…I am nostalgic for the days when software was released when it was ready. I like to imagine that if stores like CompUSA still existed, Ghostty 1.0 would be boxed, shrink-wrapped, and on the shelf ready for purchase (but also free and open-source).
It’s a delicate balance. I could actually summon a hundred anecdotes on the subject: “ship early and often,” the whole build-in-public movement, the concept of an MVP, etc.
All of this is well and good, but it has taken some of the magic out of release day. Shipping before we’re done means that we don’t have a moment to point to where everything changed. No more “iPod, phone, internet communicator.”