Windows 11 Pro to SteamOS on a laptop computer? CachyOS to the rescue?

 For just more than two years, I've been running Windows 11 Pro on an ASUS ZenBook Pro.  With each update, the performance becomes worse.  The newest releases are invasive in the name of AI.  I have little interest in AI.  I've generally been using that computer for photo processing, gaming, and watching videos.  I have an M1 MacBook Air that is more capable for processing photos and videos from previous years.

I'm considering switching the ZenBook Pro to SteamOS, as I've found SteamOS on the Steam Deck to be quite capable with a keyboard and mouse.  I'm a little concerned that the combination of AMD 5800H and RTX 3050Ti may not be the best platform.

This week, I was reading that the latest Linux kernel has updated Nvidia drivers included.  I should probably wait for that kernel to be included in SteamOS.  Maybe obviously, SteamOS might run fine on the AMD 5800H and its inbuilt GPU but that GPU is far out of date and even had trouble with Unreal Tournament 2004.  I've been running much more intense graphics than that.

CachyOS seems to be the best choice for a Linux distribution that supports gaming AND Nvidia cards, although a few others like Nobara and Manjaro were mentioned.  I might just risk it.  I still have my MacBook Air but my Windows machine seems less capable because of Windows.  It was also running very hot today, while active CPU use was under 10%.

Update 2026.02.06: CachyOS looks like it's going to be a bit of "fun" to install.  I wonder if I should install Ubuntu or another easy distribution and then, install CachyOS.  I'm not quite as agile lately, and I don't want to make a huge error.  I've waited this long.  I can take more time to plan.

Update 2026.05.15: Well, that ZenBook Pro seems about to eat itself, overheating and such.  I've beaten the keyboard and that needs to be replaced.  Perhaps, after it gets some time to recover, I can install CachyOS without having to worry about not having a games machine. 

Update 2026.05.29: It's been two weeks since I was worried about one computer, and it's been a bit over a week since I've had an MSI Crosshair A16 HX as a replacement.

 It's a 16 inch class machine versus 15.6 but I don't really notice a difference, except that the display seems taller.  It's not quite 4:3 but it's definitely not 16:9.

 In any case, I put the ZenBook Pro on a shelf and haven't got CachyOS ready for installation yet.  I'm wondering if I need to have the keyboard replaced before a change or not.  I'm also wondering about some sort of Windows lock that will make this more difficult than it should be. 

Apple Silicon Software Development seems slow

It's been about three years since the initial M1-based machines from Apple became reality.  Why is development lagging?

Steam Hardware Survey

The other day, Steam requested my computer's details.  One is an AMD Ryzen 7 with Geforce RTX 3050 Ti (laptop version, of course), and the other is a 2020 MacBook Air M1.  In reporting, Steam shows AppleVirtual processor and 1440x900 resolution, which is far from the truth, unless of course, you don't care to make your software the best and take advantage of the actual power that is available.

I've only had my 2020 M1 MacBook Air for about a year, but it seems as though most applications are only compatible through emulation.

I could understand why Adobe wouldn't be quick about it.  They were dragging their feet on the way to Mac OS X in 2000.  They wouldn't port Premier Pro, and Apple brought out Final Cut and Aperture.

Intuit was also complaining, but then, they wanted us to move to Windows because they told people "the Mac is just too difficult to program" or some such, used to justify the higher price and lower functionality.

What got me over the years was that Microsoft was Apple's enemy and yet, their software was better for Mac OS X than that of Adobe, Apple's friend.

It's 2023, not 2003

It still feels as though little has been accomplished since the M1 and other Apple Silicon processors have been available.  The performance is so good that you might not notice the speed of Intel emulation.  Mouse cursor positioning doesn't seem all that stable, though, as of macOS 12.x.

It's been almost three years and I would expect that developers would want to show what their applications could do on better hardware.

Valve Software might not be doing as well as they want people to believe, but I suspect that they could buy a couple of M1-based Macs and update Steam for Apple Silicon.  If that worked out, they could re-jig Source to 64-bit compatibility, as well as Metal compatibility.  Apple might even help them, just to get more games on M1 Macs.  I should note the rumor that Valve and Apple talked about making Proton work on Macs and Apple refused.  Whether it happened or not, things need to be better than running Windows executables on another operating system.  Steam Deck with Proton works but it's not always wonderful.

It really wouldn't hurt Apple to create a division for games and keep it to help third parties develop outstanding games.  A couple of games I had for Windows are available in Apple Arcade but unavailable elsewhere.

