I believe the base EMMC model is sold at a loss, the other ones make some money for Valve if i'm not mistaken...
At least this isn't that $100 internet subscription computer from the 2000s, that people purchased just to erase the subscription-based OS and slap a fresh copy of Win95/98 on it 🤣 poor Netpliance
This just reminded me of getting super cheap/nearly free ad-supported Kindle fires from Amazon, obtaining root access and installing a different ROM. They weren't half bad spare Android tablets once you removed the adware.
I ended up looking it up. I think it was the Air Force, and it was the "Condor Cluster". I believe it was the 33rd most powerful supercomputer at the time of it's activation.
Sony removed the Other OS feature around the same time, so PS3 clusters needed to source older PS3s with older firmware.