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                                                             on Gopher (inofficial)
 (HTM) Visit Hacker News on the Web
       
       
       COMMENT PAGE FOR:
 (HTM)   Craft software that makes people feel something
       
       
        swader999 wrote 17 min ago:
        I think with tools like Claude code you can more easily tackle niche
        areas that would benefit from custom crafted features and then using
        the app would feel like it was purpose built for the specific task at
        hand. Sure the code might not look hand crafted, but if it works and
        solves problems in the world...
       
        Xenoamorphous wrote 36 min ago:
        Kinda tangential but in the advent of AI I feel like there won’t be a
        niche for “handcrafted software”.
        
        When quartz watches came up the makers of mechanical watches struggled.
        Quartz watches are cheaper, more accurate in many cases and servicing
        is usually restricted to replacing a battery. However some people
        appreciate a good mechanical watch (and the status symbol aspect of
        course) and nowadays the mechanical watch market is flourishing.
        Something similar happened with artificial fabrics (polyester, acrylic)
        and cheap made clothes, there’s a market for handmade clothes that
        use natural fabrics.
        
        Nobody (well, barring a few HN readers) will ever care if the software
        was written by people or a bot, as long as it works.
       
          tuveson wrote 7 min ago:
          Or maybe it's like someone saying homecooked meals and professional
          chefs are outdated because McDonalds exists. Homecooked meals are
          cheaper and healthier, and professional chefs still make better food.
          I don't think McDonalds is about to disappear, but I'm pretty sure
          those other categories aren't about to become obsolete any time soon.
       
          davidivadavid wrote 13 min ago:
          So the proof for your claim is two counterexamples?
       
        pedrozieg wrote 43 min ago:
        There’s something refreshing about explicitly saying “this editor
        exists to delight me, and that’s enough”. The default script now is
        that every side project should either be open-sourced or turned into a
        SaaS, even if that pressure is exactly what kills the weirdness that
        made it interesting in the first place.
        
        Some of the best tools I’ve used felt like they started as
        someone’s private playground that only later got hardened into
        “serious” software. Letting yourself park Boo, go build a language,
        and come back when it’s fun again is probably how we get more
        Rio/Boo-style experiments instead of yet another VS Code skin with a
        growth deck attached.
       
        crumpled wrote 1 hour 4 min ago:
        Looks like they disabled the mouse effect thing everyone is talking
        about, for the articles. So if you want to see it, go to the homepage
        of the site.
       
        Minor49er wrote 1 hour 8 min ago:
        > When programming becomes repetitive, the odds of you creating
        something that makes people go “wow” are reduced quite a bit.
        
        Unless you're working on something with a lot of breadth, of course. A
        great example is yt-dlp which works on a huge number of sites. The
        wow-factor is high because it feels like it just works everywhere.
        That's only possible through a huge number of data parsers, many of
        which are not terribly different from one another
       
        ghjv wrote 1 hour 23 min ago:
        habitually move my cursor while reading things... so Feels Bad for sure
       
        amelius wrote 1 hour 23 min ago:
        I don't know what the article was about because I got distracted, but
        the mouse animation looks great!
       
        torginus wrote 1 hour 30 min ago:
        The title sounds like the Chinese curse of software development.
        
        Fun tidbit: Just to make sure I got it right, I quickly googled the
        phrase. Gemini's elaboration on the topic truly made me feel something.
        Gemini's answer:
        
        A "Chinese curse" often refers to the phrase "May you live in
        interesting times," though it's not actually Chinese but a
        misinterpreted English saying, while actual Chinese curses involve
        direct insults like "Cào nǐ mā" (Fuck your mother(sic!))
       
        PTOB wrote 1 hour 43 min ago:
        In so far as it makes me feel the relief, awe, and pleasure of picking
        up a good tool, then by all means.
        
        The mouse trail made me feel something else.
       
        deadbabe wrote 1 hour 44 min ago:
        Dread is a feeling.
       
          T_Potato wrote 2 min ago:
          Yes, that's a good one! Many skilled programmers working in
          corporations like to go for this one.
       
        beanjuiceII wrote 2 hours 45 min ago:
        rage after moving my mouse on that site...great work !
       
        PaulHoule wrote 2 hours 57 min ago:
        Love how the mouse trail effect is using O(1) memory no matter how fast
        you move the mouse so it won't blow up your browser.
       
       
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