It's interesting that Evernote is a Universal binary, but Dropbox is Intel-only.  Google Drive is listed as Apple Silicon, not Universal.  LastPass is Intel-only, but thankfully, Malwarebytes is Universal.

Serif's Affinity applications are Universal, but it seems a number of creative applications are not.  I'm thankful for Capture One Pro being Universal, as well as Affinity Publisher, Designer, and Photo.

How many years until Intel is completely gone from Apple machines?  When Apple pulls the plug on Rosetta 2 will they step up or step away?

Update 2024.07.29: I just updated to macOS 14.6, a Sonoma release.  I got an update for Steam, but I 99% know that it's Intel-only.  I checked updates on GOG Galaxy some 20 minutes ago and I'm waiting for it to finish.  That's perplexing since the Windows version updated a few days ago and I didn't have to check.  It told me.  It's time for the Heroic games launcher.

Electronic Arts finally got around to retiring Origin for the EA launcher, which is Universal.  Most of my games are still Intel-targeted.  Death Stranding is Apple Silicon only and is not available on Steam yet.  Divinity - Original Sin 2 is Intel only.

I've been reminded in some forums that there are 200+ Mac games.  I've also been reminded that you can use Whisky with the Heroic launcher to play some Windows-only games.  There are a few well-known games coming to Mac, including a new Assassins Creed (Shadows?) game.  I have a few of them but Ubisoft hasn't made a game I've loved since the original Rayman on Atari Jaguar.

Of course, it's not all about games, but they are essential to home users.

Update 2024.08.16: Now that the Qualcomm ARM-based machines using a Nuvia-developed SoC have been released, it should be interesting to see if there will be ARM-based games on Windows.  Apparently, the Windows' equivalent to Rosetta 2 is not so amazing.

Perhaps, if game developers start to design games for ARM on the desktop, they'll be able to target Macs as well as Windows machines.  Considering that the M1-based machines arrived in 2020, it's a bit frustrating waiting for something to happen.

I've downloaded Whisky and the Heroic Games Launcher but I haven't tried much, as I am not restricted to macOS, having a Windows 11 machine and a Steam Deck.  I need to focus.  I probably need more than my 1 TB drive and it might make sense to have a big, external drive for my Windows-based games for Mac since I have 230+ games on Steam alone and only a few are native to Mac.

Update 2024.09.02: I was just taking a look at the Steam hardware survey results.  macOS is around 1.3% of the total.  Is that surprising when Valve went out of its way to kill Counter Strike that was working and develop Counter Strike 2 with no executable for Macs?  All of their 32-bit executables from 2010 (?) still work on older machines but unless Rosetta 2 will run them, what's the point?

Why Apple and Valve couldn't even reach a compromise sends a message that isn't necessarily true.  Mac gaming isn't exactly alive but it's not dead, either.  However, the late 1990s were much better than now.

I tried Heroic Games launcher and downloaded a game that I know runs on Apple Arcade and it was fine on Mac.  I've been a bit slow to download much else because of the storage required.  I tried one of the Resident Evil games, which is native for Apple Silicon, and that was surprisingly good on an M1 MacBook Air.  If they have the RE Engine converted, they should be able to port to the whole series.

Unreal Engine 5 runs on macOS but it's the headlines about how bad its performance is on Windows that got my attention.  Trying new technologies is difficult but bringing a gaming system to a crawl is not good--just ask the Starfield people.

Update 2024.12.11: There are a few more games out for Apple Silicon:

• Resident Evil Village
• Resident Evil 7
• Resident Evil 4
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows

I've seen a mention or two about other games and that the Resident Evil Engine was ported, so any in the series could be ported.

With the M3 and M4 SoCs supporting ray tracing and other advanced technologies, there could be more games arriving, but Apple really needs one set of machines for gaming.  They need exceptional air flow, not the thinnest enclosures ever.  That said, my M1 MacBook Air is far ahead of most of the Intel-based Macs and about as fast as my Windows machine, AMD 5800H with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050Ti.  The MacBook Air's graphics are way ahead of my 5800H's iGPU but not nearly as fast as the 3050Ti, of course.

What happened to the Nuvia/Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite/Plus?

Update 2025.06.13: This week, Apple announced that Rosetta 2 will be diminished with the new macOS Tahoe.  Developers are going to have no choice but to make their software Apple Silicon native.

Since it will be diminished, it will supposedly be effective for older games, maybe other older software that has no chance of being updated.  We'll learn about it soon enough.

