Stop ignoring platforms, embrace all users.

One of my worst pet peeves is with the differences between software on different platforms, and how you’re supposed to be the one dealing with it instead of the developer. With software taking a shift from the desktop to the web, this is changing, but not at a pace that we can feel comfortable with.

Get the facts: Windows is the most used platform, but it sure as hell isn’t the best. (Regular) people just don’t know better. OSX is more powerful and Linux is more versatile. Microsoft is coming to a point where all it does is go with the flow, taking features from one or the other competing operating systems and glueing them on. Now I’m not saying they don’t have innovative stuff, but it sure as hell isn’t on the desktop operating system department.

So assuming that, here are some examples that tick me off:

• Skype: Why is Skype so different across platforms? Where’s the functionality that the windows version provides? Why does the thing crash *all the time*? We sure as hell don’t need all the bloat that’s present on the windows version, but a few things are really important.
• Windows Messenger: Why is the mac lagging behind 2 whole version numbers, with all the functionality issues that represents? Now I know we’re talking about a product for a competing platform but since there’s an effort to develop a powerful Office suite, there should be the same effort to build a powerful messaging product. And where the hell is linux support?
• Macromedia Flash: Up until now, even if Macromedia loves the Apple platform, their products on the operating system have been sub-par against their Windows counterparts. This is a shame, considering most of the creative masses are on Macs, anyway. Why is flash constantly making my cpu feel like an oven? This will probably change with the new Studio 8 but from what I’ve seen, not as much as it should. And, again, where the hell *is* linux?
• Hey google? Now one might assume an open and creative company like Google would be into satisfying everybody, but this isn’t the case. Where’s the promised google earth for macs? Where’s the video player for other platforms? Where is google talk? And, this is getting annoying, where the hell is linux?

This is not a plee. This is not a wakeup-call for corporations. This is the realization of a fact: it just isn’t global yet. While platforms besides Microsoft’s Windows get sub-par (or no) respect and attention from some of the most important projects and companies out there, it will never be global. Why I’m even writing this, I have no idea. But I still wonder how some people can ask me “why I love opensource so much”.