Displaying items by tag: Linux

Calxeda, one of the first companies that introduced ARM chips for servers, is closing its doors and starts the sale of its intellectual property.

The organization Raspberry Pi Foundation, which is behind the popular miniature enthusiast computer Raspberry Pi, announced the news on the conclusion of partnership with Wolfram Research, during a conference of computer mathematics, which was held in New York.

Thirty years ago, on 27th September 1983. Richard Stallman, programmer and hacker, launched the GNU project (GNU's Not Unix). It is a UNIX-oid operating system consisting entirely of free software developed by Stallman and his collaborators.

Support from most popular video card manufacturers for the Linux operating system was often weak and lousy. However, it seems that this will change after Valve announced a new operating system SteamOS based on Steam, the popular digital distribution platform for games.

After the announcement of both the SteamOS and the Steam Machine (most call it the Steam Box) we read more than a few naysayers that were claiming Valve would have a hard time competing in the market. The theory behind these arguments is that the incumbents, Microsoft and Sony, are so entrenched in the market that gamers and regular consumers will not want to move away from those platforms. The problem with that theory is that many consumers are not too happy with the current state of the console gaming market. Anyone that watched the furor that unfolded after the launch of the Xbox One or the mass complaints after the PSN (Play Station Network) knows that this market is not a happy one.

In the second of three planned announcement Valve has confirmed that players will from next year be able to buy special equipment to play in living rooms based on the recently announced SteamOS. Devices, however, will not be produced by Valve alone, but they will do it in cooperation with several hardware manufacturers to offer a variety of configurations that will satisfy all types of players.

Not all that long ago we reported on the fact that the gaming community was making a shift away from Microsoft (and Apple) and considering Linux as a viable operating system for gaming. One of the leading proponents of this was (and still is) Valve. For those of you that do not know Valve is the company that created HalfLife and many other very popular games. They also have one of the most popular content distribution services on the market.

After the attempt to make their own smartphone and the inglorious end of that great idea, Canonical did not give up from their plan to connect the PC and phone.

Element14 is a company that deals with the distribution of electronic components and now they have launched a website intended for projects based on a  popular small computer Raspberry Pi. Since the device has sold more than a million copies, the site seeks to maintain good sales results, and encourage as many hobbyists of all levels to create projects.

Valve as a game development company has been a big hit in the past. Titles like Half--Life (and all the follow-ons) Day of The Ancients, and more have made them a name that still is respected by gamers. At least that was the case until they teased the gaming community with the third installment of Half-Life too many times. Now the consensus is that Valve cares more about getting Steam Working for Linux out of spite for Microsoft than it does about releasing games. In fact the whole thought of seeing Half-Life 3 in the foreseeable future has become something of a joke in the gaming and development community.