 Hopefully, this will inspire developers to work at bringing their software to Apple Silicon after five years of hardware. 

Update 2025.10.30: Since the M5 14 inch MacBook Pro and M5 iPad Pro, people are surprised how fast the SoC is.  I'd like to see the MacBook Air with M5 SoC in spring 2026.  I'm not really happy or trusting of macOS 26 but it's part of the deal.  It's not that my M1 MacBook Air has become slower but that the games run much better on the M5.

I continue to get beta versions of Steam and yet, no native version for me.  I know that they're out there. It's interesting that Windows-based games are running, and running well, at that through Crossover.  I've had some success with the Heroic Games Launcher.  Whisky has been finished. 

Steam Deck is here!

 

So, it arrived after FedEx led me to believe that it wasn't arriving when it was scheduled.  It went from "out for delivery" to "pending" in a matter of minutes after 5 P.M. local time.  30 minutes later, it had been delivered.  I don't do unboxing videos, so the three photos will have to suffice.

First Impressions

It's big compared to the early handheld from Epyx/Atari or from Sega.  It's a bit heavy at times.  The anti-glare display is great.  It has touch capabilities, so you can operate games and the operating system in a number of ways.  It takes what the Steam Controller had and amplifies the capabilities.

There is a cleaning cloth that arrived with the unit, as well as the charger.  Instructions are minimal.

I have around 30 games in my Steam library that are "great" with Steam Deck.  I have installed over 10 of them.  Most operate well, but Ni no Kuni Remastered has some audio glitches.

Some of the "great" games are games I have never tried, so it's good that Steam Deck is showing me what works well.  There are a lot of games that need adjustments in the next category.  I was pleased to see the Unreal Tournament 2004 is one of those.  Apparently, keyboard interaction is manual, so the player must invoke the keyboard, rather than it being displayed automatically.

It's odd that not all of the Valve games hit the "great" category.  There are two games attached to Half-Life that I'd like to play but they don't fall into the "great" category: Black Mesa, Half-Life 2 Update, and also, Portal Stories: Mel.  Portal Stories: Mel falls into the untested category, so anything could happen, including that it could work perfectly.

Most everything is good, but the connection to Wi-Fi seems a bit dodgy.  I'm not really worried.  This is the best Linux-based machine I've ever had.  It's based on Debian with KDE Desktop  although I haven't tried that.  I had hoped to play some games I have from GOG Galaxy, but there is not a Linux version.  However, there may be a way to make it run on Debian.

It's only been two days.  I have much to learn and do.

Getting to the enjoyment part

I have 21 games installed and a 512 GB microSD Card on the way.

Some of the games are fine but the controls aren't always what I'm expecting.  I was pleased to see that Chorvs/Chorus was available and bought that quickly.  After having several games in the Galaxy on Fire series, I hurried to buy another game from the same developers.  The controls work as expected, once I invested the Y-axis control.  I slso bought Road 96, which seems great, but the controls are troublesome.  Distance is a game that will take some time to get the controls where I like them.  Right now, I can't find which controls work.

Another problem is accessing the game menus.  Some use the Start/Select buttons, but others seem to randomly assign the buttons for menus.

I managed to install Unreal Tournament 2004, which is a first-person shooter for keyboard and mouse but just working the menu has been interesting.  I can get to the option with the right track pad control, but as soon as I go to select it, that control moves the pointer.  I'm hoping for a way to use the D-pad to go up and down the menu and the A button to select the function.  Obviously, with a game from 2004, there won't be any updates to make it work better.

Past the initial phase

I have 27 games installed now.:

aperture Desk Job

Galaga

Pac-Man

Bayoneta

Bright Memory Infinite

Bugsnax

Children of Morta

Chorvs/Chorus

Distance

Doom II

The Gardens Between

Half-Life 2

Heaven's Vault

Moonlighter

Ni no Kuni, Wrath of the White Witch, Remastered

Okami

Ori and the Blind Forest, Definitive Edition

Portal

Portal 2

Redout

Road 96

A Story about My Uncle

Trigon

Trüberbrook

Unreal Tournament 2004

Vanquish

Yonder, The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

Update 2022.12.15: It's been about one month.  A few games require precise cursor movement and the Steam Controller trackpads were never my easiest controller bits.  I've been playing Pixel Puzzles Japan to push myself to learn how to use those pads.  It's helped a lot.

