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Comment by paulcole | Hacker News Reader

If your belief is that Steam Deck is Linux Desktop then you need to count Switch/PS5/Xbox as desktops as well and take those into account with the OS percentages.

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Steam Deck has (accessible in menu by default) desktop mode that is just KDE with desktop icons and everything.

I don't think his point was that it's not linux but rather that it's not a desktop, and if it counts as a desktop, then so do the rest of the gaming consoles runnining non-linux, which probably didn't get counted so the 5% would be lower.

This is wrong. A steamdeck in desktop mode is exactly a desktop. You can write and execute code on it the exact same way you do on your laptop

You cant do that on mobile devices or other handhelds

Yes, you can, and yes, among the group of people represented on HN, I have no doubt that a fair number do use it this way.....but how typical is that? How often does the average steam deck owner use it as a desktop? How often does the average user leave the steam launcher? How often does the average user think of it as anything other than a gaming console?

If all you care about is some very technical sense of "how many linux desktop environments are installed in the world", then none of these questions matter. But if the reason one is interested in the "Linux Desktop market share" is some level of interest in how people are using desktop computers, and when/if they are choosing them over competing OSs like Windows and MacOS, then these questions matter a lot. My guess is that 90% of SteamDeck owners don't think about the fact that it is Linux, barely every leave the steam launcher, and were they to be looking at getting a new desktop computer, their SteamDeck experience would not make them consider a linux distro vs. Windows or MacOS.

In case it matters, I think more people should be running Linux than do, I think people over-estimate the difficulty of switching. I want the steam deck and SteamOS to be a gateway for people to switch in more contexts....I'm just skeptical that it's actually doing that more than a trivial amount.

You need to switch to desktop mode to install non-steam software like emulators, so I assume some people use it at least intermittently. And I've seen some posts about people running a DAW (bitwig) on it. It's not going to be many people, but the deck is a legit linux PC if you've got a dock with peripherials attached. Can't say that about other consoles.

Great point actually.

And it got me thinking, i already hook up the deck to my tv and use bluetooth peripherals with it. Maybw ill try using it as my daily driver at home

Yea except I cant use my PS5 as a actual desktop. As in my steamdeck has a DE. My actual desktop is 4000 km away. So I have a monitor and mouse + KB plugged into my steamdeck Dock and its no different.

The other consoles don't have the same capabilities. They don't have a desktop, so they're not a desktop. SteamOS has a desktop, and it's one of the most popular Linux desktops, KDE. So, it's a desktop operating system.

Wow, I did not know this. Does anyone know the history behind why they chose KDE over GNOME? I promise: I am not picking a fight over those two.

My guess is the same reason as with SteamOS: not relying on a single party.

By picking a standard menu option I can go to a traditional desktop and use Libre Office and Firefox.

Can I so that with a Switch?

I can plug in a USB dock, with a monitor, mouse and keyboard and edit images with GIMP.

Can I do that with a PS5?

If I like the Steam Deck UI, I can install a package on my desktop and pick it on login, thus gaining basically all of this functionality. I in fact do have the SteamOS 3 UI installed on a gaming PC, and it works really well.

Can I install the PS5 UI and the ability to play PlayStation games on a BSD box?

> Can I do that with a Switch?

You can install Ubuntu on a Nintendo switch by using a paperclip so yes.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchHacks/comments/8f0ugz/hardwar...

But that's not the same operating system. I would need to install a different operating system. So the Switch does not have a Linux Operating System - you can just install one.

If that's the metric, then Linux desktop use must be close to 100%. Almost every platform can install some Linux distro.

But SteamOS IS a Linux distro.

> by using a paperclip

So, no?

Yes, you can. With a paper clip.

Some installations of linux require a USB drive.

This one requires a paper clip.

> > By picking a standard menu option I can go to a traditional desktop and use Libre Office and Firefox.

> > Can I so that with a Switch?

> Yes. With a paperclip

A paperclip isn't a standard menu item. It's a hack to switch the operating systems. Once you've hacked it you can't play Switch games until you revert back. That's nothing like what the deck is offering.

> Some installations of linux require a USB drive.

We aren't talking about hacking, we are talking about whether the deck comes with desktop Linux, which it does. What you are talking about is nothing like what the Deck is offering.

> you can't play Switch games until you revert back

You literally just have to reboot into the normal switch OS, it’s not different than dual booting.

The Deck doesn't need to "dual boot".

Hit the power button and instead on sleep or shutdown pick desktop and it switches interfaces.

When in the desktop mode it still has Steam and you can still play Steam games.

You're really reaching with the Switch is a desktop OS.

I can't use a Switch as a Desktop Linux, I can use my Steam Deck as a Desktop Linux.

It's not exactly a belief, it's my experience.

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