Every so often for the past several years I'll go evaluate options for cross-platform desktop app development and I always come back with an enormous handful of options and all of which fall short on some measure.
I would really think that this "problem" would have a great solution by now. But I think most of the developer attention is on web for obvious reasons (more ease, more conducive to mistakes/novices/etc).
However I think there should be way more desktop apps. I hate using services and having my data all on some remote service w/ little options for privacy and safety/backup, etc. I also like the general speed of desktop apps (though I know the web is trying to pull on more desktop/os resources) and I like the way desktop apps can interact with the host OS (creative windowing/sidebar/docking/etc and utilization of system tray/menu bar/etc.)
I would much rather see my needs addressed by suites of standalone/private desktop apps than by a bunch of URLs and Saas's.
Interestingly, the HN zeitgeist seems to recently be turning its awares back to this topic (it seesm to me from recent HN threads). Is it? And if so, I wonder why? What's in the air now?
I would really think that this "problem" would have a great solution by now. But I think most of the developer attention is on web for obvious reasons (more ease, more conducive to mistakes/novices/etc).
However I think there should be way more desktop apps. I hate using services and having my data all on some remote service w/ little options for privacy and safety/backup, etc. I also like the general speed of desktop apps (though I know the web is trying to pull on more desktop/os resources) and I like the way desktop apps can interact with the host OS (creative windowing/sidebar/docking/etc and utilization of system tray/menu bar/etc.)
I would much rather see my needs addressed by suites of standalone/private desktop apps than by a bunch of URLs and Saas's.
Interestingly, the HN zeitgeist seems to recently be turning its awares back to this topic (it seesm to me from recent HN threads). Is it? And if so, I wonder why? What's in the air now?