I have 38 games installed at this point.  Several of the Bandai Namco games have been modified to use the controllers and they work well.  I'm struggling with other games and the Underdog Detective game shows the video upside down with menus right-side up.

As they test more of the games, I have more choices.  I've removed one or two since I started but I continue to try everything.  I think back to when I started playing games and using different kinds of controllers made the games easier to control but occasionally, games were just a pain to play.

I just saw the system update for SteamOS 3.3.3 and updated the device.  Hopefully, the experience will continue to improve and more games will become available out of my 129 Steam-hosted games.  The odd thing is that Quake III Arena doesn't work but Quake III Team Arena will work with adjustments.  Obviously, some development software would never be ported and software dependent on those products just wouldn't work.  I remember some problem with Unreal Tournament III, where it was ready to go on Windows, Mac, and Linux, but there was a dispute about using the package outside of Windows and so, the other two versions were never allowed to be distributed.

I'll continue to hope that almost everything can be made to work.  Surely, Steam Deck is becoming a success and developers should consider the implications of not offering their games.

Update 2023.03.01: SteamOS 3.4.4 has been out for a while and the Proton layer has been updated a few times.  Most everything works as expected and the glitchy-ness has subsided.

It's still interesting to play games that expect a keyboard and mouse but they work with the unique controller trackpads.  A few games require the Steam button + X to invoke the keyboard but it's becoming better.

Update 2023.03.19: Valve has the Steam Deck on sale for 10% off.  I've had mine a few months, so I don't know whether to be happy or upset that I didn't get it for less.  Still, it's a good experience.  SteamOS 3.4.6 is out and they've handled more situations.

I have more games and what I've put on Steam Deck seem to run well.

Update 2023.04.19: I've been reading a bit on Steam Deck HQ and Gaming on Linux.  They're both worthwhile resources with plenty of current information and reviews to offer.

Proton 8.0, based on WINE 8.0 is out and should fix even more problems.

I saw some article recently about how older games are so much better on the battery life than newer games are.  Of course, when you planned for a 1024x768 or 1280x800 resolution display, you didn't need as much power, did you?

Hi-Fi Rush isn't too bad, but obviously, Hogwarts Legacy, which taxes most machines, is going to hurt a portable's battery life.

I recently bought a 1 TB microSD card and there was no way to transfer the games from one card to the other.  When I switched cards, I needed to download and install the games again.  I've been a bit more picky so far, even though I have more space.  Despite a good internet connection, I don't want to waste it.  There have been a few M.2 drives made available in the 2230 size for Steam Deck but they are expensive.

Update 2023.05.14: What about the ASUS ROG Ally?  It's going to be interesting but Windows 11 doesn't really have a mobile/portable interface.  Launching games will be a mixed experience from Steam to EA to Ubisoft to Epic Games.  They're not all that easy to use with a mouse and keyboard, how will they be without them?

There are a number of people working on resources to make Linux gaming better and Valve is involved in making their machine the best, of course.  Would I like to run my purchases from stores other than Steam?  I would but I am happy with a single interface.

Update 2023.08.31: It's been about 9 months since I got the Steam Deck.  Lenovo has been leaking information about a Windows-based handheld (Lenovo Legion Go) with controllers that can be removed, Switch-like.  It's obviously going to be expensive in the premium version, similar to ASUS ROG Ally.

Steam Deck needs to be nothing short of excellent.  It's coming along, with fixes for most new games.  Some of the developers want to see their games running on Steam Deck, so they make some useful modifications, short of a Linux-based executable.

There are more than 11,000 Valve-tested games for Steam Deck.  I only have 168 games on Steam and 44 games installed on Steam Deck.  42 of those games are ready but Toxikk hasn't even been tested and UT2004 requires some adjustment to play.

Update 2023.11.16: The Steam Deck OLED model is on sale, or more correctly, out-of-stock OLED model has been ordered by the hungry masses.

Since the Legion Go and the ROG Ally are available, Valve needed to do something to draw attention back to Steam Deck.  Apparently, the update is very good.  I'm not parting with that kind of money again, but I would definitely want to buy the new one, instead of the Lenovo or ASUS products.  Mine is still good.

Update 2023.11.17: Just like that SteamOS 3.5.5 is here.  I haven't had much time to test the differences, but it seems smoother.

According to the numbers, I have 211 games on Steam, 77 are "Great on Deck", and I have 45 games installed.  I still haven't got a handle on how to play a FPS with a controller.  I'm more used to WASD and a mouse or trackball.

