artyom

tl;dw/r:

3 new pieces of hardware revealed coming "2026".

1. Steam Frame is a standalone VR headset. Release "early 2026". ARM processor. Runs SteamOS. (Yes this translates games made for x86 on Windows into Linux on ARM using Proton and FEx). Inside out tracking. Up to 144Hz. 2160x2160. Can also run Android APKs. Includes 6GHz stick for wireless streaming.

2. Steam Controller. Basically what we've been expecting. Just took the controls off the Steam Deck and bolted them to a controller. TMR magnetic thumbsticks. Has a weird like magnetic charging/pairing dock thingy that sticks on the back, but can still just be charged with USB-C.

3. Steam Machine. Cubic, softball-sized mini PC (like, literally its just a computer, much like the Steam Deck). AMD GPU. Obviously runs SteamOS as well. No word on HDMI-CEC that I can find. 300W power supply. 6x more powerful than Steam Deck.

I'm going to keep updating this thread with links as I find them. Add more in the comments.

Videos:

Valve YT video

Gamers Nexus video (long and comprehensive)

Articles:

The Verge

Ars Technica

RockPaperShotgun

Polygon

Tom's Hardware

Phoronix

Recently I was locked out of my own Ghost blog platform because they decided they were going to add Email 2FA. I also cannot add any other authors because that requires email verification.

Today I was looking at installing Bonfire and came across this:

Bonfire requires working email for user signups, password resets, and notifications. Most installations will need email configuration before the instance is usable.

Setting up email is a pain in the ass, costs money, is dependent on 3rd parties, violates privacy, and is just completely unnecessary. Why wouldn't you give users the option to not use it? It's infuriating!

The Framework Desktop is a deep disappointment to me. Framework, the company that got into the business with an explicit purpose of building modular and repairable computers, went into a space where that was the norm (desktops), and introduced a PC that was none of those things, at an exorbitant price. When they debuted it, it was marketed specifically as a gaming machine. As much as I want to support them, I cannot reward them for this specific product, as it abandons their fundamental tenets.

Here's the build. You can see similar builds featured on many YT channels at this point with the new NV10 case and 5060 LP GPU.

Here's one from ETA Prime

And another from "MRGUI on PC"

This build: ~$1100

Comparable Framework build: ~$1700

I will concede the Framework is still better at a few things:

• Efficiency (I'm not sure that this is to any degree that's worth being factored in)
• Being that it's more efficient, it's also quieter
• Local LLMs (which no one should care about or be using)
• A bit thinner due to not have a dGPU