[piano]

The thing about Electron - and the thing that Electron fanboys either don't realize or don't care - is that with Electron, the company/vendor wins at the expense of users, who have to put up with their "application". No one really likes Elecrton apart from the vendor/developer and the most fanatic fanboys. Everyone else at best doesn't mind Electron.

If an Electron "application" is decent, people typically like the features or the online service to which it's tied but its Electron base is something that people more or less tolerate, depending on the degree it irks them. It's just a huge tradeoff, that's all. It reminds me of some Java or Python desktop applications, it's a similar kind of tradeoff.

Hopefully it'll pass just like the previous fads.

[godot]

The other bonus of Electron (from a user perspective) is it lets companies release software for Linux too. For maybe the first time in history, Linux now gets a release for all these major mainstream services/companies -- I can now have VSCode, Slack, etc. on Linux and they work well. I've been on Windows and Mac for years and in recent years using Linux finally feels modern and viable. I'm not sure if VSCode/Slack would even create a Linux client if Electron wasn't available.

Disclaimer: Not an Electron fanboy, I don't even develop Electron apps. I do enjoy using a Linux dev laptop, however, and am not a hardcore vim/emacs guy.

[sinni800]

Yeah, typically users are mildly annoyed by electron applications because they either don't fit into the basic style of the OS or suck away RAM. They stay because of the service, something that is provided (the walled garden usually)

Which is why electron is so popular. I'm sure the whole "it's way easier to whip something together that kinda works" is correct in the short term. You whip something up and rely mostly on the hype and viral marketing to drive your app.

[tokyodude]

Yep, no one likes Spotify. No one likes Slack. People are just putting up with them. Except not really, a few loud mouths complain, most users are totally happy.

[piano]

I never said people didn't like Spotify or Slack. In fact, I said the exact opposite. Please read the comment properly and try to understand, don't just skim checking for "the right" opinion.