There's no indication here about hardware, drivers, or any number of external factors here. This is purely Valve having another dig at Microsoft in the press
I think Valve's main point was that they started with 6 FPS on Linux and are now over 300. I really think their main purpose was to show that their porting effort to Linux/OpenGL is a complete success, there's no need to discuss benchmarking hardware just to tell us that their work is going well. The "dig at Microsoft" you speak of is just editorializing by Slashdot ("MrSeb").
First of all, reducing terms from 20 to 5 years would reduce the effect of software patents by 75% all by itself.
And they *are* lobbying for more than shorter durations. The EFF's 7 suggested points, taken together, would remove most of the remaining effect of software patents. Like most of us software developers, I expect the EFF would support complete elimination of software patents, but given how patent-friendly Washington is, perhaps they thought it would be a more effective strategy to lobby for weaker patents instead.
Wishing without work is like fishing without bait. -- Frank Tyger