Re: ZDNet: “What We Really Think Of The Steam Machine”

Lawrence D’Oliveiro <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Sun, 2 Aug 2026 02:26:16 -0500, VanguardLH wrote:
> 
>> Oh, wowie, it runs a Linux distro - SteamOS - but still has to use
>> the Steam app. Seems every couple days when I load the Steam app
>> that I have to wait until it completes yet another update. And
>> sometimes it also lags on logging in.
> 
> Well-known Windows-specific problems, in other words ...

Nothing to do under which OS the Steam app runs.  The app has to get
updated, and often.  As for lags during login, no user on any platform
controls the responsiveness of the authentication server.

It's not just the Steam app that gets updated.  It's also the Steam
games.  See https://steamdb.info/patchnotes/.  

Presumably on a Steam box, the Steam app is configured to load on OS
startup, and stay loaded.  The app and game updates probably occur in
the background, but that doesn't obviate they happen.  I could leave the
Steam app running all the time on my Windows box, too, but I don't, and
why I notice when it lags on load to perform updates.

>> And there are which games you can play on this. Does the Steam app
>> ensure it present or offers games that have been curated as playable
>> on this box?
> 
> There are lots of games that have been validated for SteamOS. As
> mentioned in the video, some even offer presets that are optimized for
> Steam Deck/Steam Box.

When using the Steam app to visit the Steam store, does it actually flag
which games are curated for the Steam Machine platform?  You saying some
games are doesn't mean the users are informed instead of having to
research it before buying.  Sound like you don't know.  I do know that
what the Steam app lists at the Steam Store does *NOT* check sysreqs for
my platform against the games they list.