> Can you abuse Backblaze on Windows or Macintosh?
Backblaze lives on the "averages", and so far the averages for Windows and Macintosh have worked out for us. We don't have any deep pockets (no VC funding) so we have to stay profitable or die. If you are curious what the distribution of customer sizes is, here is a histogram (you will need to zoom in, then use the scrollbar): https://i.imgur.com/iVEuwUT.jpg
Backblaze does not allow running the "Personal Backup Client" on Windows "Server" OS flavors to help the averages. Macintosh are really super successful in the laptop category, but very very few people or businesses run them as servers so again, the averages work out for us (so far).
However, in all of our market research, the Linux users averages would quickly drive us out of business. By definition, Linux is pretty much dedicated to almost exclusively servers, and exclusively dedicated to SUPER technical people who understand exactly how much data they have. We built "Backblaze B2" expressly for these technical customers running Linux. If you know how much data you have, and you have less than average, you will literally save money with Backblaze B2.
I also appreciate your focus on providing the value you know you can to your core audience. Compromising that attention which, as you noted, would possibly jeopardize your ability to exist at all. A ton of companies get this completely backwards.
Also: money isn't everything. I want to pay for a product that makes my life easier, and B2 ain't it.
