[implicit]

If you are going to expect me to run your software in an always-on manner, I would greatly appreciate a native application.

I frequently do light computing on a Surface Go. It's a delightful little device and I love it, but it is not powerful enough that I can leave gmail, Slack, and Discord open all the time.

I don't have enough RAM to run another web application but I could very easily afford a native app or two.

[znpy]

I have an old ThinkPad X200s that I turn on from time to time. I keep a fedora installed and updated just in case, and since I'm there, i also sync my nextcloud stuff.

E-mails using claws-mail are not a problem. It generally runs fast enough until I open firefox and web stuff in general.

[squarefoot]

Claws Mail on an old Atom is a lot faster than webmail on pretty much anything else. This probably illustrates best the difference between the two approaches.

[pmlnr]

I remember times when webmail basically meant squirrel mail. It was fast over an 56k modem, but desktop was always better.

http://www.squirrelmail.org/

[analog31]

Indeed, I asked on another HN thread, why do you developers need so much RAM, and I got lots of good answers. But it occurs to me that a few lightweight, quick-starting apps will help me stave off the day when I have to get a new PC because my old one ran out of juice.

I'm not sure that's enough of a reason to develop a commercial app, because tightwads like me also like our stuff to be free.

[pmlnr]

There's a pidgin plugin for discord. While pidgin is dated and has issues, the existence of it shows that even modern chat systems could be made fast.

https://github.com/EionRobb/purple-discord