Return of the Steam Box!

[Irishjohn]

Huh. I didn't realize that Razer made a gamepad actually. Do you think the Onza is enough of an upgrade over the Xbox controller to consider switching? Just nicer feedback on buttons or what? The D-Pad looks like it might actually be usable, though I haven't used a D-Pad since before the second Bush was in office, I'm pretty sure.

[BigJKO]

The Official Microsoft Wireless Dongle has been discontinued so isn't sold anymore and even the driver site states you shouldn't buy 3rd party dongles.

 

Dongles!

[Irishjohn]

The Official Microsoft Wireless Dongle has been discontinued so isn't sold anymore and even the driver site states you shouldn't buy 3rd party dongles.

 

Dongles!

 

Wow, really? That seems nuts to me. I guess it was very much a niche market. Perhaps the Razer (mentioned by JonCole above) is the best option then after all. That or a PS3 controller with a bluetooth driver.

[Lu]

There's also the 360 Wireless controller for PC that comes with the dongle as a pack in; did they discontinue that as well? Though from what I've seen, it seems to be relatively easy to still buy the dongle from various online stores.

 

My guess is they want you to stop buying the 360 controller for PC and start buying the Xbox One controller for PC, for which they can coincidentally sell you a new dongle, since they're doing another proprietary bullshit thing. Yay!

[JonCole]

It's not discontinued, as far as I know, it's simply only sold in a bundle with a wireless controller labeled "Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows". So the product can be bought genuinely, despite the drivers for Mac probably being 3rd party.

 

Edit: Lu beat me to the punch. Of course, you could always just buy the bundle and sell the controller after the fact.

 

Also, I just looked on Razer's site. They updated the Onza to a new product called the "Sabertooth", looks like it's built with the same sensibilities as the Onza but maybe fixes the D-Pad that some people had issues with on the Onza. That said, I don't see anything about Mac drivers for it - http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-controllers/razer-sabertooth

[Bjorn]

The Official Microsoft Wireless Dongle has been discontinued so isn't sold anymore and even the driver site states you shouldn't buy 3rd party dongles.

 

Dongles!

 

Looks like you can still buy the genuine MS controller and dongle kit on eBay for about the price of a wireless controller alone ($40-$50), so that's not a bad deal.

 

That said, companies always tell you not to buy 3rd party stuff.  Not sure if it's still true or not, but MS even said not to use rechargeable batteries in the controllers.  If I would have believed the instructions on that, I would have spent as much in batteries over the last few years as I did on the 360!

[Lu]

Also, I just looked on Razer's site. They updated the Onza to a new product called the "Sabertooth", looks like it's built with the same sensibilities as the Onza but maybe fixes the D-Pad that some people had issues with on the Onza. That said, I don't see anything about Mac drivers for it - http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-controllers/razer-sabertooth

 

80 euro's!! Fuck off! I mean, not you, Razer, I mean.

 

Although, now that I think about it... If that new Valve controller was 80 euro's, I'd probably buy it..............

[Irishjohn]

If they had an alternative for the guide button and got rid of that awful two weeks in Thailand tattoo, and I'm in.

[JonCole]

I paid $120 for my keyboard, so I'm not a good judge of technology value.

[Irishjohn]

I want to get a $120 keyboard at some point. I do have a Razer Orochi. I like that.

[JonCole]

Hey, it's only $100 now. Anyways, highly recommended - http://shop.steelseries.com/us/keyboards/steelseries-6gv2-red-switch-us.html

[Dewar]

I buy the cheapest keyboard I can find, that way I can buy them in bulk and just replace it when it gets dirty.

[Bjorn]

I buy the cheapest keyboard I can find, that way I can buy them in bulk and just replace it when it gets dirty.

 

The same way I buy underwear.

[SecretAsianMan]

I used to buy "gaming" keyboards but I found them to be largely unnecessary because of the types of games I play.  Instead, I've been using gaming keypads, which I find suit my tastes much more.  I'm currently using the Razer Nostromo I got on sale, but I plan to upgrade to something better soon.

[darthbator]

I love that Valve is saying that even though SteamOS is released soon, only hardcore Linux programmers will be able to install it. Everyone else: please wait until somewhere in 2014. We're still releasing it now though. For the nerds.

 

I'm sure it's just using the debian ncurses installer or something. That thing can be super opaque for people without experience using linux. I plan on checking it out tomorrow when I get back from work. If it's not to much work to get it doing stuff I could likely post a guide outlining how to get a setup up and running. 

[BadHat]

That said, companies always tell you not to buy 3rd party stuff.  Not sure if it's still true or not, but MS even said not to use rechargeable batteries in the controllers.  If I would have believed the instructions on that, I would have spent as much in batteries over the last few years as I did on the 360!

 

Just for reference, I use a wireless 360 controller with rechargeable batteries and a shitty third-party dongle I found for like $10 and it works perfectly. The most hassle I ever have to go to is pointing the drivers to the device manually which is

. Can't vouch for unofficial drivers but I don't see how they'd differ really.

[elmuerte]

I'm sure it's just using the debian ncurses installer or something. That thing can be super opaque for people without experience using linux. I plan on checking it out tomorrow when I get back from work. If it's not to much work to get it doing stuff I could likely post a guide outlining how to get a setup up and running. 

 

Debain has a graphical installer these days:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92AYiC7s0oU

 

(ok, it's just a more fancier looking frontend of the ncurses installer; but it's fast, simple and quite easy)

[darthbator]

I can't imagine any user who wants debian is actually using that install method. IDK maybe I don't know anything anymore?

 

Looks like no AMD graphics support in the initial release. Looks like I don't have a platform to deploy this on yet. Oh wells...

[brkl]

http://imgur.com/gallery/LpuE8

 

Damn that case is sleek. You wouldn't believe the monstrosity under my desk. It's a project I left unfinished. Totally open with a 20cm fan on the side.

[Roderick]

That is one sexy crate!

[mikemariano]

That is one sexy crate!

 

Wow, Valve has finally achieved the lowest possible start-to-crate time.

[Merus]

Wow, Valve has finally achieved the lowest possible start-to-crate time.

 

Half-Life 2 has a crate right at the start of the game as a reference to Old Man Murray. And then they hired them, so.

[thorn]

Weren't the controllers meant to have touchscreens in the middle? Has that been axed, or are these still prototypes?

[Roderick]

These are still the prototype thingies, I believe.

[Ucantalas]

Weren't the controllers meant to have touchscreens in the middle? Has that been axed, or are these still prototypes?

I believe (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) that, for the initial beta versions that have been sent out, the controllers have four buttons in place of the touchscreen, which fits with how it looks in the images. I believe the final controllers at release are still supposed to have the touchscreen.