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Comment by Maarten88 | Hacker News Reader

> That would be Windows, and it's already here, and already viable.

If you mean the Windows Desktop platform then I don't agree. That platform is simply not viable any more. A normal user can't do basic stuff like download a free game and play it like on iOS or Android. Installing anything (even from reputable sites) will infest a Windows PC with viruses and spyware.

Windows Store Apps don't have this problem, but the Windows Store has very few quality apps and is lacking in many areas. That must change for Windows to survive.

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Interesting ah..perspective.

To me, and to most builders, Windows desktops, and OS X / Linux desktops, are far more viable than iOS or Android; not less. Even John Gruber admits that the iOS app store is rotting.

https://daringfireball.net/linked/2015/12/01/sketch-leaves-m...

Desktop machines may not be sexy -- unless you happen to like games, your example of choice -- but they're reliable, users understand them, they exist in huge numbers, and they're never going away, because humans will always like large, high-resolution displays, and whatever computing device provides that will be "the desktop" going forward.

The comment about "infesting Windows PC with viruses and software" is also inaccurate, and has been since about 2008 or so.

That article's about the Mac app store, a very different thing to the iOS app store. I don't think Gruber would agree the iOS app store's rotting.

> Windows desktops, and OS X / Linux desktops, are far more viable than iOS or Android

You mean capable, not viable. I use a big desktop too and prefer that for serious work, but I am not a mainstream user. I know how to secure my PC: I install Visual Studio, Node, Office, Java, Android SDK some utilities and not much else. Ok: I'll also install Minecraft and Steam for my kids. They also prefer the PC over the iPad for serious gaming.

But even installing java on a PC is not consumer-safe. I read an article where someone tried installing the top-10 most popular free apps from download.com accepting all defaults: after just 3 the PC was completely hosed. Therefore I advise most normal people to just use an iPad for consumer things.

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