[blue3c]

Really.... Your going to go the steam route. Steam has screwed up more games then not.
Steam cloud is not going to be open to Free and Open Apps.
Steam is in this to make a buck. They are not a source for Open and Free Apps.
Unless XBMC is going away from Free and Open, why would you even consider Steam?
Greenlight is just another revenue stream for steam/valve. Please do not get into bed with Valve/Steam.

[Ned Scott]

It's too late. We've signed the deal* and STEAM™ by VALUVE™ is now required if you want to use XBMC.

Seriously, what the heck. One of the team members speculates on Facebook about how it could be cool to see XBMC on the Steam store (which is no different than when we'll eventually be on the Google Play store for Android, or getting XBMC from an Ubuntu repo), and people start freaking out like this.

1. No one cares if you like Steam or not
2. It's normal and healthy for companies to want to make money. That's how they pay their employees and survive.
3. Steam already does do stuff with free and open source applications
4. It's just an idea for another way to get XBMC to the masses that would have zero impact on how XBMC is developed
5. Get in bed with them? Does that mean we're in bed with Google because the Android remote app is on the Google Play store? This is like calling someone a whore for holding hands with someone.
6. Why can't I stop playing Borderlands 2? I WANT TO EAT YOUR BABIES.

But hey, it's overreactions like this that make it funny when we do stuff like the Sony April Fools Day announcement.

*this is a joke

[Martijn]

If all fail fall back to 1.
But yes the contract does state we need to kill puppies

[guyonphone]

One of the things that I love about the xbmc forums is that people get real answers, no matter how controversial or trolling a post. I personally think blue3c is over reacting a bit, but he got a clear concise answer from the dev team with real information. Instead of just ignoring him or flaming him.

[natethomas]

There's also the theoretical:

7. Steam could provide a means of "auto" updating for the Windows and OSX platforms, just like PPA does for Ubuntu, Cydia does for iOS, and Google Play does/will do for XBMC for Android.

I was originally jazzed about the idea because I wanted XBMC to look pretty when I was in Steam Big Picture launching Skyrim, but the potential for auto-updating has come to seem much more exciting.

[blue3c]

No I was reacting to a question I saw on Steam.

But thanks for answering instead of just being a straight up ASS. Oh wait you didn't, you were just an ass.

"It's normal and healthy for companies to want to make money. That's how they pay their employees and survive."
Are you implying that XBMC is going to start trying to make money?

"Steam already does do stuff with free and open source applications"
Right the Greenlight area. Isnt this really just a testbed. To see if people will pay for these.
They actually have an area where that question is asked. Would you purchase this on Steam.
or are you talking about the free games. Each one has a Steam Starter pack or Steam something for sale to enhance the free game.
Does this mean XBMC will have enhancements that will no longer be free and open?


"It's just an idea for another way to get XBMC to the masses that would have zero impact on how XBMC is developed"
It would have to impact the way it was developed. A steam app is opened by first opening steam. At least that is how it has worked for every game I have used from steam.
All updates would have to be steam updates as well.

Also getting in bed with Steam vs Google.... Really. This is not even a comparison. Google actually supports free and open source programming. Yes they look for ways to make money from it. But they do not TIE you to a client just to open your free and open software.

Steam is great for games. I would not use it for my media center.

---

Oh and thank you for not being a complete and total ass about a question/concern someone had. You rock.

[Begall]

You got an answer. You just didn't get the one you wanted. Waaah.

[blue3c]

Really... thats an answer. Basically fuck you we give two shits what you think. That was the answer.
Then to pile on others say refer to one. Again, basically fuck you. Great.

[artrafael]

Really... thats an answer. Basically fuck you we give two shits what you think. That was the answer.
Then to pile on others say refer to one. Again, basically fuck you. Great.

Take a week to cool off.

[natethomas]

"It's just an idea for another way to get XBMC to the masses that would have zero impact on how XBMC is developed"
It would have to impact the way it was developed. A steam app is opened by first opening steam. At least that is how it has worked for every game I have used from steam.
All updates would have to be steam updates as well.

Right... except they wouldn't. It's not like Steam is hiring the entire XBMC team or co-opting resources, or anything else. All updates would have to be however the heck we (or anyone else who knows how to create a binary from Github) want to release updates. I feel like you are failing to comprehend how open source works. The source is now open under the GPL. Once you've opened Pandora's Box, you can't close it again. XBMC is, and always will be from this point forward, open source software. And as such, there is absolutely no way to limit the way it is released.

