Affinity products for Linux

[wonderings]

25 minutes ago, quiray said:

Another Linux user hoping for native/wine version (I don't want to use VM which is slow and clunky, nor run Windows in VM - supporting MS and also it's probably illegal even with valid "normal" license). In opensource alternatives I personally miss focus stacking and exposure stacking (developing raw files and minor editing work is fine for me). I find interface of GIMP still not great (not that it matters, since it doesn't support those named features). I am just a hobbyist toying with photography and while there are some foss solutions, they are complex and of those I managed to run, results were disappointing (I tried focus stacking on coworker's pc and result in affinity photo was quite good). I am not buying any affinity product until native Linux support is implemented or it runs well in wine. I wouldn't mind paying beforehand (crowdfunding/preorder). Since it's only a hobby, I just won't do macro photography (only bought cheap extension tubes, so virtually no money wasted).

PS: f*** you serif for misleading about registration not required and after submitting suddenly it's required and unless registered the post is discarded. 😠

I am surprised VM runs so bad on Linux, I run it on my iMac along side all my Adobe apps and it is not even noticeable. VM is a valid way of running apps well, just not one for Linux it seems. Might be a better thing to push for at the moment is improved performance for VM.

It is totally legally to run Windows as a VM. Lots of Windows servers and machines running other Windows VM's as well for various reasons. We have some legacy software running in Windows 2000 that is a virtual machine on our server. 

Completely right move not buying software till it meets your standards and you can run it on what you want to run it on, the other side of it is you are not owed software on Linux. Would be nice for all you Linux users to have it but I think you might have some time to wait on that.

Are there any forums that allow you to post without registration? Seems strange to get mad about something that is standard. Not sure what sites you are on that let you post without registration, would be curious to see one and to see how much spam must be on there. 

[Renzatic]

20 minutes ago, wonderings said:

I am surprised VM runs so bad on Linux, I run it on my iMac along side all my Adobe apps and it is not even noticeable. VM is a valid way of running apps well, just not one for Linux it seems. Might be a better thing to push for at the moment is improved performance for VM.

There are ways you can get near native performance out of a VM in Linux, but it's a rather involved process.

I'd do it myself to get my Affinity apps in Linux, but, well...I'm lazy.

[wonderings]

10 minutes ago, Renzatic said:

There are ways you can get near native performance out of a VM in Linux, but it's a rather involved process.

I'd do it myself to get my Affinity apps in Linux, but, well...I'm lazy.

Sounds like some development is needed there. With ease I can install Windows, Linux, Unix, other versions of Mac OS as a VM on my iMac. I use Parallels. I did use VMware Fusion in the past, had no issues with that but have not used it in ages as Parallels runs so great. 

[Renzatic]

22 minutes ago, wonderings said:

Sounds like some development is needed there. With ease I can install Windows, Linux, Unix, other versions of Mac OS as a VM on my iMac. I use Parallels. I did use VMware Fusion in the past, had no issues with that but have not used it in ages as Parallels runs so great. 

You do have access to VMWare Workstation and Virtualbox in Linux. From my experiences, they're decent options if all you want to do is test drive an OS, but are clunky at best if you push them any farther than that.

Though to be fair, it's possible I'm just very bad at setting up VMs, and I could get decent performance out of one if I had a better idea of what I was doing.

[wonderings]

15 hours ago, Renzatic said:

You do have access to VMWare Workstation and Virtualbox in Linux. From my experiences, they're decent options if all you want to do is test drive an OS, but are clunky at best if you push them any farther than that.

Though to be fair, it's possible I'm just very bad at setting up VMs, and I could get decent performance out of one if I had a better idea of what I was doing.

Only speaking from a VM user on Mac, there is no real setup involved. I have 32 gigs of ram, I give Windows VM access to 8 gigs. I also give it access to 4 cores, everything else is default.

[msdobrescu]

22 minutes ago, wonderings said:

Only speaking from a VM user on Mac, there is no real setup involved. I have 32 gigs of ram, I give Windows VM access to 8 gigs. I also give it access to 4 cores, everything else is default.

Same here, on my Sabayon! Install VirtualBox, make a new virtual machine, set cores, memory, disk(s) and you're good to go!

[Renzatic]

1 hour ago, wonderings said:

Only speaking from a VM user on Mac, there is no real setup involved. I have 32 gigs of ram, I give Windows VM access to 8 gigs. I also give it access to 4 cores, everything else is default.

That's basically what I've done in Windows and Linux, though I know there are various tweaks you can perform to maximize performance that I've never tried before.

I know that within Linux, the best way to get the most bang for your buck is to set up a VM that can leverage your actual hardware, but it, uh, requires something of a commitment to attempt.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PCI_passthrough_via_OVMF

[Kyron Darkfire]

Linux instead of Windows is like Affinity Photo instead of Photoshop. If I'm forced to use Microsoft, I can stick with Adobe as well...

