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I don't really understand why this has to be heavily marketed as Mac-only. As an open-source product, restricting the application to the most restricted of cons

I don't really understand why this has to be heavily marketed as Mac-only. As an open-source product, restricting the application to the most restricted of consumer operating systems (namely that any consumer hardware can run Linux or Windows, either bare metal or through a VM, whereas only Macs can easily run macOS) seems a bit sad. I had to read through the comments here to realize that as someone who doesn't own a Mac, I _could_ theoretically purchase this and use it, even if it meant sacrificing some UX. Reading the comments, it would be trivial to even at minimum state that there could exist community support for Linux, in the form of a command-line tool, even if it's not as polished as a Mac app, considering how open this product is about its limitations, and would likely bring in more customers.

xur17 2y ago
Strongly agreed. I started scrolling through the website, was somewhat interested, and might have considered it, but just closed the tab when I saw mac only.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
  Sounds like this guy is a Mac programmer, and couldn’t afford to hire folks to write for other platforms. I feel that pain. I write native Apple software, and the torrents of hate that I get, for not spending tens of thousands of my own dollars on multi-platform development (for a free app), is ridiculous. It sucks to be hated for something I love to do. It appears as if he’s opened the communication architecture, so it’s probably possible for someone to throw up their own drivers.
- conductr 2y ago
  Yea I get that it's no BT/Wifi so probably USB. But I don't get why USB would require a mac. I personally like the hardware but don't care about the rebase or whatever software addons he strapped to it. If I just plugged in a USB cord and used any OS to copy off the photos, it would make sense. This is basically the same usage as a thumbdrive or point-and-click camera from early 2000s and shouldn't be limited to a particular OS.... if I'm understanding it correctly
rtaylorgarlock 2y ago
I, without looking at the comments here, immediately returned to homepage to unvote after seeing this on the homepage. Weird flex by creator; ironic that the OS community will happily ignore his creative intentions to use as needed if the value prop fits. I get that Dave is a boss of a dev/designer, and the product isn't unimpressive in its own ways. I'd like to see data on how 'mac only' products do out there in the wild.
azinman2 2y ago
What a weird bone to pick. You could say “would support for other platforms be on the horizon?” but instead you take it almost maliciously. This take is very compatible with what I’ve read about why people stop writing Linux commercial software: 95% of the support, 2% of the sales. If it’s open and you want to create Linux / windows support, just do that versus complain that the creator of a $200 small scale device hasn’t.
- kaladin-jasnah 2y ago
  When I read the page, it was implied that it's not possible to support other platforms or wouldn't be appreciated by the heavy Mac marketing. Now that I know more of the technical details of the product and seeing that it would definitely be possible to add Windows/Linux support, I am more inclined to buy it and write software for it myself, and I think it would be good to include that on the page more. Something like "Open hardware/software means that the community could write Linux/Windows support" and a link to the tool that the author said could be used to transfer files on Linux: https://github.com/toasterllc/MDCCode/blob/rev10/Tools/MDCUtil/main.cpp https://github.com/toasterllc/MDCCode/blob/rev10/Tools/MDCUt... somewhere more prominent on the page would be helpful, as this was not clear to me until I read the comments here.
- ImPostingOnHN 2y ago
  I did not interpret their post in as rude a manner as you portray it (their feedback is on point, so thanks kaladin-jasnah), but your characterization of their post as "weird" and 'a bone to pick' and 'almost malicious' and 'complaining' is itself multiple-times rude. Is there a connection between you and the subject matter that might have caused you to interpret the post in a less charitable way than others?
  - azinman2 2y ago
    I never said rude, and maybe I was less charitable than I should have been with malicious. But reading that comment and all of the others here that mirror it there is a kind of almost malicious assumption, or at least a very non understanding dismissal of the choice.
flapjaxy 2y ago
I'm not sure I follow the criticism here. Is the issue that a paid product only supports Mac, or an open source project didn't build for multiple OSs? If it's the first; I've seen tons of Mac only software due to the perception that it's a more lucrative platform. (Users are price tolerant for good products). If it's the last; scratch your own itch. Since it's open source you can write the softer yourself. I'm not sure if this outlook is the diy zeitgeist I grew up in, or just being old. I'm curious if this is still a common belief.
- kaladin-jasnah 2y ago
  Looking back, I could have phrased my original comment better, but my criticism is neither of those things. I'm just saying that as an open-source project that has an open-source specification, the author could make it clearer that an interested customer could buy one of these and write their own open-source Linux/Windows implementations as opposed to making it sound like "if you don't own a Mac, this product isn't for you." Reading the comments, it looks like the author already made a command-line tool that might let the camera work on Linux; why not say that it's Mac-only but community support for other platforms based on the open nature of this camera is appreciated (and provide whatever links [eg. that command-line tool] that were mentioned in this forum)?
  - davekeck 2y ago
    Appreciate your thoughts. In case it helps explain the wording: I went with "exclusively for Mac" because I intended it to be an in-group signal to Mac folks that the product is high quality and conforms to the norms of the Mac platform. In my experience, cross-platform GUI software usually doesn't conform to Mac software conventions (and IMO just kinda sucks by Mac software standards). So my wording is trying to convey that the software isn't your typical cross-platform Electron/QT/GTK app. Anyway, would love to add Linux support, just trying to figure out if that's what I want to do with my life right now.
- TwoNineFive 2y ago
  This is top comment for a reason.

xur17 2y ago

Strongly agreed. I started scrolling through the website, was somewhat interested, and might have considered it, but just closed the tab when I saw mac only.

