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Affinity products for Linux


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22 hours ago, tamjk said:

@thedrumdoctor

Surprised you haven't been more involved with Linux as you are in IT support, at least for servers in LANs. But then, outside the IT sector itself, most users can only work in Windows and with MS office/productivity apps so it's no wonder in that sense.

It was always Windows on the server environments I worked in which naturally spilled over into desktops. One large factory I worked for had Macs in their design department, but the rest of the office stuff was always Windows. I've come into contact with a few odd bespoke bits of software controlling factory machines, scanners or door locking systems which were some sort of *nix with no GUI and CLI only. I also had the misfortune to look after a troublesome IBM AS400 machine which was 100% CLI. But I never had the need to dig much into the *nix side of things 9 to 5.

The current status of Affinity with Wine is a non-starter which is disappointing. I can go seamlessly from my iPad to Windows and work on Affinity files in cloud storage which evades me in Linux. I'm not having fun with Office365 either in Linux. Yes I can get it on browser but being able to work locally offline is a must for productivity. I don't mind paying for good software which would give me more power to use apps on Linux - whether that goes against the principles of the OS, I don't know. But for any software developer with apps on Windows/Mac/Android/iOS, Linux is surely a market waiting to happen? The increase in gaming on Linux seems to be a step in the right direction - though I don't play any games! If the same could happen with creative and music software there would be a lot of happy people.

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19 minutes ago, thedrumdoctor said:

I don't mind paying for good software which would give me more power to use apps on Linux - whether that goes against the principles of the OS, I don't know.

It's not against the principles of Linux to pay for software. Look at the Linux creator himself: "The Origins of Linux", "Tech Talk: Linus Torvalds on git" interviews.

If I remember well, he said in those that are not many true software developers and mentioned Microsoft and Adobe as being such software creators, besides their policies.

There is a bunch of users or distribution creators that are against paid and/or closed source software, but I don't know any.

I also pay or support free and open software (and closed software too), so you can't say a Linux user spends money, but a bit more selective, having a lot of options already.

Free or not, the people behind must earn their living or the means to continue creating the tools I need/like/use!

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38 minutes ago, msdobrescu said:

It's not against the principles of Linux to pay for software.

It's just a shame that the 'internet' view of Linux users seems to default back to being people who want everything on the platform as free. This inaccurate reputation is going to put off the likes of Affinity from developing for the platform which is sad.

I love Affinity's non-subscription software model and I'd happily pay for significant upgrades rather than go back to Adobe.

I'd happily pay for Codeweavers' CrossOver but sadly, Affinity products don't run successfully so far (in line with the Wine experience). It does appear to run Office 365 successfully enough for most people who have no choice but to collaborate using MS Office documents.

Perhaps there's hope in a movement who are willing to pay not to use Windows or Mac desktops. Perhaps then software companies will see mileage in the dev work to port for use with robust Linux distros.

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4 hours ago, thedrumdoctor said:

I'm not having fun with Office365 either in Linux. Yes I can get it on browser but being able to work locally offline is a must for productivity.

Haven't you tried LibreOffice software yet ?

While it may not look as good as MS Office, it does all the things the latter does - sometimes more, e.g. frames in LibreOffice Writer enable interesting résumé templates with different coloured columns, fonts, etc. I couldn't see how to do these in MS Word. See sample attached.

I don't think the Wine option is workable for Affinity. I couldn't get it going anyhow as my laptop is 64-bit only and making it 32-bit kills so many drivers and apps that it's not worth the hassle. I tried running it via Virtual Box but this took over 30 GB off my 250 GB SSD drive and I couldn't get Radeon driver reinstalled for Windows. It was slow and squinty to look at.

 

2 hours ago, thedrumdoctor said:

Perhaps there's hope in a movement who are willing to pay not to use Windows or Mac desktops. Perhaps then software companies will see mileage in the dev work to port for use with robust Linux distros.

You should appreciate by now that Serif is likely getting something out of both Microsoft and Apple for not providing a Linux native version of Affinity Suite.

That something could be a lucrative sales channel through Apple or Microsoft software bundles - promising a sales volume high enough to compensate for quite low sales margins. I just don't see Serif forsaking their current deals for the vague hope of something better from the "why pay" community within Linux. Having spent 5 terrible years of my own life in Nottingham, I don't expect any altruism whatever from any business sector there - individualism is the standard modus vivendi there.

Screenshot from 2021-08-03 17-05-22.png

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14 hours ago, LondonSquirrel said:

It still has problems with compatibility with MS Office

For compatibility with MS Office you have to use SoftMaker FreeOffice (or their paid version) or OnlyOffice. Both are available for Linux as well.

