14 DAY TRIAL // Valve has just released a new update for the development branch of SteamOS and now the Linux distro features some of the newest packages available.
The operating system from Valve has been lagging a little, and it's been quite a while since the previous update. A year ago there were almost weekly updates for the operating system, but now a whole month can pass without it seeing anything new.
This can only mean one thing. SteamOS is getting a lot more stable and the devs don't really need to intervene anymore. Besides getting all the latest packages for the Linux kernel, drivers, and some other smaller ones, SteamOS didn't get any kind of new features.
This is the Alchemist version, which means that, technically, this is where all the interesting things happen before they reach the stable branch. The current release is one of the liveliest ones in a while and it should prove to be quite interesting for the users and developers alike.
According to the changelog, the Linux kernel has been updated with the latest version from steamos_kernel branch (with additional network drivers and Intel graphics performance improvements), the NVIDIA graphics driver stack has been updated to version 340.32, some white screen issues that occurred with NVIDIA hardware when switching back from desktop mode have been fixed, the Intel VAAPI driver for Steam In-Home Streaming has been added, and acpi-support has been updated.
Also, the packages gpgme1.0, krb5, libav, libva, libva, lzo2, nss, OpenSSL, and vdpau-video have been update to much newer versions.
SteamOS uses Debian “Wheezy” 7.1 as its base and some packages from the 7.5 release of the same distro. The system requirements for the operating system have remained pretty much the same since the beginning: an Intel or AMD 64-bit capable processor, 4GB or more memory, a 250GB or larger disk, NVIDIA, Intel, or AMD graphics card, and a USB port or DVD drive for installation.
SteamOS is considered a Debian fork by its developers, and it has become different enough since it was first announced by the Valve developers. The company’s goal is to have this operating system power the upcoming Steam Machines, which should be a console / PC hybrid.
Check the official announcement for more details about this release. You can download SteamOS 133 Beta right now from Softpedia and take it for a spin.
Remember that this is a development version and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended for testing purposes only.