For me, I'd be torn between giving money towards an open source project vs. building a commercial product.

You could have stipulations attached.  Like maybe you approach the Scribus people and say, you need a better UI (which they are working on) and I want INDD import, here's $500,000 to make it happen.  Could also make it incentive-based.  $250,000 now and $250,000 if they succeed.

On the other hand, again with funding being almost no object, you could start small and build up.  Start with a "lite" app that has some cool features people really want but isn't readily available, and give it a lot of export options so it can be used with Illustrator, Designer, CorelDraw, whatever.  Then just build and build on it, hopefully, until you have a full-featured illustration app.

Or buy a number of small companies with existing apps and put money into merging or expanding those apps and build on that.

Within the boundary conditions of this speculation, if I had this opportunity.

The software would be for sale yet there would be a fully functional unlimited duration trial. That way I would not be contributing to the digital divide.

The programs would be produced by, for each feature as it is introduced, writing the documentation and then have programmers produce software that implements the features as specified in the documentation.

There would be a television prigramme series centred around a (fictional) design studio and printshop. Each episode an issue would arise and it would be dealt with, the programmes mixing education with entertainment. There would be continuing characters.

For example, the first episode would start in a café, there is going to be a live music evening, and some posters are required. It emerges that the music group are from Sweden and there is an accented character in the name of the group. And in the names of some of the members of the group. The script is written so that all of the accented characters needed for Swedish are included. Then at the printshop, there is discussion of how to insert accented characters into a document as they are not on the keyboard, and it is shown being done on a screen, slowly and gently, that is important.  Later the finished posters are shown, first in the printshop, then later in use in the café. The episode ends with a performance by the group, which is in fact a performance by actors and session musicians, though shown in full, not talked over or showing people watching while the performance is taking place.

Each episode of the programme having a different issue. For example, the local art gallery wants some trifold leaflets for an exhibition. For example, someone wants her handwritten poem typeset and printed and framed. For example, a local startup wants a logo for its product designed.

The television programmes are available on free-to-air television channels and on the web.

Revenue is from advertising revenue and sale of merchandise.

Because some, maybe many, businesses want to use purchased, formally licensed for money software. Also, they can often do a purcahse order far more easily than make a donation.

An example of what?

That’s slowly/thoroughly, isn’t it? Perhaps you and I don’t always use the word ‘gently’ in quite the same way.

An example of a topic about using a graphics design program that could be used in an episode of the television programme.

Exactly! The ‘Plus’ applications were quite heavily dependent on built-in Windows features, and they were becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and develop. The cross-platform thing that Affinity brought to the table was a particularly smart move: they actually launched the Mac version first, which obviously appealed to the many designers who use Macs rather than Windows machines.

I like the television program idea.  It would have to focus on entertainment first, so people would watch it.  You'd want it to promote the applications, but you wouldn't want it to be a half hour commercial.  I wouldn't use it as a training program either.  Just demonstrate that the apps can do certain things so people are aware of the capabilities, then be sure to have documentation or videos available online for users that want to learn how to use those features.  The show would need to be entertaining and focus on that, with promoting the apps a secondary but important focus.

On open source, yes, I agree with a lot of the downsides.  The upside is that if a particular open source app does what you need, you can use it as long as you have a machine it runs on.  No Internet activation schemes, no subscriptions, nothing.  If a computer crashes, you will still be able to install and use the software if you have a compatible machine.  You won't have to worry about activation servers or logins or even where you saved the license key.

You're lucky they don't have a Mac version otherwise curses would be upon you for making me buy another app.

Linus did Linux in 1991/2 and by 1996 was living in the US and has been there since which is where the main FOSS development organisations and companies are based.

If there was any doubt in 2024 Linux excluded Russian developers from working on the kernel on the instruction of the US government.
Linux is a US controlled OS.

The US Spooks don't like it when other governments put things in Linux but to be fair it has been open season on Linux for the last couple of decades.
At least with MS and Apple you know who is screwing you.

The reason I switched to Moho was because Reallusion stopped making Mac versions so I had to switch from Cartoon Animator to something else.