Valve’s vision of invading your living rooms has started taking shape gradually, with the release of a first stable build of the upcoming SteamOS. Moreover, the company is now also shipping Steam Machine prototypes to the 300 volunteers who’ve registered to test them. As was revealed earlier, the new operating system from Valve is Linux-based, and has been derived from a Debian distribution.
It can be downloaded now through this link, but Valve has advised only those familiar with the Linux ecosystem to go for it. It has been designed to run Steam and Steam games, but it also provides you with a desktop mode for playing around with regular Linux applications. So Steam Machines is basically a PC with the open source distribution approach that’s taken by Linux editions.
Valve earlier this year, announced that the new SteamOS will come installed on pre-built yet upgradable gaming computers aimed at living rooms, and called Steam Machines. Although Valve will also have its own computers to release in the future, third party manufacturers are the only ones who have showcased their plans.
These will be accompanied by a customizable Steam controller, the main highlights of the prototype of which are its dual circular trackpads. It development is still in the early stages, so it will definitely take some time to enter markets. As for now, enthusiasts can download and install the SteamOS on their systems. Before that that though, take a look at this FAQ set Valve has prepared.
The hardware requirements of the OS are as follows:
Intel or AMD 64-bit capable processor
4GB or more memory
500GB or larger disk
NVIDIA graphics card (AMD and Intel graphics support coming soon)
UEFI boot support
USB port for installation