People are reading into moving to native apps for each OS for an email app as a move away from Rails or that Rails is dead. The hot-take headline could be "Web applications are dead!" Rails, Django, Laravel, HTMLX, every one of them is in the same spot Rails is in.

We as an industry have been abusing HTTP and HTML for 2+ decades now by building web apps that were traditionally installed client/server applications or standalone client applications. There was a time in the industry that managing all the OS versions, patches, etc. was extremely labor intensive, hence the move to the web. If the cost of building native apps is near zero, in comparison to before AI, then how many web applications are better suited to client/server apps?

Take everyone's favorite app (sarcasm) - ticket tracking for IT or software work. Back in the day (late 90's) this was an installed app, the UI was extremely responsive and restrictive. People building native apps in Visual Basic didn't have to deal with HTML, CSS, and all the trade-offs of a markup language for an application, they had modules/components they could build for UIs. There wasn't weird DOM hierarchies, a data transform to text, send it over HTTP with auth, protect the web server that is open to anyone on the planet to hack, transform from text to data types, save to a database. The native app had a database driver in it or nearby and you did SQL from the app to your database server.

We can containerize application runtimes now. Look at what 37signals did with ONCE as an example, yes they are Rails apps but they could be anything that reduces IT install time compared to the '90s.

My takeaway from that keynote (watched the whole thing) is we need to re-think everything in software: process, tech stacks, architecture, etc. as the industry moves forward. AI has advanced a lot in what it can do in the last 10 months, it might plateau at some point and become another usable tool, but what it opens up is the ability to do things differently because the cost of creating (and throwing away crap output and re-creating) is very cheap.

The web as an application delivery model is very complicated compared to building small native apps. If your average Joe or Jane is going to be creating apps, I would think the thing to reach for is not web.

IMO, something like Basecamp would not be any better as a 'native' app. (probably worse as web tech makes the 'polish' more accessible.)

Not to mention, those VB client/server apps were not as popular with users as HN likes to reminisce. And modern IT departments have often completely banished that stuff.

Well naturally, Basecamp is collaboration software that class of apps probably belongs on the web.

There are probably others that don't need HTML user interfaces. I wasn't suggesting to use VB but there has to be modern UI native/client app frameworks or libraries. The problem IT departments had (speaking from personal experience) was the variation of client machines, DLL "hell" (shared library version conflicts) and patching. If the app is delivered and run as a container on the client's machine, a lot of those issues go away.

Yeah, good point about local containers being the future. And maybe the local LLM just auto fixes your COM registry or whatever.

Just remember the classic fails such as Java, Flash, Silverlight, etc. Web always had the better UI for 95% of usecases, and it gets better by the year. And I expect our machine overlords will continue that.

We're going to have a bunch of hardly used libraries/frameworks that might converge on a single one. Similar to the surge in JS frameworks/libraries from a few years back and where we are now.

Is squeezing a lot more performance beneficial to a business? or is it a small amount of VPS cost per month difference?

It helps to be clear, at least with yourself, about if you're doing something because you can/want to or if there are actual business reasons.

Do you automatically dismiss everything someone says based on their opinions on other topics not relevant to their main job? Is everything always absolutes?

DHH or anyone else spouting opinions on social media is hardly qualified to be setting policies for countries. Social media is also hardly the place to have any sort of debate on those topics.

Aha, the common HN tactic of expanding someone’s argument until it appears ridiculous and then attacking that. But I will bite.

It tends to only be when someone is egregiously wrong or (as in the case IMO) acting in deliberate bad faith on a topic of massive public concern, like this. Because these people are a waste of psychological resources.

I totally write off proselytising antivaxxers who I think should have reason to know better, I tend to write off climate change deniers who should know better, and yes, I tend to write off educated people who mislead with statistics to create intellectual cover for xenophobic, bigoted thugs and their antisocial campaigns.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a good one. Other people who get written off tend to have a nasty streak on a topic of some divisiveness. For example I am not religious but not anti-religious; I am anti being deliberately or loudly cruel, posturing or nasty about it either way. People who are like that can be like that, but they will not get to tell me about their professional interests as if their awful behaviour is just a quirk.

