this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2026
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[–] artyom@piefed.social -5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

By that logic, SteamOS is not a selling point of the Steam Deck

No, by my logic, Valve does not sell SteamOS, which is correct. Much like Pop, it's freely available to install on any machine, including Framework.

By your logic, Linus would hate SteamOS too.

And yes, they do sell it on their laptops:

Is this photo supposed to prove something? I don't see a charge for PopOS?

[–] hperrin@lemmy.ca 1 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

It does not matter that they don’t charge, because you don’t have to sell something for it to be a product. You only have to offer it to a market. You can sell spranglers, and provide sprangler dinchels for free, and sprangler dinchels are still considered your products.

Since you won’t believe me, here’s the dictionary definition of the word product. I’ve emphasized the important part.

2 a (1) : something produced

especially : COMMODITY sense 1

(2) : something (such as a service) that is marketed or sold as a commodity

- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/product

And if you don’t trust that dictionary, here’s another:

1 [[countable, uncountable] a thing that is grown, produced or created, usually for sale

- https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/product

Or if you’d rather trust an encyclopedia, here’s Wikipedia’s entry (emphasis not mine):

In marketing and economics, a product is any object, service, or system offered to a market to satisfy a customer’s need or want. Products may be tangible, such as physical goods that can be touched and owned, or intangible, such as services, digital offerings, or rights that provide value without physical form. Products are created through processes of design, production, and distribution, and they play a central role in commercial exchange, consumer behavior, and organizational strategy.

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)

[–] artyom@piefed.social 0 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Okay, great, it's a "product". What does Framework have to gain from PopOS being perceived as a bad "product"? Do consumers think "golly gee that software seems pretty bad, guess I'll buy Framework hardware instead"? I'm just really curious how this situation works in your head. You can't even buy a Framework laptop with Linux.

[–] hperrin@lemmy.ca 1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Yes. That’s the entire point here. If System76 makes this bad product, maybe their other products are bad. Maybe I should buy from a competitor. Oh, everyone says Framework laptops are great for Linux, even Framework. I guess I’ll buy from Framework instead of System76 thanks to LTT.

Don’t you see the conflict of interest there?

[–] artyom@piefed.social 0 points 12 hours ago

No, I absolutely do not see a conflict of interest. I see a completely irrational and delusional thought process.