Valve Announces SteamOS Beta
New Linux distro is optimzed for gaming.
Valve, makers of the Steam gaming platform, have unveiled the beta version of a new Linux distro optimized for Steam gaming. SteamOS is available for download at Valve's Steampowered.com website.
SteamOS is intended to support Valve's new line of Steam Machine gaming system, which Valve refers to as "livingroom hardware." (Steam Machines are currently in beta testing and aren't yet available to the public.) Users can experiment by installing SteamOS on their existing hardware while they wait for the Steam Machines. First versions of SteamOS only supported NVIDIA graphics cards, but Valve recently announced support for Intel and AMD graphics cards.
Valve has pushed far into the Linux space since announcing the Steam Client for Linux in July 2012. With the complete system of a hardware platform, OS, and online store, the company will be in position to challenge larger game vendors such as Microsoft and Sony.
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