Steam has contributed a lot to this, thanks to their console
Yup. I’ve considered installing Steam OS on my FW16, but unfortunately the new one only has a restore “disk” and I had already wiped the flash drive that had the older version so I could put the new one on there. Steam also has the old version linked to the new version’s restore disk so unless I use something to find a historic version of the site and re download it or what till they released Steam OS 3 that’s out of reach. I just figured I’d use a more updated Linix OS and just go from there. I’m going to try and use Ubuntu. Might try Pop!OS if I get good results with Ubuntu.
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I still got a SteamOS.iso, but it’s from 2014 
That sounds about right. I think mine was around 2016, give or take a year, after I built my current desktop. I setup my old desktop as a Steam machine just to try it out. Unfortunately there wasn’t a lot of Linux compatible games back then. I think I might still have it installed on a laptop HDD that I used in that system (it was a readily available drive that wasn’t put in my desktop) . I don’t remember if I upgraded a laptop to an SSD or if I was upgrading my PS4 to a faster drive. I’m sure I have that drive floating around somewhere with Steam OS still installed.
To be honest, gaming on Linux is (more or less) a breeze nowadays (compared to like 5-10 years ago). 95% of the games I played I added to steam, started with proton and they just worked.
I had a few non game programs, that were “windows only” that I also used via the steam proton layer and that worked quite fine (and I am by far not very experienced in getting stuff running on linux).
Yes if you are performance hungry and shooting for high fps, 99.9% compatibility and less tinkering, then windows will still remain the goto os and I won’t guildtrip you into using linux.
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So after thinking about this I decided to run some tests last night running a live USB of Ubuntu on my current laptop. After figuring out how to update stuff I got Steam installed and found that like 1/4th of my games are Linux compatible. 
Then I did a quick Google search to figure out how to get Proton to work. Got that enabled/installed/updated and was unable to get any of my games working. As I was wrapping things up to get ready for bed I came across something that looked like selection for graphics drivers. It was then that I realized the Nvidia GTX 1060 didn’t have drivers and that I was running the iGPU on the processor. So that partly explains why I couldn’t get any game to launch. I did notice that even games with launchers (Stellaris, Divinity 2) didn’t bring up the launcher so there seems to be more to it than that. I’ll have to give it another shot soon.
I’m realizing that my unfamiliarity with Linux and comfort with Windows really made me want to just quit and use Windows on my FW16 because it usually “just works” but I have to remember that sometimes it doesn’t always work. Also, the unfamiliarity with Linux adds a layer of difficulty while troubleshooting because I’m significantly less knowledgeable about how Linux works. I think if I can get this working on my current laptop it’ll be a lot easier once I get my FW16.
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Yes, unfamiliarity with Linux can be one of the biggest hurdles. You will have get used to it if you’re coming from windows.
It all depends on what your reasons are why you want to use Linux. If they are important enough to you it’s easier to get used to it, otherwise it probably will be an uphill battle.
I never played Stellaris or Divinity 2 on my Linux setup, but I had games with launchers. From my experience those tend to have more problems than games without a launcher.
If you want to make sure, that the games you play regularly run smoothly, you can always check https://www.protondb.com/.
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One of the big games I play is Final Fantasy XIV. I have the non-steam version for Windows so I expect that game to give me a bit more trouble. It looks like the Steam version works well enough so hopefully it’s not too difficult to get the windows version running. I do run that non-Steam game through Steam on my laptop and desktop and I know I tend to have an issue when I reinstall Windows on my desktop and when Steam finds the game it thinks it’s the free trial version and I can’t log in. I’m hoping that doesn’t end up being an issue while running it in Linux. Honestly if I can’t get that game to work I’ll switch back to Windows.
I haven’t played much FFXIV but I have installed it on Linux before (through lutris, which is a very helpful tool for playing non-steam windows games on Linux)
I remember it working after tweaking my computer to allow programs to open more than a couple hundred thousand files simultaneously. Not sure why ffxiv needs that but it does 
Though I’m not a bloody newb when it comes to Linux, I still struggle with the nomenclature of commands. I grew up with DOS and have an Ubuntu server working as a better NAS and Fileserver with FTP. Some commands are the same, like ‘cd’ and ‘dir’ (but ‘ls’ is more often used?), but it’s a slash for directories, not a backslash, ifconfig instead of ipconfig and it’s the old style, nowadays it’s something else I don’t remember yet.
Browser or mail are no problem, but as an example, I wasn’t able to get Dolby Atmos as a bitstream through VLC player to my surround receiver, which works for windows. Also I didn’t find a driver for my DVB-S2 card to watch TV. These are the little things keeping me at windows, because not everything works out of the box and I hate tinkering with my PC.
I like tinkering with my computer but now that I’ve got kids I don’t really have the time for it. So I kinda just want stuff to work but I’m willing to give it a shot on the FW16. If things don’t work out I’ll just switch to Windows.
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undecided linux distro. I thought I’d have more time, but its snuck up on me. Thinking Linux Mint or Kubuntu.
I’ve used Linux a bunch working with servers, but this will be my first foray into desktop Linux
Batch 12 was supposedly charged today! Hoping for email tomorrow!
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Goddammit, could it be?
To be honest, I think, they send the mail on monday, but if they want to send batch 17 still in may, they will have to pick up the pace even more.
So like tomorrow or Monday we’ll see batch ready email! So close!
Updated the screenshot, I forgot to update the deltas. However, it’s more days than weeks, that we’re apart from our new, repairable and upgradeable Notebook.
Yup! I’m guessing we’ll likely get our batch notification on Monday and the first of us charged Thursday.
Here in Germany, there’s nearly a whole 22 hours left for the 26th to send the mail @framework hint hint 
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Just got the prep email!
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Got mine too!
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