this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2023
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Valve still is a corporation, decently good at open source, but still a corporation that develops and distributes a lot of closed source software. Like the github ceo once wrote: open source the engine not the car, that’s what drives open source development for them. When many use their software and contribute patches and more importantly report bugs, everyone wins.
I don't hate Valve, but let's be real, they're not adding to Linux out of the goodness of their hearts: They're doing it to protect their profits because they see that Windows is quickly becoming more closed and has its own Xbox gaming storefront. It isn't about belief in Linux as a product, it isn't about improving it for everyone, it's about improving it enough for gamers so that Steam won't be eventually locked out of the digital games sales market by Microsoft. They're basically just buying their way out of the vendor-lock-in of putting their store on someone else's proprietary operating system.
I don't think Linux desktop usage jumping from 1% to nearly 3% equals "everybody wins." Sounds like to me a lot of fuckin people are still losing. Like 97% of them at least.
I don't see the problem there. If someone is doing a good thing because it is profitable for them to do that good thing that's fine.
You're right, but the thing is most of the time companies do horrible things to boost their profits. Like Unity in the last few days. Valve doing seemingly pro-consumer things to protect their profits is a rarity, and it's really only a side-effect that there's consumer benefit. They aren't doing it to benefit consumers, they're doing it to preserve their marketplace. It's a side effect that it gives consumers more options. Valve is an unusually forward-thinking company when it comes to its long-term viability.
Okay, I may have misunderstood the intent of your comment. I thought you were saying something like we should be mad at Valve for helping Linux because it helps their profits. It now seems like you were just making sure everyone was aware of the context. Valve has always been one of the companies that is on a pedestal in gamers' eyes. Like Bethesda prior to Fallout 76 and paid mods/creation club. I agree, we should hold them to the same level of scrutiny of other companies.
Maybe I want to root for the unprecedentedly forward thinking companies, because it's like a glimpse of what a lot of companies probably look like in other countries, especially the Nordic countries, that haven't had a history that led to their governments being able to be used as a tool to stifle competition, unlike the US
I don't get what you try to say with your last paragraph. It sounds like you are worried that the poor 97% of Windows and Mac users are losing something because Linux is rising. Which makes absolutely no sense.
It sounds like they're implying most people are losing because they use windows and Mac, instead of Linux, which I don't completely disagree with because of the insane monopoly they have. Just look at all the ads and bloat on windows 11 for a brief example.
Computers must suck for the average user. I'd assume most people on this site would have no issue disabling annoyances in Windows. But most people probably just leave the defaults enabled, which is terrible.
I've been watching old episodes of Computer Chronicles lately - it's amazing how much more user friendly Microsoft products were back in the day.
Enshittification is hitting windows hard these days. Windows 10 was okay in my book. I‘m probably not going to use windows 11. Currently preparing an ubuntu daily driver for operation.
But as doctorow said here, we are crawling back to old anti trust standards which we lost. It’s going to take a long time but it’s going.
I'm not the one who said "everybody wins" in regards to private corporations adding to open source projects while also not making clear what people are "winning" from it.
I don't get your point at all. I know that you do not say that, but you don't even have any counter argument.
The point is the claim was "everybody wins." My point is "everybody" at best is 3% of the population who gives a shit about having control of their own software. No, mostly corporations win. Consumers get some fringe benefits at best. I'm not seeing regular people become multimillionaires simply because they use Linux instead of Windows. Mostly its weird fucking shut-ins.
For context, do you use Linux or have you contributed to open source?