Apparently, Valve has been re-working some of their original games for better play on Steam Deck.  I'm disappointed at the Counter Strike 2 release.  They had a download for Mac but it was everything but an executable game.  Is it time for them to embrace 64-bit-ness?

Update 2023.12.01: Loaded SteamOS 3.5.7 earlier this week and loaded another Steam Client update a day ago.  It seems smoother, although the updates seemed to hiccup, and I have to run the update twice.  However, the Steam Deck is still amazing and it's so good just to play.

There might be a time or two that I think about a game I had with Ubisoft or Epic Games, but that's rare.

I ordered a gaming keyboard and mouse combo from Temu, so I'll see if Temu's listed products are worth it, and how they interact with a Linux-based device, plus I'll learn to use desktop mode.

Update 2023.12.13: I've got the mouse/keyboard combo connected to the Steam Deck and played UT2004 for the first time.  Becoming accustomed to the keyboard will take some time but play was good.  I also went to Desktop Mode for the first time and it's interesting to see a Linux distribution that's fairly easy to use.  Explanations happened as soon as I switched to that mode.  Switching back was easy, as well.

My previous experience with Ubuntu in the early 2000s wasn't great and I didn't accomplish much.  Trying to install FreeBSD was a difficult proposition and I was unsuccessful.  It still isn't "The Year of Linux" but it's much more user friendly than it was.

The keyboard from Temu doesn't have a numeric keypad, so it's very compact.  For roughly US$31, the combo is a good deal.  The mouse is very good.  I suspect in the end, they won't last very long under normal usage.  However, for add-ons to a Steam Deck, they're a good choice.

Steam Deck is on the way! It's here!!

 Earlier in the year, I gave away most of my photographic equipment and my Windows laptop computer.  I bought a more recent MacBook Air because I needed a computer that wasn't 10 years old and one that was powerful.  The Omen by HP was good enough but not exactly powerful.

I've been wanting to play certain games since then.  I have 99 games in my Steam library and quite a few outside of it.  Some games now have macOS versions, so that's good but the FPS games have no equivalents, and with my mid-2012 MacBook Pro on Catalina, my old games just don't work there or on the 2020 MacBook Air.

I considered another Windows laptop computer.  There are some deals, but when you get the storage to 1 TB and the RAM to 16 GB, the price is well over US$1000.  Plus, when I considered the effects of fixing Windows from the various patches' problems, I didn't really want to deal with Windows again.

I considered a Nintendo Switch.  They're awesome for playing Nintendo games.  My GameCube and Wii are gone.  I have a Mario game on the iPhone and a couple of other Nintendo-related games.  I don't play often.  Why spend so much money on a machine I might not use much?

I looked at various Windows handheld machines.  The main problem is the same problem with Android--you don't know if there will be updates.  Razer just put out an Android-based handheld, Edge, and it looks great, but tell me what happened to the Razer phones?

So, one night, I decided to just decide and I bought the top-of-the-line Steam Deck. 512 GB of storage, but with a microSD slot, plus 16 GB of RAM, 1280x800 resolution display.  1920x1080 would be better.

SteamOS and KDE Desktop are there for Linux mode.  I didn't find Ubuntu to be a good daily operating system for me.  I could use it, but it always needed me to do extra things.  I hope that it's usable and I can play other games, but who knows?  If GOG works on SteamOS, I'd be pleased.

In any case, I'm guessing that only around 20% of my game library will be functional.  Valve games will work supposedly.  I wish that they would migrate Source to 64-bit, so that Valve would support the latest macOS versions.  It's not as though Apple is pushing them to ARM.  They've had years to update to 64-bit applications.

Hopefully, games will work and be enjoyable.  At 1.5 pounds, it's supposedly heavy.  Anyone who has tried to use a Windows laptop computer in tablet mode shouldn't have a problem.  5 pounds and a 14 inch display is not easy to handle, no matter how many fingers you can use on the display.

I'm hoping for the best after spending slightly more than US$700 with tax.

So, it arrived after FedEx led me to believe that it wasn't arriving when it was scheduled.  It went from "out for delivery" to "pending" in a matter of minutes after 5 P.M. local time.  30 minutes later, it had been delivered.  I don't do unboxing videos, so the three photos will have to suffice.

First Impressions

It's big compared to the early handheld from Epyx/Atari or from Sega.  It's a bit heavy at times.  The anti-glare display is great.  It has touch capabilities, so you can operate games and the operating system in a number of ways.  It takes what the Steam Controller had and amplifies the capabilities.

