The more I look at “modern” web sites and apps, the more I think that there should be a way to force software providers to offer discounts if their products are, essentially, bloated. (Prior to getting the software, you cannot tell how it is going to be implemented.)
There is a measurable cost to me for using these “lazy” apps:
- time and data plan spent downloading and updating these monsters
- my disk space (yes, my previous laptop ran out of space, which is hard to accept when you see “simple” apps using hundreds of megabytes)
- my battery life and utility bill (it is easy to measure the absurd CPU use of some of these things)
I am literally subsidizing your development with my own resources, because you couldn’t be bothered to create something that is at least moderately optimized for users.
In practice you are getting a "discount", because there was a time when most apps were paid for, while all the electron apps I use at least are free -- so there isn't anything to discount.
I hadn't thought of many of these things, thanks for raising them. The flip side of not using Electron.js and going for native development (which would help solve these points) would mean I never would have shipped Loaf. That's the issue I was facing.
Due to money (development costs) and ongoing support (being able to improve and maintain the UI with CSS) I had to find a tool that would work for me.
Maybe one day with enough time and money, I'll be able to develop some beautiful native desktop apps for macOS and Windows. That would be nice :)
There is a measurable cost to me for using these “lazy” apps:
- time and data plan spent downloading and updating these monsters
- my disk space (yes, my previous laptop ran out of space, which is hard to accept when you see “simple” apps using hundreds of megabytes)
- my battery life and utility bill (it is easy to measure the absurd CPU use of some of these things)
I am literally subsidizing your development with my own resources, because you couldn’t be bothered to create something that is at least moderately optimized for users.