Using Steam OS as a Desktop: My Experience with the Legion Go S as a Work PC

Sure thing, let’s take a wild ride into my attempt at Linux, shall we? Buckle up, ‘cause this isn’t going to be your polished tech review. It’s more of a bumpy, hastily scribbled diary entry about how I, a regular Windows and macOS survivor, fell headfirst into the world of Linux. And honestly, it felt like trying to teach a cat to fetch… fun, but mostly chaotic.

I’ve cruised through every shiny new Windows update since, what, Windows 3.11? (That’s if you sidestep Windows ME—because, seriously, who remembers that one?) Macs also have seen me perched over their sleek laptops since 2009. But Linux? Nah, that was always the realm of mystery.

So when this gloriously edgy guy called the Legion Go S handheld gaming PC clunked into my lap from Lenovo, I thought, why not? It’s my not-so-secret ambition to write a killer review on the Asus ROG Strix G16 gaming laptop anyway. Might as well dive into the depths of Linux, armed with, um, basically zero prior knowledge.

First things first, our story stars the KDE Plasma environment. No idea what that is? Same, until recently. Imagine my slight shock when this thing booted into the SteamOS, and I’m just sitting there with the opening credits of confusion. But hey, four seconds on the power button, a quick menu magic trick, and voila—I’m suddenly navigating the KDE Plasma world. But it’s not a fairy tale with a happily ever after quite yet.

Oh, and here’s a side note (is it weird to have side notes in an article?) The Legion Go S just has a couple USB-C ports. Helpful, right? Especially when sometimes the only weapon in your arsenal is a trusty Logitech mouse and keyboard set bought for, like, a pocketful of quarters from Target. And the receiver? USB-A, naturally—because who doesn’t love an unnecessary hurdle? Anyway, with a bit of fidgety adapter play, I was up and running with these third-cousins of a mouse and keyboard setup.

The real kicker though—my Logitech sets were recognized immediately. This KDE Plasma was weirdly, almost suspiciously, cozy. Like that familiar-but-weirdly-sticky couch at your aunt’s place. Yet, I found my groove fast.

So on to the internet escapade: Already hooked to Wi-Fi ‘cause of SteamOS’s gentle nudge, I dug into the app called Discover to yank down Microsoft Edge. Yep, you read it right—Microsoft Edge. Don’t hate me. It remembers my passwords and stuff. Except, downloading was slower than sloths tap-dancing through peanut butter. Eight minutes. I kid you not. Yeah, my internet usually goes at a gazillion miles per hour, but now? More like 1.4 Mbps. Deep breaths…

Finally, though, I land all my digital bookmarks and passwords into Edge and… my eight-inch display is almost a motivational poster—painful on the eyes as your inner monologue screams for a bigger screen. So I hooked up my Espresso Display 15 Pro (great name, right?). It’s this fancy-schmancy portable monitor, and yeah, it played hard to get at first with all that flicking on and off jazz. Needed some extra juice. Classic.

But with the USB-C situation resolved, hello 4K brilliance! The monitor was now sipping power and breezily charging my little Legion. Gotta love when things work double duty.

Now, juggling all this tech witchcraft, I managed to fling open Microsoft Word online, dive into review-writing land and snap some snazzy shots with my iPhone 16 Pro. Google Photos helps avoid a USB jungle, thankfully. Later, I tinkered with GIMP for some photo edits because, listen, Pixelmator Pro is my usual weapon of choice, but let’s save some cash here.

Quick confession: Sometimes, the system rebooted back to SteamOS just because I had a spirited click on the touchpad. Frustrating but… Eh. Power through, right?

So would I use the Legion Go S as my main squeeze for longer? Maybe. With nifty USB-C docks out there, you might dodge more migraines. Less elegant, more spontaneous—but alive with possibilities, kind of like karaoke on your third margarita.

And that’s it, really—a wandering, slightly muddled tale of Linux discovery. It’s more of an introduction than a love story, with plenty of baffled moments, but hey, what a ride.