You can always download the binary from this site. If (and that's a huge 'if') we did actually do the work to put it on Steam, you could download it there. And, of course, you can always build it yourself from source. Right now there are two ways to get XBMC. If it went onto Steam, there would be 3 ways. And that is the end of the story. We'd go from having 2 ways to get XBMC for Windows and whatever other platforms we wanted to release via Steam to 3.

Your reaction goes from beyond absurd to offensive, because the only way your imagined doomsday scenario could occur would potentially leave the Foundation open to massive tax liability, would result in an enormous loss in userbase, and would require a conspiratorial dedication to closing the source of an open source project that would be unheralded in the history of open source software. You are effectively making the claim that every member of Team XBMC and the XBMC Foundation is both an absolute moron AND a James Bond Evil Villain with the goal of closing the source of software that we've all fought longer and harder than you at to keep always open.

It's fairly mind-blowing.

[Saner]

Its just a means of distribution.

As long as it didn't become the only means of distribution I dont see the big deal to be honest (and I say that as someone who is not a fan of steam)

[wimble]

or are you talking about the free games. Each one has a Steam Starter pack or Steam something for sale to enhance the free game.
Does this mean XBMC will have enhancements that will no longer be free and open?


"It's just an idea for another way to get XBMC to the masses that would have zero impact on how XBMC is developed"
It would have to impact the way it was developed. A steam app is opened by first opening steam. At least that is how it has worked for every game I have used from steam.
All updates would have to be steam updates as well.

Just to expand on those two points: I play Lord of the Rings Online. I spent ... four years(?) playing it on Codemasters' UK servers, before they discontinued their licence, and I'm now playing on Turbine's Servers, all of which was before it became Free2Play (*exactly* what that means is beside the point). It's now possible to get LotRO from Steam, and yes, Steam do have exclusive purchasable packs to "enhance" the game. However, they're entirely optional and, for the most part, cosmetic. I think there are some bundles which are cheaper than purchasing the same content directly from Turbine. The obvious equivalents for XBMC would be Steam supplied skins, or possibly a Steam plugin to communicate directly between your XBMC content and Steam's social media. Whilst those might be nice to have, it's not the end of the world if you don't.

I've now got the Steam installation of LotRO on my laptop, and my original Codemasters version on my desktop machine. My laptop had a space crisis issue, so I had to remove a lot of clutter, and reinstall. Steam was a much faster, and simpler installation mechanism than Turbine provide. Whether that'd be relevant for XBMC, I doubt, since the LotRO download is 14 Gig, and XBMC is under 50 Meg. Once I've got it installed, the update mechanism is identical on both machines: the updated content is downloaded directly from Turbine's servers. The only difference is that my original installation launches the LotRO game launcher (and updater) directly from the desktop. The Steam version runs the same thing, after I've gone through the usual Steam login. XBMC, once it's running, can update itself just as automatically as it does now.

However, I'm not a fan of the "First you log on to Steam". Partly because it publicises what I'm doing. In the case of LotRO, since I know what I'm doing, I've configured an extra shortcut, which runs the game launcher directly, and doesn't require that login. So Steam is *purely* an installation mechanism (at least from my point of view). Relevantly though, the Steam Library means that if/when I get a new machine, I can log into Steam, and simply decide what to download and install, without having to chase around half a dozen different suppliers sites, downloading all the individual installers.

And, presumably, there'd also be another chat forum for XBMC users. Which is always a good thing, in terms of expanding the userbase, and spreading knowledge (although I can see that the XBMC Team might not want to log on to even more forums, with the same old "can't make it work" questions. But such places would also grow their own experts).

[wbread99]

"It's normal and healthy for companies to want to make money. That's how they pay their employees and survive."
Are you implying that XBMC is going to start trying to make money?

Just for the record, I'd toss a few bones to have XBMC on my big screen. I like it that much.

Know that's not what you guys do...

But still. Just sayin.

[aoaaron]

I hope this happens! Being able to switch between XBMC and Steam whilst sitting on my sofa would be the ultimate couch experience (and would 10000% justify a HTPC/gaming PC combo for me).

[teeedubb]

I hope this happens! Being able to switch between XBMC and Steam whilst sitting on my sofa would be the ultimate couch experience (and would 10000% justify a HTPC/gaming PC combo for me).

This is already possible. You can either launch xbmc from steam or steam from xbmc. And now with steam big picture mode you can control everything via remote/joypad. I doubt ill be getting a next gen console and ill just upgrade my htpc.