A first look at Valve's gamer Linux SteamOS
Interplay
After the installation and a reboot, select Recovery mode in the boot menu shown in Figure 2 to point SteamOS to the VirtualBox graphics driver. Recovery mode launches into a command shell with root privileges. In the virtual machine window, select Devices | Insert media with guest extensions. In SteamOS, mount the CD with the drivers and install them:
# mount /media/cdrom # sh /media/cdrom/VBoxLinuxAdditions.run
Then, unmount the CD using umount/media/cdrom
and by calling Devices | CD/DVD drives | Remove media. If VirtualBox complains, force an eject.
To be able to log on later, and in particular, to be able to use sudo
to install software, you need to assign a password to the default user set up by SteamOS (desktop) by typing passwd desktop
.
Next, restart the system using reboot
. In the boot menu, simply confirm the first item. If you are only taken to the EFI input prompt, type the following command:
FS0:\EFI\steamos\grubx64.efi
In the login screen, select GNOME from the drop-down list, type desktop, press Enter, and then enter the corresponding password. You can launch the Steam Client by double-clicking on the Return to Steam icon.
If nothing happens, or if you see an error message, restart the system. Then open Activities, type terminal
, confirm by pressing Enter, and launch steam
. The Steam client will should first upgrade, and this can take a few minutes.
Conclusions
The first version of SteamOS made a stable impression thanks to Debian 7. The radical Installation is a breeze for Linux novices. However, some features are still missing, in particular, the much heralded streaming, which involves the game running on a powerful desktop PC, which forwards the images to the Steam Machine.
Valve advertises its Steam Machines and SteamOS as an open system. However, Valve continues to jail up the user in the Steam world, despite its Steam client running on free Linux underpinnings. Any games you purchase on Steam are restricted by DRM; the data and scores are all sent to the vendor in a style similar to other game vendors, such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Having said this, users of SteamOS still enjoy more freedom than those of other consoles – at least currently.
Infos
- Steam Machines: http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/?l=german
- Steam controller: http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/
- Steam for Linux: Hanno Böck, "Steam Punk", LU 02/2013, p. 62, http://www.linux-community.de/28159
- SteamOS download : http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
- SteamOS FAQ: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse/discussions/1/648814395741989999/
- SteamOS repository: http://repo.steampowered.com/steamos/
« Previous 1 2
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.
-
ZorinOS 17.1 Released, Includes Improved Windows App Support
If you need or desire to run Windows applications on Linux, there's one distribution intent on making that easier for you and its new release further improves that feature.
-
Linux Market Share Surpasses 4% for the First Time
Look out Windows and macOS, Linux is on the rise and has even topped ChromeOS to become the fourth most widely used OS around the globe.
-
KDE’s Plasma 6 Officially Available
KDE’s Plasma 6.0 "Megarelease" has happened, and it's brimming with new features, polish, and performance.
-
Latest Version of Tails Unleashed
Tails 6.0 is based on Debian 12 and includes GNOME 43.
-
KDE Announces New Slimbook V with Plenty of Power and KDE’s Plasma 6
If you're a fan of KDE Plasma, you'll be thrilled to hear they've announced a new Slimbook with an AMD CPU and the latest version of KDE Plasma desktop.
-
Monthly Sponsorship Includes Early Access to elementary OS 8
If you want to get a glimpse of what's in the pipeline for elementary OS 8, just set up a monthly sponsorship to help fund its continued existence.