cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/227964
There used to be a time when Linux gaming was a tricky affair, filled with trial and error, obscure fixes, and things randomly breaking. Many gamers used to avoid gaming on the platform due to those issues.
Now? Things have changed dramatically. Tools like Wine, Proton, DXVK, etc. have taken Linux gaming to another level. Bottles is one of those handy tools helping make the experience that much easier for gamers.
Sadly, the project has hit a funding roadblock.
Hard Work Deserves Appreciation
The lead developer behind Bottles, Mirko Brombin, recently shared an update on the project’s current state. He points out that, while Bottles has sponsorships from companies like Linode, JetBrains, and Hyperbit, they are still facing funding shortages that make sustained development difficult.
Despite having over 3 million downloads on Flathub, the project receives only about €100 per month in donations, an amount easily overshadowed by the server costs alone.
That sounds concerning. 🫤
Mirko also brought attention to Bottles Next, a complete rewrite of the app designed to modernize the codebase and improve performance. He said that they are still working on it, and while it’s due sometime in the future, continued support from Bottles users will help the team focus on development and deliver a better product faster.
He further added:
I am actively working to find sponsorships, I am in contact with a possible funding that could allow us to accelerate development, to pay a small bonus to those working on Next, to give some breathing room to those who are contributing. But here too, it takes time. And that’s precisely why today I feel the need to speak openly.
We don’t want to make Wikipedia-style appeals, with the usual “just one euro each.” But it’s right that those who love Bottles know how things really are. If you want to see Next grow, if you want to see Bottles finally become what it’s meant to be, we invite you to consider supporting us. Even just a symbolic donation, even just a monthly subscription, if done by many, can become what we need to take the next step.
If you use Bottles and want to see it grow, even a small donation helps more than you might think. Supporting the project now means faster updates and a better experience down the line.
Suggested Read 📖
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Well, duh. That’s not what I’d call insecure. If you only accept a system as “secure” if it is resistant to any user error, then I propose you keep away from knives, cars, electricity, staircases, and basically everything.
You also didn’t provide any rationale for the “costs money” part of your statement.
Maybe it’s different in Germany, but at least in the US, wire transfers have a fee. My bank even charges me $5 just to receive a wire transfer, and if I wanted to send money internationally it’s a $65 fee. It’s a terrible system to buy things too because it takes days for the transfer to clear.
Another comment mentioned ACH, but that is not the same as a wire transfer.
No fees in Germany, neither for sending nor for receiving and the funds get transferred within seconds.
Thanks for clarifying that. I just thought they used a technical term I was unaware of.
ACH is Automated Clearing House, which is US-specific and what’s used for faster bank-to-bank transfers than wire. They still take up to a day or two to clear. I suspect what you are calling a wire transfer is not actually the same thing as a SWIFT network wire transfer, which is what’s used for international transactions. German banks charge the same fees for those: https://wiretransfer.io/deutsche-bank-germany-wire-transfer/
German banks might have arrangements for doing domestic transfers more quickly, and obviously it’s instant if the recipient is at the same bank, but I don’t know that that’s considered a wire transfer anymore. It would be a direct deposit/debit through some other bank-bank system. (In Canada this would be like Interac transfers, or Zelle in the US)
That’s absolutely possible. Whenever I’m researching how to move moneys, I find that there’s a bit of a language barrier. When I say “wire transfer”, I’m trying to communicate a scheme by which I instruct my local bank to reduce the number of Euros in my bank account and somehow instruct the recipient’s bank to increase the number of Euros in the recipient’s bank account by the same amount. Specifically, I’m trying to communicate that there is no credit involved here. No end-of-moth balancing of a credit account, no sending money I don’t actually have.
I think what I mean is the “SEPA Instant Credit Transfer” as Wikipedia describes it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Euro_Payments_Area#SEPA_Instant_Credit_Transfer). I am aware that this cannot possibly work with banks outside of SEPA. And these are also free-of-charge, as I said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_transfer#European_Union
Ah interesting, so the European banks have agreements on how to settle wire transfers quickly, but going outside those SEPA agreements gets you about the same experience as US wire transfers.
That SEPA system seems kind of nice, since in the US it’s been up to a bunch of private companies (like PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard) to pick up the slack and enable instant transfers. We’ve only recently got the Zelle system, which is free and instant, but even that’s just run by some corporation that went around making agreements with banks on their own.
Unfortunately, for this sort of international transaction, the only real options are: Credit card companies (via credit or debit), SWIFT wire transfers (slow and expensive), or Crypto (volatile and maybe slow depending on which one).
I’ve had annoying times trying to purchase parts from a small UK company, since my only option was wire transfer with a $65 fee, or calling them long distance and giving a credit card over the phone at 1am my time)
Yeah, I mean, why wouldn’t I do that when possible?
I don’t know what you’re expecting of me. ACH transfers cost money. It’s as simple as that.