The Steam box is a reality,will come in multiple forms on release

The second countdown has ended and Valve has announced the highly rumored Steam Box with the name "Steam Machines". This system will come in multiple forms from different manufacturers, all using the Linux-based SteamOS. They have a prototype, and Valve wants to send the prototype to 300 Steam users for testing purposes. Check out if your eligible. 

It's pretty easy to be on that eligible list, but your pretty much going against millions of users that want to be within the lucky 300. But trying won't hurt, here are the steps:

Before October 25, log in to Steam and then visit your quest page to track your current status towards beta test eligibility

1. Join the Steam Universe community group 2. Agree to the Steam Hardware Beta Terms and Conditions 3. Make 10 Steam friends (if you haven't already) 4. Create a public Steam Community profile (if you haven't already) 5. Play a game using a gamepad in Big Picture mode

Valve didn't talk about specs or anything but they did mention in the reveal that these "Steam Machines" are completely upgradable and open.

There's still one more announcement left for Valve's three-part reveal and my guess is either a new source engine, a game exclusive to this box, or the box's controller.

[Source: Steam]

Valve announces SteamOS

Someone is making a big move. Valve just announced today the SteamOS, a linux-based operating system that can run on any living room hardware. 

The big countdown from Valve ended and this is what we got. This operating system is just one of the big announcements planned, and shows their attempt to hit the living room space that's already crowded by console gaming. Aside from the Family Sharing feature and the usual videos and music media services, the biggest feature of this operating system is the ability to stream your games from your PC straight to your home network and  TV. Valve states this is as a "Cooperating System".

Steam is not a one-way content broadcast channel, it’s a collaborative many-to-many entertainment platform, in which each participant is a multiplier of the experience for everyone else. With SteamOS, “openness” means that the hardware industry can iterate in the living room at a much faster pace than they’ve been able to. Content creators can connect directly to their customers. Users can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want. Gamers are empowered to join in the creation of the games they love. SteamOS will continue to evolve, but will remain an environment designed to foster these kinds of innovation.

Steam also announced that a huge amount of games will support the SteamOS natively in 2014, more info is said to come in a few weeks. The usual features like Steam Workshop, in-game chat, game groups, clouds storage will continue in the SteamOS, and it will be free to download when it's ready. Information is still vague at the moment, but I don't believe this OS is meant to go head-to-head against other systems like Windows.

We'll just have to see at this point. This is just one of the three planned announcements coming from Valve and the timer for the second has already started. The second announcement will be revealed in 41 hours at the time of writing this.

With the release of the Big Picture feature for Steam a year ago, it's clear that Valve has their eyes on your living room. With this reveal, it seems like they are ready to make a move, expand, and enter an already crowded space.

[Source: Steam ]