5 ms·

The conspiracist in me tells me big software groups actually like piracy quite a lot. Sure they want to extract as much as possible from the ones who can pay, b

The conspiracist in me tells me big software groups actually like piracy quite a lot. Sure they want to extract as much as possible from the ones who can pay, but they'd be pretty pissed that the others go to the competition. Piracy is actually a hell of a moat. It provides mindshare, ecosystem, network effects. Let's hear it from the horse's mouth: Speaking at University of Washington in 1998, Bill Gates said: "Although 3 million computers get sold each year in China, people don't pay for our software. Someday they will, though, and as long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours." And I'm currently writing this from a windows 10 OS that I never bothered to pay for and activate. It's been 2 years. I can't change the wallpaper, though. This is how much Microsoft cares.

calibas 4y ago
So long as everyone's using Windows, pirated or otherwise, it means that Microsoft dominates the market. The best thing that could ever happen to Ubuntu would be for MS to start cracking down on piracy, but they don't because they know better.
- cercatrova 4y ago
  Indeed, Microsoft now bundles Linux into Windows with WSL, creating an even bigger moat. I don't bother installing Linux on my computers anymore, just Windows with WSL.
  - blooalien 4y ago
    I'm exactly opposite. I don't bother installing Windows on my computers anymore; Just Linux with WINE/Proton for the occasional game.
    - cercatrova 4y ago
      Sadly I just don't want to deal with Linux desktop setup anymore, I only use it for development so dealing with drivers is not a good use of my time.
      - blooalien 4y ago
        Dealing with drivers is not a good use of my time either. It's one of the reasons I enjoy Linux as much as I do, actually. I plug hardware in and it works. No driver discs, no searching the web, or visiting a manufacturer's website to download drivers. Just plug-and-play. Only driver I had to install by any choice or action on my part was the NVIDIA driver (which was easily selected from a GUI tool in the control panel) to replace the slower but open source Nouveau driver, and I only had to do that once, way back when I first installed Linux on this particular machine. No such issue with either of my laptops tho, which both have Intel video hardware (therefore just worked with the default open source drivers by default).
        cercatrova 4y ago
        Great that it works for you, it hasn't been my experience however. I simply don't see any compelling reasons to switch to Linux on the desktop if all I do is browse the internet, play video games, and develop on a Linux VM through WSL. I don't see what Linux on desktop offers that's superior to having a Windows install with WSL.
pessimizer 4y ago
The GIMP's most brutal competition isn't Photoshop, but pirated Photoshop.
- agumonkey 4y ago
  GIMP most brutal competition is its UX designer
  - jimmygrapes 4y ago
    All I wanted to do was draw a circle. Thank God for photopea
    - agumonkey 4y ago
      I don't want to criticize FOSS, but GIMP rates #1 in the software that turn me furious faster than an IRC troll. On par with Eclipse. And I like gnu ed.
      - tpoacher 4y ago
        It's not critique, it's just opinion, so feel free! I love Gimp and cant spend 2 seconds in Photoshop before flipping a table from frustration. PS: I like gnu ed too :)
    - klyrs 4y ago
      Good hell, I had to draw a circle a few weeks ago and I'd have thrown a brick through my monitor if I had a brick and a CRT. Was it always this bad? I swear I drew a circle with GIMP more than a decade ago and it wasn't like that. If anybody is wondering what we're on about, please learn how to draw a circle in GIMP. Maybe finish your beverage before reading. If you're up for it, try to discover the technique without the walkthrough. I didn't give up until about 20 minutes in. I'd like to know if somebody happens on a solution in finite time (without writing a python extension please). https://linuxhint.com/gimp-draw-circle/ https://linuxhint.com/gimp-draw-circle/
agumonkey 4y ago
Long ago, the CGI companies sent free discs with their demos. These packages cost between 10-20K but you could just submit a request and you'd get the software to play with (very very few limitations like export resolution but the whole software was usable). They probably wanted us to get hooked too.
Schroedingersat 4y ago
You're paying with the slow erosion of your freedom and privacy as well as a tax on every new computer regardless of whether it runs windows. Eventually we'll pay with a 30% tax on all software and online commercial activity one attestation makes government and financial services unavailable to those who don't want a computer owned by google/apple/microsoft in their hluse and pocket..
Akronymus 4y ago
> The conspiracist in me tells me big software groups actually like piracy quite a lot. Piracy is a service problem. -Gabe newell There are those that will pirate either way, so no matter what you do they wont be your customer. And there are those that pirate because they cant afford it, which you cant really influence either. And lastly those that do for convenience, which leads into the service argument.
- Ekaros 4y ago
  You can sell cheaper versions, but eventually those there who can pay will likely be made to pay the full price. So it might make more sense just to have it happen and let the software establish position.
- alexvoda 4y ago
  Just as applicable to music and video. This is the reason Spotify works and Netflix used to work but no longer does. People no longer pirate music because Spotify is more convenient. Those who still do are archivists (data hoarders) and nothing will stop them. Netflix used to be like that.

