4 ms·

Cute idea. Why No Linux?

by godmodus 10y ago

pjmlp 10y ago
Maybe because GNU/Linux users are allergic to money for desktop software.
- AndrewUnmuted 10y ago
  Not a very mature comment for HN, this kind of shit posting is really below what I have come to expect from this community. That said, it maybe enlightening to the OP to answer with some kind of effort and truthfulness. The game development industry is highly compartmentalized with respect to tooling, platforms, IDEs, etc. It's mostly proprietary software that still runs the game. These antiquated models of software development run contrary to the core of GNU/Linux's philosophy, and therefore pose significant challenges to the developers to make their "unique" idea work on this OS. Not to fear, however. The latest advancements in the game development space do point to a more inclusive, holistic, and platform-independent means for software development. The indies have enthusiastically embraced these new developments.
  - pjmlp 10y ago
    Just recently we had the author of Octave, thinking about giving up development, because of exactly this problem, so excuse me if you don't think my remark was mature enough. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13603575 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13603575 Do you at least pay for the distribution you use? I do.
    - AndrewUnmuted 10y ago
      Your comment attacked an entire user base, their collective crime being that they don't share your particular (weak) moral values about the distribution of software intended for use on the Linux desktop. Worst of all, you now insinuate that a problem suffered by one author of one application that is used on the GNU/Linux desktop is a problem for all. Not everybody can "pay for" (support monetarily) free software. I personally don't see why it is any of your damn business what I do and do not "pay" for. My distribution does not make a huge deal over asking for donations but I do support them both monetarily and otherwise. Frankly, I think the 'other' ways that I support the free software movement are more valuable than whatever money I can chuck at a guy whose program I like. Plenty of free software developers and maintainers would agree with your line of reasoning, which is part of the beauty of free software. But few of those people would argue that yours is a decent reason to attack their entire user base.
      - pjmlp 10y ago
        Because users like yourself feel entitled to have access to the work of others without regard how we manage to pay our bills. All nice and good when it is possible to sell books, consulting services or hide the software behind a SaaS pay-wall that helps to pay the bills, which is absolutely not the case for desktop software unless it is web based applications behind that pay-wall. Thus preventing any kind of long term business model targeting the GNU/Linux desktop. Which is yet another reason why many rather target app stores nowadays.
        AndrewUnmuted 10y ago
        Where is this bitterness and hostility coming from? How do you know what kind of user I am, and what kinds of works I may or may not be personally responsible for within the free software community? I happen to know the struggle you speak of first-hand. I paid my bills early on in my journey by teaching courses related to the subject matter my project touched upon. Free software has _no opinions_ on the adequate income model for developers who involve themselves in its world. The beauty of free software is that it is agnostic to your kind of ethics-mongering, which is why I have chosen to be so intimately involved in it myself. We all need to make a living, and I don't have any presumptions over how someone chooses to do it. However, I think you would be better to not force your particular difficulties and decisions on this front on the entire GNU/Linux user base.
        icebraining 10y ago
        Why should one feel entitled to use software legally available for free? Do you feel guilty for using HN without paying YC for it? What a weird concept. Yes, there's a lack of money in Free Software. Yes, there are consequences from that, like the abandonment of certain projects. That doesn't mean non-paying users are somehow guilty of something, that's a poisonous attitude.
      - swift 10y ago
        I wish this wasn't a deeply nested comment attached to a somewhat unrelated article because I think this is a really interesting discussion that deserves its own thread. There are some genuinely interesting ethical questions here. FWIW, I feel that people who have the money to do so should support the artists, engineers, and other folks who create the things they use and enjoy. I buy books rather than borrow them from the library for this reason: I want to give the authors more money, so that hopefully they'll keep writing the books I love to read. I know not everyone shares my perspective, though.
  - StreamBright 10y ago
    I am not sure how more maturely should he put it, but it is definitely true. You can verify it by looking at statistics from different category of software: games, CAD apps, etc.
  - sctb 10y ago
    An important part of this community is that when we disagree with other members we don't attack them or call names like this, so please don't.
- greyman 10y ago
  Out of respect for Linus, it should be called Linux, and not by some made-up name.
  - dgellow 10y ago
    Linux is a made-up name.
    - greyman 10y ago
      No, Linus created a piece of software and called it Linux. It is his creation and he named it.
      - icebraining 10y ago
        Funnily enough, he didn't :) Initially, Torvalds wanted to call the kernel he developed Freax (a combination of "free", "freak", and the letter X to indicate that it is a Unix-like system), but his friend Ari Lemmke, who administered the FTP server where the kernel was first hosted for download, named Torvalds's directory linux.
  - swift 10y ago
    A lot of people worked on the user space, too. I understand why both camps want to get some of the credit.
- godmodus 10y ago
  But we do. And I do. That's all I'll say to you. I don't want any part of this vitriol.
Fifer82 10y ago
This question has been around since I connected to the internet. The response has always been to use a reasonably decent OS.

