To pull back a moment, isn't the entire software business model under siege? Wasn't it always? Software is easy to copy for almost free with no loss of fidelity.<p>In the 80's and 90's, it was harder to pirate software. There were stores like waldensoftware that would sell disks, and you could theoretically install it on as many computers as you wanted. The next arms race was all about how hard it was to copy CD-ROM games, until everyone had a CD burner. While some games and software had copy protection, it wasn't easily centralized until the internet came out (and much after that, even).<p>Looking at closed source code, specifically Windows, they were basically giving it away. Chrome, firefox, android, giving it away. Now it all seems to be about hosted SaaS, ecosystems, and relying on network effects to carry you over the finish line.<p>By not giving source/binaries and making you use a hosted & centralized version, they make sure you can't run it standalone, and keep you tied to their product as a subscription (which is great for them).<p>Sure we've got DRM, and there are ways to make people pay for software, but it seems to be falling out of favor. People would seemingly rather fight ads instead, and "pay" with their attention, or with microtransactions.<p>Phones, devices and gadgets on the other hand, everyone seems to love those. You have to buy those, and to run the latest best free software, you should buy the newest gadget!