14 DAY TRIAL // The Valve developers have released another Beta branch of the Steam client and it looks like they are off to a good start, bringing a ton of changes and various improvements.
A stable version of the Steam client was made available just last week and it was a major update. Besides all sorts of goodies, Valve brought a new feature called Steam Music, basically allowing users of this distribution platform to have the client act a music player, with a lot more options.
Valve usually has a few Beta versions out into the wild until it decides that it's time for a new stable iteration, so if you see something that you like in this current release, you might have to wait for quite a while until it arrives for everyone.
Steam Client Beta update has lots of fixes
As usual, there are some changes that apply only to specific platforms, but for the most part, the improvements you see apply for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. The client has received support for a number of Steamworks API features that will land very soon, the "flushconfig" command is now safe and it no longer makes Steam install games in the wrong folder, the startup time of the games is no longer delayed by Steam Cloud communications, and the In-Home Streaming no longer registers framerate drops.
The Steam Music Player that was just made available also got a few changes, for good measure. The player is now able to use the multimedia keys from the keyboard, adding music has become a lot easier, and this feature no longer grabs focus of the UI.
Linux users have been targeted by the developers as well. For example, the gamepad entry is no longer repeating quickly, it's now possible to change the Steam Cloud file paths without any adverse effects, and the Xbox One controller key arrangements are now considered default.
How to get the latest Beta
As usual, if you want to get all these fixes and changes before everyone else, you will have to subscribe to the Beta from Preferences. Steam will ask for a reboot and the new version will be downloaded.
Keep in mind that it's not called a Beta for nothing. It's possible to encounter problems and bugs, not to mention the fact that the client is not considered stable at this stage. If you don't have any issues with the regular release, don't make the change to the new one.
You can also download the Steam installer from Softpedia, if you don't have the application by now.