Bash shell
I’m a professional software developer that runs Linux on all on my devices. So I could “deal with the bash shell” if I needed to for sure. But im not interested in doing anything but running games I bought on steam.
Not once have I even opened desktop mode on my steam deck for anything other than checking it out.
It’s completely possible to stay 100% in the main SteamOS environment which is basically “Big picture mode”.
Normal users literally would have no idea they are using Linux. It operates exactly how you would expect a handheld game console to operate.
Last time I checked Windows still dominates the market on personal desktop/laptop computers, most people don’t want to sit and read documentation on how to get specific software to work with their device, they just want it to work without hassle.
Multiple people have told you why what you’re saying is ridiculous.
How is what I said ridiculous? Is the market all of a sudden no longer Windows dominated?
I get it, SteamOS is essentially Steams Big Picture mode locked down however, the minute someone wants to mod one of their games using software made for Windows that they find on Nexus mods or Se7enSins they’ll run into issues or a novel of documentation for a workaround.
The vast majority of people don’t want to sit and troubleshoot for hours on end for a single mod, they want it to work out of the gate and that’s where SteamOS/Linux currently falls flat.
As someone else pointed out, you’re basically calling a PS5 difficult because it runs BSD and that must mean people need to tinker and use the terminal to make things work.
People still use Google all the time to help them get specific software to work with their device. There are tons of wiki’s, forums, reddits, lemmy instances, discords, etc… that are full of people asking for how to get specific software to work on Windows/etc… People still sit and read documentation all the time.
I opted for the ROG Ally X. A couple of things swayed me. My ability to hold it in store and the tech specs for future proofing were both reasons. But I never planned for this device to be a Windows only handheld. I specifically bought it for the few games I own that can’t run Linux and I run everything else in Bazzite. If it had come with Steam OS I likely still would have bought it and done a dual boot. I don’t think it’s fair to assume that people are buying non-steam handhelds just because they don’t want to deal with Linux. They likely have no idea what Linux has to offer and are going with what they can buy in store.
For me it came down to affordability more than anything else. The cost of the other PC handhelds don’t make sense to me considering the battery life. Might as well get a laptop at that point. The fact that the Steam Deck doesn’t use Windows and has the best community support were bonuses.
Because they might think they need to use the terminal a bunch when in reality they don’t. They might have the wrong impression about how much terminal work they need to do and use that incorrect information to make a decision. I’m saying they could have wrong information to make a decision which would be an uninformed decision.
I’m not sure this is true. From a non-technical user perspective Linux is as visible on the steam deck as FreeBSD is on the PS5. Yah it’s there, but you don’t see it unless you try.
100%. If they used Linux they would actually have to contribute their improvements back. Because Sony went with FreeBSD they get to use all that community code and build their product on top of it. Win win for Sony as a corp. not so great for the rest of us.
Imagine if FreeBSD had all the graphics pipeline improvements that Sony undoubtedly have added in house.
The Steam Deck kicked off great however, I see people flocking to the Windows alternatives like the ASUS ROG Ally because they don’t want to deal with Linux or the Bash shell.
Edit; I don’t know why this is being downvoted, I haven’t touched SteamOS so I’m comparing it to Debian 12 where BASH knowledge is essential.
Oh quit your whining. Stop making excuses.
I’m a professional software developer that runs Linux on all on my devices. So I could “deal with the bash shell” if I needed to for sure. But im not interested in doing anything but running games I bought on steam.
Not once have I even opened desktop mode on my steam deck for anything other than checking it out.
It’s completely possible to stay 100% in the main SteamOS environment which is basically “Big picture mode”.
Normal users literally would have no idea they are using Linux. It operates exactly how you would expect a handheld game console to operate.
Care to at all elaborate then?
Last time I checked Windows still dominates the market on personal desktop/laptop computers, most people don’t want to sit and read documentation on how to get specific software to work with their device, they just want it to work without hassle.
You just said you’ve never used a Steam Deck. Multiple people have told you why what you’re saying is ridiculous.
What more elaboration are you looking for?
Correct, have yet to touch SteamOS.
How is what I said ridiculous? Is the market all of a sudden no longer Windows dominated?
I get it, SteamOS is essentially Steams Big Picture mode locked down however, the minute someone wants to mod one of their games using software made for Windows that they find on Nexus mods or Se7enSins they’ll run into issues or a novel of documentation for a workaround.
The vast majority of people don’t want to sit and troubleshoot for hours on end for a single mod, they want it to work out of the gate and that’s where SteamOS/Linux currently falls flat.
As someone else pointed out, you’re basically calling a PS5 difficult because it runs BSD and that must mean people need to tinker and use the terminal to make things work.
I haven’t ever touched a steam deck either, but I would assume that games on the steam deck just work without any tinkering with the shell.
People still use Google all the time to help them get specific software to work with their device. There are tons of wiki’s, forums, reddits, lemmy instances, discords, etc… that are full of people asking for how to get specific software to work on Windows/etc… People still sit and read documentation all the time.
I opted for the ROG Ally X. A couple of things swayed me. My ability to hold it in store and the tech specs for future proofing were both reasons. But I never planned for this device to be a Windows only handheld. I specifically bought it for the few games I own that can’t run Linux and I run everything else in Bazzite. If it had come with Steam OS I likely still would have bought it and done a dual boot. I don’t think it’s fair to assume that people are buying non-steam handhelds just because they don’t want to deal with Linux. They likely have no idea what Linux has to offer and are going with what they can buy in store.
More likely the opposite because they don’t want to deal with Windows 11
For me it came down to affordability more than anything else. The cost of the other PC handhelds don’t make sense to me considering the battery life. Might as well get a laptop at that point. The fact that the Steam Deck doesn’t use Windows and has the best community support were bonuses.
My Steam Deck is by far my preferred PC now. I dread having to use my Windows laptop.
I’m one of the most bash shell persons who ever bashed a bash shell, just for the bash shell of it.
But I have never opened the bash shell on my SteamDeck.
I did once, for some reason. I think to install maguri mod for ff9.
Otherwise? Nah, this ain’t thinkin’ time.
Well, why don’t they use the z-shell then?
It’s a super polished and easy to use OS. I don’t think I’ve even touched command line or shell. It functions like Windows without any bs.
What? You don’t have to deal with any of that if you don’t want to lol
That could be the reason why someone is going that direction though even if it’s not an informed decision.
Why is it not an informed decision?
Because they might think they need to use the terminal a bunch when in reality they don’t. They might have the wrong impression about how much terminal work they need to do and use that incorrect information to make a decision. I’m saying they could have wrong information to make a decision which would be an uninformed decision.
I’m not sure this is true. From a non-technical user perspective Linux is as visible on the steam deck as FreeBSD is on the PS5. Yah it’s there, but you don’t see it unless you try.
It’s still crazy to me how since PS3 Sony has been using FreeBSD as their basis for an OS.
In my mind it’s always been this network traffic or datacentre thing.
It really is a full desktop os. Not a bad one either.
The main limitations is hardware / driver support and proprietary software support.
Neither of those things are really a problem when you use it in an embedded system like a console though.
I bet they used freeBSD over Linux for licensing reasons.
100%. If they used Linux they would actually have to contribute their improvements back. Because Sony went with FreeBSD they get to use all that community code and build their product on top of it. Win win for Sony as a corp. not so great for the rest of us.
Imagine if FreeBSD had all the graphics pipeline improvements that Sony undoubtedly have added in house.
More than half of PC handhelds sold are Steam Deck.
https://www.techspot.com/news/106921-handheld-gaming-pcs-surpass-6-million-sales-steam.html
People aren’t flock to Windows alternatives.