Cute idea. Why No Linux?

pjmlp 10y ago

Maybe because GNU/Linux users are allergic to money for desktop software.

AndrewUnmuted 10y ago
Not a very mature comment for HN, this kind of shit posting is really below what I have come to expect from this community. That said, it maybe enlightening to the OP to answer with some kind of effort and truthfulness. The game development industry is highly compartmentalized with respect to tooling, platforms, IDEs, etc. It's mostly proprietary software that still runs the game. These antiquated models of software development run contrary to the core of GNU/Linux's philosophy, and therefore pose significant challenges to the developers to make their "unique" idea work on this OS. Not to fear, however. The latest advancements in the game development space do point to a more inclusive, holistic, and platform-independent means for software development. The indies have enthusiastically embraced these new developments.
- pjmlp 10y ago
  Just recently we had the author of Octave, thinking about giving up development, because of exactly this problem, so excuse me if you don't think my remark was mature enough. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13603575 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13603575 Do you at least pay for the distribution you use? I do.
  - AndrewUnmuted 10y ago
    Your comment attacked an entire user base, their collective crime being that they don't share your particular (weak) moral values about the distribution of software intended for use on the Linux desktop. Worst of all, you now insinuate that a problem suffered by one author of one application that is used on the GNU/Linux desktop is a problem for all. Not everybody can "pay for" (support monetarily) free software. I personally don't see why it is any of your damn business what I do and do not "pay" for. My distribution does not make a huge deal over asking for donations but I do support them both monetarily and otherwise. Frankly, I think the 'other' ways that I support the free software movement are more valuable than whatever money I can chuck at a guy whose program I like. Plenty of free software developers and maintainers would agree with your line of reasoning, which is part of the beauty of free software. But few of those people would argue that yours is a decent reason to attack their entire user base.
    - pjmlp 10y ago
      Because users like yourself feel entitled to have access to the work of others without regard how we manage to pay our bills. All nice and good when it is possible to sell books, consulting services or hide the software behind a SaaS pay-wall that helps to pay the bills, which is absolutely not the case for desktop software unless it is web based applications behind that pay-wall. Thus preventing any kind of long term business model targeting the GNU/Linux desktop. Which is yet another reason why many rather target app stores nowadays.
      - AndrewUnmuted 10y ago
        Where is this bitterness and hostility coming from? How do you know what kind of user I am, and what kinds of works I may or may not be personally responsible for within the free software community? I happen to know the struggle you speak of first-hand. I paid my bills early on in my journey by teaching courses related to the subject matter my project touched upon. Free software has _no opinions_ on the adequate income model for developers who involve themselves in its world. The beauty of free software is that it is agnostic to your kind of ethics-mongering, which is why I have chosen to be so intimately involved in it myself. We all need to make a living, and I don't have any presumptions over how someone chooses to do it. However, I think you would be better to not force your particular difficulties and decisions on this front on the entire GNU/Linux user base.
      - icebraining 10y ago
        Why should one feel entitled to use software legally available for free? Do you feel guilty for using HN without paying YC for it? What a weird concept. Yes, there's a lack of money in Free Software. Yes, there are consequences from that, like the abandonment of certain projects. That doesn't mean non-paying users are somehow guilty of something, that's a poisonous attitude.
    - swift 10y ago
      I wish this wasn't a deeply nested comment attached to a somewhat unrelated article because I think this is a really interesting discussion that deserves its own thread. There are some genuinely interesting ethical questions here. FWIW, I feel that people who have the money to do so should support the artists, engineers, and other folks who create the things they use and enjoy. I buy books rather than borrow them from the library for this reason: I want to give the authors more money, so that hopefully they'll keep writing the books I love to read. I know not everyone shares my perspective, though.
- StreamBright 10y ago
  I am not sure how more maturely should he put it, but it is definitely true. You can verify it by looking at statistics from different category of software: games, CAD apps, etc.
- sctb 10y ago
  An important part of this community is that when we disagree with other members we don't attack them or call names like this, so please don't.
greyman 10y ago
Out of respect for Linus, it should be called Linux, and not by some made-up name.
- dgellow 10y ago
  Linux is a made-up name.
  - greyman 10y ago
    No, Linus created a piece of software and called it Linux. It is his creation and he named it.
    - icebraining 10y ago
      Funnily enough, he didn't :) Initially, Torvalds wanted to call the kernel he developed Freax (a combination of "free", "freak", and the letter X to indicate that it is a Unix-like system), but his friend Ari Lemmke, who administered the FTP server where the kernel was first hosted for download, named Torvalds's directory linux.
- swift 10y ago
  A lot of people worked on the user space, too. I understand why both camps want to get some of the credit.
godmodus 10y ago
But we do. And I do. That's all I'll say to you. I don't want any part of this vitriol.

Fifer82 10y ago

This question has been around since I connected to the internet. The response has always been to use a reasonably decent OS.