I don’t want a big loud box near a tv.

With mATX or ITX you can make a shockingly small and attractive computer; examples include this mATX case or this ITX case. People have even designed 3d printable cases, plans for laser cut/CNC acrylic and metal, etc… If that’s not small or classy enough, the miniPC market has really taken off and depending on how modest your needs are, you can get by with things like Zimaboards or go all the way to something like the MINISFORUM AI X1 Pro - a very capable machine that has an Oculink port that allows you to connect an external GPU if you need even more power.

Generally speaking you’re never driving a media PC hard enough for the fans to ramp up, but if you somehow are, just buy quality fans and/or watercooling. I can speak for Noctua fans not just being a meme; they are actually very quiet.

How would you even control it ?

I have a small keyboard with a built in trackpad. It’s a bit bigger than a TV remote but not obnoxiously so, but given you get the ability to actually write stuff in instead of using an onscreen keyboard with an IR remote it’s a worthwhile trade.

This post is odd because you’re talking about on-rails shooters but Call of Juarez is not one of them (it’s an FPS).

voting with their wallet I’m onboard with your argument but I really don’t think voting with your wallet works in cases like this. When there are so few players in a system and they’re all colluding to make things worse, there is no vote.

I am deeply frustrated that people aren’t getting more involved. I link them to groups, I show them the consumer rights wiki, I talk to people about getting involved politically at the local level… So few people care. Things are going to have to get much worse before they take action, best thing we can do is have the framework in place for when they finally wake up.

I am not willing to trade a modicum of safety for one of the greatest privacy and ownership violations of all time.