No one is pointing out that software today is doing more. Did any apps in the old days run spellchequers constantly in every window? No. Did apps in the old days automatically gentle, genevieve, generate typeahead suggestions in nearly every window? No. Did apps in the old days check for new versions on startup and in the background? No. (well okay one or two of them did).
I'm a cranky EE with a background in routers and even I don't blame "teh web" for making apps clunky. It's just that we're doing more, more colors, more background stuff, more compositing, more buttons on GUIs, more simultaneous file formats - it used to be every program had approximately ONE file format it supported, maybe two. What about running with many different library stacks/APIs underneath? All that shit takes time and memory.
And we are in a transitional period. We're maximalists with respect to amount of features and compatibility we cram into every app (and platform), but maybe soon hopefully eventually evolution will cool a bit and things will start to run as tightly again as Deluxe Paint III on the Amiga 500.
They may be doing more, but they're not solving more problems or adding much more value or productivity.
Most new 'apps' just re-brand the wheel and make it more 'fashionable'.
I used to blame the web, but know the same 'push software out to make monies fast' mentality is even hitting desktop software which is far more bug-ridden.
Software engineering is largely dead. We're in a world of throwing apps at the wall to see what generates money as quick as possible and move on to the next thing.
The web (and mobile devices) will kill personal computing as it alllows corporations to take all of the control away. Sure, you can customise your UI, but it's already been dumbed down.
It's evolution I suppose. I don't have to like it.
I'm a cranky EE with a background in routers and even I don't blame "teh web" for making apps clunky. It's just that we're doing more, more colors, more background stuff, more compositing, more buttons on GUIs, more simultaneous file formats - it used to be every program had approximately ONE file format it supported, maybe two. What about running with many different library stacks/APIs underneath? All that shit takes time and memory.
And we are in a transitional period. We're maximalists with respect to amount of features and compatibility we cram into every app (and platform), but maybe soon hopefully eventually evolution will cool a bit and things will start to run as tightly again as Deluxe Paint III on the Amiga 500.