SomeDev

I think you quoted the wrong person

I noticed? What's your point? Every market will be measured on potential until you tap it and get actual users. That list is actually outdated I can think of a couple of software that it is not there but it is in linux and you insist is little when there is most of the relevant VFX software, that is expensive and it is finding customers. As of why Adobe is not making a Linux port, it is Adobe, they don't go for new markets, they wait on others to do so and then brute force themselves into it. (Hence what it is happening with XD)

If that last things was true, there were not commercial software on linux at all, and there multiple big companies who do, like Autodesk and Jetbeans.

It had been explained here multiple times that the actual total of users of an OS doesn't matter as much as how many of those users are possible customers, if you take Windows as a example it has a the largest market but there are less users who need creative products in comparation to Mac. If Affinity wants to enter the linux market they could find potential customers in the VFX and web development industry since those users are often on Linux and there is not good comercial equivalent to Affinity or Adobe that can be use to a professional level. If those potential users justify the cost of doing a port is Affinity research team to determine that.

To be fear, those numbers come from an opt-in poll they do to a random selection of their user base and people can just opt out of it.

Calling whining someone requesting or discussing a software they want to buy is not the smartest choice of words. How else do you expect people to show their interest on the software if they don't talk about it? If the software you have works for your use case, congratulations. But that won't be the case for everyone.

I get where are you going, but it's not a good assuming that everyone will be willing to pay a premium to have a software on Linux. We are not Mac users.

I know this is meant to be satiral, but Blender is used in some professional settings and has big companies throwing money at it to make it as good as it is, a lot of people use it because they think is a better than the paid alternatives. So no a good comparison.

Maybe. But also Adobe is the industry standard in most of the industries they work on. And as it has been repearting multiple times, people who need their software will be on whatever OS they are. Plus they are known to be late adopters, as it took them years of Sketch leading the UI design market, multiples other tools coming out and Photoshop stopping to be relevant as a web design tool for them to release XD three years ago in a very BETA state.

If you take a look to /r/linux_gaming you will see there they are still investing a lot into Linux. As someone else said. Well, I am talking from my personal experience here, but it does make the case, I had installed Affinity a bunch of times in my old windows machine, it looks great, it's the closest to true a PRO adobe replacement that I had tried so far, but the problem is that Adobe is still there. I can't farthon to sit and fully learn a new program when there is another application that I already know how to use and it does the job. This is a mentality that most users have. When I asked a collegue why they use Affinity on their Mac over Adobe, they said it was the price, cool, they are not doing very well financially so it makes sense for them. But being a "cheaper photoshop" or a "cheaper illustrator" is not a great bussiness model. And for many freelancers and companies it likely does't worth the savings, as it shows in this LLT video of why they use Adobe. Now, going back to Linux, Adobe is not there. If Affinity products ever get to exist in Linux, they would not have to compete with Adobe, for someone who wants to switch plataforms or that it's already partially on linux and wants to fully switch, they have a compelling reason to try it now, aside of being "cheaper". When on windows/mac they can just keep using Adobe. And this is all hipotetical, but If Linux kicks off, you would have a lead advantages before Adobe catches up on porting.

I don't doubt it would take more than that, but you see, 500K is not a small starting number. And it propably was throught in that high on purpose, to make it look a difficult number to pull. Which it's not, they don't even need 10K customers, most people are likely to buy at least two of their products. Sure it's not. But mostly because the software doesn't exist there yet. This is where I start disagreeing with you. You talk like VFX studios and artists don't need to use graphic tools at all . Which it's father from the true. Well, you are speaking for yourself there. My use of graphic design tools as a freelancer it's 95% done in illustrator, It's the only reason I boot into windows. I had design jobs in the past that mainly only needed Photoshop. And I have collegues in print that make most of their work in Indesign, the industry is too wide to tell what's enough for everybody. That's one, and two: You are likely to find alternatives for the other stuff on linux, If your contract allows you to use your tools which where I am it's usually the case, but it may not be the case for you. Graphic design tools it's the weak point in linux but there is plenty of software for other creative fields. And sure you can't replace industry standard programs when looking for a job. But affinity isn't an industrial standard to being with, and the "I'd leave Windows if I find a tool to replace X on linux" is going to makes sense for a freelancer that only needs another photoshop or indesign. It is a vicious circle for sure. The problem with Adobe it's that it is Adobe. Monoly power means they don't need to bend for the customers. Unless some big company pull a 180 that force them to support linux, or they decide to go web based, I don't see a port to linux happening.

I also do agree that focusing on the user base count is a poor choice, yet it is the main reason tossed around against porting everything to linux. My source it's this video from Data Is Beautiful which claims to source from W3S log , my memory failed me and checking again it says 7.05%, but Mac was also is only 10.18%. This data it's only for Desktop & Laptops which is likely why the percentages are so different from yours , plus I think statcounter pulls its data from their customers so maybe it's fragmented. There are VFX studios that widely uses linux. Had you hear of a small indie VFX company called called Pixar Film? They do small proyects like Toy Story and Cars. There is plenty of creative propertary software that exist on linux and had find its market. But for some reason people think that Photoshop would never sell on Linux.

I keep hearing "the user base is too small". It's was 8% by 2019, half of Mac OS. And the seems to keep growing lately. This is also the thread with more visits in this forums, with around ~100k and there is another one with this same request pulling similar numbers. They need to sell 10K~ licences. Which it's an small number. I'd like to see a real test of the market. Like a pre sale, if you don't hit the numbers just cancel the sale.

So they need to sell as minimum ~10,000 licenses would justify their investment. That's only 5,000 ish costumers, keeping in mind that most people would like buy at least two of their products. That doesn't seem too difficult.

They could also publish it through Flatpak as Gravit Designer and Jetbrains are doing which make would give them a easy port to all distros.

No one knows all markets just by having a few jobs on them. Coleagues on the same field could already have different experiences.

I worked as a designer before moving to Development, also graduated on that field. Which it's a pretty common thing to do, but mostly irrelevant for this discussion. I just mentioned my field to reference what market may find this software interesting which is what matters here. I by no means think I'm an expert or that my opinion should have more weight than others here because I had worked on X or Y. But you do you.

I'm glad you are pretty much an expert in all the possible industries. That's sure what people came here to discuss. Your personal experience makes as little of a raw data point as whatever I could say if that's what you are about. People complaining in online makes a case for adobe's subscription service being hated, I don't doubt that, but multiple forums requesting a linux version, and those being active for three years doesn't? There are softwares of adjacent industries to creative work on Linux, why do they make business sense but this case no? There is a way to emulate those business opportunities? No? Why?

You are 100% missing the point. An OS is also a tool, Linux can run a myriad of software and work tools better and more relibely than windows. Mac comes tied with overpriced hardware that overheats and breaks early. I may also have software that doesn't exist outside of linux. The price of the license makes no difference when you put into account that Adobe products have way more features. A lot of people do use Linux for work. There is a market for devs, 3D, video, game creation and composition jobs that uses Linux. That's why all those markets have property tools with Linux versions. If Serif gets in that market, it would gain it by default. Vs having to compete on a market were Adobe it's already king and there is not most motivation to switch software.

My two cents: I work as a Web Developer. I need dev tools and designer tools to do my job. I would pay and invest the time to learn Affinity products if there were on Linux, in the same way, I did for Figma over all the other similar tools. Just because I know it'd be accessible to me no matter what OS I choose to use. If you are on Linux, you win that market just by being there. But if I have to go back to Windows or Mac because the design tools (which I am thinking of doing). Why would I bother with Affinity when I could use Adobe just as I was doing before?