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You're taking it too for to the extreme. Building on top of a browser or an operating system is a proven and solid model. Building on top of another software co

You're taking it too for to the extreme. Building on top of a browser or an operating system is a proven and solid model. Building on top of another software company, web app, etc., is a whole different ballgame. Web browsers aren't going to turn against you. Other companies can.

senko 16y ago
However, those browsers or operating systems are written by companies. See Apple and iPhone OS for a recent example. Building on top of anything is risky unless the platform (whatever that be - OS, Facebook, Twitter) provider gives you some guarantees (and you have enough trust in them that they will stick to those guarantees). If you build your app on top of someone's service and the terms of use say "we reserve the right to change anything", it's like loading a shotgun, giving it to the service provider, and hoping they'll be nice to you. If you don't/can't accept that risk, don't build on top of them.
steveklabnik 16y ago
Maybe this is just my programmer mentality of making abstract connections between things, but is building on top of another software company's platform really all that new? What makes an operating system platform different than a web platform, other than the fact that OSes have been around much longer? Any business needs to mitigate risks, and I'm not trying to downplay that. You can see this with Zynga and Facebook, for example. At the same time, you have to remember that the platform is also a business, too. Platforms don't have a business without customers to build on top of them.
deleted 16y ago
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natrius 16y ago
> Building on top of a browser or an operating system is a proven and solid model. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape#History Microsoft's entire corporate history is full of incidents like Twitter's new policies. Building on top of browsers sounds safer than the Microsoft/Netscape scenario until you consider the possibility that the browser vendor might launch a competitor and use the browser to promote it (e.g. MPEG LA vs. Google/WebM).

senko 16y ago

However, those browsers or operating systems are written by companies. See Apple and iPhone OS for a recent example. Building on top of anything is risky unless the platform (whatever that be - OS, Facebook, Twitter) provider gives you some guarantees (and you have enough trust in them that they will stick to those guarantees). If you build your app on top of someone's service and the terms of use say "we reserve the right to change anything", it's like loading a shotgun, giving it to the service provider, and hoping they'll be nice to you. If you don't/can't accept that risk, don't build on top of them.

steveklabnik 16y ago

Maybe this is just my programmer mentality of making abstract connections between things, but is building on top of another software company's platform really all that new? What makes an operating system platform different than a web platform, other than the fact that OSes have been around much longer? Any business needs to mitigate risks, and I'm not trying to downplay that. You can see this with Zynga and Facebook, for example. At the same time, you have to remember that the platform is also a business, too. Platforms don't have a business without customers to build on top of them.

deleted 16y ago

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natrius 16y ago

> Building on top of a browser or an operating system is a proven and solid model. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape#History Microsoft's entire corporate history is full of incidents like Twitter's new policies. Building on top of browsers sounds safer than the Microsoft/Netscape scenario until you consider the possibility that the browser vendor might launch a competitor and use the browser to promote it (e.g. MPEG LA vs. Google/WebM).