6 ms·

apps? Whats wrong with saying applications as for the last 20 years in windows environments ?

moonshinefe 11y ago
The evolution of language. Apple from what I can tell was the catalyst behind it, the 'app store' and whatnot, and their products are very popular with the less technical crowd in particular. It's sort of like the hacker vs. cracker distinction, it's all just considered 'hacking' now in common vernacular because of how the media portrayed it for the last decade as all just being called hacking. Maybe not the greatest example, but it comes to mind.
- cJ0th 11y ago
  I just realized that App isn't just the first three letters of application but also Apple. Very clever move when you think about it...
  - dTal 11y ago
    It all makes sense now!
  - frou_dh 11y ago
    .app was already the file extension of applications in NeXTSTEP in the early 90s. It carried over to OS X (eventually iOS) post-acquisition. Unless someone was playing an extremely long game, that is just a nice coincidence.
cJ0th 11y ago
I get what you are saying but I think that (sadly) you are mistaken. From one perspective, Apps is just the short version of application. But from another, more significant perspective the binary blobs we call Apps live in an ecosystem (The famous "walled garden") which is totally different from the classic desktop world. Autonomy is dying, especially on the consumer level.
Piskvorrr 11y ago
In my opinion the two are different, despite the same word origin. Allow me to exaggerate for a bit: "application" implies desktop: you would run the installer, it would be a powerful (and complex) tool, capable of interacting with other local tools. OTOH, "app" implies the everything-is-mobile paradigm: you ask the WhateverStore to install it for you, and if you've been nice and the phase of the moon is right, your plea is granted. Complexity is discouraged, drool-proof colorful interface is encouraged, the only allowed interaction is with the Big Walled Garden In The Cloud. So, yes: Win10 has apps, and it's trying its damnedest not to have applications.
jbb555 11y ago
It's a good system. If it's called an "application" or a "program" it's probably worth having. If it's called an "app" it's probably not.
- jhildings 11y ago
  True, that is a good point!
- copperx 11y ago
  "The TeX app" doesn't sound that bad.

The evolution of language. Apple from what I can tell was the catalyst behind it, the 'app store' and whatnot, and their products are very popular with the less technical crowd in particular. It's sort of like the hacker vs. cracker distinction, it's all just considered 'hacking' now in common vernacular because of how the media portrayed it for the last decade as all just being called hacking. Maybe not the greatest example, but it comes to mind.

cJ0th 11y ago
I just realized that App isn't just the first three letters of application but also Apple. Very clever move when you think about it...
- dTal 11y ago
  It all makes sense now!
- frou_dh 11y ago
  .app was already the file extension of applications in NeXTSTEP in the early 90s. It carried over to OS X (eventually iOS) post-acquisition. Unless someone was playing an extremely long game, that is just a nice coincidence.

cJ0th 11y ago

I get what you are saying but I think that (sadly) you are mistaken. From one perspective, Apps is just the short version of application. But from another, more significant perspective the binary blobs we call Apps live in an ecosystem (The famous "walled garden") which is totally different from the classic desktop world. Autonomy is dying, especially on the consumer level.

Piskvorrr 11y ago

In my opinion the two are different, despite the same word origin. Allow me to exaggerate for a bit: "application" implies desktop: you would run the installer, it would be a powerful (and complex) tool, capable of interacting with other local tools. OTOH, "app" implies the everything-is-mobile paradigm: you ask the WhateverStore to install it for you, and if you've been nice and the phase of the moon is right, your plea is granted. Complexity is discouraged, drool-proof colorful interface is encouraged, the only allowed interaction is with the Big Walled Garden In The Cloud. So, yes: Win10 has apps, and it's trying its damnedest not to have applications.

jbb555 11y ago

It's a good system. If it's called an "application" or a "program" it's probably worth having. If it's called an "app" it's probably not.

jhildings 11y ago
True, that is a good point!
copperx 11y ago
"The TeX app" doesn't sound that bad.