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Windows 8 is driving Valve to embrace Linux.

Posted: 26 Jul 2012, 10:23
by viking60
Gabe Newell, the head of Valve and former Microsoft employee, has had enough of Windows 8.
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Being well aware of Microsoft strategies he fears that Microsofts Windows 8 will be mainly a Windows store as opposed to Apple store.
He fears that margins in the gaming industry will be going down due to a Microsoft attempt to monopolize the sales of games via the Windows shop, and leave Steam out in the cold.
It is the openness of Linux and the guarantee that no single company will be able to coup it -that makes it attractive to Valve!

He probably knows what he is talking about:
He argued that one of the last remaining things keeping people away from Linux was the lack of games. Valve is working to bring Left 4 Dead 2 and other Steam titles to Linux in a move that Newell describes as "a hedging strategy." If his predictions about Windows 8 come true, he says "it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality."

But...
Does he not know that Linux is based on Microsoft code? That Microsoft will probably make the Linux companies pay them anyway? Has he not heard of the Suse/Novell deal?
And what about the Android Linux deal where all the cellphones sold are one of the major income sources of Microsoft these days and way more than Microsofts Win phone systems?
Google consistently refers to this as extortion.
Or could it be that he knows that there is nothing to it, besides the dinosaur size and power of Microsoft.
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Richard Stallman might not like that the openess of Linux is a commercial quality that makes it interesting for big business, but I bet that Linus Torvalds loves it :-D As do I....
So a big thank you to Microsoft and Windowes 8! You have contributed to provide the one thing that Linux lacked - Serious quality games!
Once this is a reality more and more people will make the transition to Linux - there simply is not much to hold them back anymore - unless you love to spend time and money on fighting viruses....

Re: Windows 8 is driving Valve to embrace Linux.

Posted: 26 Jul 2012, 12:16
by R_Head
Gee... I barked at that tree many times years ago.

Gaming is not a big deal, but gaming brings young and new people that are eager to try some new.

Re: Windows 8 is driving Valve to embrace Linux.

Posted: 26 Jul 2012, 13:49
by viking60
Yes you are right.
Gaming is important to win people over even if it is not fashionable to admit it. It does give Linux the flexibility that it lacked.

Re: Windows 8 is driving Valve to embrace Linux.

Posted: 27 Jul 2012, 16:10
by rolf
I'm not interested in games [1] but anything that removes the proprietary boundaries to Linux implementation of its capabilities is a good thing. Market share is necessary for Linux survival and it appears games would help this significantly. I am very concerned about the MS influence on FOSS.

[1] I was recently testing my GTX 470 video card and enjoyed watching the game-like animations of Unigine Heaven DX11 Benchmark 3.0 Linux

Re: Windows 8 is driving Valve to embrace Linux.

Posted: 27 Jul 2012, 17:23
by viking60
Congratulations and do get that 650W PSU - now that you are into gaming :-D
Guru 3d - how very fitting. Hmm that test sounds so tempting so I must now download it myself...

Re: Windows 8 is driving Valve to embrace Linux.

Posted: 29 Jul 2012, 12:53
by viking60
Hm I am a bit worried that this could be one of many times Linux is used at a threat against Microsoft. Without Linux and Open Source Microsoft would have been twice as expensive on most products.
It could look like Valve is using Linux a bit like this here

Re: Windows 8 is driving Valve to embrace Linux.

Posted: 02 Nov 2012, 03:35
by dedanna1029
Meh. Even if so, M$ just makes it all to easy to do, so. :p

I'm not happy currently with either, so...