I realize this could lead a few different ugly places, but I will do so anyway. The Linux Steam client, while still in beta, is available to anyone interested in giving it a go. So I am curious as to who has given it a try and how they feel about it. Whatever that may entail.

To try and be somewhat focused on the issue I am asking only for comments relating to Steam on Linux. What that means is if you love or hate the idea of Steam on Linux, or have something to say about your experience on using the client on Linux then feel free to say whatever you like. But if you have no personal feelings about Steam in direct relation to Linux, and just want to love or hate on it as a concept, then we have lots of other topics on that issue, and I would prefer those comments go there instead.

Obviously I did install the client, which was rather painless. It's intended for Ubuntu 12.04 but I'm running Mint 14 based on 12.10, which the client doesn't seem to mind. It installed and updated without issue. When logged in it only shows the Linux compatible games you have but lets you browse all you like. I have a few games showing up from some of the Humble Bundles. The store selection is a bit sparse at 41 tiles, and many games that actually have Linux versions like Bastion aren't available for Linux.

I've hardly ever used Steam, so its hard to make comparisons, but the client seems solid. The only quirks were that the “big picture” mode seemed to run in some dreadfully low resolution, and clicking on a title in the store sometimes would take you back to the main screen instead of the game

For the sake of testing and all of that I did something I have never done and bought a game through steam, grabbing Trine2 which I've been wanting. Paying, installing, and playing the game was all in working order and I imagine identical to the experience on win and mac. I then loaded up Steam on windows and the windows version Trine2 is available for install if I so choose.

So it appears to be in working order, though it could use a few more games. Impressions, feelings?

***self necro***

It seems to work well enough, and the number of available games is slowly increasing

Big Picture works and is nice, but it is a little slow on my pc

I generally prefer drm-free games and installing from repositories (for example games from the humble bundles), but I think having another option is a good thing

There are also other positive consequences, like seeing more games ported to Linux and improved drivers (I don't know if it is just a coincidence, but the version of nvidia drivers optimized for steam, besides being faster, finally fixed the backlight control on my laptop)

The worst thing I can say about it is that it doesn't remove the necessity of having a version of Windows Steam installed through Wine. There will probably always be games that run well in Wine but aren't ported natively to Linux and available through the Steam client, but hopefully that list will continue to shrink.

The Linux client is excellent. As DavosSeaworth mentioned, a service as mainstream as Steam taking Linux seriously will very likely lead to countless others following suit.

Bugs:
I ran into several but none that really stop anything. The most obvious is one that lists Windows games as available under Linux, which then break when you try to install (lots of reports of this on the bug tracker). Other mentions go to multiple install locations not working and strangeness with getting steam to exit (rather than run in background).

Features:
It is all there from Windows (as far as I can tell). The big issue for me though is the single login system. If I try to log in under one it boots be out of the other and to get back in is very annoying, doubly so for big picture mode. I want steam on my desktop and my TV, why can't I?

Political:
This is a big shot across the bow to Sony (PS) and Microsoft (Windows 8 and Xbox). Valve has enough push to pull something like this off, they did it with steam. Time will tell if they have the ability win against these two giants.

I've had it for about a month. I'm not too keen on the idea of Steam on Linux but I signed up just out of curiosity.

The client itself seems to works well and actually feels smoother than Windows. I was bit tickled that my favorite Steam game is already there (Killing Floor). Things aren't there yet but this could actually work (at least as well as Steam for Mac).

I'm worried though. Steam sets a new precedent for common Linux distros. It will soon be very easy to fill your machine with proprietary binary only software. Now there's a popular outlet for it that requires no sysadmin skills and it comes with a free DRM system as a bonus. :/

Things like that can change a culture. Few are going to put up with ./configure && make && make install anymore.

I do like the Linux client, but agree that it doesn't really stop our need for a Windows version install. I'm hoping that ends when more and more games show up on Steam.

I know they helped get Nvidia to do some major work on their drivers. Work which I hope benefits everyone.

I have some misgivings about Seam culture, but I'm trying to keep an open mind and recognize there may be some good to come of it. Maybe they fixed this, because I am not experiencing that. Or was it a random thing depending on the user?

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I am a little unsure what can be done about the install directory. My user directories are on their own partition and it's not really large enough be be installing much in the way of games. I'm tempted to just move the directory and make a symbolic link, provided that Steam doesn't notice or care. Or is their an option for that?

It already has. nVidia's latest driver updates have made GL performance on Linux really good. It also fixes performance issues with Unity. There is some good coming out of this endeavor. ;-)

And good riddance I say.

LOL. So true!

A couple of weeks ago I went to the trouble of updating the drivers, but didn't notice any of that 2x speed I had heard talk off. Granted my card wasn't anything to write home about to begin with and maybe it was already going as fast as it could go (though win performance was always much much better on a dual boot system)

Unfortunately now I am running an old ATI card I had which forced me to do some weird business to get running (issue with ATI and current distros). I would like to replace it with an Nvidia card soon, but I'm always afraid of messing around with video cards in linux. My experience has taught me that it's the quickest way to bork an install. I try to sort it out first and never touch it after. So I'm tempted to nab another ATI card since I could just drop it in, and tomshardware has them as best in class for my price range, but I would prefer not to. But then maybe ATI will feel some additional pressure to keep pace.

It's certainly good, but they developed it for Ubuntu only. That's only one Linux distribution out of the ten most popular. Count in Mint and you have two. It works for some additional distros, but only with a lot of configuration.

Looking at the state of the Windows client, I doubt that they'll develop the Linux client to beyond beta status.

I ditched ATi a long time ago ever since their driver update screwed up my Redhat box. Having switched to nv was a good thing for me. I will tell you that prior to the driver updates, Bastion would barely run on my desktop. Barely. The frame rate was so bad it was obnoxious. Since the driver update, things have been running very smoothly for me. That is a performance upgrade.

Switching manufacturer drivers is a touchy scenario indeed. I'd guess you need to somehow switch your xorg to use the generic drivers before changing hardware.

It's touchier now. Some of the old cards (mine) don't work with the new ATI drivers at all. You have to use the "legacy driver." which doesn't work with xorg3. Some guy made a boss repository that sorts the whole mess out for people like me, but I'm super unsure how to undo the whole process so I could install an Nvidia card (he may have an uninstaller too though. )

Typically I just give up and start from scratch. I just did all of that and would rather not, plus I'm not sure how many "systems" steam will allow for. Each installation and each wine install looks like different system. I'm up to 4 or so just from playing around with it, and they are all on the exact same computer.

Steam doesn't count how many allowed systems. I've had dozens of "systems" so to speak. Steam Guard only wants to verify that you are the person accessing your account. A different browser in the same machine will trigger Steam Guard's password access.