It’s optimized for gaming and you can install a lot of standard Linux apps. But it only works on specific hardware like the Deck and Legion at the moment, the Frame and Machine should be running their versions. A lot of things that come in a standard Distro for PCs have been removed that you might take for granted. I like to think of it as a balance between PC and game console, remember when you could side load Linux onto a PS3, sort of like that.

I use my Deck in desktop mode and connect it to my TV for web browsing, Steamlink to my tower and occasionally use the Libre apps, but I wouldn’t recommend using it as your daily PC. It does exactly feel like a fully fleshed out PC, hard to put a finger on it until you use it.

I guess that’s the problem with having multiple distros and this example might be an edge case. But I would also make the argument that installation instructions can and should be clear cut for the terminal for novice users. For example, the instructions for the terminal commands shouldn’t assume that I know the inside lingo or acronyms. I shouldn’t have to be indoctrinated to use Linux, that’s gatekeeping and seems to be pretty common on websites for the Linux community.

I love your enthusiasm but Valve makes hardware to sell more Steam games. I don’t think they would make a phone controller unless the intent was to push Steamlink. I could see a whole ecosystem of Steam products if the Machine takes off.

Official keyboard and mouse would be great for the Deck and Machine. When I’m not traveling or sitting at my desk I plug my Deck into my TV and having something native and Steam branded would be great because I enjoy playing FPS and RTS.

I would really like for Valve to put a mag on the back of the Deck, maybe for Deck 2. Like a Magsafe/MagGo. I have The Mechanism (Deckmate) and it’s fantastic, I really recommend it, the variety of parts and attachments really cover a lot of bases. But it’s not perfect, the clips sometimes break and they attach using double sided tape, so you have to peel it off and clean it up, then stick a new one on. Wireless charging on the Deck doesn’t seem practical but there’s a lot of great Mag stuff already out there.

Valve should also open up LAN play. If I have friends over and I have a PC/Steam Machine/Deck then I would like to be logged in on multiple systems if they’re connected via LAN instead of logging me out of the other PC if I try to launch a game while a game is running. I’m sure this is a built in security measure, but I’m sure a guest account would be do able, like on consoles.

A premium bag/case for the Deck. Check out The Mechanism Bag, it’s expensive but I believe it the best bag out there. I would like to see the Deck 2 come with a much better bag/case than the one the Deck came with. I carry a charger, battery pack, folding keyboard, mouse, headphones, kickstand, sometimes a HDMI combo charger and attach a pair of controllers. My son and I will play local multiplayer games on long trips. I can fit everything, except for the controllers, in The Mechanism Bag. But I attach the controllers to a carabiner to the bag.

The Mechanism

Recently been playing around with Mint. For the most part it’s user friendly. Where it falls apart is it’s not intuitive, it took me hours of googling to try to figure out how to add windows specific drivers (because the manufacturer didn’t create Linux drivers) for a Bluetooth mouse so I could program the mouse buttons. There were community created drivers on GitHub but no direct way to get them, I would have had to download and configure several support files before I could even try to install. I eventually gave up and just bought another mouse.

Most people would have given up in the first 5min and tossed their PC out and kept the mouse.

It’s not that Linux doesn’t work, it’s that it takes work to get it to work.

If Linux worked in the sense of clear step by step instructions and the developers/legacy users didn’t expect everyone to be experts or expect everyone to spend hours trying to figure out world peace just to perform a mundane task, then it would probably replace windows pretty quickly.

OneDrive secretly changing all of my save paths to OneDrive and not adding the cloud symbol to show that it’s beed saving my files to Microsoft servers, even when OneDrive sync is turned off.

I wish I could drop Microsoft completely.

Only available for phones you’ve never heard of or phones no one bought. Like Volla or Pine or Fair, and very specific versions.

“Cost as much as an iPhone”, I’m not sure if you’re complaining about how expensive the iPhone is or the Steam Machine.

According to the site, the SM will be around $1,100 for the upgraded storage and the cheapest iPhone is around $1,000, so I fail to see the comparison.

Assuming it is around $1,000 that’s not a deal breaker. I heard that the leak came from a store in Europe so I would expect the price to be much lower because we won’t be spending retail.

In the US a Steam Deck is about $200-$300 more retail than if you buy it direct. So if they says $1,100 then I would expect the SM to be closer to $800, which would be closer to a lowerend gaming PC

It’s a little slow but Northgard is a fairly slow game anyway so it balances. I use the track pad and triggers like a mouse and use the stick to move the camera, you have to play around with the mouse speed until you dial it in, takes a little getting used to but it’s definitely do able. If I have time and a table I also have a Bluetooth mouse that attaches to my bag.

It’s slow using the touch pads or touchscreen but I have The Mechanism Bag and attach a mouse to it, the bag holds the Steam Deck, mini folding keyboard, wall charger and a battery pack. For extended trips or for small parties I bring a USB monitor and extra controllers that go in a backpack.

Recently God of War Ragnarok

9bit Armies, Northgard, Spyro, Cuphead, World of Warships, The Expanse, The Last of Us 1&2