And they provide you parts and schematics in case you need to repair/mod your device. Never thought I'd see a day when linux gaming would be as good as what I get via my steam deck these days.
Kudos to Valve for embracing such an open approach to gaming/portable devices in general.
At least they don't go out of their way to block heroic games launcher/Linux and I'm happy with that.
Prior to having a Steam Deck, my overall video game time was fairly low since it took time to boot the PC and start everything up. With the SD, it's much easier to grab it and get a small session in, and I've purchased a number of games (and will even buy games on Steam at a higher price than elsewhere) because of the Deck. It's the price of convenience, but well worth it in my opinion.
Back when the whole Steam on Linux started, they saw Windows 8/10 as a real threat to their existence. (Windows S?)
It's just that the way they went about to solve this in an open way is what's nice.
They improved the graphics drivers situation, invested in Wine and other open source projects, put in a lot of effort to create a user experience they wanted on a handheld device.
Ultimately this gave them a real edge over their competitors. Was surprised to see random youtubers making videos on how to install steam OS on their more powerful Rog Ally/Gpd/Home theater PC etc ..
Google used to be like this once upon a time, long long ago... (That blocks phone, unlocked bootloader on all their Nexus devices, Linux improvements for Chrome/Android etc...). Not sure if things really changed or it's just in my head, but they no longer seem that way.
But yes, there has always been a big dose of NIH from corporate. Sometimes it is warranted, but many times it's extra work on this hope that they hoard valuable tech to themselves.
The moddability is a deliberate strategy by Valve, and I don’t see it as an inevitable move for every PC-centered company, Microsoft being the prime counterexample.
But yes, Valve does seem to get what gamers want (other than games made by them)
Lots of good stuff there, too. XBMC for life!
And I still use 2 original Xboxs at LAN parties here and there. Even with a softmod and Linux, it's still possible to system link Halo, Halo 2, Battlefront (2004), Battlefront 2 (2005), Crimson Skies, Metal Arms, and other games across at least three generations of console (Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One) with 16-to-32 people. Microsoft does backward compatibility like almost no one else, even on console.
It's getting harder to find replacement controllers, but I've found a local hardware guy in my city who can help find the right replacement parts as little pieces on the board start to fail. I plan on keeping both of mine running as long as possible!
I hope Steam OS doesn't end up the same locked down mess that Android has become these days ...
You won’t be able to do mobile payment and some other things because the companies behind those other things will only allow their apps to run on locked down devices.
Happened when i rooted my last phone. And after that no banking/payment apps worked.
Last time I was looking for a new bank, I picked one from this list based on the reports available. Thankfully my bank app is not so locked down.
Hope you can find something that works for you.
Where are the schematics? I was trying to do a repair on an unusually common failure and couldn't find anything.
And are there any specific usage patterns that lead to more of these issues?
I haven't been able to investigate it too much but last I looked at the data sheet for that chip it seems like there's no way it should have a hole blown in it unless something was designed wrong.
They (GabeN I believe) mentioned early on that it was "painful" to hit the Deck's price point. Unsure if this means sold at a loss or just a smaller-than-ideal profit.
they are far from saints if you zoom out (from lootboxes and fostering an official means to trade virtual items for money), but being an independent company still driven by gaming helps.