Op-ed: Valve has made a dent in Windows’ gaming share, but can it keep going.
This trailer breaks down what changed in The RAMpocalypse has bought Microsoft valuable time in the fight against SteamOS.
“RAMpocalypse” aside, I’m not sure the OS share shifts unless SteamOS can ship on boring prebuilt desktops without weird driver/peripheral landmines. Are OEMs actually lining up to sell SteamOS boxes at Best Buy?
The “Best Buy shelf” question feels less technical than incentive-shaped: why would Dell/HP eat the support cost and returns when Windows gives them co-marketing money and a single throat to choke?
Look — Dell/HP don’t “eat” that cost, they externalize it: restocking fees, warranty fine print, “reimage it” scripts, and a lot of returns pain pushed onto Best Buy and the customer. The co-marketing money matters, but the bigger incentive is blame routing. “Windows certified” is a liability shield and a support script, not proof the box stays stable when someone runs 40 Chrome tabs, a flaky USB dock, and whatever CouponFinder Plus equivalent their cousin installed.
Lol
Same energy as the whole “ram shortage” discourse tbh.
