Author Topic: Windows 95 is now an app  (Read 5038 times)

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Offline james_s

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Re: Windows 95 is now an app
« Reply #25 on: August 25, 2018, 03:52:51 pm »
I loathe the term "app" for anything outside of a mobile device. To me an app is a chopped down minimal piece of software meant to run on a device of limited capability such as a phone or tablet. It makes me cringe the way Microsoft is calling all software "apps" now, it feels like that awkward old guy trying to fit in with a group of teenagers by (mis)using their slang.
 

Offline Mr. Scram

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Re: Windows 95 is now an app
« Reply #26 on: August 25, 2018, 04:07:57 pm »
I loathe the term "app" for anything outside of a mobile device. To me an app is a chopped down minimal piece of software meant to run on a device of limited capability such as a phone or tablet. It makes me cringe the way Microsoft is calling all software "apps" now, it feels like that awkward old guy trying to fit in with a group of teenagers by (mis)using their slang.
The current rise of fully featured webapps that are able to completely replace the desktop application blows that definition apart too.
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Windows 95 is now an app
« Reply #27 on: August 25, 2018, 06:26:03 pm »
I have yet to find a fully featured web app that can properly replace desktop software. I've been forced to use the web based MS Office for work and IMHO it's garbage compared to the older versions of Outlook. Web apps are constrained by the limitations of running in a browser. The web version of Outlook can't integrate into the operating system so it can't display the popup notification or show the new mail status icon in the system tray.

Other web apps I've used have issues with scrolling and zooming, and in some browsers clicking backspace will navigate back and clear forms (why some idiot ever thought it was a good idea to overload that button I'll never understand) and all manner of other problems.

Apps are limited and inferior to proper desktop software. They have their place, constrained environments can require constrained software, but if I have a proper PC I want proper fully featured software.
 

Offline bd139

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Re: Windows 95 is now an app
« Reply #28 on: August 25, 2018, 07:09:08 pm »
Backspace is gone on most browsers now.

Fastmail is a better web app than any desktop app I've ever used.
 

Offline tooki

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Re: Windows 95 is now an app
« Reply #29 on: August 25, 2018, 11:52:08 pm »
I loathe the term "app" for anything outside of a mobile device. To me an app is a chopped down minimal piece of software meant to run on a device of limited capability such as a phone or tablet. It makes me cringe the way Microsoft is calling all software "apps" now, it feels like that awkward old guy trying to fit in with a group of teenagers by (mis)using their slang.
As an old-school Mac user, I hate the connotation of the modern definition of "app". On the Mac, we always used the word "application" for an executable (with some minor exceptions, like desk accessories and control panels), and it was common for us to abbreviate "application" to "app". And that's where the iOS app store got its name, ultimately!

Unfortunately, the rest of the IT world hadn't really ever encountered the word "app" before and mistakenly understood it to mean a slimmed-down mobile app. But with the explosion of smartphones, well, we're stuck with that now.
 

Offline T3sl4co1l

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Re: Windows 95 is now an app
« Reply #30 on: August 26, 2018, 01:04:40 am »
Backspace is gone on most browsers now.

Fastmail is a better web app than any desktop app I've ever used.

There's Back to Backspace (for Chrome at least) if you miss it.

Tim
Seven Transistor Labs, LLC
Electronic design, from concept to prototype.
Bringing a project to life?  Send me a message!
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Windows 95 is now an app
« Reply #31 on: August 26, 2018, 03:58:02 am »
As an old-school Mac user, I hate the connotation of the modern definition of "app". On the Mac, we always used the word "application" for an executable (with some minor exceptions, like desk accessories and control panels), and it was common for us to abbreviate "application" to "app". And that's where the iOS app store got its name, ultimately!

Unfortunately, the rest of the IT world hadn't really ever encountered the word "app" before and mistakenly understood it to mean a slimmed-down mobile app. But with the explosion of smartphones, well, we're stuck with that now.

I've called software "applications" too, but "app" to me is an abbreviated application, which is exactly what the modern mobile "apps" are.
 

Offline tooki

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Re: Windows 95 is now an app
« Reply #32 on: August 26, 2018, 11:43:51 am »
I understand. I'm just saying that the Mac world, where the word "app" originated from (as best I can tell), the abbreviation has been in use since the 80s.
 


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