Steam Machines return as the Steam Deck

I have the router imposed by the provider, and another router I reused to cover a part of the house which is "too far" (walls and ceiling) from the 1st. I admit networking is not my strong suit, but the main reason is I'm a bit lazy too ;) I'm sure I could configure the other router to act as a transparent wi-fi repeater but it usually works very well like it is now - just my smartphone which suddenly became stupid (it usually remains on the weaker of both signals, even if there's a huge difference).

The latter problem is where a mesh can help with that. What makes it a mesh, rather than than a collection of access points, is in the way it handles smooth transfer from point to point, while your device still thinks it's constantly attached, and there's no fighting over which point to connect to. Doesn't replace your router - you just disable the router wifi, connect one of the access points to the router ethernet, and off you go. If the phone thing does bug you, might be worth looking at one day.
 
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There's another aspect to the Steam Deck that hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread. If this thing sells enough units and gains traction, then it becomes a platform that game developers will want to support -- and it runs a Linux-based OS, using Proton for Windows game compatibility. Giving major game developers an economic motive to support Linux gaming through Proton on the Steam Deck would have the side effect of making Linux+Proton a lot more viable on the desktop.

I'm tempted to buy a Steam Deck for that reason alone.
 
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The latter problem is where a mesh can help with that. What makes it a mesh, rather than than a collection of access points, is in the way it handles smooth transfer from point to point, while your device still thinks it's constantly attached, and there's no fighting over which point to connect to. Doesn't replace your router - you just disable the router wifi, connect one of the access points to the router ethernet, and off you go. If the phone thing does bug you, might be worth looking at one day.
Good to know, thanks for the tip! :)
 
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There's another aspect to the Steam Deck that hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread. If this thing sells enough units and gains traction, then it becomes a platform that game developers will want to support -- and it runs a Linux-based OS, using Proton for Windows game compatibility. Giving major game developers an economic motive to support Linux gaming through Proton on the Steam Deck would have the side effect of making Linux+Proton a lot more viable on the desktop.

I'm tempted to buy a Steam Deck for that reason alone.

Yep, that's how I see it, and a big part of my interest. And a lot of folks, especially kids, could be using these for general PC purposes, and getting used to a nice clean Linux desktop.
 
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The hardware, battery, or control layout will probably be ok. I think they are more than fine. There seems a (big) market for the device too.

I think linux+proton is exactly the critical point here. It came a long way from early wine from what I heard, but browsing protondb I still see many games with quirks (however slightly they are). They need games to be at least platinum or native to reach the mainstream audience.

They can mitigate it on rollout by providing a good curated list of games in steam that work well (including controls / screen layout). Btw, anybody knows the impact on battery life by using wine / proton?
 
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Still on track for Feb launch.

Steam Deck - January Update

Happy New Year! The team is back from the holiday and firing on all cylinders - we’ve got a few updates for you today.

First and foremost, we’re on track to ship Steam Deck on time. Global pandemic, supply issues, and shipping issues notwithstanding, it looks like we'll be able to start getting these out the door by the end of February. You can view your estimated reservation availability window here, in case you've forgotten.

In parallel, work and testing for the Steam Deck Verified program has been underway. You’ll soon be able to see Deck Verified status for a growing set of Steam games. We’re checking four major categories: input, seamlessness, display, and system support. You can learn more about the program here.

It’s also important that we give developers the ability to test their games in order to get that nice green Verified check, so we’ve been sending developer kits out in quantity. We've been approving another wave of dev kits, and hundreds have been shipped out in the last month (and we're continuing to approve and send out even more). Thanks for your patience devs!

But what good are words when we have photos? Our production build is ramping up, and we have some of the first units in-house to test and evaluate (they're looking great).
 
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Looking very interesting. It's reportedly in great demand. I guess the big question is just howwell the Proton layer will work, and whether it creates friction for users.
 
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Looking very interesting. It's reportedly in great demand. I guess the big question is just howwell the Proton layer will work, and whether it creates friction for users.

It's a question of use-case too. I can't imagine playing on a 7" display with a machine burning my laps until its battery is depleted 30 minutes later ;) It's nice but remains a gadget for me.

Maybe there's a good reason to use it as a portable game device for not-too-hungry games. Let's hope Proton efficiently translates to the Deck layers. Or if there is a socket nearby. I imagine the most relevant use is for students moving regularly between their home, friends and their bedsit / student room.
 
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I'll be interested to see what folks here think about it, I honestly don't feel the need for such a device myself yet quite curious as to what others might think, most especially when the unit is actually available.
 
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