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I suppose like it or not, this is the real answer to the question. I do wonder why companies continue to write new software for the Windows platform. I guess m

I suppose like it or not, this is the real answer to the question. I do wonder why companies continue to write new software for the Windows platform. I guess more and more is moving to the web, but it seems like I still see relatively new programs that are Windows-only.

jasode 6y ago
>, but it seems like I still see relatively new programs that are Windows-only. Yes if we think of well-known software like Photoshop (Windows or Mac) and MS Excel/Word (Windows or Mac), etc. ... or cross-platform apps (Slack,Skype,Discord) using Electron ... then it seems like avoiding Windows is possible. However, a lot of the "invisible" or "dark matter" of the software universe is LOB (Line Of Business) apps and they are overwhelmingly written for Windows instead of macOS/Linux. As random trivia, I also noticed that the newest high-end oscilloscopes from Keysight have embedded Windows 10 instead of Linux as the underlying os.[1] I'm not sure what the technical reason was for building the scope's ui on Windows because their older scopes already used Linux. Maybe it was better graphics SDK with DirectX or some other Window's dependency. [1] https://www.keysight.com/en/pcx-2935671/infiniium-uxr-series-real-time-oscilloscopes?nid=-31885.0&cc=US&lc=eng https://www.keysight.com/en/pcx-2935671/infiniium-uxr-series...
- charlesdaniels 6y ago
  Can confirm that Tektronix is using Windows also, though I think they had been for quite some time. Seems like a really odd design decision for an appliance. I would probably tend towards like FreeRTOS (or at least some variation of an RTOS). On the other hand the EEs I’ve worked with also use their scopes as workstations with external monitors and everything, so maybe that’s part of it.
skykooler 6y ago
Companies write Windows programs because that's the platform most people have. Most people have that platform because it's what people are writing software for. It's a vicious cycle.
kube-system 6y ago
Momentum. A software company's target market dictates their target platforms, and companies buy equipment that best meets their business needs. A typical company can only afford to change a small part of their IT landscape at a time, so IT management must be careful to never break their web of dependencies.

jasode 6y ago

>, but it seems like I still see relatively new programs that are Windows-only. Yes if we think of well-known software like Photoshop (Windows or Mac) and MS Excel/Word (Windows or Mac), etc. ... or cross-platform apps (Slack,Skype,Discord) using Electron ... then it seems like avoiding Windows is possible. However, a lot of the "invisible" or "dark matter" of the software universe is LOB (Line Of Business) apps and they are overwhelmingly written for Windows instead of macOS/Linux. As random trivia, I also noticed that the newest high-end oscilloscopes from Keysight have embedded Windows 10 instead of Linux as the underlying os.[1] I'm not sure what the technical reason was for building the scope's ui on Windows because their older scopes already used Linux. Maybe it was better graphics SDK with DirectX or some other Window's dependency. [1] https://www.keysight.com/en/pcx-2935671/infiniium-uxr-series-real-time-oscilloscopes?nid=-31885.0&cc=US&lc=eng https://www.keysight.com/en/pcx-2935671/infiniium-uxr-series...

charlesdaniels 6y ago
Can confirm that Tektronix is using Windows also, though I think they had been for quite some time. Seems like a really odd design decision for an appliance. I would probably tend towards like FreeRTOS (or at least some variation of an RTOS). On the other hand the EEs I’ve worked with also use their scopes as workstations with external monitors and everything, so maybe that’s part of it.

skykooler 6y ago

Companies write Windows programs because that's the platform most people have. Most people have that platform because it's what people are writing software for. It's a vicious cycle.

kube-system 6y ago

Momentum. A software company's target market dictates their target platforms, and companies buy equipment that best meets their business needs. A typical company can only afford to change a small part of their IT landscape at a time, so IT management must be careful to never break their web of dependencies.