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  • Dec 1, 2025, 11:46 PM

    Was in a conversation in Slack where I was asked why I wanted a Steam Machine, as opposed to fighting to get things running on my mac mini or a home-built linux box. This is my reply, which I was asked to repost:

    "I like linux. I don't like having to constantly fuck with things to get simple shit to work. I get PAID for that, I don't want to do it at home. I just want to web my webs and play my games and watch some videos."

    The superpower of the Steam Machine, the magic bullet, the gold star is: it'll just work. Like macs used to. I expect I will be able to pick a game on steam and it will just work without me having to screw with settings or get a different driver or remap my controls or whatever bullshit inevitably comes up. Having one vendor provide the hardware and software and actually be concerned about the whole experience? Priceless. And if I want to go do something weird (like install Pico-8!) - they're fine. They won't stop me from doing something weird because their goal is to make money by having happy customers, not by maximizing profit-per-unit. That's damn refreshing, and to be supported.

    Funny part is - I tried running bazzite on my minisforum pc. It crashes. Do I want to spend 30 hours troubleshooting it? Nope. Hard pass. See above.

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Replies

  • Dec 2, 2025, 12:32 AM

    @tbortels

    Huh... I was considering Bazzite as an escape from Windows! You're more convinced that Steam Machines are the potential answer to that, especially re: games?

    I guess it makes sense: Valve hardly wants to alienate victims *ahem* customers from the very DRM platform that has made them so very bloody rich by selling hardware that won't run those games.

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  • Dec 2, 2025, 2:06 AM

    @VulcanTourist

    I think if you want to just play a game - rather than make it a vocation - a console isn't a bad choice, but they're usually saddled with the console-maker's business plan, which is to separate you from your money by any means - your happiness and satisfaction is secondary. At least in the last decade or so.

    The flip side is PC gaming, where you occasionally spend more time crashing and cursing than playing. If that's your bag - good on you. But as I age I get tired of needing to spend hours playing games just to play my games.

    The Steam Machine appears to be a happy medium - console-like in usage, but with a relief valve (har!) for tinkerers. And the business plan appears to be a refreshing "we make money by making people excited and happy to be customers", which is nice.

    I know I like my Steamdeck - so I'm willing to give them a chance, there's a track record here. They are almost certainly a better option than microsoft/sony/nintendo/meta/apple/and-the-list-goes-on. Maybe someday the go rat-bastard, but until that happens I'll play along.

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  • Dec 2, 2025, 2:19 AM

    @VulcanTourist

    Fwiw - re bazzite as an escape from windows - go for it. All you have to lose is time, and I am 97% sure my issues were hardware related. The experience - when it worked - was dandy. Or at least dandier than windows.

    To be fair, IMHO windows peaked around 2k. So I may not be the most impartial guide.

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