YMMV, but I am now middle aged and I don’t have the time for this anymore. Freedom of speech isn’t without consequences for loss of respect. If you think my position awful or lily-livered you are fully within your rights to let it colour your judgement of my opinions on technology.

So what would you pick for producing an MVP web app fast that you also want to run in production, maintain, patch and scale that has a solid eco-system of pre-built libraries you can just plug in to solve problems?

I have an ipad and it came with Garage Band to create music. I toyed around with that a little. I think thats like with AI - people will play around with it, figure some things out but do they have the interest and time to take on all the work involved with something like a restaurant management app? I certainly am not interested enough to become a music producer, nor do I have enough taste to know if something is good. There's an entire process to getting music produced that I'm ignorant of. People can generate toy apps or websites with AI all they want ... back in the dot com days people could create HTML sites from MS Word (it was disgusting output). They have no interest in maintaining, patching, troubleshooting, and scaling any of these toy apps. Sure they could get AI to do that too - can they check that AI is doing it correctly? what about when it fails?

I think the thing that humans are going to find is AI has no taste. Its the statistical median/average of solutions. AI slop is going to become prevalent and people are probably not going to like it after the hype fades. Part of the human experience is connecting with other humans, even if its following a band, or artist, etc. Things created by AI don't have that human experience element.

This is kinda the reason why the Meta stock might be pumping and Muse might leap ahead other AI solutions as far as market share goes. Quoted from Prof G Markets podcast: "meta has been molesting your privacy for 10 years".

It stands to reason their daily active users just don't care, they are already sharing so much on Meta's platforms it won't matter to them.

You used the plural "passwords", what makes you think there are multiple?

The people I have in mind sometimes get confused with basic iPhone functionality like Maps and CarPlay. I would think 1password is the solution but honestly a physical notebook is probably more their speed.

> Initial allocations will open within the near-term future. For the founding investors (as we call the first clients), we also offer a portfolio review to align your portfolio with your long-term goals, a direct line to founders, and other things.

My first, probably cynical, thought was isn't this how Bernie Madoff started with his ponzi scheme?

Are you a registered broker/trader?

We only offer SMAs, separately managed account, and only get a limited power of attorney to trade on your account. That means we can't withdraw any money, ever, and the account stays in your name.

So that's not possibel :)

We operate from Germany and everything must follow regulations and be compliant.

As you might have guessed from the sentence you quoted, we aren't managing client capital just yet. So it's not set in stone yet how we'll do it with the license. Our preferred path right now is with a partner we're in talks with which supplies the license (you can imagine it like a liability umbrella, Haftungsdach in German) and a respected German brokerage. Since it's not yet a done deal, I don't want to give more info. However, it's very important to me (Vinzenz Richard Ulrich) and will always be the case at autotradelab that we follow regulations and are compliant.

I've actually been considering talking with people (eg on forums) about the topic "asset managers suck" and finding out people's gripes. Since you brought up Bernie Madoff, do you have thoughts on that topic? We could chat on eg LinkedIn or email.

My view is if you joined two boards together: congrats, you're now a woodworker!

Gating things by the level or complexity of what is accomplished isn't super helpful. I saw a lot of that with things like people that wrote HTML weren't "real coders".

Glassblowing and watch making require specialized equipment I suppose so if you can get your hands on the gear and try it out, I feel like you can call yourself that. Maybe throw a "hobbyist" tag on it if you feel inclined.

I like this mindset and I’m going to steal this quote. Everyone is figuring things on their own skill journey with their hobbies and careers. Wherever you are, you can learn more and help people to come with you.

In a recent project the countertop contractor digitally measured the walls, even ones that look square weren't, not a 90 degree corner to be found! You should build cabinets as squared boxes and level them when installing. The trim work that surrounds it will hide gaps, etc.

Generally if there is space because of odd angled walls there really isn't any advantage to trying to use it. You're talking square inches of drawer/cabinet space, it really doesn't matter as far as usable space is concerned. Its a huge hassle to try and build cabinets that are not square - things like how do you screw/nail parts and not have the screw/nail blow out a finished side? It can be done, but should it?