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Gaming platform provider Steam recently announced plans to launch its own Linux-based operating system and partner with PC makers to offer gaming PCs meant for your living room. Eventually we’ll see multiple Steam Machines in a range of shapes and sizes and with varying levels of performance.
As a beta test though, Valve recently sent out about 300 prototypes to testers. They’re small form-factor computers with Valve’s special wireless game controller and SteamOS software.
The folks at iFixit got one — and they did what they do in situations like these, and ripped it apart. It turns out that’s just about as easy to do on the Steam Machine prototype as it is on most desktop computers. Replacing or upgrading parts should be pretty simple. Hopefully the same will be true of the actual gaming systems that should start shipping in 2014.
Here’s a roundup of tech news from around the web.
- Steam Machine prototype: My God, it’s full of… PC parts
Valve’s Steam Machine gets torn down, easily. Not surprisingly, desktop PCs are simple to disassemble/reassemble. [iFixit] - AOKP custom Android ROM hits 4.3 Milestone, work is underway on AOKP 4.4
Android 4.4 KitKat may have been available for a few months, but the folks behind custom ROM AOKP are still putting the finishing touches on their custom build of Android 4.3. A nearly final build is now available, and work is well underway on the next version of AOKP. [AOKP] - Google boots ROM Manager from the Play Store for violating policies regarding in-app purchases
ROM Manager is a popular app for downloading and flashing custom ROMs and firmware updates on Android phones and tablets. It’s been available in the Google Play Store for a few years… but it’s temporarily gone while developer Koushik Dutta works to comply with Google’s in-app purchase policy. [Android Police] - Moto X ad in Wired’s print edition magazine will be interactive, show off custom color options with a button press
The new ad will show up in about 150,000 copies of the print edition. The ad will probably get far more views by people looking at the video online. [Mashable] - This might be Samsung’s new user interface for Tizen smartphones
Just because Samsung’s working on phones that don’t use Android doesn’t mean they’ll look dramatically different from the company’s current Galaxy devices. Part of what makes open source software like Tizen attractive to device makers is how customizable it is. Hello TouchWiz for Tizen Linux… or something like that. [SamMobile] - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas now available for Android ($7 from the Play Store)
I can’t decide if it’s amazing that you can play console games from a few years ago on your phone, or sad that some of the best games for your phone aren’t original at all. [Google Play]
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Nice “2001” reference.
Seems light on brass and clock-face gauges for a Steam machine.