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Re:Writing an app is like coding for LaserDisc by danjoredd on Monday September 05, 2022 @10:36AM (#32724768)
I discovered this unfortunate reality recently myself. In 2012 I was gifted by my parents a first gen Kindle Fire. I got a lot of free apps back then because Amazon had a "free game of the week" deal going on where a lot of normally paid apps would be temporarily free.

Out of nostalgia I downloaded the Amazon App Store to my phone last month and found that not only were most of my favorite apps not in my library anymore, but that the few left over were built for a version of Android so old that it is no longer compatible with my phone. It was a very sad moment for me, as I had a lot of fun with those games

Re:Writing an app is like coding for LaserDisc by mysterydip on Monday September 05, 2022 @11:41AM (#32725564)
As a hobbyist game developer with several games of my own no longer available due to the marching on of OS versions, I sympathize. There just isn't enough time or incentive for me to keep old codebases current with arbitrary API changes.
Re:Writing an app is like coding for LaserDisc by danjoredd on Monday September 05, 2022 @12:13PM (#32725957)
I wish Android had a compatibility layer, along with some sandboxing measures to keep security threats from being too serious. That way old programs can still stick around, and leave more time for devs to focus on new programs instead of maintaining old ones.
Re:Writing an app is like coding for LaserDisc by cxr on Monday September 05, 2022 @04:37PM (#32729142)
This is why it's important to oppose the ambitions of people who pose the threat of making their way into influential positions at browser makers and arguing that it's okay to throw the whole thing out the window and start treating browser-based app development like any other platform. There is no other platform like the Web.

Previously:

<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28056416>

<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27368152>