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Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

phoronix.com

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Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#221

Post by UqWBcuFx6NV4r »

jijijijij wrote: post #155
helterskelter wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was probably a lot more true in the past but Linux users tend to be more privacy conscious and do things like spoof their user agent, so this is almost certainly an undercount. You basically used to have to do this to browse the web before Firefox became one of the dominant browsers.

Privacy minded Linux users probably also know, spoofing your user agent is likely to increase fingerprint entropy and actually decreases privacy. It may have been true in the past, but I don't think anyone even recommends it anymore.

Actually that sounds like exactly the sort of nuanced reality that “privacy-conscious Linux users” aren’t that likely to know at all.

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#222

Post by nijave »

gchamonlive wrote: post #174

I am a long time windows pc gamer, but lately I was having to re-pair my DS4 controller every week or so. But the windows Bluetooth device manager will just refuse to remove that device. So I was periodically having to open the old school device manager, click show hidden and remove the controller there. By the fifth time I got fed up, replaced windows with Bazzite and am happy now. Good riddance.

YMMV, I've not had good luck with Bluetooth on any OS

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#223

Post by deltoidmaximus »

Gander5739 wrote: post #207
ThatPlayer wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the same as EasyAntiCheat and doesn't support the same features. It's like saying Excel works on iPad, but you can't even use VBA on that. Or a game example: I have Minecraft (Bedrock) on my phone so therefore I should be able to do the same things as Minecraft (Java) on Windows. The problem is they're the same names for different software with similar, but not the same, functionality.

So you're saying that easy anti cheat on linux is different from on windows? I am aware it is not as effective as detecting cheating on linux, but does this affect gameplay itself? Or do game developers not want reduced efficacy of detecting cheaters, and so they don't support linux at all?

I don't play those games myself but the word is that the EAC on linux lacks the same kernel hooks that are available on Windows. I personally consider that a plus but if you're a developer obsessed with strong anti-cheat you probably do not.

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#224

Post by deltoidmaximus »

Zardoz84 wrote: post #86
sonzohan wrote: post #4

When Windows 11 was force-installed on my main game development desktop, I was skeptical, but kept using it. I was annoyed at having to turn off all the tracking and noise (like news articles) When it updated and started shoving AI down my throat, with no easy way to turn it off and suddenly lots of data I don't consent to sharing getting used, 11 became the last Windows OS I'll ever use. Whenever the next version co…

I strongly suggest any other distro that is Ubuntu. Canonical is a Microsoft wannabe

Fighting off snaps would be reason enough to abandon them but Canonical has control of the snap store in a way that is antithesis to open source as they're trying to run a walled garden play. This is the exact type of crap that lit a fire under my ass to get off Windows in the first place.

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#225

Post by nijave »

wafflemaker wrote: post #64

When playing eve online on Linux (via Proton), the moment any other window gets focus, or the mouse slights off the game screen onto the second monitor on the side, game minimizes. I have a feeling it's just wine things. Can anybody understand what happens and maybe explain it a little? I remember that 13 years ago I did everything on Linux and only switched to Windows to play eve online. Now the game works beautiful…

Maybe also try different Proton versions

Src https://www.protondb.com/app/8500

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#227

Post by Zhyl »

TurdF3rguson wrote: post #110

Skyrocketed above 5% is an expression I would discourage anyone from using because it's a broken metaphor. Unless the trajectory of that rocket was a few degrees from horizontal. How about grasshopper-ed above 5%?

It's been an exponential curve since 2022.

https://gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#228

Post by nijave »

heavyset_go wrote: post #176
thinkloop wrote: post #22

AI fixes Linux on the desktop. Whatever obscure issues you’re facing, you’re a quick prompt away from the solution.

LLMs regularly give wrong advice for debugging and fixing Linux stacks, especially desktop stacks.

Which LLMs? I've had good success with Claude Opus >=4.5

Older/smaller models were far worse

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#229

Post by Zhyl »

TurdF3rguson wrote: post #179
PurpleRamen wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The number doubled in the last year. April 2025 it was around 2.3%, and has been jumping around 2-3% for several years. Skyrocking seems justified when looking at a greater picture. Though, it's a longer process, not something that suddenly happened immediately. The combination of Steamdeck, proton, good gaming-distributions and Windows 10 phasing out, while Windows 11 sucks and becoming an AI+Ads-infested mess, seem…

Right but clearly 5% is still much closer to the ground than it is to the sky. Not that ground-rocketed makes any more sense because it doesn't.

Things can skyrocket whilst being relatively small compared to other things.

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#230

Post by nijave »

akimbostrawman wrote: post #91
thinkloop wrote: post #22

AI fixes Linux on the desktop. Whatever obscure issues you’re facing, you’re a quick prompt away from the solution.

In my experience AI is unreliable more often than not. It is conflating topics, uses outdated information or straight out hallucinates. It can be good if you already know enough to call it out on its bullshit.

The paid plans which enable "thinking" and internet research are far better than the free tiers and open weight models

e.x. ChatGPT-5.4 Thinking, Claude Opus 4.6

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