“It’s not your loot, just your turn to use it.”

The answer is always DRM and monetization. If you didn’t have enough reasons to not buy products with locked down software, here’s even more reasons.

Thats usually a consequence of fiduciary responsibility, no? If you’re not publicly traded, you have no such chains. Valve is privately held, and therefore untouchable in that regard. They also release their software to the public pretty often (OpenXR for VR, indirectly contributing to the Wine project via Proton, and now TF2 with a non-commercial license).

Unless the next head of the company makes an IPO, the path seems steady. And even if the IPO occurs, the momentum is already kickstarted, and we have access to the fruits of their labor (funded by our game purchases).

Wouldn’t the ease of access for music piracy in comparison to video piracy be the true barrier keeping them in check? Audio doesn’t exactly have massive file sizes, and the ability to rip audio from any source has become more accessible than ever.

I wonder when streaming services may have their “Napster moment”.

“Device battery life is like air conditioning. It becomes useless once you open Windows.”

• somebody

I don’t think that’s competition, more IP holder rent-seeking.

And modders

There are dozens of us. Dozens!

(I am trying to set up an mail system on my server using modems and am suffering help)

User not in super-sudoers file. This incident will be reported.

Airbenders?

Run it through the internet archive/web archive

makes it authentic lol

Yeah, Gabe Newell definitely was quite forward thinking when he came to that conclusion, and I can definitely say it works well for my Steam Library.

Honestly at this point the main force that brings me to hunt for media is subscription services, since it always feels like a rug pull compared to alternatives. I paid for things on GOG, I get to keep the installers and back them up. I bought things on Steam, I’m not charged to reinstall or use them on other devices, and I can still download games that are delisted now (RIP poker night at the inventory).

Now that Blu-rays are going the way of Google Stadia, getting phased out, all I can really do is just rip any media I already have and download what I may need. FOSS tools have already replaced any subscription software I would use for my engineering work.

If memory serves, Anna’s links to them if you check their “3rd party sources” links when doing an ISBN search.