It means they’re competing with other companies to give you the lowest possible wage.

I don’t have any advice for the controller and frame, unfortunately. But check out mini PCs for a potentially cheaper Steam Machine replacement. You can easily put SteamOS on it and get a very similar experience.

Rent an isolated cabin far out in the woods, buy anything I can think of that would help me last indefinitely out there, get enough supplies for the short term, then pack it all in the truck and gtfo with my cat in the passenger seat.

I let house centipedes and the spiders around my door live. Those spiders catch so many gnats and small bugs its insane. And I have a lot of springtails and small ants in my area which I figure the house centipedes probably help with.