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
Sounds like this guy is a Mac programmer, and couldn’t afford to hire folks to write for other platforms. I feel that pain. I write native Apple software, and the torrents of hate that I get, for not spending tens of thousands of my own dollars on multi-platform development (for a free app), is ridiculous. It sucks to be hated for something I love to do. It appears as if he’s opened the communication architecture, so it’s probably possible for someone to throw up their own drivers.
conductr 2y ago
Yea I get that it's no BT/Wifi so probably USB. But I don't get why USB would require a mac. I personally like the hardware but don't care about the rebase or whatever software addons he strapped to it. If I just plugged in a USB cord and used any OS to copy off the photos, it would make sense. This is basically the same usage as a thumbdrive or point-and-click camera from early 2000s and shouldn't be limited to a particular OS.... if I'm understanding it correctly

rtaylorgarlock 2y ago

I, without looking at the comments here, immediately returned to homepage to unvote after seeing this on the homepage. Weird flex by creator; ironic that the OS community will happily ignore his creative intentions to use as needed if the value prop fits. I get that Dave is a boss of a dev/designer, and the product isn't unimpressive in its own ways. I'd like to see data on how 'mac only' products do out there in the wild.

azinman2 2y ago

What a weird bone to pick. You could say “would support for other platforms be on the horizon?” but instead you take it almost maliciously. This take is very compatible with what I’ve read about why people stop writing Linux commercial software: 95% of the support, 2% of the sales. If it’s open and you want to create Linux / windows support, just do that versus complain that the creator of a $200 small scale device hasn’t.

kaladin-jasnah 2y ago
When I read the page, it was implied that it's not possible to support other platforms or wouldn't be appreciated by the heavy Mac marketing. Now that I know more of the technical details of the product and seeing that it would definitely be possible to add Windows/Linux support, I am more inclined to buy it and write software for it myself, and I think it would be good to include that on the page more. Something like "Open hardware/software means that the community could write Linux/Windows support" and a link to the tool that the author said could be used to transfer files on Linux: https://github.com/toasterllc/MDCCode/blob/rev10/Tools/MDCUtil/main.cpp https://github.com/toasterllc/MDCCode/blob/rev10/Tools/MDCUt... somewhere more prominent on the page would be helpful, as this was not clear to me until I read the comments here.
ImPostingOnHN 2y ago
I did not interpret their post in as rude a manner as you portray it (their feedback is on point, so thanks kaladin-jasnah), but your characterization of their post as "weird" and 'a bone to pick' and 'almost malicious' and 'complaining' is itself multiple-times rude. Is there a connection between you and the subject matter that might have caused you to interpret the post in a less charitable way than others?
- azinman2 2y ago
  I never said rude, and maybe I was less charitable than I should have been with malicious. But reading that comment and all of the others here that mirror it there is a kind of almost malicious assumption, or at least a very non understanding dismissal of the choice.

flapjaxy 2y ago

I'm not sure I follow the criticism here. Is the issue that a paid product only supports Mac, or an open source project didn't build for multiple OSs? If it's the first; I've seen tons of Mac only software due to the perception that it's a more lucrative platform. (Users are price tolerant for good products). If it's the last; scratch your own itch. Since it's open source you can write the softer yourself. I'm not sure if this outlook is the diy zeitgeist I grew up in, or just being old. I'm curious if this is still a common belief.

kaladin-jasnah 2y ago
Looking back, I could have phrased my original comment better, but my criticism is neither of those things. I'm just saying that as an open-source project that has an open-source specification, the author could make it clearer that an interested customer could buy one of these and write their own open-source Linux/Windows implementations as opposed to making it sound like "if you don't own a Mac, this product isn't for you." Reading the comments, it looks like the author already made a command-line tool that might let the camera work on Linux; why not say that it's Mac-only but community support for other platforms based on the open nature of this camera is appreciated (and provide whatever links [eg. that command-line tool] that were mentioned in this forum)?
- davekeck 2y ago
  Appreciate your thoughts. In case it helps explain the wording: I went with "exclusively for Mac" because I intended it to be an in-group signal to Mac folks that the product is high quality and conforms to the norms of the Mac platform. In my experience, cross-platform GUI software usually doesn't conform to Mac software conventions (and IMO just kinda sucks by Mac software standards). So my wording is trying to convey that the software isn't your typical cross-platform Electron/QT/GTK app. Anyway, would love to add Linux support, just trying to figure out if that's what I want to do with my life right now.
TwoNineFive 2y ago
This is top comment for a reason.