4 ms·

If apps get removed from the store as a consequence, that's going to be many more users left behind. It's been mentioned time and time again, but it's worth me

If apps get removed from the store as a consequence, that's going to be many more users left behind. It's been mentioned time and time again, but it's worth mentioning again — Windows maintaining backwards compatibility is what maintained its hegemony, as compared to it, Linux and macOS look like hobby projects. For the young as well, because games still run on it, without worrying that Apple will invalidate their library due to not being in the mood to maintain 32-bits APIs.

rini17 2y ago
Because MS sells to business. They never hesitated to break compatibility to developers and non-commercial users if it won't affect business.
theshrike79 2y ago
The US Navy was paying $9M to keep Windows XP updated and patched just for them.[0] I bet if you pay Apple similar amounts of money per year, they'll keep specific APIs available just for you. And it's not like updating the app to a new iOS version is a massive undertaking, in most cases it's just a matter of opening the project in XCode, adjusting the OS version, compiling and publishing it again. [0] https://money.cnn.com/2015/06/26/technology/microsoft-windows-xp-navy-contract/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2015/06/26/technology/microsoft-window...
- bad_user 2y ago
  I can't speak about iOS, but when I open Steam on macOS, I see more than 2/3 of my library unavailable since macOS Catalina, which entirely ruined macOS for gaming for me. Clearly, updating those wasn't so simple. And also, it's unreasonable to expect all software projects to need updates, forever. My hammer doesn't need updates.
  - theshrike79 2y ago
    IIRC this was a switch from 64/32 bit to only 64 bit executable support. Something that just has to be done, and not doing it has a clear cost.
    - majewsky 2y ago
      If it "has to be done", then why have Windows and Linux etc. not done it?
      - theshrike79 2y ago
        Microsoft gets paid to support old versions. Linux has dedicated people working for free to support the weirdest hardware and software

rini17 2y ago

Because MS sells to business. They never hesitated to break compatibility to developers and non-commercial users if it won't affect business.

theshrike79 2y ago

The US Navy was paying $9M to keep Windows XP updated and patched just for them.[0] I bet if you pay Apple similar amounts of money per year, they'll keep specific APIs available just for you. And it's not like updating the app to a new iOS version is a massive undertaking, in most cases it's just a matter of opening the project in XCode, adjusting the OS version, compiling and publishing it again. [0] https://money.cnn.com/2015/06/26/technology/microsoft-windows-xp-navy-contract/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2015/06/26/technology/microsoft-window...

bad_user 2y ago
I can't speak about iOS, but when I open Steam on macOS, I see more than 2/3 of my library unavailable since macOS Catalina, which entirely ruined macOS for gaming for me. Clearly, updating those wasn't so simple. And also, it's unreasonable to expect all software projects to need updates, forever. My hammer doesn't need updates.
- theshrike79 2y ago
  IIRC this was a switch from 64/32 bit to only 64 bit executable support. Something that just has to be done, and not doing it has a clear cost.
  - majewsky 2y ago
    If it "has to be done", then why have Windows and Linux etc. not done it?
    - theshrike79 2y ago
      Microsoft gets paid to support old versions. Linux has dedicated people working for free to support the weirdest hardware and software