calibas 4y ago

So long as everyone's using Windows, pirated or otherwise, it means that Microsoft dominates the market. The best thing that could ever happen to Ubuntu would be for MS to start cracking down on piracy, but they don't because they know better.

cercatrova 4y ago
Indeed, Microsoft now bundles Linux into Windows with WSL, creating an even bigger moat. I don't bother installing Linux on my computers anymore, just Windows with WSL.
- blooalien 4y ago
  I'm exactly opposite. I don't bother installing Windows on my computers anymore; Just Linux with WINE/Proton for the occasional game.
  - cercatrova 4y ago
    Sadly I just don't want to deal with Linux desktop setup anymore, I only use it for development so dealing with drivers is not a good use of my time.
    - blooalien 4y ago
      Dealing with drivers is not a good use of my time either. It's one of the reasons I enjoy Linux as much as I do, actually. I plug hardware in and it works. No driver discs, no searching the web, or visiting a manufacturer's website to download drivers. Just plug-and-play. Only driver I had to install by any choice or action on my part was the NVIDIA driver (which was easily selected from a GUI tool in the control panel) to replace the slower but open source Nouveau driver, and I only had to do that once, way back when I first installed Linux on this particular machine. No such issue with either of my laptops tho, which both have Intel video hardware (therefore just worked with the default open source drivers by default).
      - cercatrova 4y ago
        Great that it works for you, it hasn't been my experience however. I simply don't see any compelling reasons to switch to Linux on the desktop if all I do is browse the internet, play video games, and develop on a Linux VM through WSL. I don't see what Linux on desktop offers that's superior to having a Windows install with WSL.

pessimizer 4y ago

The GIMP's most brutal competition isn't Photoshop, but pirated Photoshop.

agumonkey 4y ago
GIMP most brutal competition is its UX designer
- jimmygrapes 4y ago
  All I wanted to do was draw a circle. Thank God for photopea
  - agumonkey 4y ago
    I don't want to criticize FOSS, but GIMP rates #1 in the software that turn me furious faster than an IRC troll. On par with Eclipse. And I like gnu ed.
    - tpoacher 4y ago
      It's not critique, it's just opinion, so feel free! I love Gimp and cant spend 2 seconds in Photoshop before flipping a table from frustration. PS: I like gnu ed too :)
  - klyrs 4y ago
    Good hell, I had to draw a circle a few weeks ago and I'd have thrown a brick through my monitor if I had a brick and a CRT. Was it always this bad? I swear I drew a circle with GIMP more than a decade ago and it wasn't like that. If anybody is wondering what we're on about, please learn how to draw a circle in GIMP. Maybe finish your beverage before reading. If you're up for it, try to discover the technique without the walkthrough. I didn't give up until about 20 minutes in. I'd like to know if somebody happens on a solution in finite time (without writing a python extension please). https://linuxhint.com/gimp-draw-circle/ https://linuxhint.com/gimp-draw-circle/

agumonkey 4y ago

Long ago, the CGI companies sent free discs with their demos. These packages cost between 10-20K but you could just submit a request and you'd get the software to play with (very very few limitations like export resolution but the whole software was usable). They probably wanted us to get hooked too.

Schroedingersat 4y ago

You're paying with the slow erosion of your freedom and privacy as well as a tax on every new computer regardless of whether it runs windows. Eventually we'll pay with a 30% tax on all software and online commercial activity one attestation makes government and financial services unavailable to those who don't want a computer owned by google/apple/microsoft in their hluse and pocket..

Akronymus 4y ago

> The conspiracist in me tells me big software groups actually like piracy quite a lot. Piracy is a service problem. -Gabe newell There are those that will pirate either way, so no matter what you do they wont be your customer. And there are those that pirate because they cant afford it, which you cant really influence either. And lastly those that do for convenience, which leads into the service argument.

Ekaros 4y ago
You can sell cheaper versions, but eventually those there who can pay will likely be made to pay the full price. So it might make more sense just to have it happen and let the software establish position.
alexvoda 4y ago
Just as applicable to music and video. This is the reason Spotify works and Netflix used to work but no longer does. People no longer pirate music because Spotify is more convenient. Those who still do are archivists (data hoarders) and nothing will stop them. Netflix used to be like that.