features of Steam OS

A long countdown to a three-tiered announcement, Valve has finally rolled out phase one of its plan to take over your living room with SteamOS. What many thought was going to be a Steam Box console is for now a Steam platform, one that will be available for hardware manufacturers to implement at will. Perhaps not surprisingly, the immediate focus is on gaming. Why the need for SteamOS? Valve honcho Gabe Newell has long been saber-rattling in Windows 8’s general direction, advocating instead for a Linux-based solution. Valve is wary of a Windows 8 that might threaten to supplant Steam as The Place To Go For Games. SteamOS will also focus on (naturally) graphics processing efficiencies, with access to the full 3000+ strong Steam catalog, and several top titles available—at some point—n...