Summary: Despite the attempted spin from Microsoft sympathisers, the words of Valve's leadership put to shame Vista 8 and give a boost to desktop GNU/Linux

LINUX (but with omission of GNU) has been receiving a great deal of positive coverage over the past week. One reason is, major games are coming to GNU/Linux, eliminating one of the greatest adoption barriers on the desktop side.

"...major games are coming to GNU/Linux, eliminating one of the greatest adoption barriers on the desktop side."Based on many reports even in mainstream sites, the predicted failure of Vista 8 leads Valve to GNU/Linux. Valve calls Vista 8 a "catastrophe" and support for GNU/Linux is mostly motivated by this failure of Microsoft. Here is the main source that quotes: “We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2,500 games on Steam to run on Linux as well. It’s a hedging strategy. I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we’ll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that’s true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality."

Linux sites covered this great bit of news and a Microsoft booster hardly found a way to spin it. It is said to help "mainstream [GNU/]Linux" and another Microsoft booster found himself unable to do anything but quote the original (it is hard to spin it). Microsoft critics said:

Windows 8 Catastrophe Pushed Valve To Linux

I am not the only one who thinks Windows 8 is the next Vista. Gabe Newell, Valve co-founder and Managing Director, doesn't hold very high opinion of Microsoft's Windows 8. He calls it "a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space" during a videogame conference Casual Connect in Seattle.

Newell expressed concerns about Microsoft's immitation of Apple and introducing their own built-in Windows Store. One of the reasons behind the popularity of Windows was it was an 'open' platform and any developer can write application for it and sell it from different venues. With built-in store Microsoft will not only exert extreme control (it's already blocking out competitors like Firefox and banned GPLed apps) but also reduce the margin for developers.

At the same time Microsoft has its own vested interest in its own gaming platform Xbox and the tight integration of Xbox Live with Windows 8 and it's Store will make it "a more appealing platform for gamers and developers alike than Steam," writes Peter Bright at arstechnica.

Peter Bright is a Microsoft booster and a regular in our IRC channels (for whatever reason). The slight spin is evident. This is not about Xbox, which itself is a losing failure. This is an excuse and distraction for escaping the real news. ⬆