The fact that you are even asking this makes me feel so old :-)
Anyway, you'd be surprised. Once you venture outside the HN echo chamber there are large numbers of people who really prefer that their data stay on their own PC. Also, many are concerned about the same problem that this topic is about: having interfaces change without warning is a huge problem for most people.
Convincing them is largely about providing an upgrade path if they need it and not having forced upgrades.
No, I think parent is right. One gets the impression that HN only meets two kinds of computer user: their parents who just use a web browser[0] and tech company or large enterprise employees. There are a lot of people out there relying on highly specialized VB 6 applications to run their business or engage with their entirely-too-serious hobbies.
[0] anyone who just uses a web browser arguably doesn't even count as a 'desktop computer user'.
You're right. I really didn't say that well. What I was trying to get at is that there's a preference for webapps vs. PC apps on HN. Which is strangely at odds with the privacy obsession you find here.
Not sure why you got the impression that I haven't used software in the 2000s.
My understanding right now is that if you have a software that people need to install and your competitors have an in browser offering, your customers overwhelmingly choose the in browser offering.
This has been my experience even though I hate the subscription model as much as everybody else in this thread
Anyway, you'd be surprised. Once you venture outside the HN echo chamber there are large numbers of people who really prefer that their data stay on their own PC. Also, many are concerned about the same problem that this topic is about: having interfaces change without warning is a huge problem for most people.
Convincing them is largely about providing an upgrade path if they need it and not having forced upgrades.