Ask HN: Does the World need more software?

A different angle: I think a lot of software is not accessible due to friction points and interfaces. Non-compatible interfaces, and simply being proprietary for business/incentive reasons.

So, you might ask "Why are you building X when Y exists". The answer is usually something to the effect of "I can't interface with Y". Programming languages themselves are one of these obstacle. So is linking to system libraries. (e.g. many C and C++ code bases) C-FFI sometimes makes this easier though.

I value low-friction interfaces in software, and I think this is usually not done well.

Another example: I think this is why I dislike Async rust so much. It places a barrier within the language.

Some concrete anecdotes from the past few days: Why am I writing SPME algorithms, asking an LLM to implement a linear constraint solver, etc? Those and many more algorithms that have existed and been heavily used for decades? No/shitty rust libs, and the C/C++ libs have no good way I can interface with, aren't documented well, license concerns etc. I.e., I could try to re-use, but instead re-write because it's, surprisingly, the lower-friction option.

People lament re-inventing wheels, but often miss that the off-the-shelf wheels each have their own bolt patterns, brake interfaces, and dimensions. And sometimes they look solid, but have subtle defects.

No, at the end of the day most of the problem I run into are not software problems. “More software” will not fix this. Trying to encode these problems in a way that Software can represent will not fix this. It will just cause more issues.

Demand and need are two different things.

Does the world need more software? No, not really.

Does the world want (and demand) more software? Absolutely, all the time.

There is no such thing as "enough" software—not if you believe that every individual is unique. The reason most software looks and feels the same today is simply because the cost of development is too high. To achieve economies of scale, we’ve been forced into "one-size-fits-all" solutions.

It’s just like industrial manufacturing: we buy standard-sized clothes and shoes not because they fit perfectly, but because custom tailoring is too expensive. But with AI and Agents, we are finally entering the era of "bespoke software." Why can't my UI layout adapt to my personal habits? Why can't my icons change color every day based on my mood? We are moving from mass production to individual creation. It’s an incredible time to be alive—we finally have the tools to build software that actually fits the human, rather than forcing the human to fit the software.

Name three software that are great for selling event tickets.

There are thousands of ticketed events taking place right now, maybe even millions.