Comment on The Steam Deck's budget price tag is the reason I still rate it nearly two years on

• SquirtleHermit@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Just because the switch runs a proprietary OS does not mean it isn’t a personal computing device. It can run Linux, it has a CPU and memory, it runs software, its a personal computer for sure.

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  • conciselyverbose@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    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.

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    • SquirtleHermit@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      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.

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      • conciselyverbose@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        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.

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    • Telorand@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      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).

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      • conciselyverbose@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        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.

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