Discussion
Agree that commercial software pricing models and even quality wise have got worse. But disagree that OSS hasn’t gotten better.
In fact it is so sooo good right now.
I only disagree with the conclusion. Open source actually got MUCH better. Many of them.
I name one: Darktable.
I recently updated to GIMP version 3.0.0, and the first thing I noticed is: it takes 3x as long to boot up.
Hm, I hadn't noticed that. My ancient i5 laptop still running it a-ok.
Did you compare it with GIMP 2 though?
I use Gimp on an almost daily basis, and have been using the beta for months, side by side with the old to see where they have improved. I didn't see a major difference on old or new hardware.
This is not a trend in desktop software specifically. Software quality is in decline universally.
Most commercial apps are becoming unusable. Plus I don't want a subscription for a spreadsheet program and all the other crap. Mostly I stick to versions before they switched and never upgrade because there are no new features or anything that I need. It's just a money grab at this stage.