Chromebooks

[dbqp]

It would be cool if you could team up with Google and support Chromebooks as gaming machines. I know there are some chromebooks on which you can install the non ARM version of Ubuntu and start steam. But that's a lot of a hassle.

So my suggestion is a small native app that would allow streaming

[worthLESS]

From valves perspective it would be a hassal to support the subset of chromebooks (which dont have a whole lot of marketshare anyway) that happen to be running x86. They already have windows, linux and mac clients to support as well as now Stem OS. I just dont see it happening.

[porkloin]

I suspect they won't, and even if Valve wanted to and was currently pursuing a Chrome app, Google probably wouldn't really allow it. Both Valve and Google are trying to establish ecosystems of their own, and Google wants you to buy any games you play on your Chromebook from them. Even though the Chrome store is largely filled with junk for games, they have a vested interest in shutting out alternative distribution services from their ecosystem. They already deal with a lot of those problems on Android with alternative distribution platforms (Amazon App store, Humble Bundle, etc.), and I'd imagine that they'll keep Chrome a little more closely controlled because in this instance they just so happen to have a level of control that they don't have with Android.

Anyway, I agree that it would be awesome, but unfortunately I don't think it'll happen.

[dbqp]

Originally posted by Bran187:

From valves perspective it would be a hassal to support the subset of chromebooks (which dont have a whole lot of marketshare anyway) that happen to be running x86. They already have windows, linux and mac clients to support as well as now Stem OS. I just dont see it happening.

Chromebooks are coming, just watch out for next week's CES.
http://beta.slashdot.org/story/196133

Moreover I'm not asking for a steam client, just for a stream "receiver" app

[porkloin]

Originally posted by Kye:

Moreover I'm not asking for a steam client, just for a stream "receiver" app

That could be interesting. I still wonder if Google would let it fly, but I'm glad you added that distinction.

[dbqp]

Originally posted by l8ernewb:

Originally posted by Kye:

Moreover I'm not asking for a steam client, just for a stream "receiver" app

That could be interesting. I still wonder if Google would let it fly, but I'm glad you added that distinction.

yeah, in my head I had it all figured out :P Unfortunate write down. Anyway, Just a few more things to consider with this, Imagin you have Steam Machine in the living room and your wife/girlfriend/whoever wants to watch TV, you could save that relationship by turning on your chromebook, similar to the WiiU

[shazow]

Perhaps better yet, if there was a SteamOS Chromecast app which was only-streaming.

[NeptNutz]

I was all hot and bothered about Chromebooks and Chromeboxes just a little over a year ago. I even compiled Chromium to try on an old Netbook.

Then I came to my senses. I bought a Samsung 840 Series 120GB Solid State Hard Drive for $120, 2GB RAM for $30, and any current, 64-bit Linux distro you can name. At $150, the little old netbook can drive any Chromebook or iPad to lunch, buy it lunch, eat its lunch, and then eat the Chromebook or iPad for dessert!

After watching this newly upgraded netbook cold boot in 7 seconds to the login screen, Chromebooks never even crossed my mind again until today.

Oh yeah, and my netbook runs Steam! B-)

[nano351]

Originally posted by l8ernewb:

I suspect they won't, and even if Valve wanted to and was currently pursuing a Chrome app, Google probably wouldn't really allow it. Both Valve and Google are trying to establish ecosystems of their own, and Google wants you to buy any games you play on your Chromebook from them. Even though the Chrome store is largely filled with junk for games, they have a vested interest in shutting out alternative distribution services from their ecosystem. They already deal with a lot of those problems on Android with alternative distribution platforms (Amazon App store, Humble Bundle, etc.), and I'd imagine that they'll keep Chrome a little more closely controlled because in this instance they just so happen to have a level of control that they don't have with Android.

Anyway, I agree that it would be awesome, but unfortunately I don't think it'll happen. :tcry:

You seem to misunderstand how Chrome works and is designed. Google doesn't really care much about people buying things form the chrome webstore, sure they'd love it but there's only a handful of apps that even cost money on the webstore and that google would get any revenue from. The main goal is to get everyone to do everything on the internet and push the web standard. A big goal of that is to drive powerful web standards that make the web platform much much more powerful and allow for more adoption of their nonstandard APIs like NaCl. On top of that also more people on the web doing more things means more chances for them to view adsense advertisements.

The only content that I've seen Google control on the webstore is legally questionable like apps that aggregate illegal downloads. I'm sure google would love to have a steam streaming app avaialble on the chrome platform. The majority of Steam Client runs in a web interface already so it wouldn't be too farfetched for valve to release a lightweight version of steam client that would run on the chrome platform and do everything but install games.

Although there's likely not a huge reason for them to do so since most people that would be interested in streaming from their chromebooks would just install crouton or chrubuntu.

[dbqp]

Apparently Google already allows C/C++ programs with NaCl (https://developers.google.com/native-client/dev/) It would work in every chrome browser including ChromeOS, this could be potentially very cool if Valve managed to create stream receiving program.

[ollie299792458]

This would be awesome, there is no point me getting a steam machine for the year or so before I go to uni, however I am planning to get a chromebook for work and if I could stream games from my main PC, more awesome.

[BrenteR]

I would absoutely love to have a kind of steam reveicer on my chromebook to stream games from my windows pc or steam machine onto my chromebook. Great idea! Too bad it will probably not happen anytime soon.

[blackout24]

If you have a x86 Chromebook just install Ubuntu or some other Linux on it. There is practically no reason to use a Chromebook with ChromeOS anyway unless you want to intentionally limit yourself. Afterwards you can install Steam on it and use it as streaming client. The C720 is fast enough. You can even play Skyrim in Wine on with it playable framerate.