Steam Hardware Having Trouble with Mac Systems

[CrystalShadow]

If you want to game on something other than a console or a phone, you don't do it on a Mac. Go PC or go home!

Unless, of course, you want a computer with a user-friendly operating system, better OS security and don't want to have to shell out a couple thousand additional dollars for a machine dedicated to video games. I mean, really, just because Mac isn't the most flexible platform out there doesn't mean people shouldn't desire games on it.

I'm not even a Mac guy, and I get it. Remember, the industry at large has viewed PC gaming with the same disdain you're expressing for Mac users, essentially saying "Go console or go home." Your house is made of slightly reinforced glass.

Yeah, perhaps...

Of course, mac gaming has been way behind PC gaming for about as long as the PC has existed.
It's about the same now as it has always been.

Honestly, expecting something that's been like that for something like 30 years is a bit...
Well it doesn't seem sane.

As for the other stuff... Priorities. Macs aren't that much better than PC's.
And the 'security' of Mac and Linux systems largely amounts to 'Security through obscurity'.

If you play games with your computer, you get a PC. If you have other priorities, you get whatever you think works best, though... In practical terms, for modern computers there's no great difference worth speaking of.

I can't say I see the appeal of macs (my whole family seems to have been obsessed with them for as long as I can remember), but... Whatever.

 

[inmunitas]

As for the other stuff... Priorities. Macs aren't that much better than PC's.
And the 'security' of Mac and Linux systems largely amounts to 'Security through obscurity'.

"Security through obscurity" mainly applies to closed source software, Linux and Mac OS are both partially or completely open source.

 

[CrystalShadow]

As for the other stuff... Priorities. Macs aren't that much better than PC's.
And the 'security' of Mac and Linux systems largely amounts to 'Security through obscurity'.

"Security through obscurity" mainly applies to closed source software, Linux and Mac OS are both partially or completely open source.

Just because technically you can see the source code, doesn't mean it doesn't apply.
People can find code vulnerabilities more easily In open source software, but you still actually have to have a reason to go looking.

Let me ask you this, if you wanted to do something dubious, that had the best chance of hitting as many people as possible, what would you aim for?
The system that 90% of computers run? Or One of that tiny 10% group?

Clearly unless you had a specific target in mind, you'd aim for the more common system. (especially with the kind of numbers you see in the windows vs everything else argument)

Is linux more secure? Or is it just that very few people are actively looking for things to exploit?
That's not actual security, that's just not getting noticed.

If nobody can be bothered to try and break into your house, it does not, in fact mean your house has good security.

 

[inmunitas]

As for the other stuff... Priorities. Macs aren't that much better than PC's.
And the 'security' of Mac and Linux systems largely amounts to 'Security through obscurity'.

"Security through obscurity" mainly applies to closed source software, Linux and Mac OS are both partially or completely open source.

Just because technically you can see the source code, doesn't mean it doesn't apply.
People can find code vulnerabilities more easily In open source software, but you still actually have to have a reason to go looking.

Let me ask you this, if you wanted to do something dubious, that had the best chance of hitting as many people as possible, what would you aim for?

I'd probably target mobile/tablet devices if I was interested in hitting as many people as possible in this day an age, most of which run a Linux-based system or iOS, or I could also target public web servers the majority of which also run Linux or other Unix/Unix-like systems.

 

[Strazdas]

A hardware from a company that is known for going as far as breaking laws to keep thier hardware incompatible with third party hardware is having problems with third party hardware. who would have though!

Unless, of course, you want a computer with a user-friendly operating system, better OS security and don't want to have to shell out a couple thousand additional dollars for a machine dedicated to video games. I mean, really, just because Mac isn't the most flexible platform out there doesn't mean people shouldn't desire games on it.

I'm not even a Mac guy, and I get it. Remember, the industry at large has viewed PC gaming with the same disdain you're expressing for Mac users, essentially saying "Go console or go home." Your house is made of slightly reinforced glass.

Well, if you want a computer with a user-friedly operation system, actual OS security rather than security by obscurity amd be able to game on it as well you choose a windows PC. if you want to look like a hipster you choose a MAC. Its not that people shouldnt desire games on MAC, its that people shouldnt desire MAC.

The industry at large has never viewed PC with disdain. it always was the biggest platform in gaming, ever since its commodore origins. its the console propaganda that pushed for this and failed terribly.

As for the other stuff... Priorities. Macs aren't that much better than PC's.
And the 'security' of Mac and Linux systems largely amounts to 'Security through obscurity'.

"Security through obscurity" mainly applies to closed source software, Linux and Mac OS are both partially or completely open source.

no. security through obscurity means that its more secure because its so rare noone botheres breaking into it. it has nothing to do with open/closed source. considering that mac and linux combined is less than 5% of computers sold, and less than 3% of steam users, this applies very well here.

I'd probably target mobile/tablet devices if I was interested in hitting as many people as possible in this day an age, most of which run a Linux-based system or iOS, or I could also target public web servers the majority of which also run Linux or other Unix/Unix-like systems.

over 98% if mobile platforms run android, which is a java system running in virtual machine in linux.

 

[inmunitas]

As for the other stuff... Priorities. Macs aren't that much better than PC's.
And the 'security' of Mac and Linux systems largely amounts to 'Security through obscurity'.

"Security through obscurity" mainly applies to closed source software, Linux and Mac OS are both partially or completely open source.

no. security through obscurity means that its more secure because its so rare noone botheres breaking into it. it has nothing to do with open/closed source. considering that mac and linux combined is less than 5% of computers sold, and less than 3% of steam users, this applies very well here.

That would be "security through minority", not obscurity. Also you are referring specifically to the desktop computer market in which Windows comes pre-installed for the vast majority of cases.

 

[Strazdas]

As for the other stuff... Priorities. Macs aren't that much better than PC's.
And the 'security' of Mac and Linux systems largely amounts to 'Security through obscurity'.

"Security through obscurity" mainly applies to closed source software, Linux and Mac OS are both partially or completely open source.

no. security through obscurity means that its more secure because its so rare noone botheres breaking into it. it has nothing to do with open/closed source. considering that mac and linux combined is less than 5% of computers sold, and less than 3% of steam users, this applies very well here.

That would be "security through minority", not obscurity. Also you are referring specifically to the desktop computer market in which Windows comes pre-installed for the vast majority of cases.

semantically correct, but people use the former to mean the later. in fact i never even heard security through minority used once.

I was refering to home computer market, which includes laptops and desktops. Though what you said holds true to both. There is a reason for that: people want an OS preinstalled so they dont have to think about it. There was also a strong push for sales with OS preinstalled from government here because if you buy an OS with PC you are less likely to pirate it. What actually happened is people bought PCs with linux preinstalled, got government rebates and then pirated windows. Even so, it still did not made Linux sales significant portion.