I read all the same articles word for word in 2013 when SteamOS first launched. Yes more games are playable on Linux today because of Proton, but everything else is still a mess. You still can't stream video >720p from any major streaming service, for example. I don't see people rushing to put SteamOS on their PCs or entertainment centers while these basic gaps still exist.
> You still can't stream video >720p from any major streaming service, for example
Say what? I'm playing 1080p fine. Sounds like you could be bit by drm ("that's not a bug, it's a feature"). If so the issue lies with your streaming service - some withhold bitrates unless they detect a "trusted" browser and OS (ie you'd have to fake Edge on Windows User-Agent at least).
This sentiment misses the point. It's not that Linux is not capable - it's plenty capable, and has been for decades now. It's that support for it is lacking. The lack of support makes Linux look bad, because, from the perspective of the end user, it doesn't matter who actually is responsible for the failure of something. If negative experience comes after installing X, then surely X is to blame, right? Wrong, as we both know, but this is the experience that needs to be managed, in order to make Linux successful. Entities who managed this experience made commercially successful Linuxes - Red Hat, Canonical, Google, and Steam as well.
You can, though the supported combinations of browsers and operating systems depends on the service. Netflix will do 1080p on Linux, but only in Opera for whatever reason. Other browsers, even other Chromium-based, are limited to 720p.
1. Not all gamers use the features that may be annoying to use on Linux. Anecdotally, only a handful of friends use streaming and most of the time it's to play party games.
2. I think you're understating the impact of the growth of game playability now versus 2013. While the Wine developers deserve unbound praise for their impressive work, I would not say Wine in 2013 was truly viable for gaming. There were wikis with compatibility information but it was a mixed bag. Sometimes newer versions would break what was already working and it's unreasonable to expect volunteers to test every game on every version of Wine. Sometimes you had to copy DLLs from a Windows box and do all sorts of kludges to get things working.
3. Steam puts compatibilty information right next to the game before you buy. It sounds like you can request a refund if it won't run. To me, this gives a lot more confidence in Valve's vision as they're putting their money where their mouth is.
4. Most importantly, the Steam Deck now exists as something you can hold in your hands to see the viability of certain games on SteamOS. Many gamers have heard of the Steam Deck or even know someone who owns one. In 2013 there could be all sorts of hardware compatibility reasons why SteamOS wouldn't work or wouldn't be viable. It was too easy to dismiss before you'd even start touching a game. Now? The Steam Deck standardized the hardware side of the equation so the feasibility conversation starts with game compatibility.
