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Monodraw

(monodraw.helftone.com)
603 points mafro | 3 comments | 27 Aug 25 10:54 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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milen ◴[27 Aug 25 11:19 UTC] No.45038082[source]▶
Developer of the app here, happy to answer any questions.
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SirFatty ◴[27 Aug 25 11:33 UTC] No.45038213[source]▶
Windows version in the future?
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milen ◴[27 Aug 25 11:37 UTC] No.45038249[source]▶
There are no current plans but never say never (the app is 100% AppKit, so porting means a full rewrite).

I wish I had the time to port it to all three desktop OSes.

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SirFatty ◴[27 Aug 25 12:36 UTC] No.45038804[source]▶
ok.. web app? (not a programmer, so no idea if a web app is any different from a development standpoint)
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milen ◴[27 Aug 25 15:19 UTC] No.45040911[source]▶
Targeting Windows/Linux/web still means I cannot re-use the sources. But targeting web might be faster in terms of development time, although I don't have deep expertise on non-Apple platforms, so I cannot say for sure.
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criddell ◴[27 Aug 25 15:59 UTC] No.45041440[source]▶
Targeting the web will remove your giant advantage: native UI.
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1. thimabi ◴[27 Aug 25 19:11 UTC] No.45043753[source]▶
Agreed, but between having a web version and having the app stay exclusive to MacOS, I’d prefer the former.
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2. criddell ◴[27 Aug 25 20:26 UTC] No.45044739[source]▶
Why? There are already all kinds of web sites that do this kind of thing. Monodraw's unique selling point is that it's a native Mac app that takes advantage of the Mac UI and it's done well so the UX is top notch.

If you don't care about making the best possible app that you can, go ahead and do it in the browser. You will get something that's probably good enough and runs everywhere. But it's going to use more battery, more memory, and more bandwidth and not feel like a Mac app. Plus (IMHO) it's less fun to develop for the browser.

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3. thimabi ◴[28 Aug 25 12:34 UTC] No.45051388[source]▶
I believe the attention to detail that sets Monodraw apart can be transposed to the web as well — albeit diverging from MacOS conventions.

It’s possible to make great web apps, it just takes the kind of care and dedication that @milen has already proven to have. If the web interface lowers the barriers to developing a cross-platform version of Monodraw, then I think it would be silly not to consider investing in it.