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A comment on Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps?.

Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by roel_v on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:02AM (#23212049)
Lots of software would be better (from the user's POV) as a desktop app. However as a developer and as a software business owner/investor, it's (much) better to write web apps. So it depends on what you're asking here. Should you invest in desktop dev skills to further your career? No. Should you write your software idea as a desktop app if you want to make a business of it? Not if you can avoid it. If you're asking something else, well I guess the answer is 'maybe'.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by cpach on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:14AM (#23212141)
OTOH, creating desktop apps is a skill in itself that one might want to master. At least in the Mac ecosystem this is a regarded skill and amongst the users there is a willingness to pay for apps. SaaS might still be more lucrative though.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by chadcmulligan on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:17AM (#23212165)
> However as a developer and as a software business owner/investor, it's (much) better to write web apps.

Why do you say that?

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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by amelius on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:23AM (#23212201)
Because of the main advantages of SaaS: recurring payments and data lock-in.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by tonyedgecombe on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:25AM (#23212218)
Adobe achieves that with desktop apps, if you can call it an achievement.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by WilliamEdward on Sunday May 17, 2020 @02:00PM (#23213793)
Achievement is a big word here. They had to shove it down people's throats with a bloated, buggy, and expensive app suite.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by tonyedgecombe on Sunday May 17, 2020 @06:42PM (#23216199)
Yes although people still put their hand in their pocket every month so they must be getting some value from it.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by TomMarius on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:27AM (#23212235)
Sadly I am not Adobe
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by dtly on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:22AM (#23212192)
Scaling out cross-platform, lower cost of investment to support multiple OS/Devices.

User does not need to worry about dependencies and libraries - they just need to make sure they're running a somewhat up-to-date version of a modern browser.

Users are not tied to a single device either.

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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by Dotnaught on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:23AM (#23212197)
As a business, it's not to your advantage to have to ask permission from app store owners. The web does not require permission from a third-party that may decide to compete with you.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by benibela on Sunday May 17, 2020 @06:50PM (#23216255)
But with the app stores you get more users

I basically had no users for one of my desktop apps for seven years, till I ported it to mobile and put it in the normal app store

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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by tfehring on Sunday May 17, 2020 @05:24PM (#23215614)
Here's PG's response from 2001: http://www.paulgraham.com/road.html
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by rohan1024 on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:31AM (#23212272)
I think he is saying that because with webapps you have

- control over your software and updates

- no one can pirate your software/service

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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by ken on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:48AM (#23212380)
How do you have more "control over your software" with a web app? With a native app, I can do virtually anything. With a web app, I can really only do what (Google ∩ Apple ∩ Microsoft)'s web browser teams decided to prioritize, and allow, and optimize.

As for 'pirating', is that a serious concern these days? I've only ever heard about it being an issue at big companies selling software to other big companies, where it's solved with "license servers".

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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by hellisothers on Sunday May 17, 2020 @12:17PM (#23212943)
I think they mean rapid, continuous deployment. If it’s a web app you can push out changes every day to near universal adoption. With a native app you have to cajole users to update
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by ken on Sunday May 17, 2020 @06:12PM (#23215969)
There are auto-updaters for desktop software, too.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by alexgmcm on Sunday May 17, 2020 @02:02PM (#23213810)
Also on mobile you are constrained by the app store requirements as well.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by rohan1024 on Sunday May 17, 2020 @06:48PM (#23216239)
This is exactly what I meant.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by ZoomZoomZoom on Sunday May 17, 2020 @04:01PM (#23214891)
>> How do you have more "control over your software" with a web app?

It means they can break a program I'm using at any moment they wish, even after I paid for it.

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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by kandeel4411 on Sunday May 17, 2020 @07:09PM (#23216389)
I think pirating is a serious issue in other countries (i.e mine), I practically never saw anyone actually pay for any office suite, adobe software and some offline games. All of them get pirated and very quickly too.
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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by Memosyne on Sunday May 17, 2020 @10:58AM (#23212446)
> no one can pirate your software/service

Huh? Given how most web applications these days are using client-side rendering there's nothing stopping someone from just downloading all of the frontend assets. You can also connect to a server from your desktop application so I don't understand how desktop makes it easier to pirate anything.

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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by ssimono on Sunday May 17, 2020 @03:52PM (#23214810)
Web applications have lots of essential parts on the server-side even if they do client-side rendering. And each paying user is logged in when using it, so the company can accept/deny requests depending on the user.

Proprietary desktop applications are usually downloaded after a payment, and then the full software is available locally. By hacking the security parts of it one can then have a totally free version and distribute it. That's why it is easier to pirate.

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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by Memosyne on Sunday May 17, 2020 @09:04PM (#23217103)
How does this address my point about being able to connect to a server from your desktop application? Just because historically companies have not deployed their product in such a fashion doesn't mean it isn't technically possible. How do you think social mobile applications work? Have you ever worked on an application that wasn't running in a browser?

> That's why it is easier to pirate.

There are no technical reasons why a desktop application is inherently easier to pirate. Only implementation details.

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Re:Ask HN: Is there still a place for native desktop apps? by jfkebwjsbx on Sunday May 17, 2020 @05:08PM (#23215506)
Not anymore!

Games and even productivity apps are known to be moving small pieces to their servers so that you cannot run the entire application on your own...

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