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LETTERS
WE TACKLE TOUGH READER QUESTIONS ON...94 MAXIMU MPC MAR 2022
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Lackluster
Linux Links
Your January 2022 edition
had a feature on how
Windows and Linux were
finally playing together
nicely. It’s correct in that
you can now use Linux
programs in Windows, but
just don’t expect it to work
the other way around!
This is particularly
annoying for me, as Linux
is my preferred OS for 95
percent of my needs—the
main exception being
gaming. I've tried Steam
and Proton on Linux and
neither are good. Why
should I use emulation to
play games that should be
supported out-of-the-box?
Of course, I understand
that game publishers
might not want to invest in
the coding required for a
different operating system,
maybe because they fear
there aren't enough Linux
gamers. But this is a
chicken-and-egg scenario,
where the audience won’t
show up until there are
more games to play.
However, I suspect there
must be an enormous
number of Linux users
like me who love gaming
and are currently being
underserved! –C. RolfeEDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GUY
COCKER, RESPONDS: First
of all, thank you for the
feedback on the article
and your love of Linux—it's
always great to hear from
those who embrace open-
source. As a gamer myself,
I hear your frustrations,
and it’s one of the reasons
I’ve stuck with Windows
over Linux for so long.
A few years ago, Valve
looked like it was going to
single-handedly reinvent
the Linux gaming market
with its Steam Machines,
which used a version of
Linux called SteamOS. You
probably don’t need me to
tell you this, but that didn’t
quite pan out and, in 2018 ,
they stopped being sold on
the Steam store.
There are now a few
good games that run
natively in Linux, including
Valheim, Dead Cells,
and Slay the Spire. OK,
you’d probably prefer to
be playing God of War or
Forza Horizon 5, but it’s a
step in the right direction.
Valve will also get a
second crack of the whip
this year with its new
Steam Deck handheld.
Valve's soon-to-be-
released console runs on
Linux (although you caninstall Windows) and Valve
is working on improving
the Proton compatibility
that will allow Windows
titles to run on Linux.
Have you played any
good Linux games, or
do you agree with my
assessment? Drop me an
email and let me know.Crystal Ball Gazing
I’m just sitting here
reading the article on
supercomputers from the
Holiday 2021 issue and had
a moment of uncertainty:
Was I reading Maximum PC
or Discover? I subscribe to
both titles and had to stop
to check!
I love the PC building,
gaming, and Photoshop
tips, but it was really
refreshing to read about
how supercomputers are
helping to predict extreme
weather as it becomes
more common around the
globe. Nicely done and
informative! –W.CarrEDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GUY
COCKER, RESPONDS: Our
writer , Ian Evenden, will
be pleased to hear this and
don’t worry, he has plenty
more features to come!
One of my favorite things
about Maximum PC is thatit tells me things I didn’t
know —in Ian' s feature,
it was that AI specialists
could beat seismology
experts at accurately
predicting earthquakes!
On a similar note, the
piece on Moore’s Law
by Jeremy Laird in this
issue talks about how the
famous predictor is being
challenged by the physical
design of CPUs. I was lucky
enough to meet with IQM
Quantum Computers at
Slush festival in Finland
recently, which I thought
was pretty amazing, but in
his feature, Jeremy covers
researchers from MIT who
are using machines based
on living cells to produce
processors that could
act like a human brain.
Incredible!Headphone Dilemma
I’m looking for advice on PC
headsets. I care about Apex
Legends, Discord, and not
being tied to my desk all
day, so they need to work
with those applications and
be wireless so that I can
walk to the kitchen without
taking my computer with
me. I’d also like to be able
to use these headphones
with my phone over
Bluetooth if possible.
Linux Gaming Woes
Gaming Headphones
Hard Drive Cloning