14 DAY TRIAL // Valve is working on SteamOS, and the newest version of this Linux distro is now based on Debian 8.2. The developers have also added some new features and packages, and it looks like things are in place for the November launch of the Steam Machines.
We reported just a couple of days ago that a Beta version of the new SteamOS had been released, but now Valve brought all the improvements from the Beta branch into the stable one, including a much-welcomed upgrade to Debian 8.2. So the developers are now maintaining two different versions of SteamOS, one based on Debian 7.x and one based on Debian 8.x. Both of them are currently receiving updates, but it looks like the one using Debian 8 sees a little bit more action.
The new console / hybrid named Steam Machine will launch on November 10, and it will be powered by SteamOS, although it's quite possible that we'll see some Steam Machines running Windows as well. In any case, it's not yet clear what developers are going to do with all of these branches. They initially said that they had no intention of switching to Debian 8 anytime soon, but they did it anyway, and the number of updates for this version has increased in the past few months.
SteamOS now using Debian 8.2
The upgrade to a new version of Debian is definitely the highlight of this release, but there are other changes that seem just as important. "This is the same content that was pushed to brewmaster_beta last week. Updated kernel, auto-repair service, timesync and upstream Debian 8.2 updates/security fixes," wrote the developers.
Also, according to the changelog, the system no longer hangs when pairing additional Xbox 360 wireless controllers, some occasional hangs that occurred when using force feedback with Xbox 360 controllers have been fixed, the LEDs on Xbox 360 controllers are now working, and support has been added for new models of Xbox One controllers.
You can download Steam Brewmaster from Softpedia and give it a go. Please keep in mind that it's not a LiveCD, and you will need an entire partition in order to install it.