5 ms·

Rewriting software to start fresh always SOUNDS like a great plan, especially to engineers, but this usually ends up bad for the end user and takes 5 times as l

by ry0ohki 15y ago

Rewriting software to start fresh always SOUNDS like a great plan, especially to engineers, but this usually ends up bad for the end user and takes 5 times as long as planned (Netscape anyone?). Basecamp could definitely use a refresh, but as a daily user I do worry something will be lost if it's completely redone.

jasonfried 15y ago
1. Rewrites are a bad idea if you're rewriting what already exists today. We're writing something new. It's not a rewrite of today's Basecamp. 2. Nothing changes with the Basecamp you already know and love. The new Basecamp is an entirely different product. You can use whichever you prefer, no one is being forced to change or switch.
- dnissley 15y ago
  > The new Basecamp is an entirely different product. Good on you. This is how it should be done.
- ry0ohki 15y ago
  Thanks for the reply Jason, a new and interesting twist from 37signals as usual :). This seems awkward from a branding point of view, like new users can sign up for Basecamp or New Basecamp? Or old users can use old Basecamp but new users can't signup, or it really is completely different and maybe I'll be using old Basecamp and new Basecamp?
- zavulon 15y ago
  So is your new product going to do the same thing as old Basecamp? Are you targeting the same audience? Don't you think that's cannibalizing your own user base and helping your competitors? Unless you're building the whole new product that serves a different purpose, and is only influenced by Basecamp - in that case, it makes sense.
  - armandososa 15y ago
    This is very Apple. If somebody is going to cannibalize our market anyway, we prefer to do it ourselves.
  - aculver 15y ago
    If they've identified a new approach to project collaboration that is superior to their existing product, it makes sense to develop it. If they don't, someone else will, and their prize will be a portion of 37signal's market share. Basecamp has been awesome for a wide range of users, but we're seeing other folks taking a stab at this space (e.g. https://trello.com/ https://trello.com/) and eventually someone is going to come up with something that is all around better for the average user. Why wait for the inevitable?
  - jasonfried 15y ago
    It does some of the things the existing Basecamp does. It doesn't do some of the things the existing Basecamp does. It does new things the existing Basecamp doesn't do. It's a new product with new ideas about what's important in a product like Basecamp. It's not the same as today's Basecamp, but it's still familiar to the millions who've used Basecamp.
rhizome 15y ago
Are you kidding? They're going to get years of posts and articles about how they dealt with "Second System Effect." This rewrite will be a boon to their business side, even if people are complaining on the utility side. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-system_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-system_effect

by ry0ohki 15y ago

jasonfried 15y ago

1. Rewrites are a bad idea if you're rewriting what already exists today. We're writing something new. It's not a rewrite of today's Basecamp. 2. Nothing changes with the Basecamp you already know and love. The new Basecamp is an entirely different product. You can use whichever you prefer, no one is being forced to change or switch.

dnissley 15y ago
> The new Basecamp is an entirely different product. Good on you. This is how it should be done.
ry0ohki 15y ago
Thanks for the reply Jason, a new and interesting twist from 37signals as usual :). This seems awkward from a branding point of view, like new users can sign up for Basecamp or New Basecamp? Or old users can use old Basecamp but new users can't signup, or it really is completely different and maybe I'll be using old Basecamp and new Basecamp?
zavulon 15y ago
So is your new product going to do the same thing as old Basecamp? Are you targeting the same audience? Don't you think that's cannibalizing your own user base and helping your competitors? Unless you're building the whole new product that serves a different purpose, and is only influenced by Basecamp - in that case, it makes sense.
- armandososa 15y ago
  This is very Apple. If somebody is going to cannibalize our market anyway, we prefer to do it ourselves.
- aculver 15y ago
  If they've identified a new approach to project collaboration that is superior to their existing product, it makes sense to develop it. If they don't, someone else will, and their prize will be a portion of 37signal's market share. Basecamp has been awesome for a wide range of users, but we're seeing other folks taking a stab at this space (e.g. https://trello.com/ https://trello.com/) and eventually someone is going to come up with something that is all around better for the average user. Why wait for the inevitable?
- jasonfried 15y ago
  It does some of the things the existing Basecamp does. It doesn't do some of the things the existing Basecamp does. It does new things the existing Basecamp doesn't do. It's a new product with new ideas about what's important in a product like Basecamp. It's not the same as today's Basecamp, but it's still familiar to the millions who've used Basecamp.

rhizome 15y ago

Are you kidding? They're going to get years of posts and articles about how they dealt with "Second System Effect." This rewrite will be a boon to their business side, even if people are complaining on the utility side. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-system_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-system_effect