Valve made Microsoft’s dream console

Microsoft keeps describing this model for the future of a game console that sounds great for players: it’s as easy as a console, it can play a huge library of PC titles, and it even supports third-party stores. That’d be a wonderful product if someone could build it, and it sure looks like Valve has beaten Microsoft to the punch with its new Steam Machine. This week on The Vergecast, Nilay Patel, Jake Kastrenakes, Sean Hollister, and special guest Joanna Stern sit down to talk through Valve’s ambitious new hardware initiatives — and what it means for Microsoft and Windows. Do consumers still use Windows in the future? Or are games (and an overemphasis on AI) going to push people over to Linux? There’s dissatisfaction brewing, and the rise of SteamOS is just one sign of it. Next, Joanna dives into her story for The Wall Street Journal about the Neo robot, which she got to spend time with in person and even control herself. Right now, the robot is far from ready for nimbly perform just about any daily tasks. But the big question we want to know is whether the AI is going to get there at all. As of now, there’s a human behind the robot. Finally, it’s time for the Lightning Round. On the docket: Amazon’s Fire TV piracy crackdown, Apple’s $230 designer crossbody sock, the ongoing YouTube TV and Disney carriage dispute, Apple’s new support for mini apps, Waymo hitting the highway, and tablets being the villain in Toy Story 5. If you want to know more about the stories we discuss in the episode, you can check out the stories below: * Our first look at the Steam Machine, Valve’s ambitious new game console * Valve enters the console wars * Valve just built the Xbox that Microsoft is dreaming of * Valve’s new Steam Controller might be my dream controller * The Steam Frame is a surprising new twist on VR * I Tried the First Humanoid Home Robot. It Got Weird * I Tried the Robot That’s Coming to Live With You. It’s Still Part Human. * Amazon is cracking down on illegal streaming on its Fire TV Stick * Apple made a $230 crossbody… sock * Disney is losing over $4 million a day in revenue on the YouTube TV blackout * Apple will take a mini commission from mini app developers * Waymo is hitting the highway — but can it handle the speed? * The first Toy Story 5 teaser threatens the toys with a tablet