• Fizz@lemmy.nz
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    10 months ago

    I would consider the steamdeck to be a linux desktop if someone is browsing the internet on it.

    • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      10 months ago

      I agree, but it’s definitely marketed as a gaming console of a sort, and not really marketed as a full-fledged PC.

      So, imho, that technically skewers the numbers a bit, as it’s not a “desktop” in the traditional sense.

      I mean, I’m still not calling 2023 the “Year of the Linux Desktop.” I’m calling it the “Year of the Portable Linux Gaming Console.”

      The growth in percentage in Linux in Steam metrics is almost entirely because the Steam Deck.

      • Fizz@lemmy.nz
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        10 months ago

        When you are using the steamdeck in handheld mode there is no web browser unless configured from desktop mode. The desktop on the steamdeck is no different to my computer therefore I don’t think it’s fair to wave it off as a console. It’s far closer to a pc than a console.

        • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          10 months ago

          It’s far closer to a pc than a console.

          Ehhh, you have to spend money on a decent dock to be able to use it with any consistency as a desktop. Sure, software-wise, it’s not a console, it plays PC games.

          However, it’s physical form factor is a console. It looks and functions out of the box far more like a Nintendo Switch than a IBM ThinkPad.

          It’s literally a gamepad with a screen and no keyboard or mouse. So despite being a PC platform, I would still consider this a “console,” based on outward-facing form factor alone, personally.

          • Fizz@lemmy.nz
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            10 months ago

            That’s a fair point. Since we are talking about linux os share, the software that’s running on the device is more important to me than the form factor. What’s running on my steamdeck is so close to what’s running on my desktop pc that when I’m browsing the web on my steamdeck I’d consider myself browsing on linux rather than browsing on specifcally steam os.

      • Mouette@jlai.lu
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        10 months ago

        You cant be sure, Valve pushing Steam Deck and Proton is what made me switch to Linux as lot of games now works but I haven’t bought a Steam deck