Both harm and good
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Ridcully Jul 30, 2012 2:31 AM EDT |
I think Stallman got it right with his statement that:Quoting:Thus, in direct practical terms, this development can do both harm and good. It might encourage GNU/Linux users to install these games, and it might encourage users of the games to replace Windows with GNU/Linux. My guess is that the direct good effect will be bigger than the direct harm.I'm very pragmatic with my use of Linux. I advocate the use of Linux wherever possible and enjoy its freedom to do as I wish, not as a proprietary company insists. Nevertheless, I purchase or use proprietary software where I need to and examples are printer drivers, Codeweavers, video drivers, and certain Win-based software I find it is unavoidable to use. My laptop is a blend of FOSS together with closed and purchased software. Stallman wouldn't approve, but that's how my work gets done. I think the biggest spin-off is what Stallman is indicating: This may make the Linux platform very much more widely known for the simple and easy to use software that it actually is - and at last users themselves can contradict the FUD from Redmond and its shills that Linux is ONLY for geeks and scientific users. I have long believed that the gaming cohort were the key to wide acceptance of Linux on the desktop and it looks like it is starting. When OEMs begin to preinstall Linux, and keep doing it in defiance of Microsoft, you know you are on the home-run. |
| jacog Jul 30, 2012 4:20 AM EDT |
Valve recently did a hardware survey, and it found that an increasing amount of their users' graphics hardware is just plain ol' embedded intel chips, which one does not usually associate with gaming. I suspect this is why they are pouring their resources into supporting open-source Intel drivers. So definitely some beneficial side-effects. Stallman seems generally more accepting of games as closed though, as much I guess as one can expect from Stallman anyway. Likely because he sees games much like I do, as media rather than applications - even though the latter is of course still true. Loosely related, and FYI for those of you less familiar: Valve is built on a premise of goodwill. Their official view on piracy is that people pirate software because pirates offer a better service. The example they always state is that piracy is rife in Russia because usually the pirated copies have fan-translated Russian text, whereas the store-bought ones don't. They manage to cultivate fierce customer loyalty, while not being Apple-evil. So I think their entry into Linux-land will mean they will do whatever they can to also foster said goodwill. The Linux thing is a hedging strategy though, as Gabe N has said. They're doing this to try and survive. If Microsoft plans to handle Windows 8 anything like they do XBox Live Arcade, then I can see why Gabe wants to be Moses and lead his fellow game industry peeps the heck out of Egypt. On XBLA you have to pay Microsoft tens of thousands of dollars every time you want to patch any software you have published on there. |
| Ridcully Jul 30, 2012 4:29 AM EDT |
Thankyou Jacog........I am totally outside the gaming sphere so I have no idea of the machinations that occur. But what you describe fits the Redmond psyche and business ethos as I understand it.....never, never, never, NEVER, give anything away for free unless there is a way of making the users pay compulsorily further down the line. I shall be watching these developments very keenly, even if I have absolutely no interest in gaming. |
| Scott_Ruecker Jul 31, 2012 9:44 PM EDT |
This is just another in a long line of things that are no longer going to be purposefully attached to the Windows platform. When gaming finally leaves the Windows PC in the dust it will be another death bell being rung for M$.. |
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