Linux support to end after v1.7
forum.lightburnsoftware.com
After a great deal of internal discussion, we have made the difficult decision to sunset Linux support following the upcoming release of LightBurn 1.7.00. Linux users make up only 1% of our overall user base, but providing Linux-compatible builds takes up as much or more time as does providing them for Windows and Mac OS. We have a small, dedicated development team, and, over time, the burdens of supporting Linux have consumed an outsized portion of their time — time which will be better spent...

I just got an email about this today. Here is more context:

To our valued Linux users:

After a great deal of internal discussion, we have made the difficult decision to sunset Linux support following the upcoming release of LightBurn 1.7.00.

Many of us at LightBurn are Linux users ourselves, and this decision was made reluctantly, after careful investigation of all possible avenues for continuing Linux support.

The unfortunate reality is that Linux users make up only 1% of our overall user base, but providing and supporting Linux-compatible builds takes up as much or more time as does providing them for Windows and Mac OS.

The segmentation of Linux distributions complicates these burdens further — we’ve had to provide three separate packages for the versions of Linux we officially support, and still encounter frequent compatibility issues on those distributions (or closely related distributions), to say nothing of the many distributions we have been asked to support.

Finally, we will soon begin building LightBurn on a new framework that will require our development team to write custom libraries for each platform we support. This will be a significant undertaking and, regrettably, it is simply not tenable to invest our team’s time into an effort that will impact such a small portion of our user base. Such challenges will only continue to arise as we work to expand LightBurn’s capabilities going forward.

We understand that our Linux users will be disappointed by this decision. We appreciate all of our users, and assure you that your existing license will still work with any version of LightBurn for which your license term is valid, up until LightBurn version 1.7.00, forever. Prior releases will always be made available for download. Finally, your license will continue to be valid for future Windows and Mac OS releases covered by your license term.

If you are a Linux-only user who has recently purchased a license or renewal that is valid for a release of LightBurn after v1.7.00, please contact us for a refund.

Rest assured that we will be using the time gained by sunsetting Linux support to redouble our efforts at making better software for laser cutters, and beyond. We hope you will continue to utilize LightBurn on a supported operating system going forward, and we thank you for being a part of the LightBurn community.

Sincerely,

The LightBurn Software Team

  • FizzyOrange
    7·
    4 months ago

    we will soon begin building LightBurn on a new framework that will require our development team to write custom libraries for each platform we support.

      • FizzyOrange
        91·
        4 months ago

        It doesn’t sound like it’s difficult, just extra work that they don’t want to do.

        For example they might want to use native USB instead of libusb which is LGPL. I’ve done that in the past because libusb was lacking some features. It means you have to implement your USB code for each platform and doing that work for Linux probably isn’t worth it, even if it isn’t difficult.

        FOSS is the only answer. Fuck capitalism. Fuck paid software.

        Grow up. FOSS is great but it obviously isn’t the only answer.