SteamOS expanding to other PC Handhelds

SteamOS, the operating system that runs on Valve's own handheld PC,
the SteamDeck, will soon be available* on other similar systems, such
as the ASUS ROG Ally.

Which really isn't so surprising. Yes, it potentially cannibalizes
SteamDeck sales but it's fairly obvious that Valve really isn't that
interested in dominating the market with its hardware. It never has
been. Whether it was SteamPC, or its SteamController game-pad, or the
Valve Index VR headset, these devices always were something of a
loss-leader intended to spur on other manufacturers to create similar
devices. The goal was less to make money selling Steam-branded
hardware and more to ensure that no other company could, by releasing
a device or service, might overcome Valve's own dominance in the PC
Gaming market. The Linux-powered SteamPCs was a reaction to
Microsoft's addition of an 'app-store' to Windows; the Index a
reaction against Occulus/Facebook.

Valve is HAPPIER if there is a market competing against its own
hardware, because active competition fights monopolization.

So SteamOS being released to other similar platforms makes sense; by
taking the burden off hardware manufacturers like ASUS, it makes it
easier for other similar handheld gaming-PCs to be created. It has a
bonus of diluting Microsoft/Window's control over PC gaming too; as
more SteamOS devices become available, we'll see more support for
games that run with Linux/Wine/Proton.

I'm all for this.

In fact, my only complaint is that Valve /still/ isn't actively
supporting a branch of its SteamOS that can be easily customized to
run on desktop PCs. I understand the hesitation; Valve doesn't really
seem to want to get involved too deeply into creating and updating a
general-purpose OS, which would need constant updates for new hardware
and security. Even Microsoft, a company worth over $400 billion USD,
struggles to create a stable and secure OS, after all. Better for
Valve to focus on a small subset of hardware platforms dedicated to a
very specific purpose (e.g., playing games).

But it would be nice to have a big desktop with SteamOS on it that I
could use solely to play stuff in my Steam library (even if I still
maintained a second PC with Linux or Windows to do actual work).

Maybe one day. In the meantime, this move by Valve is a welcome step.






* read more here
https://www.ign.com/articles/steam-deck-steamos-asus-rog-ally-support-confirmed