#Tool vs. #service: the data processed by a tool can never be "locked away". It must be accessible with simple file formats, standard db queries or REST APIs or other ways to combine multiple tools.
#UX
#Tool vs. #service: It's not only about how often you use something. Youtube is obviously a service. Both for the consumer and the producer, despite them using it maybe every day.
I might use perfmon only once a year for debugging, but a dev machine without it is incomplete.
#UX
Some ideas for web variant:
- Name it "to go"
- Different colors and branding
- Exclude features that you use in complex drawings or after using the software often, e.g. library, color scheme
- big button "install draw.io on your computer"
only desktop version is the real thing
I'm thinking how one could make a gradual transition from an online to a desktop tool.
Technically that can be just a #PWA. Edge and Chrome provide that out-of-the-box. That's not the point.
But which features should be "online" and which in the desktop version?
A good example for a web app that also feels like a #tool is draw.io.
It's great piece of software, I like using it and the devs did many things right. But still it feels a little "cheaper" as it should.
Personally I'm a little less attached to it, compared to other tools I used in the past.
#UX
Does anyone remember #PortableApps? Almost literally a swiss army knife, when you plugged in THAT USB stick.
For good reason it's a thing of a past. But could you think of a better metaphor for a #toolbox that you bring to the scene?
#UX
A well-made desktop application feels like a #tool in your toolbelt. A well-made online web app feels like a professional #service.
Both ways can be good. It's not about the technology, but what you want to achieve with your application.
What I wrote about software installers was the obvious. But I thought about web apps as some kind of silver bullet for some time. They are not.
Software installers are actually pretty useful for
#UX. Maybe even a marketing tool.
They require at least a tiny bit of commitment, they can act as good packaging and introduce your software.