3 ms·

I'm talking about the wheels that are analogous to the software needed for a decent consumer desktop computer. How many window managers are there? How many dif

I'm talking about the wheels that are analogous to the software needed for a decent consumer desktop computer. How many window managers are there? How many different package managers? Ways to prepare code for said package managers? Scripting shells? File systems? Hell, how many distros are there based on Debian and/or Ubuntu? If the goal is "free the world from proprietary software", then the talent spent on scratching an itch for a few thousand users is talent wasted because that isn't moving the needle fast enough. The three things driving consumer-grade (read: not enterprise or hobbyist) adoption of Linux right now are ChromeOS, gaming and the fact that Windows 10 support is ending soon. It has nothing to do with the fact that you can find just the right set of utilities for your Arch install.

bradfa 1y ago
But there's no money in making a consumer Linux OS. The market has shown this time and again. ChromeOS is effectively a loss leader, getting consumers and students into the Google ecosystem. MacOS is what you get if you want Apple hardware. That's about it for consumer oriented desktop/laptop *nix operating systems today. So if there's no money in something, then the only people who will show up to work on it are going to want to scratch their own itches because it's a hobby and fun/interesting to them.
- lenerdenator 1y ago
  Do we know the money stats on the Steam Deck? Android shouldn't be a loss leader at this point, though maybe it is in certain companies, and it's not exactly what most people think of when they think GNU/Linux.
  - pjmlp 1y ago
    Steam Deck is only being successful by translating Windows on top of Linux. Valve failed to convince any major number of studios to bother about GNU/Linux, even when it would be relatively easy to port their games from Android NDK.

3 ms·

I'm talking about the wheels that are analogous to the software needed for a decent consumer desktop computer. How many window managers are there? How many dif

by lenerdenator 1y ago

bradfa 1y ago
But there's no money in making a consumer Linux OS. The market has shown this time and again. ChromeOS is effectively a loss leader, getting consumers and students into the Google ecosystem. MacOS is what you get if you want Apple hardware. That's about it for consumer oriented desktop/laptop *nix operating systems today. So if there's no money in something, then the only people who will show up to work on it are going to want to scratch their own itches because it's a hobby and fun/interesting to them.
- lenerdenator 1y ago
  Do we know the money stats on the Steam Deck? Android shouldn't be a loss leader at this point, though maybe it is in certain companies, and it's not exactly what most people think of when they think GNU/Linux.
  - pjmlp 1y ago
    Steam Deck is only being successful by translating Windows on top of Linux. Valve failed to convince any major number of studios to bother about GNU/Linux, even when it would be relatively easy to port their games from Android NDK.