Fubarberry

I think redreader has official permission to use the API because it has a disability focus.

You're right about it being underhanded tactics that resulted in the monopoly charge, but it also just seems silly that they could instead say "no other app stores are allowed" and it would suddenly be ok.

Xbox/PlayStation/Nintendo don't have monopolies within the console space.

Also (and this seems stupid to me), having a more open platform can open you up to antitrust lawsuits. In the Epic vs Google and Epic vs Apple lawsuits, apple was ruled to be fine to have a closed app store, but Google was rules to have an illegal monopoly on Android, despite it being the more open platform.

Basically Valve having the Steam Machine be an open platform (or being sold as a PC which is expected to be open) while steering Steam use could be considered more of a monopoly issue, than if they released a stripped down Steam only "console" and advertised it as such.

Presumably PC games are considered their own market, separate enough from console games. It honestly seems murky reasoning to me, but I would imagine valve would be cautious about it since they're currently facing monopoly lawsuits.

I've also read speculation that selling it at a loss could contribute to antitrust lawsuits against them. Basically if they sell gaming PCs below cost, and the gaming PCs incentivize Steam use over other platforms, there would be an argument that Valve was using their 30% sales cut to sell hardware others can't compete against, to further cement their monopoly. This would be partially countered by the open nature of the device, but not fully since it would still "steer" common users towards steam over other platforms.

This isn't an issue for console makers because there are multiple competing consoles with valid market share.

To be fair, windows hibernates a lot without telling the user (hibernates when shutting down, hibernates after sleeping too long). Hibernating when shutting down was largely meant to help with slow boot times on HDDs, and it maybe shouldn't be default now that everyone is on SSDs that both boot faster and receive more wear from hibernating.

Normally sleep wouldn't affect it, because it just keeps the ram powered and doesn't write to the SSD.

However I think windows will quietly hibernate if the computer has been asleep too long. At least on laptops it will automatically hibernate after a few hours of sleep, or after a % of battery is used.