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When I see stats like this, or like the 400MM users/40 devs, that WhatsApp had at one point, I can't help but think back to, say, 1985. What would it take to de
by 11thEarlOfMar 11y ago
When I see stats like this, or like the 400MM users/40 devs, that WhatsApp had at one point, I can't help but think back to, say, 1985. What would it take to develop and scale a software product to that number of users?
I worked for MultiScope in 1991. We had to order discs and have disc labels printed, copy the compiler onto the discs, have manuals and boxes printed, stuff and shrink-wrap the boxes, ship to Ingram Micro for distribution, and then wait 2-4 weeks for our product to show up on the shelves at Egghead. I recall 5 developers, and we were ecstatic to ship 4,000 copies of a major new version.
That gets me thinking in terms of leverage. The leverage that 2015 Internet technology affords a single developer is a potent economic force.
- fla 11y agoEveryone having a computer in its pocket (no pun intended) also makes a big difference :)
- johansch 11y agoIn the 80s/90s software was really expensive though. ARPU was probably 100-500x higher than today. Late 80s/early 90: the typical software product was shrinkwrapped, cost $500, sold in the thousands to tens of thousands. Now: "Free", ad-based in some form. A few dollars per user at most. More users.
- smeyer 11y agoThere's still lots of expensive software. In many fields, the leading products are thousands of dollars a seat. There's just also now a lot of software that's a few dollars or less per user.