It seems a bit harsh to call something that was only announced as being in development a couple of months ago "vapour".

Most big titles are multi platform nowadays.

I am in fact still crying of joy by the release of Brutal Legend in Steam.

That was one of the two reasons for me to have planned to buy a PS3 this year. Now I don't have to, PS3 purchase is canceled. The other reason is GT5, but iRacing is more than good enough.

If Steam can get viable business out of selling indie and smaller-publisher games then that is self-sustaining even if Linux does not take over the entire industry (FIFA, Deer Hunter, etc.)

They may be able to make a business out of it. For it to be the Year of Linux gaming, publishers need to be doing so. I can still run Solitaire on my Windows 2000 laptop, but that doesn't make it a gaming platform in the sense implied by the article. Few people are going on eBay to pick up a Windows 2000 laptop for gaming, likewise, few people are going to install Linux in order to run games.

why install it when it could be a live cd that boots straight into steam?

Maybe Steam could send these CD's in the mail and offer like ten free hours of use.