I'm the same, i tend to just skim the 'suggested topics' at the bottom or the part where it tells about how many new or unread topics there are. The issue with Steve is that it'll select just the most popular topics in that week, which are normally the most popular in each of the segments regardless so they show-up under the headings. It also doesn't mean they'll be new topics, only that they are active.
Just feel it doesnt add anything other than being another 'suggested topic' area. It has a few kinks such as a user being able to cycle through the varying topics Steve displays. If it was worked out so it displayed only new topics rather than just popular topics then it could be something.
Worth noting, these are not really things that i brought up other than the pointlessness of Steve, most of this is just the general consensus that people chat about that I've relayed because they wouldn't. So personal preferences of board searching, even if they matter, are not only related to me here
I don't know where you have gotten this impression, I'm more active on the boards than most i just don't comment too much xD From the rank i thought you'd know that i read a lot of the new topics and I always comment on the new MOC topics that i see and practically everything else that's related to what i like xD
The thing is Steve is just the fifth form of displaying hot topics, there is also;
- Stared topics topic that are given focus via TTV or Staff
- Topics that get popular and appear in the top three of each area
- Suggested topics at the bottom of the page
- Focused on the main page (mostly reserved for important news)
It serves no purpose that is not already filled in multiple ways, and is currently a less efficient way of viewing hot topics than the others that exists. If it was changed to viewing new topics instead that would be giving it a unique function, but at the moment i have no need to use it because the other options are there
Should i make a bug report topic? or seeing as you've read it do the staff already know about the issue? Not sure there is anything my end that could make the time jump from minutes and hours to hundreds of years...
An option is just removing the image displays from Steve, have a small bar across the top or side of the boards with scroll arrows that displays the titles of new topics. If it was moved to the left or right, Steve could then be accessed at all times making it easier to transverse from new topic to another.
Have an additional option to change the display on Steve, such as 'show topics created in the last few days' or 'show popular topics' or 'show topics in a certain area' then that would definitely make it more useful.
Possibly, might have just missed that
Tis fine, we'll all need to get used to the new layout 
I think the better question is... why is it here?