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The Steam Deck's budget price tag is the reason I still rate it nearly two years on
(www.pcgamer.com)
this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2023
344 points (97.5% liked)
Steam Deck
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A place to discuss and support all things Steam Deck.
Replacement for r/steamdeck_linux.
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Yes, it does. It cannot possibly be described as a PC if the end user can't install arbitrary software without restriction.
Calling a Switch a PC isn't slightly incorrect. It's complete and utter horseshit.
The ability install "arbitrary software without restriction" is what defines a PC? Now that is complete and utter horseshit. A Chromebook isn't a PC? A laptop with account restrictions to prevent the end user from installing software isn't a PC? A desktop running an immutable linux distro isn't a PC? Quit your bullshit. A PC is a computing device with a CPU and Memory, meant to be used by several people or less at a time, everything else is superfluous.
A chromebook runs arbitrary software without any sort of hacks. Before this was the case, Chromebooks were very obviously not PCs. So do immutable OSes.
Account restrictions are the owner of the hardware "running arbitrary software" to control what someone else can do and completely irrelevant.
There is no scenario where you can call a Switch a PC, any more than you can call a phone a PC, an ATM a PC, or a pregnancy test with a chip in it a PC. It's not a misunderstanding; it's a lie.
Honestly, I think you are just using a very specific (and pretty inaccurate) definition of a personal computer. Also, a strangely specific usage of "arbitrary". All of the cases I mentioned (chromebooks, immutable distros, enterprise windows with administrative restrictions) intentionally lock out the user from running software the hardware could otherwise support.
Saying a device that the manufacturer artificially locks out users from installing non approved software is somehow related to the definition of a PC is simply a lie.
You can install Linux on smart phones, so by your definition, a phone is a PC. You can install Linux on first gen switches without modifying the hardware, so by your definition, first generation switches are PC's. You can even install Linux on modern switches just by soldering on a special chip, so "modified switches" are PCs.
ATM's often run Windows as the base OS ffs, of course you could call them a PC. As you said;
If account restrictions are the "owner of the hardware" preventing the end user from "running arbitrary software", then all that means is Nintendo owns your switch. Not that the switch is incapable of running arbitrary software.
Your strange definition of PC simply does not hold up to scrutiny. I get that you are trying to say that "because a Switch is a device manufactured for the express purpose of running games only accessible through Nintendo's official channels, it is a far different user experience than what we think of as a traditional desktop". But to say it isn't a personal computer, when it is a personal device that runs software using a processor, ram, storage, a graphical processor, all connected by a central print circuit board is simply absurd.
If you jailbreak the Switch, you can do all of those things. But by your definition, because I can't arbitrarily install Windows software on an Apple computer, it is not a PC.
Just because it's not easy doesn't mean the Switch isn't a personal computer. It is a device you can personally own that takes bits and bytes and performs computations with them that results in things like saving a game (data storage), internet communication (network computing), and video rendering (video stream computation).
You can't "jailbreak" any current switch without replacing hardware.
You can install Windows software on a Mac.
Calling a switch a PC is a lie. It's not ambiguous, and it's not a gray area. It's a malicious, bold faced lie.
Bruh, are you for real? Lol.
Words have meaning. I'm sorry you don't like the definition of Personal Computer. Go write to the dictionary committees about it. You are emphatically wrong.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/personal-computer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer
You are a fucking idiot lmaooo, at least it's entertaining seeing you properly roasted for your clear fucking misunderstandings and defence of closed down personal computing hardware. Bravo I'm sure some Nintendo corporate stooge is smiling at you for justifying locking down bought hardware to a closed ecosystem with outrageous prices for games. Why the fuck are you even using federated social media if you love locked down controlled ecosystems?
How is saying "the switch isn't a viable alternative to the steam deck because it's not a PC and can't do anywhere close to the bare minimum to be a PC" promoting a locked down ecosystem?
A console cannot be called a PC or replace a PC. It is a lesser category of product.
They can and are, lol, the definition for PC is surrounding the hardware. Whether or not the producer of said hardware has included software locks or hardware locks to prevent you from modifying the operating system on the device does not change that distinction, it only provides justification for closed ecosystems and locking down hardware a consumer has purchased, creating a monopoly over what that hardware can access. Hence why you are being called out for supporting said practices whether you set out with that intention or not. All of the devices you called out run on standard architectures for their computing resources which have drivers and kernels built in more than a couple operating systems already. If the software or hardware locks were not there, these devices would be capable of fitting into the narrowly scoped definition of PC you crafted. As others have pointed out the first gen switch can be loaded with Linux, as can a newer switch once you bypass the hardware lock. As can the ATM which runs windows server. Xboxs/Play Stations could run linux or windows as we have kernels built for ARM architecture, yet they are locked down. Allowing companies to redefine their devices allows them to skirt antitrust laws and parroting those same talking points only serves to reduce your ability to use/recycle hardware you have previously purchased.