[wonderings]

4 hours ago, Kyron Darkfire said:

Linux instead of Windows is like Affinity Photo instead of Photoshop. If I'm forced to use Microsoft, I can stick with Adobe as well...

No one is forcing you to do anything. If you can't do what you need to do with Linux then Linux is not for you. Software developers do not owe you or the Linux community anything, they are a business looking to make money while providing a product they are passionate about. I think they have been clear with their intentions and directions thus far. 

You certainly can keep using Photoshop though if Affinity Photo did everything you needed to do not sure why you would continue to pay monthly for Photoshop when you can get Photos for a very cheap price.

 

[msdobrescu]

32 minutes ago, wonderings said:

If you can't do what you need to do with Linux then Linux is not for you.

Indeed. But what if we can do whatever we need with Linux, except for specific graphic, design and publishing at pro level easily. I say easily, because there are means to achieve that in Linux. We simply ask for the best.

36 minutes ago, wonderings said:

You certainly can keep using Photoshop though if Affinity Photo did everything you needed to do not sure why you would continue to pay monthly for Photoshop when you can get Photos for a very cheap price.

Indeed. Well, for me, there are few thing I still can do fast with Photoshop. One of them is the boundary warp tool for panoramas.

I am lazy. While I could keep Windows to upgrade Photoshop, then copy it to Linux and run it under Wine, I prefer to have a full solution, from installing to running it.

[wonderings]

15 minutes ago, msdobrescu said:

Indeed. But what if we can do whatever we need with Linux, except for specific graphic, design and publishing at pro level easily. I say easily, because there are means to achieve that in Linux. We simply ask for the best.

Indeed. Well, for me, there are few thing I still can do fast with Photoshop. One of them is the boundary warp tool for panoramas.

I am lazy. While I could keep Windows to upgrade Photoshop, then copy it to Linux and run it under Wine, I prefer to have a full solution, from installing to running it.

If you need it and Linux does not have it then again Linux is not for you. Nothing wrong with asking or wishing for it to be on Linux but it is not owed to you and it is not something people should grumble about if Serif does not do what Linux users want them to do. For me the OS is secondary, if Adobe was only on Windows then I would use Windows. In general I like the UI better on Mac but I spend the majority of my time in Indesign/Illustrator and sometimes Photoshop. The OS is just a means to working with these apps and I care less and less about them as I find both Windows and Mac OS to be well thought out and usable for navigating files and everything I need. I would never chose the OS over the software I need to run.

[msdobrescu]

25 minutes ago, wonderings said:

The OS is just a means to working with these apps

I wish. But it's just a blotware. There are too many things running, but not for me. I don't accept that.

[Redsandro]

5 hours ago, wonderings said:

Software developers do not owe you or the Linux community anything.

  

On 11/24/2020 at 6:18 PM, wonderings said:

This is a business and they owe nothing to anyone.

 

On 9/9/2020 at 5:54 PM, wonderings said:

They do not owe the Linux community anything

 

This must be the most ignorant and useless waste of time line of arguments to ever appear in request for Linux support ever.

[wonderings]

12 hours ago, Redsandro said:

  

 

 

This must be the most ignorant and useless waste of time line of arguments to ever appear in request for Linux support ever.

It is not an argument.

Do you think Serif owes the Linux community something? Why?

Do you think Serif is not in this to make profit? They are not a charity. 

[zeknoss]

People here are just asking Serif to bring the Affinity suite over to Linux, and they're even claiming they will extra money to buy another license for it if it ever happens.

This thread should only exist here to campaign this request. Contra-arguments about how Serif doesn't "owe" anything to anyone and how Linux is not for XYZ seems a little repulsive, also ridiculous at least.

Dodge released Viper RT/10 in 1992 and the car only had a chassis, a hood, two seats and an engine. People asked for more, Dodge delivered and people bought the new models. That's it. It's a matter of demand and supply, not some ridiculous enigmatic subject as "Linux not for certain people".

Please do not pollute this thread. We just want to use Affinity on Linux, if you don't like it, just leave this thread alone.

[Redsandro]

12 minutes ago, wonderings said:

It is not an argument.

Exactly, it's a non-argument with a high degree of "duh", and literally no one thinks what you are saying and repeating. It's a textbook straw man, and it doesn't bring any value to this topic. You are giving the impression of refuting an argument, whereas the proper idea of argument under discussion was not addressed.

Most people here ask for a Linux version. Others even plead for a Linux version. Some argue that a Linux version would be a good economic decision, and part of them indicate that they would be willing to pre-pay, crowdfund, or even pay double or more.

No one actually believes Serif owes them anything. That includes you. They don't owe you(r preferred OS) their undivided attention. So let's keep this topic a place where people can join to indicate their shared wish for a Linux version in order to show Serif that there is actually a desire for this. A place where we can discuss possible deployment platforms and distro support.

Quote

[FAQ] Affinity on Linux?

We won't rule out making a Linux version of Affinity in the future if the right Linux distro comes along with a reliable deployment platform that will allow us to recoup our development cost for the Linux version.

