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> HN folks may not like to hear it, but in general your "average" Linux user makes the absolute worst software customer: they can get tons of stuff for free so

> HN folks may not like to hear it, but in general your "average" Linux user makes the absolute worst software customer: they can get tons of stuff for free so there is a high bar when it comes to willingness to pay for non-free software, they have very high demands about how software should work, and they are most likely to run customer configurations on different combinations of hardware, making bugs more likely, and they are usually quickest to switch if something better comes along. My charitable interpretation is that the average (voluntary) Linux user is a Pro user - but the average Mac/Windows users are consumers. What this means to the author is they probably shouldn't attempt selling consumer-type applications on Linux (which you noted have plenty of competing free apps). The additional challenge is that application distribution on Linux is seamless - your competition is one "apt get" command away, unlike Windows/Mac OS. Author - you probably have to write specialized/pro software to get reasonable traction on Linux targeted at a specific niche. It may be difficult to achieve this as a solo developer, as it will demand a lot of your time to get the required depth; but you can always start small.

huhtenberg 6y ago
> they probably shouldn't attempt selling consumer-type applications on Linux That's pretty damn insightful actually. Spot on.
hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
I mean, being a Pro user is part of it, but it's not the only story. Pro designers are famously fans of Mac's, and they are certainly willing to pay a ton for lots of different types of software. I think part of it is just cultural. Linux got it's start after all as a free (in both senses of the word) alternative to costly commercial products. I mean, just look at Git, which was created after some original kernel devs (not just Linus BTW) wanted to reverse engineer/clone BitKeeper.
- sangnoir 6y ago
  > Pro designers are famously fans of Mac's, and they are certainly willing to pay a ton for lots of different types of software. That is true, and to compound to what you said earlier, Pro users are demanding and finicky, as Apple found out when it released Final Cut "Pro" X - which should have been Final Cut Prosumer. Apple lost years worth of goodwill overnight, because of shifting demographics of Apple users and Apple's own failure to balance the needs of casual, prosumers and actual video professionals. The same thing will happen to Pro designers, should Apple lose focus on attention to color accuracy and screen quality. The trouble with Linux is that it's hard to build tools for people with strong opinions, who can build their own, better, free versions of the tools when sufficiently motivated - your Git example will suffice.

huhtenberg 6y ago

> they probably shouldn't attempt selling consumer-type applications on Linux That's pretty damn insightful actually. Spot on.

hn_throwaway_99 6y ago

I mean, being a Pro user is part of it, but it's not the only story. Pro designers are famously fans of Mac's, and they are certainly willing to pay a ton for lots of different types of software. I think part of it is just cultural. Linux got it's start after all as a free (in both senses of the word) alternative to costly commercial products. I mean, just look at Git, which was created after some original kernel devs (not just Linus BTW) wanted to reverse engineer/clone BitKeeper.

sangnoir 6y ago
> Pro designers are famously fans of Mac's, and they are certainly willing to pay a ton for lots of different types of software. That is true, and to compound to what you said earlier, Pro users are demanding and finicky, as Apple found out when it released Final Cut "Pro" X - which should have been Final Cut Prosumer. Apple lost years worth of goodwill overnight, because of shifting demographics of Apple users and Apple's own failure to balance the needs of casual, prosumers and actual video professionals. The same thing will happen to Pro designers, should Apple lose focus on attention to color accuracy and screen quality. The trouble with Linux is that it's hard to build tools for people with strong opinions, who can build their own, better, free versions of the tools when sufficiently motivated - your Git example will suffice.