Did you check if you have any conflicting libraries?
You can also try replacing the steam folder with the one on your laptop. If that doesn't work it's a problem with the OS on your PC. If you can't trace it back you might want to reinstall the distro. Just back up your files
Because they realized people are willing to pay for extra subscriptions. Production studios created their own services while keeping their IPs exclusive rather than licensing it to third parties. They make more money this way until people stop subscribing to every new service that comes out each month.
Music has the potential of undergoing the same path. I wouldn't be surprised if major labels like UMG, Warner and Sony pulled content from Spotify and other services and creating their own. Let's just hope people smarten up so this doesn't happen anytime soon.
I did the math, subscribing to every major streaming service is about $100. I got an offer to subscribe to Cable with my ISP for $29 a month. Obviously years ago Cable was more expensive but it doesn't feel like we necessarily improved on convenience which streaming services are supposed to provide.
Content gets pulled constantly from these services and they often require dedicated hardware to stream HD content, Prime and Apple TV being an example.
By the time I switch between 4 apps to find what I want to watch I've already fallen asleep.
In 2023 it's just stupid having to rely on so many different subscription services to only have access to a portion of the available content (which gets constantly removed).
All considering how anti-consumer these big corporations are I wouldn't say things are WAY better.
A few years ago Netflix alone had much more diverse content, was generally enough for most people and was cheaper overall.
Music services offer 99% of the available content in one app, if you switch to a different service you don't miss out on content availability. If we had that for videos it would be perfect.
Copyright infringement laws vary but even though simply downloading copyrighted material is against policies, it's hard to enforce and most copyright holders don't always find grounds for a lawsuit or it's straight up not worth pursuing.
You downloading a movie off a website is the same as a friend of yours sharing the same movie with you on a USB stick.
Actions against unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials (especially if it's for profit) on the other hand are much more easily enforceable.
I don't know why people even feel the need to justify themselves here where anonymity is a thing.
I just don't find it constructive to assume everyone does something for the same reason, it just doesn't seem to make sense to me, that as well as defeating the point of any conventional structure.
At least with cable TV you can get the highest tear subscription with all the channels. With streaming services you have to subscribe to a decent bunch just to have a broad variety of content, resulting in a much higher price than any cable TV subscription.
I used to pirate stuff because I couldn't afford it or because I prioritized spending my money elsewhere since I could get stuff for free.
Then as I got a job, I could afford to pay for lots of things and legal options became more convenient than piracy, so I just stopped pirating.
Now I'm back on the ship because pirating has become more convenient than subscribing to a bunch of different fragnented and anti-consumer services just to access a handful of content.
Some people just want shit for free (which is ok, been there), some others value service and convenience first and foremost.
I'm glad everything works now