So I got tired of dealing with Windows, of course, and finally installed Ubuntu linux 26 on my game machine.
The install was easy, and installing Steam is easy. I opted to use the snap version, since that is the one it pushes you to use.
However, that is when the problems started. The first problem is Gnome (as usual). It is still an awful windowing environment. And the Steam app does not get along with it at all; the drop down menus sometimes work, sometimes don’t, and you can usually get them by rotating the mouse 47˙counter clockwise, clicking shift, and standing on one foot. So, I installed KDE, and all the windowing issues went away and it works like it should.
The next issue was audio. The snap version of Steam does not allow access to the microphone. There is no warning for this, nor an option to add it when you install. I get why they want you to use snaps for security, and why it does not allow access by default, but this is the kind of crap that really frustrates users; especially non-technical users. It’s bad for linux in general. The solution was simple enough, once you notice that Steam (and any games launched from it) cannot see the microphone; the only option in steam is “Default” which is the same as none until you run the following:
sudo snap connect steam:audio-recordAfter that, the microphone worked fine.