The main reason for incompatibility are the different file formats ODF (LibreOffice) and OOXML (MS Office), or rather the double conversion.

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17 hours ago, tamjk said:

Haven't you tried LibreOffice software yet ?

 

Not yet, I'm kind of reluctant because of document sharing. But really, there's no reason why I shouldn't try it. However, there are more harder-to-replace items of software I'd rather spend my time on trying to find workarounds for. It may come to the point where desperation forces me to go fora Mac running on Linux using hardware pass-through but I'd rather not go down this route.

I have an Office 365 subscription which was a no-brainer for the 6-licences install which gives a family of 4 Office 365 on all their devices and more importantly, 1Tb of cloud storage each. I use Word, Excel, OneNote and if I'm feeling like I really need to punish myself, Outlook. I only wish Thunderbird ported to iOS.

99% of the time, I don't really use the Office suite via a browser and for some archaic reason, prefer to work locally on a device. I'm not massively fond of relying on a constant internet connection to guarantee my productivity. I reserve the right to pull the plug on my internet connection as I feel - or have that situation forced upon me on where online connectivity is poor or simply unavailable. As a species, we are becoming far too complacent and reliant on internet-only technologies and various 'health' apps advising us what we 'should' be doing (exercise/diet etc). I'm happy being able to work offline on a train or a plane and sync my docs when there's an internet connection. Anyway, I am digressing somewhat, but every user has their own reasons for wanting to be in control of how they work.

Quote

You should appreciate by now that Serif is likely getting something out of both Microsoft and Apple for not providing a Linux native version of Affinity Suite.

Good point; I'd actually not thought of that aspect of potential business agreements. If that is the case and let's face it, we'll never get to know what Serif have agreed to, then the only hope lies in the work of people like CodeWeavers.

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On 8/4/2021 at 11:11 AM, IndigoMoon said:

For compatibility with MS Office you have to use SoftMaker FreeOffice (or their paid version) or OnlyOffice. Both are available for Linux as well.

Good shout on the SoftMaker FreeOffice - thanks! I only use Word and Excel on a daily basis and this does both quite beautifully, at least for my simple needs at home and at work.

I’m looking at buying Insynch for my cloud access as it covers both OneDrive and Google Drive. ODrive is another great cross-platform multi-cloud (selective) sync application, but the monthly rental is too steep for my liking. 

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5 minutes ago, anto said:

I tried to run apps on linux in Crossover. All Affinity apps i can install (from msi file) and navigate menu items. I have installed Photo and Publisher. Works also Personas. Only when i try to open or create new document apps freezes. Seems that apps launches more faster then in windows, but works only interface.

Could developers give some ways which libraries or dependencies use Affinity apps?

 

I believe that there's a way to see what API calls a WINE program is making through the terminal. I haven't done it myself, but it'd be something to look into if you're really interested in getting it running.

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On 8/13/2021 at 9:07 PM, anto said:

I tried to run apps on linux in Crossover. All Affinity apps i can install (from msi file) and navigate menu items. I have installed Photo and Publisher. Works also Personas. Only when i try to open or create new document apps freezes. Seems that apps launches more faster then in windows, but works only interface.

Could developers give some ways which libraries or dependencies use Affinity apps?

 

Thanks for the video, but how frustrating it is to see everything but a new document appear on the screen. This is so, so close, but no cigar… Maybe the Crossover developers can work this one out in the future as it seems to be their mission.

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13 hours ago, thedrumdoctor said:

Maybe the Crossover developers can work this one out in the future as it seems to be their mission.

The most reliable and cheapest way for Affinity to work on Linux, is if Affinity crowd funded $9000 to "Port Jump" for "Crossover". It's about the cost of:

  • 2x Adobe Full Premium Studio licenses (back in the day). OR
  • 1x Spec'd out Macbook with the Full Adobe Premium Suite. OR
  • 40x Affinity Licenses for Photo+Designer+Publisher.

https://www.codeweavers.com/portjump#portjump-packages

But this might be asking a bit too much... where are we going to get 40+ interested buyers? Sorry... 39?

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4 hours ago, Framelynx said:

The most reliable and cheapest way for Affinity to work on Linux, is if Affinity crowd funded $9000 to "Port Jump" for "Crossover".

That $9000 only gets you a quote for doing the work - assuming that "up to" 20 hours is enough.

AP, AD & APub user, running Win10

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23 minutes ago, IanSG said:

That $9000 only gets you a quote for doing the work - assuming that "up to" 20 hours is enough.

Ahh right you are. I wonder how much a port of Affinity would cost?

I'm sure it would still be cheaper than actual dedicated development for linux, which would be in the millions.

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