freeware

Restraining free software

2013-06-24

freedom, freeware, intelligence, Linux, my writing, politics, software, writing

This was a piece I had rattling around in my head for some time. It gets weak at the end, and has no real flow to it, but it’s interesting enough in places that I thought I’d clean it up and publish it. Enjoy my dark sarcasm!

In a mass-market scenario, the larger the population the higher the chance for one or more free software projects to appear.

Since software can, in theory, be inherited by additional programmers and indefinitely updated, even the smallest chance for a free software project to be created becomes an inevitability over time. This means that even a niche market scenario can have competition from free software.

A crowd of hobbyists will have more time and expertise for a general-purpose piece of software than a development house can bring to bear. Simply put, they can do it better.

It goes without saying that cheaper, better and more supported free software will eventually out-compete proprietary equivalents, displacing established businesses and markets.

How can this problem be addressed?

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Chromium

2013-06-15

Chromium, dead, freeware, glances, Google, Google software, GUI software, image viewers, internet software, open-source software, software, software based on Chrome, SVG viewers, todo, web browsers, Windows 10 software, Windows 8 software

Disambiguation: Chromium (dietary mineral)

Google > Chrome >
Software > Web browsers, SVG viewers >

(on Wikipedia)
https://www.chromium.org/Home/

A web browser compiled from the released source of //Google Chrome.

It’s simplicity is overdone to the point of losing functionality. Some of its preferences are so wrong that I can’t use it, and because it’s inflexible I can’t fix their mistakes.

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Entertainment > Games >

(on Wikipedia)
https://www.pathofexile.com/

A free-to-play 2.5D action semi-rpg game. Get gear, assign your abilities, explore and kill. Procedurally-generated areas and special “maps” give end-game replayability.

While straightforward to get into, it becomes atonishingly complex and unashamedly hard. They are also committed to keeping the game “hardcore” and not stooping to the level of appeasing the filthy casuals who ruin other games. This includes not avoiding pay to win.

Its developers care about their game more than any other developer for any other game I’ve played or have even heard of. Other than the little things, the game gets major updates every three months. Major as in expansion-quality new stuff.

Their community participation is strong.