Hacker News Reader

Where did you pull this data for? I get exteremely different results myself:

https://i.imgur.com/vyC10O6.png

I literally just googled "Steam hardware survey"

Btw, for some reason I can't view that image. Tried in 3 browsers on my phone...

   https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/Steam-Hardware-Software-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam

I came back and found the difference. You clicked "Linux Only". But I'm glad you did, because it gives us additional information helping us actually answer the previous question more accurately. Strongly falsifying the earlier conjecture that they were mostly SteamOS. We can see only a third are. 2/3rds of Linux Gamers are NOT using SteamOS (definitely a subset of SteamOS users are also not using a Steam Deck)

  "SteamOS Holo" 64 bit                             33.78%    -0.70%
  "Arch Linux" 64 bit                                9.45%    -0.23%
  Freedesktop SDK 24.08 (Flatpak runtime) 64 bit     6.41%    +0.15%
  Linux Mint 22.1 64 bit                             6.20%    +0.89%
  Ubuntu Core 22 64 bit                              4.62%    +0.23%
  Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS 64 bit                          4.44%    +0.26%
  "Manjaro Linux" 64 bit                             2.61%    -0.05%
  "EndeavourOS Linux" 64 bit                         2.46%    +0.06%
  Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm) 64 bit              2.27%    -0.08%
  Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS 64 bit                           2.23%    +0.02%
  Other                                             25.54%    -0.53%

  https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/Steam-Hardware-Software-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam?platform=linux

With the number of Steam Decks sold estimated at 3-4 million, and the number of monthly active Steam users being around 130 million, I think it's safe to say that 0.21% does not represent SteamOS install base. As far as I know, SteamOS doesn't show as Arch, but rather as its own thing

The way to make Linux takeover is get kids using it

To get kids using it needs to do lots of cool shit easily

Windows could play games easily when Linux could not even use a USB mouse

The time is right to make Linux do cool shit easily with local generative models that help iteratively create games

Replace all the desktop legacy with some blank canvas and local models that draw on the canvas. Ship some baked in models to generate shells of games to iterate from, boom.

This is exactly the fear of big SaaS and why VCs outside a key handful are done with it.

Apple Silicon is a glimpse of local compute future. Fanless laptops running models that generate entire coherent universes like Marvel and Star Wars. (Don’t need giant models just dense enough to get 80% and let users “zoom and enhance” with their own input)

Show that potential with local models on Linux and it’s over. Three options then; government demands hardware is locked down to preserve Hollywood/gaming/media, open compute wins, or both sides destroy the world over it.

In an interview with IGN during Covid lockdown Gabe Newell was describing generative AI as an existential threat to content creators. It could be temporary as the next gen grows up with a new normal and doesn’t obsess about a career in digital design or web dev, yt video production. It could end humanity as existential dread settles in for millions stuck in some narrative about their existence that no longer holds economic value.

Interesting times.

  > The way to make Linux takeover is get kids using it

Agree!

  > Windows could play games easily when Linux could not even use a USB mouse

I don't think I've ever had a USB mouse (or wireless mouse or keyboard) issue in the last 15 years.

Games? I'll give you that. But honestly, Steam has really made that almost a non-issue. Good guy steam! (their work has affected more than SteamOS)

  > Replace all the desktop legacy with some blank canvas and local models

This seems like the opposite of what you initially argued.

Models as in... LLMs or ML models? This seems like a great way to break things. I'd really encourage you to get these things to try to do what you're saying they should do.

  > Apple Silicon is

Where are you going with this?

  > Show that potential with local models on Linux and it’s over.

I'm an ML researcher... these models are generally made and deployed on linux systems. Explicitly because they work better there and is easier to deal with.

  > In an interview with IGN during Covid lockdown

Serious question: you okay? Did a LLM contribute to your comment? Did a LLM make the whole comment? GPT, can you describe to me Act 4 Scene 5 from Henry V but as told by a Pirate from the deep south? (American south)

Your last line sounds like it'll get some hilarious prompts. I'm going to try it.

How'd it turn out?

> honestly, Steam has really made that almost a non-issue.

Not for online gaming.

I haven't tried tbh, but I also hadn't heard about it. What's the issue?

Kernel-level anti-cheats. It's pretty much a prerequisite for any sort of competitive multiplayer gaming these days, but also increasingly common even for online coop. And they usually only work on Windows.