by David LeMieux
I hereby decree that software that has been written exclusively for a single operating system is ridiculous. Now, I am not a professional software developer (though I have played one on TV) but I think that it is irresponsible of developers to stick to one operating system. That goes for everyone. I include the humble one-man team writing utilities for his own Linux box all the way to companies like Adobe who refuse to offer versions of their software on anything other than Windows or OS X. Now, I realize that there is overhead in trying to make your software run equally on all operating systems and I do not discount the fact that some development environments are more friendly than others but let me tell you where I am coming from.
I am a web developer and therefor, due to the current state of the industry, I must make my projects work the same on many different "platforms" if you will. I have spent countless hours trying to get things to work equally across the many different browsers, operating systems, and system configurations that exist in the wild. Because this is my experience, I have come to appreciate a well designed site that functions the same wherever you are. More and more, it seems, I am confronted with "real" software that I want to use but can not because of the operating system I am using, and I use them all regularly. I have been on a Mac and desperately wished for my beloved Notepad++. I have been on a Windows machine and wished that Scrivener and Skitch were available. I have been on a Linux machine and though "if only I could open Photoshop right now."
I suppose I could get a Mac and then run some virtual machines but why should I be expected to take on that overhead myself?
To finish up this rant, what I find even more repulsive are things like Adobe CS3 that, once purchased for a particular operating system, can not be transfered to another no matter the circumstance. I have a laptop that fails more and more each day. I don't really have the money for a new computer but I am trying to save for an iMac. My only hesitation, though, it that once I get it - since I recently invested in the new Adobe software for Windows - that I will either have to run it in a virtual machine, or I will have to boot natively in to Windows, but why make me do that when I have a perfectly functioning Mac with OS X AND a valid software license? Because they aren't being cross OS compatible.
I am just bitter, that is all.