Those are reasons why they didn't design their own CPU with an x86 frontend, not a reason why the frontend has any impact on performance or power efficiency (which it doesn't). Modern CPUs are giant beasts with a paper thin instruction set facade wrapped around them. The instruction set that users see (x86, ARM, etc.) isn't even the native instruction set of the CPUs. It's just what gets sent through the translation layer.

The instruction set is irrelevant, just a tiny fraction of a percent of the footprint, and x86 CPUs decode instructions to RISC-like micro-ops anyway. The reason that Apple was successful with ARM was because they had a really good CPU design, not because of the instruction set that it used.

Considering that Valve is working on an arm SteamOS device, the Steam Frame, Iâ(TM)m not sure I can reconcile your statement.

Samsung makes the RAM, and the smartphones, and the manufacturing costs haven't changed. There's nothing stopping Samsung supplying themselves RAM for their smartphones at the same price they always have. They're raising the prices not because they have to, but because they'll make more money.

Xbox was dying long before the RAM shortage started. The writing has been on the wall for a long time now. The infamous and confusing "This is an Xbox" marketing campaign started over a year ago.

It's actually less confusing as written. "Milliard" always means 10^9, unambiguously, while "billion" can mean either 10^9 or 10^12 depending on language/country.

Milliard is still the only/universal/modern way of saying 10^9 in French and several other languages. The word "billion" does still mean 10^12 in long scale languages/countries. A bunch of other languages/countries use the long scale too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Unless the government is completely politically oblivious, I'm convinced that this is a tactic to get Alberta to settle for an upgrade of the TMX pipeline, either by increasing the flow (which BC and indigenous groups have indicated that they are willing to accept) or perhaps building new pipes along the existing right of way (which is outside what BC is willing to go for, but a much smaller reach than reviving Northern Gateway).

I think something to do with TMX is where Alberta and BC will meet in the middle.

Streaming a game over the Internet is not comparable to streaming a game to a PC in the same room using a dedicated connection between a the headset and PC, where the antennas and radios on both sides are dedicated to the streaming video.

This is not something new. This is something that has been in widespread use for years, working quite well in existing headsets, like Oculus Air Link, Virtual Desktop, Steam Link, etc. The largest complaints about these solutions was often not latency, but image quality. This is what Valve aims to fix with foveated streaming, and all the hands-on coverage that we've seen so far indicates that it works extremely well. Valve is claiming 1-2ms of latency for a current-gen GPU, and 3-4ms of latency for an older GPU. Frames don't pass instantly over a DisplayPort cable either. You can't race the beam on a low-persistence display, you need to wait for the entire frame to transfer over.

Wireless is subject to interference, but 6 GHz is a very large and not widely used part of the spectrum, and interference doesn't cause a disconnection, it causes errors in the data or dropped packets. You don't wait for retransmissions, you just keep going and handle any missing or corrupted data through error correction or error resiliency. If a dropped packet causes a slight loss of detail in a small part of the frame for 1/120th of a second, you may not even notice.

Perhaps. But you are not limited to Steam games. If you're in the Steam garden, then there are no walls to that garden, and while you must start in the Steam garden, you are free to wander into other gardens.

This is literally an advertised feature, one that was part of their hands-on demonstrations. Valve has contributed heavily to FEX (a user mode emulator, so you're not emulating system libraries), which is integrated with Proton in SteamOS. Yes, it's subject to any potential compatibility limitations, but I don't see how it's "absurd nonsense".

- Stream any game from a PC
- Run any PC game directly on the headset, with emulation if only an x86 version is available
- Officially sideload any Android APK

Yeah. What a walled garden. You're limited to only running literally anything.

Not all Android Automotive cars support Google applications (like Google Maps or the Play store), and not all Android apps are supported, so it's very much not like Android Auto in that respect. And having to manually enable tethering on your phone every time you get in the car (to avoid burning battery life) is hardly an ideal solution. Not to mention the inconvenience for iPhone users, who represent 55-60% of all smartphone users in North America, and aren't going to have the same set of apps they want to use or the same integration into the Google/Android ecosystem.

Android Automotive still has a limited number of supported apps (it doesn't support all Android apps), doesn't necessarily have access to Google apps or the Google play store (licensing Google Automotive Services to get access to Google apps is not required, and a bunch of car makers don't), doesn't automatically have the same apps/settings/accounts that your phone does, doesn't have your media library, doesn't use your existing cellular connection and data plan (unless you tether your phone or pay for a second data plan), and if you're an iPhone user (as 55-60% of people in North America are), then there's an even bigger disconnect.

Having to pay for a separate data plan should be a deal killer right off the bat.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto allow your phone to take over the car's screens and speakers. If you're only playing music, then yes, a bluetooth connection is enough. But if you're using a map app with turn-by-turn directions (Google Maps, Waze, etc.) then you can see that app on the car's screen.

Turn-by-turn directions is also a good example of a service that's free with your phone, but subject to a subscription fees from many car makers that have their own built-in system.

I will not buy a car that does not have Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. Car systems always suck, and they don't have all the apps/accounts/settings/cellular connection/data plan that my phone does.

Literally the only reason that any car manufacturer tries to force you to use their own system is to sell you subscriptions.