Posted Tue Sep 24, 2013 at 08:30 AM PDT by Brian Hoss
New operating system seems like an immediate HTPC choice.
Leading off the week of Valve's promised trio of announcements is the unveiling of SteamOS, the free Linux-based operating system designed to bring a better computer-based entertainment experience to the living room. Naturally, Steam and the current small set of Linux compatible games are the beginnings of what Valve sees turning into a flood of AAA Linux compatible games. In the meantime, Valve wants to have an "open" OS, which the community can infuse with capability, while still being well-suited for home theater/living room user experience.
The SteamOS promises a lot to come including entertainment playback, but the most intriguing feature beyond being free and from Valve is the promised ability to stream games from a PC. In theory, a user can use their gaming PC in one room to stream to a relatively weak computer in the living room.
From Valve,
Thousands of games, millions of users. Everything you love about Steam. Available soon as a free operating system designed for the TV and the living room.
Steam is coming to a new operating system
As we’ve been working on bringing Steam to the living room, we’ve come to the conclusion that the environment best suited to delivering value to customers is an operating system built around Steam itself. SteamOS combines the rock-solid architecture of Linux with a gaming experience built for the big screen. It will be available soon as a free stand-alone operating system for living room machines.
Cooperating system
Steam is not a one-way content broadcast channel, it’s a collaborative many-to-many entertainment platform, in which each participant is a multiplier of the experience for everyone else. With SteamOS, “openness” means that the hardware industry can iterate in the living room at a much faster pace than they’ve been able to. Content creators can connect directly to their customers. Users can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want. Gamers are empowered to join in the creation of the games they love. SteamOS will continue to evolve, but will remain an environment designed to foster these kinds of innovation."
In-home Streaming
You can play all your Windows and Mac games on your SteamOS machine, too. Just turn on your existing computer and run Steam as you always have - then your SteamOS machine can stream those games over your home network straight to your TV!
Source: Steam
Author: Brian Hoss
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