 

[CedarBluffGraphics&Layout]

Just adding my voice to the request: would LOVE to see Affinity products native on Linux!!!

[msdobrescu]

15 hours ago, Redsandro said:

[FAQ] Affinity on Linux?

We won't rule out making a Linux version of Affinity in the future if the right Linux distro comes along with a reliable deployment platform that will allow us to recoup our development cost for the Linux version.

This is an interesting statement. I'm curious, what means "the right Linux distro" and "a reliable deployment platform"?

AppImage would simply do, technically. I run GIMP with Resynthsizer like that, due to dependency to Python 2.x that was dropped by the large majority of distros, as it is EOL (since 10 years or so).

[Renzatic]

12 hours ago, msdobrescu said:

This is an interesting statement. I'm curious, what means "the right Linux distro" and "a reliable deployment platform"?

I'd imagine they're considering whether to leverage X11 or Wayland, KDE or Gnome, Ubuntu or Red Hat, etc. etc. Whatever would allow them to get the Affinity suite up and running with decent performance on Linux with as little struggle as possible.

[foxie]

3 hours ago, Renzatic said:

I'd imagine they're considering whether to leverage X11 or Wayland, KDE or Gnome, Ubuntu or Red Hat, etc. etc. Whatever would allow them to get the Affinity suite up and running with decent performance on Linux with as little struggle as possible.

None. Just make sure it works with wine and don't support it officially or in case you want official support, wrap it around as appimage.

Haven't tried it but it should be doable.
https://github.com/RazZziel/PortableLinuxGames/wiki/Creating-appimages-from-windows-applications

[foxie]

To be honest, I remember I made it start in wine but there were some missing dx11 apis in dxvk that caused crash when creating new file. Haven't had enough time to hack around and I don't use this type of SW on daily basis, so not much motivation either.

[Renzatic]

3 hours ago, foxie said:

None. Just make sure it works with wine and don't support it officially or in case you want official support, wrap it around as appimage.

Haven't tried it but it should be doable.
https://github.com/RazZziel/PortableLinuxGames/wiki/Creating-appimages-from-windows-applications

That'd be the potentially easiest option, though as far as that quote goes, they're talking about the cost of creating a native application.

Though if you ever do decide to futz around with trying to get it running in WINE, and you manage to get things working decently well, don't forget to tell us here.

[msdobrescu]

Interestingly, I've found AppImage very capable. For example Fiddler delivers for Linux and Mac the same AppImage file.

[derei]

Considering that Linux and OSX kernels are pretty similar, or at least derived around UNIX, which makes them to work somewhat similar, would it be so difficult to have a Linux version of Affinity Suite derived from the OSX version? I do understand that coding for Windows and OSX is literally maintaining two different software, but if a Linux version could be easily derived from the OSX version, perhaps the work involved to maintain it would pay off, as it wouldn't actually be a 3rd software.
I may be wrong here, but this is why I am raising the question... to find out if this is a possible route.

Also, everyone is arguing the EXISTING market, how many users on Windows/OSX/Linux, etc... I don't think this evaluation has any relevance. Yes, this is how is NOW. Bit anyone asked WHY? Is not because Linux is inaccessible, it is because most developers ignored it in the past. But that's not true anymore. Even Steam noticed the relevance of addressing Linux users.

It was argued "linux is for nerds". I'd disagree. Linux is NOT ONLY for nerds. Not anymore. Yes, it can be and there are flavors specifically developed for specialized use. But a lot of linux flavors are there for the general public, even tailored for smooth transition from any other popular OS.

The increased awareness in data privacy is making more and more users look into privacy friendly software. Artists and Creators are not always ignorant. Many are growing interest in protecting their digital life. So, a patronizing attitude that says "we don't develop for linux because our users aren't informed and educated enough to use linux" is actually offensive towards your clients pool. Moreover, I believe you should be encouraging privacy and good ethics by supporting people to migrate towards more privacy friendly options. 

[Snapseed]

On 1/26/2021 at 11:57 AM, zeknoss said:

People here are just asking Serif to bring the Affinity suite over to Linux, and they're even claiming they will extra money to buy another license for it if it ever happens.

This thread should only exist here to campaign this request. Contra-arguments about how Serif doesn't "owe" anything to anyone and how Linux is not for XYZ seems a little repulsive, also ridiculous at least.

Dodge released Viper RT/10 in 1992 and the car only had a chassis, a hood, two seats and an engine. People asked for more, Dodge delivered and people bought the new models. That's it. It's a matter of demand and supply, not some ridiculous enigmatic subject as "Linux not for certain people".

Please do not pollute this thread. We just want to use Affinity on Linux, if you don't like it, just leave this thread alone.

Indeed, and therein lies the fundamental issue.

Linux's relatively small current market share makes it financially unviable for Serif Affinity, Skylum and others to port over their very nice and shiny softwares over to Linux.