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Free software won't mean that operating systems won't disable software by retiring APIs. For example on Linux, at some point somebody deprecated some systray ic
by ant6n 5y ago
Free software won't mean that operating systems won't disable software by retiring APIs. For example on Linux, at some point somebody deprecated some systray icon Api. And some linuxes, like elementary OS just full on disabled systray icons, with some arguments about this having been deprecated years ago, and u shouldn't use software that depends on systray icons.
This doesn't just disable old software, but also current software - for example the Dropbox client doesn't work out of the box, and caffeine/caffeinate doesn't work either.
- abetusk 5y agoYou bring up valid points about engineering practices and backwards comparability in general. I do think you're nitpicking a bit when it comes to the issue at hand. For example, in you grievance, is there a way to provide a Docker solution to run the working code under 'emulation'? Is there a way to compile an older version of the kernel to run these programs in the way you want? I don't know but my bet is that the answer is 'yes' to both of those. My point is that this wouldn't even really be possible without a FOSS ecosystem. It requires labor from someone who cares enough to fix it but at least the avenue is open enough in the form of accessible standards and code. Under a proprietary standard or source these would need to be reverse engineered or, in maybe an extreme case, be illegal.