I spent time yesterday investigating changing to Linux. Yes, it is coming down to DOPUS as the greatest loss in making the move.
Interestingly, I heard a podcast on the weekend, that suggested that Microsoft is realising that there rising dissatisfaction among Window's users. They may have re-aligned and re-employed managers to oversee quality issues. There is a rising backlash to the introduction of advertising, moving to a service model built around generating extracting money from users, infecting everything with AI, and then there is the ethics attached to the current alignment of big tech to Trumpville.
It appears that the best way to go is to install Linux as the main operating system with a virtual Windows Machine. For those us that grew up with Windows, it represents a hard learning curve, but learning something new is perhaps a healthy attitude in a changing world.
I guess it is challenging for 3 highly skilled developers to start again and create DOPUS for LINUX. Their ability and dedication to the Windows product is extraordinary. So often, I think that their skills exeed the skills of Microsoft engineers. I wonder what will happen when Greg, Jon, and Leo decide to retire?
With all the recent turmoil in world politics the EU is (finally) slowly but surely making some shifts towards Microsoft alternavives. I won't doubt Linux alternatives will grow in the years to come.
Always bin a MS user but I'm more and more inclined to shift and take another route, though DOpus and some other programs has kept me on Windows for the time being.
The only good thing that was achieved in the EU is that we can benefit from easier conditions for the Windows 10 ESU (Extended Security Updates) program than the rest of the world.
That allows me to continue using Windows 10 until Windows 11 (hopefully, see above) becomes usable...
The startup error with gdi32.dll is now clearly due to an outdated Linux distribution and the incompatible Wine 9/10 version.
The current Wine 11 cannot yet be tested, as it cannot be updated or is not available in the Linux versions!
Dopus now starts with Winetricks, but the display is defective!
Various tests of the functions have worked flawlessly so far.
Setting Preferences / Miscellaneous / Advanced: [Compatibility] patch_text_apis = False should fix all the boxes before each piece of text.
(Not recommended on Windows, but it looks like WINE doesn't handle zero-width spaces properly, and we hook the text-rendering APIs to insert one before everything we print as it's the only way to make Windows do consistent font kerning instead of having the kerning change depending on which characters are in the string.)
It's a chicken and egg situation with Linux. Developers won't write for it because of the low installed base, and folks don't want to install it because developers won't write for it.
Linux operators have never understood the requirements for appropriate application development. Now it's too late.
I have pointed that out in the other Directory Opus on Linux thread.
In 2009 the market share statistics were Windows 94.73%, Mac OS (then called OS X) 4.27%, and Linux 0.69%.
So Apple was handicapped as well, but they moved in the right direction.
Linux operators have never understood the requirements for appropriate application development.
Lumping every linux user together and saying none of them understand the requirements for approapriate application development is wrong and I think purposefully obtuse.
Now it's too late.
And yet the linux desktop has a thriving development scene and has an alternative to (or native linux version of) nearly every application the average user would ever use. Directory Opus is an application for enthusiasts. Saying it's "too late" is disingenuous. Too late for what, a handful of software, most of which works with wine or has a viable alternative?
This thread is about DO on linux, but it's the ONLY time I have had to actually ask a developer for a port of something in my 3 years of using linux. Good, up to date software is readily available and in many cases better than the Windows alternative.
You cannot extrapolate and apply DO's situation to the Linux software scene as a whole.
As a JPEG developer I have my own experiences with the Linux software scene.
Please note that I didn't offend the Linux users, I purposely chose the term Linux operators and thereby I mean the providers of Linux distributions.
My allegation is that the providers of Linux distributions do not operate on behalf of the Linux users.
I agree with @Guido. @alk, don't feel upset with our opinions. Linux is full of brilliant developers, and Linux also brought a lot of very good software that we use on Windows.
My first ever job that earned me money was to rewrite Delphi 5 application to C++ Qt3 because it needed to run on Linux.
I think @Guido's mention is the perspective of product development for Linux.
There is no such thing as a standard Linux distro. No commitment to backward compatibility. Also, GPL3 actually causes problems for companies that want to use something like Ubuntu on their devices. It is called "tivoization".
Thus, it is hard to make a product for Linux because it is always a moving target, with new distros and UI environments, and you can't honestly test your software because the permutations of all possible configurations are huge. Also, there are 10 different package managers.
Yes, but note that I prefer de facto standards. Paper "standards" are often full of junk, as I know in the case of JPEG.
One of the problems with the Linux operators was that they tend to live in an illusionary world lacking reference to the actual reality.
Another issue is that much of the Linux user community seems to be unfriendly toward newcomers, especially ones that don't know how to work a CLI. There are exceptions however, like Mint. They seem to be trying to make themselves appeal to noobs. But Linux needs to evolve to a point one should rarely/never have to mess with a CLI, if they want wider adoption. As for myself, I only got comfortable with it so I could get the most out of DOpus. A matter of sending some simple commands to dopusrt.exe when it's opened by my window manager. I know it can do lots more, but I don't need that part of it.
