Steam Machine Teardown
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Browse the file system? Very easy. There are many free and paid file managers. You can also use a terminal emulator.
Obtain root access? OEM unlock bootloader, throw su on the phone and you are set.
Recompile and update the kernel? I has never built my own kernel, but there are many custom kernels popping up all the time.
Replace the window manager? To change the desktop environment, most people just install a different "launcher". That changes how the desktop, windowing, and general interface operate. If you really wanted to have the full freedom of Linux, you can install something like Debian on an android device with a dual boot setup or run it on top of android through a VNC client.
I would prefer a fully free software stack, but I realize that that's not always possible, so I like to support the next best thing. Traditional consoles have always been so hacking unfriendly that I have refused to buy them.
Just so you know, a Nexus One was the first cell phone I ever bought; it was the first that I considered free enough (and capable enough; the Dream/G1 was just a little too clunky for me to consider it particularly useful).
So even though Apple uses x86 processors and technically it is a personal computer, "PC" still refers to the old brand name that is synonymous with Wintel. Apple has personal computers, Microsoft has Personal Computers.
Of course it is, and much of what is sold with that moniker today is really more of an entertainment appliance than "computer." When my daughter was 5 or 6 and being told to "dial 9-1-1 for emergencies" she asked me "Why do they call it dialing?"
So the interesting thing from the perspective of the Steam box is this is an entertainment console with a bunch of details about how the insides work. I'm sure that 95% of the people who buy it will have the exact same experience they would have had if they bought and Xbox One or PS4, and the other 5% will have a lot of fun making it do amazing things and not have to worry about getting sued or arrested for it [1].
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment_Ame...
When the term PC was coined, computers were fridge sized horrifically expensive things that ran in research institutions and very large companies. The idea of having your own was...crazy.
It is weird how the name has come to mean something based on the Wintel nexus, but that's marketing and differentiation for you.
Those sound an awful lot like PCs to me. Sure, they have a bit of custom hardware design, but for the most part are basically just PCs; except that they're locked down and you can't write your own software for them without going through an intermediary (and if you try to, you may get sued or arrested for hacking).
I see the Ouya mainly being appealing to gamers who are mostly interested in casual and retro titles, which it is no doubt more than capable of handling. The point is that they are not trying to be a traditional powerful console, they are trying to be what a large group of people (who have traditionally been interested but not interested enough to shell out for a traditional console and its expensive games) are wanting. The fact it also doubles up as a media centre machine, aims to work out of the box (the cheap devices imported from out east are sold as basic Android units with little care for polishing the software install so the user needs a little technical knowlege to get things like XMBC and its ilk to work), and is fairly cheap, makes it quite an attractive package unless you need/want more power (in which case there are better solutions for you out there already).
EDIT: I've just checked and the Ouya runs off the Tegra3 and has 1Gb RAM, so it has oumpf than I thought when writing the above. That is essentially the same chipset choice made for the G1 Nexus 7 so noticeably more powerful than any cheap tablets and phones. It won't match the high power shiny now consoles and play their graphically demanding titles of course, but again I don't think that is the aim and it should be be able to deal with some relatively demanding games (and they'll be very inexpensive compared to the AAA console/PC titles).
None of the emulators you see today existed before someone sat down and started writing them. Your point about PC emulators is irrelevant since if you control the guest OS, it's just much more practical to install a pass-through driver.
Remember Penny Arcade's comic? http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/01/23
Far as I know, nobody was banned from Steam for swearing online.
It seems like they would have something that Bitcoin doesn't, a lively economy and marketplace to add stability.
You'd be better off introducing a Call of Duty Coin... Call them Dogtags or something.
You can check Steam user counts here (http://store.steampowered.com/stats/).
Not sure how console user bases stack up, but that's a pretty wide base.
Wow had 12M at its peak.
And there is huge overlap. LoL gamers and WoW are subset of steam users.
http://steamcommunity.com/market/
Most hats aren't saleable on the market, but you can trade the hats for keys, which you can sell for about $2.25 a pop.
