words of encouragement and one wish - keep pushing!

[gobbels6789]

Your work is crucial. Linux desktop/virtualization efforts often feel exclusionary, prioritizing niche communities over everyday users. Gaming and seamless Windows app integration (like MS Office with script support) are critical for mainstream adoption – they’re gateways for families and professionals. Many FOSS alternatives aren’t true replacements, forcing reliance on proprietary tools.

This isn’t just oversight; it sometimes feels intentional, like the "Sophon blockade" (The 3 body problem book series or netflix show) hindering progress. So please...ignore detractors. What you’re doing matters – countless users need practical solutions, not idealism. Keep pushing.

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ Take this energy. Stay focused. You’re appreciated.

PS: Hope someone from the nix crowd ports this over. Why nix? it's simple (can get complex quickly with flakes / home manager). I can't get my grand mother to copy-paste a command and then spend 12 hours troubleshooting... but I can get her to write "winapps" in a text file and copy-paste a single command.

[oskardotglobal]

Thank you for this, it certainly made my day.

Regarding Nix, what do you mean by a "port", a module?
We do have a Nix package already. There also has been discussions about a NixOS module in #234, feel free to contribute!

[bowsarr]

I saw the #232, #234, and the license.

Now I feel bad. I feel like the bad guy now. I wanted to drop some words of encouragement, not wake the monster... but hey, the monster is out now. >:)

At a glance some key issues that need inmediate attention:

Fmstrat's last commit was on 2024.04.27 (Apr 27, 2024).

winapps/license.md history ends on 2024.09.04 (Sep 4, 2024).

winapps/license.md history starts on 2024.12.12 (Dec 12, 2024).

First, the timeline. I'm guessing you guys tried contacting him prior to April 2024 and he didn't respond or change the license. This is troubling and on my evil black book it spells out: malice (apologize, my work forces me to see the bad side first - I'm aware it isn't the only possible reason, but for the sake of argument let's continue okay?).

However, almost all parts of the codebase have been rewritten...

I'm assuming the license.md file is not outdated and this part and everything else written around it is current.

My advice? audit the code for any vestiges of fmstrat's work. If the task is too daunting, take the repo down. Start a clean-room operation were you add components little by little and check for functionality and cleanliness (no IP infringement) as you go while someone else (or a team) writes the documentation as you go.

The term "WinApps" causes confusion with the term "Windows Apps" / "Windows Applications", and fmstrat's work (which is also called WinApps).

On the flip side, you guys are on the right track (rewrite).

If fmstrat's implementation is abandonware (+5 years stored with no commits) and you guys have re-written it fully you should be on the clear. Rewriting code thoroughly is critical. Copyright law protects expression (code structure), not functionality. If the new project only replicates features (not code), it’s likely safe.

If the license.md file is outdated, please modify it. Your new license.md file should reflect the history of the project, the rebrand, and the rewrite of the codebase. It's important to transparently acknowledge the project’s origins (if code was forked) and detail how the current codebase differs.

Btw, "abandonware" isn't a legal defense. I've used the word, but copyright doesn't expire because of it. Kinda arguing against myself here... just in case. Copyright expires when the law says so depending on your jurisdiction (most cases).

I hope this helps...

---

Now going back to being a selfish gobbling xD. There is no 'winapps' package for nixos. There's a flake, I saw it just now... I'll try that. First time importing someone else's flake into my own. I'm excited.

[oskardotglobal]

Ok so there's a lot to unpack here. Firstly, the lastest "actual" commit was Nov 2020, the newer commits are all fmstrat linking the docs on his website.

By the "almost" we mean applications. Winapps has application presets which define where on the Windows side certain apps are located along with icons, names and descriptions. Some of these are still originals from fmstrats repository, but if the contributor hasn't signed our CLA a header in the file states that it's licensed ARR by it's respective author.

Aside from that, our current codebase (on main) has had large portions rewritten. However, the idea is that we try shipping a rewrite (on rewrite) and then maybe even take down the old parts completely. The rewrite is a WIP, but it's code is not based on fmstrat's work at all.

Our hope is that since fmstrat obviously doesn't care, we will get away with what we're doing until if there's anything violating copyright (which we hope there is not) we can "get away with it" until the rewrite is stable.