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Local-first software (2019)

(www.inkandswitch.com)
863 points gasull | 1 comments | 05 Jul 25 14:45 UTC | HN request time: 0.205s | source
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kristianc ◴[05 Jul 25 20:02 UTC] No.44475130[source]▶
The old model—a one-time purchase, local install, full user control—worked because devs could sell boxed software at scale. Now, that model collapses unless someone’s willing to either Undervalue their own labour, or treat the software like a public good, absorbing the long tail of maintenance with no recurring income.

The article posits it as though subscription software is something which has been sneaked in on us. But users today expect things like instant updates, sync across devices, collaboration, and constant bug fixes and patches - none of which come easily if you're only willing to pay for the system once.

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OjotCewIo ◴[05 Jul 25 20:19 UTC] No.44475238[source]▶
> as though subscription software is something which has been sneaked in on us

Oh but it has (IMO).

> users today expect things like instant updates [...] constant bug fixes and patches

Nah, this is in reverse. With boxed software, the developer had to deliver an essentially bug-free product. Now, with easy updates technically possible, the developers have gone complacent, and deliver shit. That is why users expect bugfixes instantly. (And any enlightened user abhors unrequested features, as there are no features without regressions, and who wants regressions in any serious application?) The only tolerable online updates are security fixes.

> sync across devices, collaboration

This is a valid expectation, but its execution has been a train-wreck. Research, design and implementation should start with end-to-end encryption; the network architecture should be peer-to-peer (mesh, not centralized). What do we get instead? More centralization of control than ever, and less privacy and ownership than ever.

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1. kristianc ◴[05 Jul 25 20:25 UTC] No.44475278[source]▶
Generally that's not how I remember it - third party software on the Mac at least got some kind of a beach-head because Windows software was full of bugs, crashes, corrupted files, drivers that never worked, and patch CDs mailed to enterprise customers like they were firmware apologies. Own your own software, taken to its logical endpoint, was a shareware nightmare.