XPost: comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy

Can Windows really be made fit for gaming? From <https://www.theverge.com/notepad-microsoft-newsletter/763357/microsoft-asus-xbox-ally-handheld-hands-on-notepad>:

The main interface on the Xbox Ally is similar to what can be
found in the current Xbox app on Windows 11, Microsoft’s Steam
competitor on PC. This app integrates with the Game Bar,
Microsoft’s PC gaming overlay, to form this full-screen Xbox
experience. Just like an Xbox console, you activate this Game Bar
from a single tap of the Xbox button, and it’s what keeps you far
away from the complexities of the Windows desktop hidden
underneath. Microsoft doesn’t load the desktop wallpaper, the
taskbar, or a bunch of other processes that you don’t need for
gaming. It’s essentially not loading the Explorer shell and saving
around 2GB of memory by suppressing all the unnecessary parts of a
typical Windows 11 installation.

However ...

Switching back and forth between Windows and Xbox modes is
relatively quick, but after switching into the Windows desktop
mode just once, you’ll need to fully reboot the device to regain
the 2GB of allocated RAM. You also have the option to keep
switching between both modes without those performance savings.
While the handheld-optimized Xbox UI on the Xbox Ally devices is a
great improvement over what exists today, I still fear the
complexity of Windows will creep through during daily use. This is
still a Windows 11 device after all, which means there are OS
updates and notifications from other apps or storefronts to
install that might break the immersion. For example, while the
Xbox app takes over the left-hand swipe gesture to activate the
Game Bar, the right-hand swipe still activates the Windows 11
notification center, which looks out of place in the Xbox UI. The
Xbox team is working to improve this, but it highlights the
challenges of trying to hide Windows beneath a console-like UI.

This is what happens when you build your GUI inextricably into the OS
kernel: you lose the flexibility of being able to adapt to different
form factors, as Linux is able to manage on the Steam Deck.

Basically, it looks like this product is a hasty and ill-fitting
merger of Xbox and Windows in an attempt to head off the gathering
momentum around Linux-based gaming devices. Describing it as “a good
first step” is, as one might say, damning with faint praise ...

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

XPost: comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy

On 2025-08-23 10:24 p.m., Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:

Can Windows really be made fit for gaming? From <https://www.theverge.com/notepad-microsoft-newsletter/763357/microsoft-asus-xbox-ally-handheld-hands-on-notepad>:

The main interface on the Xbox Ally is similar to what can be
found in the current Xbox app on Windows 11, Microsoft’s Steam
competitor on PC. This app integrates with the Game Bar,
Microsoft’s PC gaming overlay, to form this full-screen Xbox
experience. Just like an Xbox console, you activate this Game Bar
from a single tap of the Xbox button, and it’s what keeps you far
away from the complexities of the Windows desktop hidden
underneath. Microsoft doesn’t load the desktop wallpaper, the
taskbar, or a bunch of other processes that you don’t need for
gaming. It’s essentially not loading the Explorer shell and saving
around 2GB of memory by suppressing all the unnecessary parts of a
typical Windows 11 installation.

However ...

Switching back and forth between Windows and Xbox modes is
relatively quick, but after switching into the Windows desktop
mode just once, you’ll need to fully reboot the device to regain
the 2GB of allocated RAM. You also have the option to keep
switching between both modes without those performance savings.
While the handheld-optimized Xbox UI on the Xbox Ally devices is a
great improvement over what exists today, I still fear the
complexity of Windows will creep through during daily use. This is
still a Windows 11 device after all, which means there are OS
updates and notifications from other apps or storefronts to
install that might break the immersion. For example, while the
Xbox app takes over the left-hand swipe gesture to activate the
Game Bar, the right-hand swipe still activates the Windows 11
notification center, which looks out of place in the Xbox UI. The
Xbox team is working to improve this, but it highlights the
challenges of trying to hide Windows beneath a console-like UI.

This is what happens when you build your GUI inextricably into the OS
kernel: you lose the flexibility of being able to adapt to different
form factors, as Linux is able to manage on the Steam Deck.

