12.19.13

Most Famous Derivative of Debian Could Become SteamOS, Not Ubuntu

Posted in Debian, GNU/Linux at 2:13 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Emphasis on the fact that SteamOS is basically a derivative of Debian GNU/Linux

DEBIAN has inspired more derivatives than any other distribution. Among them there are Skolelinux, Knoppix (new interview [1]), and of course Ubuntu, which brings many new users to GNU/Linux [2] (even nations [3]) and has many derivatives of its own. Debian 7 has a new release whose version number is 7.3 [4]. However, what much of the corporate press fails to realise or emphasise (especially reviews [5] and performance tests [6]) is that SteamOS is Debian with a new gown. Screenshots [7] reveal a polished operating system and it is important to remember what it’s derived from. If Valve gets its way, then Debian will soon have millions of new users. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

Debian Edu interview: Klaus Knopper

It has been a while since I managed to publish the last interview, but the Debian Edu / Skolelinux community is still going strong, and yesterday we even had a new school administrator show up on #debian-edu to share his success story with installing Debian Edu at their school. This time I have been able to get some helpful comments from the creator of Knoppix, Klaus Knopper, who was involved in a Skolelinux project in Germany a few years ago.
How And Why I Switched to Ubuntu

You may not agree with everything that they do, but Canonical is the most interesting company in the tech industry today. They have a vision, a wild vision, of a single user interface backed by open source software running on all computing devices, both personal and professional. Cloud infrastructure, basic servers, workstations, laptops, tablets, phones, and televisions could, if Canonical plays its cards right, be powered by Ubuntu and the Unity interface. I find this fascinating, and bold. Ubuntu is not just another distribution, it is a vision of what computing could be.
Ubuntu Might Replace Windows XP in South Korea

South Korea is considering the replacement of the old and dying Windows XP with a free Linux alternative, namely Ubuntu.
Updated Debian 7: 7.3 released

The Debian project is pleased to announce the third update of its stable distribution Debian 7 (codename wheezy). This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustments for serious problems. Security advisories were already published separately and are referenced where available.

Please note that this update does not constitute a new version of Debian 7 but only updates some of the packages included. There is no need to throw away old wheezy CDs or DVDs but only to update via an up-to-date Debian mirror after an installation, to cause any out of date packages to be updated.
Hands-on preview: SteamOS

Valve’s revolutionary take on living-room gaming has entered its public beta phase, but is SteamOS ready for primetime or should Linux-nerds only apply?
SteamOS vs. Windows 8.1 NVIDIA Performance

Overall, the SteamOS vs. Windows 8.1 results aren’t too far removed from other Linux vs. Windows NVIDIA GeForce graphics card benchmarking results delivered in the past on Phoronix. Generally the NVIDIA Linux graphics driver can deliver comparable performance to that of the Windows GeForce driver due to the largely shared code-base between platforms, which again is the case here with SteamOS just being a derivative of Debian Linux.
SteamOS GNOME Screenshot Tour

At our users’ request, we’ve decided to create a quick screenshot tour of the brand new SteamOS Linux operating system from Valve, showcasing the GNOME 3 desktop environment used in the regular desktop mode.

SteamOS is a gaming Linux distribution based on the powerful and popular Debian GNU/Linux operating system, using Linux kernel 3.10 and version 3.4 of the controversial GNOME desktop environment, with the GNOME Shell interface.