The other components are easy of course.
I'd be happy to be proven wrong, because I'm definitely in the market for something like this. More than 50% of my gaming time happens when I take time off - which usually means I'm visiting family for a few weeks, and taking anything bigger than this on a plane or train is not realistic. I was hoping Thunderbolt might solve the problem with external GPUs, but right now that seems more trouble than it's worth.
I tried that, many years ago. I'll be the first to admit I'm not especially good at working metal, so it was somewhat crude. Keeping everything safely in place inside, and ensuring sufficient thermal flow ended up too much of a challenge for me. The thing only ran stably when I left it open, and eventually a heatsink came loose during travel. Might be easier with today's more efficient/better designed components, and with a bit of hindsight. Still, very much a major project.
I believe there are also ITX or micro ATX cases that can accommodate a 400+ watt PSU for powering a GPU in that range.
Every 6-12 months I review the market on these. You can indeed get ITX cases which will take a graphics card. Generally, the form factor is the "cube" kind (well, square-ish front face), around 20x22x35cm. (~15 litres) I find this much harder to transport safely (e.g. by packing clothes around it in a suitcase) than the flat, "VCR-shaped" arrangement, with the graphics card on a 90° riser. The ones on the market also tend to waste space on optical drives, multiple hard drive bays, etc. and often have external PSUs (not necessarily a bad thing, but often they don't make the case any smaller).
The Steam Machine prototypes are apparently only around 7.5x31x31cm. That's less than 8 litres, including the PSU.
Last time I looked into this was in Spring, so maybe things have improved since then. Specific suggestions welcome.
Nowadays you can go a very long time with even just a medium spec'd gpu and still compare favorably to consoles. But unlike consoles you have the option to upgrade it if you want to.
Anyway, this is just one config for the SteamBox. Each beta tester has a different hardware config I'm pretty sure, from real cheap, up to an absolute beast. They did that because that's the plan with the OEMs too
From my research, you'll be able to get or build an SB yourself cheaper than a next gen console with the same power at least. I'm excited by that!
PS/2 keyboards observationally are known to have a bit less latency. Since there are a ton of variables at play (keyboard controller, USB poll rate, PS/2 interrupt queuing, etc.) it's hard to evaluate just how much the difference will be with any given setup.
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=5572.msg85020#msg85020
I'm sure a keyboard could set up their own driver that allows more key presses, but that's certainly not the standard.
http://www.maxkeyboard.com/max-keyboard-nighthawk-x8-blue-ba...
1) SteamOS is very successful along with Steam Machine
2) Windows is knocked out as a gaming platform
3) SteamOS users will be less annoying than Xbox and PS3 users
If I wasn't at work right now I'd bet the farm that there's a page 1 post on /g/ with "SteamOS Master Race".
I will cheer for Windows demise only when GOG starts selling their games for Steam OS.
Don't worry... it will come.
(Oh, and I'll add a tradeoff: the chips are cheap, but they are not as easy to get up and running as an AVR. Programmers and a bunch of Windows software seems to be required; I've given up every time I've tried to use one :)
With OpenOCD and STLink the STM32 family of Cortex processors are easy to use with Linux (arguably easier than in Windows, actually, because the toolchain isn't as shitty).
I do agree that using them from Windows in the often-documented "beginner's path" way really sucks.
I imagine these will be available with a range of CPU's and GPU's come release day.
"The 300 prototype units will ship with the following components: GPU: some units with NVidia Titan, some GTX780, some GTX760, and some GTX660 CPU: some boxes with Intel i7-4770, some i5-4570, and some i3 RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 (CPU), 3GB GDDR5 (GPU) Storage: 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD Power Supply: Internal 450w 80Plus Gold Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 in high"
I'd guess that the wired version is just for the beta. When it's released, I'm sure a wireless option will be available.
I wonder if this could be re-purposed (just for interest's sake).
The LPC11U37F in the controller could be worth a look too.