7 ms·

On the other hand, as a user, this is one of the reasons I switched to Macs a decade ago. The apps available were of extremely high quality and actively support

by jiofih 7y ago

On the other hand, as a user, this is one of the reasons I switched to Macs a decade ago. The apps available were of extremely high quality and actively supported. If something with a GUI hasn’t been updated in 20 years, chances are it’s not gonna be stellar software. Both technology and UI conventions have changed a lot.

quelsolaar 7y ago
No you dont get it. It's not about maintaining or not, its about what a developer spends their time on. Do you want the developer to spend months moving the code from one legacy API to a new one, that will give the user no tangible benefit, or do you want the develop new features requested by the users?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- yardie 7y ago
  > Do you want the developer to spend months moving the code from one legacy API to a new one If the situation demands it I would say yes. I treat it as one big refactoring job. There are lots of shims in old software libraries that may not need to be there anymore. There are also lots of vulnerabilities that a fresh set of eyes and a different perspective can illuminate. A product that began its life being developed by a lone developer may have an entire team now. The rewrite is a good opportunity to explore how it works and why certain decisions were made.
  - pvorb 7y ago
    > The rewrite is a good opportunity to explore how it works and why certain decisions were made. ... and a good opportunity to break existing and working features along the way. If something works, why should you fix it?
- jiofih 7y ago
  “No tangible benefit” is a very weak assumption. Upgrading to new APIs means familiar UI controls, possibility of integration with system features - off the top of my head, iCloud copy & paste, versioning, handoff, low power/data mode, form inputs behave the same as everywhere else, font rendering, window controls - all very tangible for users.
  - trimbo 7y ago
    Except there's no reason those things couldn't be supported in an existing API with less friction to adopt. It's software. I think the reason software abruptly changes (API switches, rewrites, UX redesigns, etc) is because doing that employs more software people than incremental improvements to old stuff. I don't think this is necessarily a choice, it's just the way it works out. It's kind of a perfect business in that way. The downside is that occasionally an important customer says "enough!" They're totally justified in doing that, but it doesn't align with growth, so it's the cost of business.
    - jiofih 7y ago
      > there's no reason those things couldn't be supported in an existing API That’s how you get Windows 10, where you’ll encounter three eras of UI, going all the way back to 1995, just to change your power settings. No thanks.
lonelappde 7y ago
It's gonna be 100times as fast as modern software, for one thing. And more debugged too.
wayneftw 7y ago
What Mac-only apps that you use do you consider high quality? I’m asking because outside of some big ones that I don’t use, like Final Cut Pro or Pro Tools - most of the Mac apps I’ve found are very low on features or “options” (flexibility). They all seem to try and follow Apple’s model of only serving the happy path and completely ignoring anyone who needs more than that - e.g. power users. Even normal users get annoyed by this tendency, like recently when Apple removed the “mark all as read” option from Mail in iOS.
- bocklund 7y ago
  Here are some that I would say cater to power users and are flexible and high quality * OmniFocus and anything from Omni Group * Alfred * Keyboard Maestro * Drafts * iStat Menus * Soulver * BBEdit * Hazel * Marked * MindNode and tons more that I have not personally used or found useful.
  - hoistbypetard 7y ago
    It's probably also worth noting that BBEdit has been around since the early 1990s and has weathered several transitions.
- Smaug123 7y ago
  Scrivener used to be Mac-only, until demand was such that they made a Windows version. It's the Mac app for novel-writers.
  - fitzroy 7y ago
    I've bought Scrivener twice now and have never actually used it — but it's so beautifully made. I just want it to still be here when I finally get around to it.
- p0nce 7y ago
  * Screenflow
- reaperducer 7y ago

by jiofih 7y ago

quelsolaar 7y ago

No you dont get it. It's not about maintaining or not, its about what a developer spends their time on. Do you want the developer to spend months moving the code from one legacy API to a new one, that will give the user no tangible benefit, or do you want the develop new features requested by the users?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
yardie 7y ago
> Do you want the developer to spend months moving the code from one legacy API to a new one If the situation demands it I would say yes. I treat it as one big refactoring job. There are lots of shims in old software libraries that may not need to be there anymore. There are also lots of vulnerabilities that a fresh set of eyes and a different perspective can illuminate. A product that began its life being developed by a lone developer may have an entire team now. The rewrite is a good opportunity to explore how it works and why certain decisions were made.
- pvorb 7y ago
  > The rewrite is a good opportunity to explore how it works and why certain decisions were made. ... and a good opportunity to break existing and working features along the way. If something works, why should you fix it?
jiofih 7y ago
“No tangible benefit” is a very weak assumption. Upgrading to new APIs means familiar UI controls, possibility of integration with system features - off the top of my head, iCloud copy & paste, versioning, handoff, low power/data mode, form inputs behave the same as everywhere else, font rendering, window controls - all very tangible for users.
- trimbo 7y ago
  Except there's no reason those things couldn't be supported in an existing API with less friction to adopt. It's software. I think the reason software abruptly changes (API switches, rewrites, UX redesigns, etc) is because doing that employs more software people than incremental improvements to old stuff. I don't think this is necessarily a choice, it's just the way it works out. It's kind of a perfect business in that way. The downside is that occasionally an important customer says "enough!" They're totally justified in doing that, but it doesn't align with growth, so it's the cost of business.
  - jiofih 7y ago
    > there's no reason those things couldn't be supported in an existing API That’s how you get Windows 10, where you’ll encounter three eras of UI, going all the way back to 1995, just to change your power settings. No thanks.

lonelappde 7y ago

It's gonna be 100times as fast as modern software, for one thing. And more debugged too.

wayneftw 7y ago

What Mac-only apps that you use do you consider high quality? I’m asking because outside of some big ones that I don’t use, like Final Cut Pro or Pro Tools - most of the Mac apps I’ve found are very low on features or “options” (flexibility). They all seem to try and follow Apple’s model of only serving the happy path and completely ignoring anyone who needs more than that - e.g. power users. Even normal users get annoyed by this tendency, like recently when Apple removed the “mark all as read” option from Mail in iOS.

bocklund 7y ago
Here are some that I would say cater to power users and are flexible and high quality * OmniFocus and anything from Omni Group * Alfred * Keyboard Maestro * Drafts * iStat Menus * Soulver * BBEdit * Hazel * Marked * MindNode and tons more that I have not personally used or found useful.
- hoistbypetard 7y ago
  It's probably also worth noting that BBEdit has been around since the early 1990s and has weathered several transitions.
Smaug123 7y ago
Scrivener used to be Mac-only, until demand was such that they made a Windows version. It's the Mac app for novel-writers.
- fitzroy 7y ago
  I've bought Scrivener twice now and have never actually used it — but it's so beautifully made. I just want it to still be here when I finally get around to it.
p0nce 7y ago
* Screenflow
reaperducer 7y ago