Basically, it looks like this product is a hasty and ill-fitting
merger of Xbox and Windows in an attempt to head off the gathering
momentum around Linux-based gaming devices. Describing it as “a good
first step” is, as one might say, damning with faint praise ...

I have a simple argument for you here:

On SteamOS, a majority of games are available but they will perform
worse than they would directly on Windows where all the games are
available. In the end, gamers want their games to be playable; they
don't give a poop if the kernel is not as flexible.

--
God be with you,

CrudeSausage
Islam is the enemy
John 14:6

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

XPost: comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy

On Sun, 24 Aug 2025 10:12:14 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

On SteamOS, a majority of games are available but they will perform
worse than they would directly on Windows where all the games are
available. In the end, gamers want their games to be playable; they
don't give a poop if the kernel is not as flexible.

On a conventional desktop, you would have a point.

But on a handheld device, the Windows interface and overhead just get in
the way. While SteamOS cannot offer 100% compatibility, it provides a
superior enough user experience that it has become the leader in that particular market, leaving genuine-Windows-based competitors in the dust.

True, that market is still small. But the fact that Microsoft has taken an interest and is now trying seriously (though not successfully) to compete, shows that it recognizes the potential for growth.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

XPost: comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy

On Sun, 24 Aug 2025 22:02:20 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote in <108g25c$32gqg$7@dont-email.me>:

On Sun, 24 Aug 2025 10:12:14 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

On SteamOS, a majority of games are available but they will perform
worse than they would directly on Windows where all the games are
available. In the end, gamers want their games to be playable; they
don't give a poop if the kernel is not as flexible.

On a conventional desktop, you would have a point.

Not necessarily. Some games run better on proton using DXVK
than Windows with DX##.

(I guess Windows could try to use DXVK, but I'm guessing the
OS wouldn't allow it.)

But on a handheld device, the Windows interface and overhead just get in
the way. While SteamOS cannot offer 100% compatibility, it provides a superior enough user experience that it has become the leader in that particular market, leaving genuine-Windows-based competitors in the
dust.

True, that market is still small. But the fact that Microsoft has taken
an interest and is now trying seriously (though not successfully) to
compete,
shows that it recognizes the potential for growth.

--
-v System76 Thelio Mega v1.1 x86_64 NVIDIA RTX 3090Ti 24G
OS: Linux 6.16.2 D: Mint 22.1 DE: Xfce 4.18
NVIDIA: 580.76.05 Mem: 258G
"Actually, cats are quite good at domesticating humans."

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

XPost: comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy

On 2025-08-24 6:02 p.m., Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:

On Sun, 24 Aug 2025 10:12:14 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

On SteamOS, a majority of games are available but they will perform
worse than they would directly on Windows where all the games are
available. In the end, gamers want their games to be playable; they
don't give a poop if the kernel is not as flexible.

On a conventional desktop, you would have a point.

But on a handheld device, the Windows interface and overhead just get in
the way. While SteamOS cannot offer 100% compatibility, it provides a superior enough user experience that it has become the leader in that particular market, leaving genuine-Windows-based competitors in the dust.

True, that market is still small. But the fact that Microsoft has taken an interest and is now trying seriously (though not successfully) to compete, shows that it recognizes the potential for growth.

I suppose that we will have to see how the Xbox-badged devices do the
job before determining whether SteamOS is truly better on a protable
device or not. For me, Steam is the least problematic thing on Linux,
but there is no denying that many games don't work right on it. Any game requiring the TPM will automatically not work on a device using SteamOS
which means that if you're a fan of multiplayer, you're likely going to
find it limiting.

--
God be with you,

CrudeSausage
Islam is the enemy
John 14:6

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

XPost: comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy

On Mon, 25 Aug 2025 08:52:30 -0400, CrudeSausage wrote:

I suppose that we will have to see how the Xbox-badged devices do the
job before determining whether SteamOS is truly better on a protable
device or not.

Xbox seems to be in decline these days. The best thing that can be said
about this Xbox-Windows hybrid thing is that it’s a last-gasp attempt by Microsoft to bring some life back into the Xbox market.

Remember, SteamOS is about Windows games. Xbox brings nothing to that.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)