It's Time to Bring Back the Steam Machine - Steam Deck HQ
steamdeckhq.com
With all the layoffs and industry volatility, I think now is a great time to consider bringing back the Steam Machine, with a few changes.
  • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
    1·
    2 years ago

    I’d like the Steam Machine to come back with the addition of being an HTPC. Why? Because Valve is big enough to arm wrestle streaming services into releasing an official app.

    I basically want a user customizable, privacy respecting Xbox.

    • Kühlschrank@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      They are like 1-2 little steps away from a very good HTPC Steam Deck.

      Like if they could just take a little time to make Firefox work 100% in game mode (right now it’s not quite there, like you can’t go full screen with videos) and make controllers just a little more comfortable for browsing and it’d already be there for me.

      • towerful@programming.dev
        0·
        2 years ago

        Way back when netflix was new, windows had a Home Theatre edition of windows.
        Beautiful 10ft UI, worked with tuners, could record from them, had no issues dealing with auto-ripped DVDs and had a native netflix integration.
        Then netflix pulled out, but windows HTPC was still pretty decent.
        Nowadays, it’s basically “you have to pay for everything” with a smart TV or a set top android box, maybe lucky enough to have a tuner in it.
        Or it’s high seas.
        I don’t think there is really a middle ground.

        • fadedmaster@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1·
          2 years ago

          HTPC wasn’t a Windows thing though Microsoft did have Windows Media Center, which was a pretty slick interface for HTPCs

          I used to use XBMC, which is now Kodi, for an interface. Before that I just used a PC running Mandrake Linux with a wireless mouse and keyboard. Haha.

          Had a TV tuner, acted as a DVR, and also could play my library of SNES and NES games through it.

    • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 years ago

      A steam machine with a Radeon 7600 class GPU sold for under $500 would be a surefire hit and it would blow the deck out of the water in terms of performance.

      • David_Eight@lemmy.world
        0·
        2 years ago

        I think the biggest thing would be getting a PC with decent specs for $500. Why would anybody buy a Dell desktop or the like ever again? Like even if you don’t game and need to do office work it’d probably be the best option.

        • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
          0·
          2 years ago

          You can almost build something like that for this price. Or you can do it if you buy some second hand stuff. But for an OEM building a few million units it would definitely be doable.

          • David_Eight@lemmy.world
            1·
            2 years ago

            Yeah, but I was thinking more parents buying a console for their kids. Like oh little Jimmy can do his homework on this thing too, great I didn’t have to buy him another computer. Or imagine if Microsoft put windows on Xboxes, every office building would be full of them lol.