I think the only interesting thing here is Gabe's definition of "very controlled". If it means fixed hardware is acceptable. If it means walled garden with no root or unsigned code - no thanks.
Based on the full quote (below), it seems that he was referring to Valve's offering only:
"Well certainly our hardware will be a very controlled environment," he said. "If you want more flexibility, you can always buy a more general purpose PC. [...]"
