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  • Retrofan 64retrofan64@oldbytes.space
    Aug 15, 2026, 6:01 PM

    It bothers me that people forget that Linux's success has significant help from a combination of external events:

    • PC clones
    • AT&T / BSD lawsuits
    • Microsoft antitrust suits
    • Microsoft and IBM infighting (OS/2 and "Nextgen" OS development)
    • HURD languishing, but GNU had solid build tools and libraries.

    Now look at the state of getting an "Open Source" phone. I'm reminded of internal memos that came out where Bill Gates was wanted to lock open source out of ACPI: osnews.com/story/17689/bill-ga

    Big tech has a vested interest in keeping their stuff closed off and beyond the skills and time available to volunteers.

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Replies

  • Retrofan 64retrofan64@oldbytes.space
    Aug 15, 2026, 6:13 PM

    The other distributing thing about the success of Linux is that people now think of open source as this magical wishing well where loud complaints turn into features and fixes.

    Look at the board of the Linux foundation. There was a time where Microsoft was one of the largest contributors to the kernel.

    Linux has the power of big tech, with an industry built around it and dependant on it. Linux, like the PC clone, slipped through a crack that the industry has been closing for the last 4 decades.

    Linux has tons of paid development because it runs the Internet by and large. Your favorite open source project does not have the might of big tech behind it.

    Bear this in mind before you go on a rant about how people aren't trying hard enough to make the software you want to see work.

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  • gunstickgunstick@mastodon.opencloud.lu
    Aug 16, 2026, 1:07 PM

    @retrofan64 and instead of dumping money into an LLM to get your feature slopcoded, maybe consider donating to an open source project or some open source developer to get the feature implemented.

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  • mmu_manmmu_man@m.g3l.org
    Aug 15, 2026, 7:19 PM

    @retrofan64 oh, that memo I missed… just as I thought you couldn't hate Bill Gates any further.

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