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If you have 100ms latency on your LAN you have some serious problems.
Not packet latency, but total latency added by streaming the video and controller inputs over WiFi. It's not the ping itself, but the perceived delay between input and response that matters for the gamer.
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Isn't this specifically not a desktop system?
Yes but it's virtually the same core software stack as on the desktop. So the linux distros get a huge leg up in that arena.
When we actually see it, it may be either a desktop-less distro, have Unity/GNOME or some other desktop permutation. My best estimate of what best fits a maximum impact strategy is an OS with a desktop environment pre-installed (even if hidden from casual view) or easily installable.
I have a feeling that we may look back at this seemingly minor product announcement as a significant stepping stone.
Valve just got every major publisher to take a serious look at what they are doing.
I'm somewhat disappointed. While perfectly logical for Valve, it might end up being not very beneficial for other distributions. In worst case scenario, hardware manufacturers cherry pick specific devices ("steambox") and software ecosystem to support (SteamOS) while totally neglecting all other linux distributions.
Valve cannot magically produce a homogeneous experience across all Linux distributions. They need some degree of consistency in the environment in order for users to have a reasonable experience. It isn't their job to prop up every two-bit distribution.
What qualifies as a "New" operating system? This is slightly modified Linux, with a slightly modified UI. Is that really considered new? How about calling it a new Linux variant rather than a new Operating System.
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I suppose they could plug the hole a little including a dalvik vm and get android games running too. In theory they would be able to get a large amount of games working and kill the OUYA. I'm not sure that's in the best interest of the Steam store unless they plan to start selling android games.
Some of the Valve documents explicitly sell the porting to Linux/OpenGL process as a stepping stone to mobile. And given their talk of breaking pointless silos I can imagine a steam store on Android that can play any Steam game you've got the horsepower for.
What I'm curious of is most of Steam's users are probably avid PC gaming fans that prefer PC gaming over console gaming At least that's true for me and various of my 'internet friends'
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This is genius. All you need now is a micro box running windows with appropriate video card that you can stick in the corner next to your router and never have to look at again. Assuming the streaming and UX works half as well as they're playing at, they've just managed to commoditize hardware compatibility. I don't think the importance of this can be understated.
You could do this already for years with Apple TV and Airplay mirror. The real problem is that of controls, mouse and keyboard don't match well with couch
"In SteamOS, we have achieved significant performance increases in graphics processing, and we’re now targeting audio performance and reductions in input latency at the operating system level." I'm really interested to see the trickle down effect that this will have on other Linux flavors. Having a push for standardization from a big name company like Valve should provide a better Linux experience for everyone.
What performance increases in graphics processing are they talking about? I'm with you thought, I do hope all of their work will be landed in mainline kernel so everyone could enjoy the benefits, and we could play games (through Steam or other methods) on most Linux distros, without much hassle.