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Comment by raw_anon_1111 | Hacker News Reader

> Open source gives people complete freedom, the freedom that a software can run for posterity, can be modified towards your liking, and the most important thing which I failed to mention: peace of mind

And why should users care about their “software running in prosperity”? How many are modifying open source software? “Peace of mind” comes from knowing that if something goes wrong they have company to call on. They aren’t going to be modifying the Linux kernel to debug an issue.

To a first approximation, no one would choose the relatively crappy experience of fdroid over standard Android or iOS.

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> How many are modifying open source software?

This is irrelevant. Few people repair their cars themselves, but its possibility alone creates a free, competitive market, where consumer can choose a reasonable service. With proprietary software, you have an artificial monopoly: Only the original vendor can fix things, and they choose any price they wish. Or they choose to abandon the software complrtely, then you're out of luck.

So because of open source code there isn’t a duopoly when it comes to phones that anyone cares about, operating systems, etc?

Neither Microsoft or Apple are staying up late at night concerning themselves with Linux or is Apple and Google staying up late worried about Fdroid.

In fact, there are more Linux VMs running on Azure than Windows VMs. Every large tech company supports open source to a certain degree to “commoditize their complements” or to get a foot in where they aren’t competitive.

Is there a “reasonable service” that is open source for any of the major cloud providers? ChatGPT? The various AI assisted coding products? Hell even JetBrains products?

> So because of open source code there isn’t a duopoly

Neither iOS, nor Andoid are open-source. GNU/Linux phones provide the opportunity I'm talking about.

Most AI models aren't open-source but open-weight.

> Every large tech company supports open source to a certain degree to “commoditize their complements” or to get a foot in where they aren’t competitive.

And they keep as much closed as possible to achieve that. Imagine their software would be licensed as AGPL.

And no one to a first approximation cares as consumers and companies aren’t worried about strategies about how to compete with open source - they have all co opted them to increase their profits.

The whole argument is why should people care about open source and what can one do to make them want open source alternatives that are worse in every way that they care about? Make better products that have the features and ease of use that people come to expect in 2025.

No other profession expects people to desire to work for free and most open source software has most of its major contributors as corporate backed. The AGPL is the least “free” license compared to something like the BSD license they gives people the ability to do anything they want with the code.

I see people on HN constantly trying to excuse the shittiness of products like phones running FDroid and Framework laptops compared to the better alternatives

> Make better products that have the features and ease of use that people come to expect in 2025.

https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/docs/community-wiki/-/wikis/F...

> The AGPL is the least “free” license compared to something like the BSD license they gives people the ability to do anything they want with the code.

AGPL is the license forcing the code to be open forever. It's the most free license, unlike BSD, which allows closing it and turning into proprietary software.

Free as in “user freedom” to do whatever the user wants. What type of Orwellian doublespeak is calling the AGPL that forces an ideology on the user “freedom”?

BSD provides more freedom to developers. (A)GPL provides a guarantee to users that the code will stay free forever.

Users don’t care about the code - developers do. The original code is free for developers and users. Which AGPL code do 99% of users care about?

> Users don’t care about the code - developers do.

This is false, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45571842

> The original code is free for developers and users.

But the modified code may not be.

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