alt Hacker NewsMacOS has the drawback today any software compiled more than x years no longer works.
That is an unforgivable sin in my eyes.
Replies
raw_anon_1111 • today at 12:00 AM
Yes Apple should have kept supporting 68K software and have emulators for 68K, PPC and 32 bit x86.
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IMHO - disagree but it depends on point of view so this is not ”you are wrong” but ”in my view it’s not like that”.
I think it’s the role of the software vendor to offer a package for a modern platform.
Not the role of OS vendor to support infinite legacy tail.
I don’t personally ever need generational program binary compatibility. What I generally want is data compatibility.
I don’t want to operate on my data with decades old packages.
My point of view is either you innovate or offer backward compatibility. I much prefer forward thinking innovation with clear data migration path rather than having binary compatibility.
If I want 100% reproducible computing I think viable options are open source or super stable vendors - and in the latter case one can license the latest build. Or using Windows which mostly _does_ support backward binaries and I agree it is not a useless feature.