Will monodevelop case impact to attracting new user?

[Troodon]

but one thing it does do is scream, "it's not the desktop anymore". It confirms what I've thought for a while, that desktop software development is on the verge of irrelevancy.

But all these mobile yet less powerful devices (when compared to notebooks, desktops, and servers) will run applications that need to "talk" to a server that is controlled by a service provider, just like traditional phones, mobile or landlines, rely on a telephony service provider. That is why softwares for mobile will probably soon become a commodity, not to mention that they will be subject to the vagaries of platform owners.

[marcov]

Is that even true? How could we test that assertion? Well, what about this:

2001: Windows 92% of desktop market, Mac 4%, Linux 1%
2009: Windows 91%

So? This was wrt openness for development tools, and this very forum has a win32/64/ce development tool.

The only thing you can blame MS for on the desktop is the licensing shenigans wrt  the Ribbon widget, and maybe now Windows Phone

That's why the new markets that Apple has created with the iOS devices is interesting. Suddenly the mix is not static (ie, stagnant) as it has been for the last decade on the desktop. Historically very few people have had any direct experience with OS X or Linux. Now suddenly a great many people appear to be enthusiastically embracing a non-Windows OS on a computer. It's not a phone, it's a tiny computer connected to a tiny touchscreen and to a mobile phone radio modem.

We've all heard it before. We have all seen hypes. We'll see how it fares in the long run.

Another measure of sorts:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/freelancercom-announces-the-fastest-growing-online-jobs-for-q2-with-the-release-of-the-freelancer-fast-50-97839529.html

This is a pretty oddball list. I'm not sure where this stuff comes from or how the categories are determined, but one thing it does do is scream, "it's not the desktop anymore".

Fast growth in employment != dominant form of development. That said, mobile development is here to stay, but it could be that we are currently in a frenzied high where everybody wants to get on the bandwagon due to highhanded "visionary" statements like you are making above.

The web has said to kill desktops at least 5 times, and desktops are still here, and other every PC.

It confirms what I've thought for a while, that desktop software development is on the verge of irrelevancy. Well, let me restate that: Desktop development, even new projects,will continue; most desktop software development will continue to target Windows; much of it will continue to be Windows-only. However, Web development and mobile development has sucked most of the oxygen out of the desktop air.

I think one can't make such farreaching conclusions by comparing an estabilished market with one that is undergoing a boom. You can read anything you want in such figures.

[felipemdc]

This is a pretty oddball list. I'm not sure where this stuff comes from or how the categories are determined, but one thing it does do is scream, "it's not the desktop anymore". It confirms what I've thought for a while, that desktop software development is on the verge of irrelevancy. Well, let me restate that: Desktop development, even new projects,will continue; most desktop software development will continue to target Windows; much of it will continue to be Windows-only. However, Web development and mobile development has sucked most of the oxygen out of the desktop air.

I don't think this matters at all. In my experience mobile development is extremely similar to desktop development.

The important point for me is having the possibility to keep developing the way I most enjoy. That is: With FPC and/or Lazarus, regardless of the target platform, which might be:

* Desktop platforms: We already have Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac OS X
* Mobile platforms: We have Windows Mobile, although we will probably loose it depending on Microsoft, we were starting on iPhone, but now it is problematic. Android is *very* promissing, and despite being focused on Java, they don't put arbitrary limits on which programing environment you can use, you can also run native applications and if you manage to bind them to the Java API you are ready to go. I am working with Android in my new work and it's an excelent platform.
* Web-programming: We already have fpWeb and it could be integrated into Lazarus like IntraWeb with some effort. I vaguely remember that there are some steps towards something like this already done.

So I don't think that the kind of platform matters much, as long we can keep programming like we enjoy and the only impossible obstacle to overcome here is the unethical behavior of some venders. All the technical obstacles are 100% solvable with the appropriate development of FPC / Lazarus.

[Tony Stone]

I don't think this matters at all. In my experience mobile development is extremely similar to desktop development.

The important point for me is having the possibility to keep developing the way I most enjoy. That is: With FPC and/or Lazarus, regardless of the target platform, which might be:

* Desktop platforms: We already have Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac OS X
* Mobile platforms: We have Windows Mobile, although we will probably loose it depending on Microsoft, we were starting on iPhone, but now it is problematic. Android is *very* promissing, and despite being focused on Java, they don't put arbitrary limits on which programing environment you can use, you can also run native applications and if you manage to bind them to the Java API you are ready to go. I am working with Android in my new work and it's an excelent platform.
* Web-programming: We already have fpWeb and it could be integrated into Lazarus like IntraWeb with some effort. I vaguely remember that there are some steps towards something like this already done.

So I don't think that the kind of platform matters much, as long we can keep programming like we enjoy and the only impossible obstacle to overcome here is the unethical behavior of some venders. All the technical obstacles are 100% solvable with the appropriate development of FPC / Lazarus.

I would love to see some way of devloping for webOS with Lazarus.  I think if this was a new priority we could have one of the best tools for what I beleive is soon to be a top competitor in the mobile OS market.  It is steadily growing.  webOS is just totaly awesome.  A version of QT has been ported to it some how.  I don't know the details but since webOS is based on linux and also open source i don't see why it would be that hard to build some sort of an app that will allow lazarus apps to run within it.  Maybe that is not the right path but in my head this is how i think it should work.

Someone that is smart build a standard webOS app that runs linux binaries in its card.  Heck someone already had OpenOffice running on a Palm Pre!  I think that making this the ultimate development platform for webos would give the over all lazarus project a good swift kick in the ass and draw a lot of attention and maybe even more people to develop and improve lazarus.

[debtrecoverysolicitors]

All good useful information!