webcams on linux with good driver support are not just for use by humans but in a myriad of industrial/embedded applications, for single image acquisition, etc.
don't just think about people using linux desktop PCs in home offices, but all forms of other use of camera systems.
I can understand the reason for believing there's no overlap, as Linux users tend to shy away from tracking-like features in general (which is the job of a camera!). But a few privacy features like a physical lens cap, and a hardware light that turns on if the camera is powered (not controlled by software) would really incentivize that market, I think.
Linux users still like quality hardware, and are willing to pay for it.
> I can understand the reason for believing there's no overlap, as Linux users tend to shy away from tracking-like features in general (which is the job of a camera!).
I don't agree. This is not the same 'tracking' as the one that Linux users generally abhor.
I'm a privacy nut and I track a whole ton of stuff around my house by the way and for my health etc. The difference is just that I track this stuff on my systems. Not on Samsung's or Xiaomi's or whatever. I use their brands actually but with privacy-conscious software. For example the amazing FOSS "GadgetBridge" app works great with Xiaomi's smartwatches and fitness band, giving them zero internet access and thus no way to track me. Yet it still collects the data for me. I know I should support a FOSS hardware product too but the only one around, the PineTime, is too premature to be useful IMO (I do own one). For my house stuff "Home Assistant" is amazing and it supports many health devices like scales also.
So, tracking is not bad. Companies tracking me is bad.
> But a few privacy features like a physical lens cap, and a hardware light that turns on if the camera is powered (not controlled by software) would really incentivize that market, I think.
Yes a lens cap is a must. I bought an aftermarket one for my Logitech C920. It seems to be something that's more on the radar now as many laptops have them again (like Lenovo).
> Linux users still like quality hardware, and are willing to pay for it.
In attempt to disabuse this notion that "nobody uses linux"...
Spoken like someone who only eats from fast food restaurants.
Fast food, for the most part, is horrid, disgusting, greasy, bad for your general health. Sometimes, I'm out and about, and I eat from a fast food website.
I also cook. Lest you think I'm in some minority, the cooking business is a billion dollar industry, with multiple "trendy" startups (hellofresh, blue apron, etc.) selling pricey services. I've even used some of them.
Yes, some people only eat fast food. Some people know no better. Yes, eating non-fast food can be incovenient, but its incredibly good for you... and just because we do good things doesn't mean we are all starving artists or paupers.
But no, we are probably not sitting 400lbs overweight surrounded by burger king wrappers filled with xenophobia at anything that's not "like us".