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Ask HN: Anyone making a living off of desktop applications?

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Re: Ask HN: Anyone making a living off of desktop applications?

#21

Post by gcatalfamo »

AshleysBrain wrote: post #17
GnarfGnarf wrote: post #13

Yes, I am thriving with a niche C++/Win32 graphics app. Web apps are a long way from having the responsiveness and control of a desktop app. Do you really think users will be doing Photoshop and AutoCAD in a browser? No matter if you have a fibre op connection, the lag is always there. Recently the main player in this domain moved to Web apps. There was an overwhelming protest from its customers, who insisted they pr…

> Web apps are a long way from having the responsiveness and control of a desktop app. I don't think this is the case. Facebook never needed desktop apps, did they? The web worked great for them.

I don't think you can compare the way you use Facebook with the way you would use AutoCAD or Photoshop...

Re: Ask HN: Anyone making a living off of desktop applications?

#22

Post by suhastech »

I've been developing Horcrux Email Backup[1] over the years. The application had to be desktop by the nature of it. I'm not a living out of it but it is a very good side income. Given the fact that I live in a third world country helps too.

[1] http://thehorcrux.com/

Re: Ask HN: Anyone making a living off of desktop applications?

#23

Post by DizzyDoo »

I'm making video games for PC, Mac and Linux (like this one - http://store.steampowered.com/app/386900), it's a very traditional release cycle, I work on a project for x months, and then I release it, moving onto the next game after a few weeks of post-launch support. PC games are generally seen as more valuable than mobile games, so I don't need to sell a terribly large volume in order for me, a single developer, to make a living.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone making a living off of desktop applications?

#25

Post by ownedthx »

DizzyDoo wrote: post #23

I'm making video games for PC, Mac and Linux (like this one - http://store.steampowered.com/app/386900 ), it's a very traditional release cycle, I work on a project for x months, and then I release it, moving onto the next game after a few weeks of post-launch support. PC games are generally seen as more valuable than mobile games, so I don't need to sell a terribly large volume in order for me, a single developer, t…

Mind sharing your stack?

Re: Ask HN: Anyone making a living off of desktop applications?

#26

Post by fekberg »

AshleysBrain wrote: post #17
GnarfGnarf wrote: post #13

Yes, I am thriving with a niche C++/Win32 graphics app. Web apps are a long way from having the responsiveness and control of a desktop app. Do you really think users will be doing Photoshop and AutoCAD in a browser? No matter if you have a fibre op connection, the lag is always there. Recently the main player in this domain moved to Web apps. There was an overwhelming protest from its customers, who insisted they pr…

> Web apps are a long way from having the responsiveness and control of a desktop app. I don't think this is the case. Facebook never needed desktop apps, did they? The web worked great for them.

Depends on the audience and the application. As Photoshop and AutoCad are both mentioned, I think that's the benchmark and not something like Facebook that wouldn't benefit as much from running as a desktop client.

On a side-note, didn't Facebook just release a new UWP app and didn't they regret going the HTML5 route to start with (not focusing on native apps)?

Re: Ask HN: Anyone making a living off of desktop applications?

#27

Post by kraftman »

GnarfGnarf wrote: post #13

Yes, I am thriving with a niche C++/Win32 graphics app. Web apps are a long way from having the responsiveness and control of a desktop app. Do you really think users will be doing Photoshop and AutoCAD in a browser? No matter if you have a fibre op connection, the lag is always there. Recently the main player in this domain moved to Web apps. There was an overwhelming protest from its customers, who insisted they pr…

You don't need a fibre connection to run JS client side...

Re: Ask HN: Anyone making a living off of desktop applications?

#28

Post by AshleysBrain »

gcatalfamo wrote: post #21
AshleysBrain wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Web apps are a long way from having the responsiveness and control of a desktop app. I don't think this is the case. Facebook never needed desktop apps, did they? The web worked great for them.

I don't think you can compare the way you use Facebook with the way you would use AutoCAD or Photoshop...

Maybe not for those cases, but a lot of apps aren't as demanding as those. So I don't think you can say in general that the web can't compete with desktop apps, maybe only just for specialist cases. The web is good enough that it didn't stop Facebook becoming a billion-dollar company. Mobile is a different matter, but think on desktop how many services are fine to work web only on desktop with no desktop app (especially if they have a mobile app).

Re: Ask HN: Anyone making a living off of desktop applications?

#29

Post by AshleysBrain »

fekberg wrote: post #26
AshleysBrain wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Web apps are a long way from having the responsiveness and control of a desktop app. I don't think this is the case. Facebook never needed desktop apps, did they? The web worked great for them.

Depends on the audience and the application. As Photoshop and AutoCad are both mentioned, I think that's the benchmark and not something like Facebook that wouldn't benefit as much from running as a desktop client. On a side-note, didn't Facebook just release a new UWP app and didn't they regret going the HTML5 route to start with (not focusing on native apps)?

They were fine for years without any kind of desktop app, and the HTML5 backtracking was just for mobile. I don't think they ever said they regretted being web-only on desktop from the start. In fact I think it is even a big reason for their success - would Facebook have taken off if it had an installer?

Re: Ask HN: Anyone making a living off of desktop applications?

#30

Post by DizzyDoo »

ownedthx wrote: post #25
DizzyDoo wrote: post #23

I'm making video games for PC, Mac and Linux (like this one - http://store.steampowered.com/app/386900 ), it's a very traditional release cycle, I work on a project for x months, and then I release it, moving onto the next game after a few weeks of post-launch support. PC games are generally seen as more valuable than mobile games, so I don't need to sell a terribly large volume in order for me, a single developer, t…

Mind sharing your stack?

Not at all. Unity is the engine I use, these engines are immensely valuable to developers like me, I can't invest years into building my own stable core right now, and although it has its rough edges and problems, it suits my projects very well. Builds to all sorts of targets, too. For my latest project I'm using the FMOD middleware for positional 3D audio. On the graphical asset side of things, I paint everything in Photoshop, and animate it in the amazing animation software Spine (which has an open source Unity runtime).
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