There is a cleaning cloth that arrived with the unit, as well as the charger.  Instructions are minimal.

I have around 30 games in my Steam library that are "great" with Steam Deck.  I have installed over 10 of them.  Most operate well, but Ni no Kuni Remastered has some audio glitches.

Some of the "great" games are games I have never tried, so it's good that Steam Deck is showing me what works well.  There are a lot of games that need adjustments in the next category.  I was pleased to see the Unreal Tournament 2004 is one of those.  Apparently, keyboard interaction is manual, so the player must invoke the keyboard, rather than it being displayed automatically.

It's odd that not all of the Valve games hit the "great" category.  There are two games attached to Half-Life that I'd like to play but they don't fall into the "great" category: Black Mesa, Half-Life 2 Update, and also, Portal Stories: Mel.  Portal Stories: Mel falls into the untested category, so anything could happen, including that it could work perfectly.

Most everything is good, but the connection to Wi-Fi seems a bit dodgy.  I'm not really worried.  This is the best Linux-based machine I've ever had.  It's based on Debian with KDE Desktop  although I haven't tried that.  I had hoped to play some games I have from GOG Galaxy, but there is not a Linux version.  However, there may be a way to make it run on Debian.

It's only been two days.  I have much to learn and do.

SteamOS looks interesting as an alternative to game consoles

Valve, the people behind games such as Portal, Team Fortress, and Half-Life have been working on their own alternative game console with SteamOS, a Linux distribution of their own, built on Debian.

I don't play much on Steam, but the Half-Life and Portal series have been entertaining.  I've seen people who seem to have every game Steam hosts, which would be quite a few.

I like the idea of SteamOS because the major problem of getting everything working correctly is compatibility.  Using a game console, it's fairly easy to have all the software working to a software specification and leave that specification alone.  Using Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux, you can't be sure if things match.  Even though Mac OS X runs on a smaller set of machines, there are a number of graphics cards and processors and operating system versions that make life (and compatibility) difficult.

If someone would build an interface layer onto an operating system and that would always be reliable, it would solve a lot of compatibility issues.  Supposedly, there is an abstraction layer on most operating systems, but to get more speed, system developers allow a way around it.

Can Valve and SteamOS diminish compatibility problems?  I hope so.  I would buy or build a compatible box in order to just play the games.

Yes, you can build your own, as Valve are giving guidelines on how to do it.  Read this Ars Technica article here.

The Debian Linux distribution is probably the most stable for the desktop.  It's used as a base for Ubuntu and other distributions, and now, for SteamOS.  Why wouldn't they use Ubuntu, which is acknowledged as a good desktop distribution for newcomers?  They probably don't want to have to work around all the changes Canonical are making to remove XWindows (thank goodness!) and the slow progress of Unity as a desktop environment.

Apparently, 300 people are beta-testing SteamOS boxes that Valve sent to them.  It should be interesting to see how well everything works.  When I last looked at the Steam store, they didn't seem to have that many games for Linux, as with Mac OS X.  However, if they've used their Source interfaces between the operating system and the games, they should instantly have the same few games that they made Mac OS X compatible.

Will it really affect the latest Xbox or PlayStation boxes?  I doubt the change will be noticeable, until they can show momentum for SteamOS.  It might be interesting to see Nintendo migrate their games to SteamOS as an alternative, since Wii U isn't really powerful enough to drive sales.  (Talk about a missed opportunity!  I've got a Wii sitting there, ready to be replaced, and the only thing I'll really get is HDMI compatibility and the ability to buy some US$59.99 games on an underpowered-for-2013 machine.)

The Steam Play Anywhere policy will allow those with Steam games to use them on their Steam box without an extra cost, I'm sure.  That's good for everyone because the negative part of moving to a new system is buying new games or new versions of games you already have.

SteamOS sounds like a winner.

Update 2014.04.10: It seems as though this is on the back burner.  Since xbox One and PlayStation 4 have made it big, I haven't heard much about a Steam Box, except that the controller has been revised with the removal of the display.

I'm a bit steamed about the Wii U and so are Nintendo apparently because they can't decide what to do.  Obviously, the Mario and Luigi brothers haven't driven sales as much as they would have liked.  It's difficult to believe that the company would barely outdo last generation consoles and try to continue relying on previous back stories to keep them in the spot light.  Had they provided enough power to be considered halfway between the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, they might have been much more successful.

Even if Japanese life has something to do with their choices, they can't expect that the rest of the world will approve.