6 ms·

Using closed source software to drive my OS doesn't sound that appealing to me.

nosioptar 3mo ago
If you're on Linux, mouseless [0] may work well for you. [0] https://github.com/jbensmann/mouseless https://github.com/jbensmann/mouseless
- dilawar 3mo ago
  May not work with bluetooth keyboard (debian 13).
applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
Then don't buy it. Not everything in the world needs to be made free just for you.
- jrm4 3mo ago
  Nah, this is a very good point; I've seen things similar to this in the past and it's a cool idea -- but "subscription modeling" every little tool is not a good path to keep going down. Free and open source is important and it's perfectly fine to be critical here.
  - ahmd-sh 3mo ago
    i bought it for like 4 bucks several months ago. for the price (and subscription tier) i'm seeing now, i wouldn't say it's worth it.
  - applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
    Demanding everything be free and open source is important if you don't want independent developers to be able to make a living, and instead wish to create a world where the vast majority of software is controlled by big tech, who are the benefactors of "free" software. The less you're willing to pay people making good software, the more territory predatory ad/tracking-fueled "free" software gets. The more territory you give them, the more they're going to buy out open source software to destroy. We see this happening more and more recently, with uv, bun, vite etc. being bought out - if they can't put food on the table, they will sell out to monopolists. I agree that I would never pay a subscription fee for any kind of system functionality, but there is a lifetime purchase option available, so there is no grounds to critique that here. Having extra payments models available in addition to a regular purchase model does not make a product worse.
    - coldpie 3mo ago
      I made a very good living developing open source software for more than a decade. Nothing about open source software precludes one from making money, it's just a different business model from closed source.
      - applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
        A business model that supports a tiny fraction of the market. To the extent there is money in FOSS, even then most of it is provided by the funding of big tech (a whole host of some of the most widely-used FOSS, like Linux, LLVM, Go, Rust, C#, Typescript, VSCode, React, are all obviously corporate-backed). Independent developers who can make a living selling FOSS exist, but are absolutely on the fringe.
    - Tr3nton 3mo ago
      [dead]
    - jrm4 3mo ago
      Yeah, but I didn't do that. I think I really did mean "little tool" here. This (likely) just isn't the right scale for a pay-to-play project. Obsidian kind of figured this out, but my gut is that this thing is too small.
- iAMkenough 3mo ago
  If you don’t like their opinion, you don’t have to respond. Not every opinion you disagree with on the internet requires a response from you.
  - applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
    If you don't like my opinion, you don't have to respond. Yet you chose to anyways. Curious.
    - iAMkenough 3mo ago
      I didn’t say I didn’t like your opinion. Just responding in the same manner you treated someone else.
      - applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
        I push back against people criticising independent software for not being free because I believe it is deeply harmful for our industry. My initial reply didn't have much susbtance, but then neither did the comment I was replying to.
        iAMkenough 3mo ago
        I’m confused because I don’t see anything about cost in the opinion you responded to.
- kousthubraja 3mo ago
  You just don't get it. It's a critical system tool that's being discussed here. For someone serious about their privacy, it's a valid point. It's not open source nor is from a reputed enterprise. What's preventing the developer from adding a key logger or so?
  - applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
    > What's preventing the developer from adding a key logger or so? They can log my keys all they want, I would never give a program like this internet access because it has no valid reason to ever connect to the internet (after purchasing a lifetime license). If you're serious about your privacy surely you take a little bit of responsibility for not giving every program you run unfettered access to your system?
hootz 3mo ago
Yeah, feels kinda weird to think about using a mouse pointer utility with licensing DRM.

If you're on Linux, mouseless [0] may work well for you. [0] https://github.com/jbensmann/mouseless https://github.com/jbensmann/mouseless

dilawar 3mo ago
May not work with bluetooth keyboard (debian 13).

applfanboysbgon 3mo ago

Then don't buy it. Not everything in the world needs to be made free just for you.

jrm4 3mo ago
Nah, this is a very good point; I've seen things similar to this in the past and it's a cool idea -- but "subscription modeling" every little tool is not a good path to keep going down. Free and open source is important and it's perfectly fine to be critical here.
- ahmd-sh 3mo ago
  i bought it for like 4 bucks several months ago. for the price (and subscription tier) i'm seeing now, i wouldn't say it's worth it.
- applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
  Demanding everything be free and open source is important if you don't want independent developers to be able to make a living, and instead wish to create a world where the vast majority of software is controlled by big tech, who are the benefactors of "free" software. The less you're willing to pay people making good software, the more territory predatory ad/tracking-fueled "free" software gets. The more territory you give them, the more they're going to buy out open source software to destroy. We see this happening more and more recently, with uv, bun, vite etc. being bought out - if they can't put food on the table, they will sell out to monopolists. I agree that I would never pay a subscription fee for any kind of system functionality, but there is a lifetime purchase option available, so there is no grounds to critique that here. Having extra payments models available in addition to a regular purchase model does not make a product worse.
  - coldpie 3mo ago
    I made a very good living developing open source software for more than a decade. Nothing about open source software precludes one from making money, it's just a different business model from closed source.
    - applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
      A business model that supports a tiny fraction of the market. To the extent there is money in FOSS, even then most of it is provided by the funding of big tech (a whole host of some of the most widely-used FOSS, like Linux, LLVM, Go, Rust, C#, Typescript, VSCode, React, are all obviously corporate-backed). Independent developers who can make a living selling FOSS exist, but are absolutely on the fringe.
  - Tr3nton 3mo ago
    [dead]
  - jrm4 3mo ago
    Yeah, but I didn't do that. I think I really did mean "little tool" here. This (likely) just isn't the right scale for a pay-to-play project. Obsidian kind of figured this out, but my gut is that this thing is too small.
iAMkenough 3mo ago
If you don’t like their opinion, you don’t have to respond. Not every opinion you disagree with on the internet requires a response from you.
- applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
  If you don't like my opinion, you don't have to respond. Yet you chose to anyways. Curious.
  - iAMkenough 3mo ago
    I didn’t say I didn’t like your opinion. Just responding in the same manner you treated someone else.
    - applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
      I push back against people criticising independent software for not being free because I believe it is deeply harmful for our industry. My initial reply didn't have much susbtance, but then neither did the comment I was replying to.
      - iAMkenough 3mo ago
        I’m confused because I don’t see anything about cost in the opinion you responded to.
kousthubraja 3mo ago
You just don't get it. It's a critical system tool that's being discussed here. For someone serious about their privacy, it's a valid point. It's not open source nor is from a reputed enterprise. What's preventing the developer from adding a key logger or so?
- applfanboysbgon 3mo ago
  > What's preventing the developer from adding a key logger or so? They can log my keys all they want, I would never give a program like this internet access because it has no valid reason to ever connect to the internet (after purchasing a lifetime license). If you're serious about your privacy surely you take a little bit of responsibility for not giving every program you run unfettered access to your system?

hootz 3mo ago

Yeah, feels kinda weird to think about using a mouse pointer utility with licensing DRM.