I decided to drop Windows support for #NoorNote/#NoorSigner after all. I know I bragged about making it work, but I've got technical, economic, and moral reasons for it.
1. Technical friction: For communication between NoorSigner and NoorNote, Windows needs separate code paths for IPC (named pipes versus Unix sockets), file system handling, and media uploads (WebView2 CORS restrictions). Every platform difference brings in potential bugs that are tough to reproduce and debug.
2. Code signing costs: Without a paid certificate (around 300 to 400 bucks a year per app), Windows users get "Unknown Publisher" warnings that scare them off from installing. That expense just isn't worth it for an open source niche app.
3. Target audience: Nostr draws in tech savvy early adopters who are mostly on macOS and Linux. The average Windows user who wants a one click install is probably going to find the setup (key management, Zap/Lightning wallet etc.) way too complicated anyway. And NoorNote has (and will have, insh'Allah) A LOT OF features normies are unfamiliar with.
4. Maintenance burden: Every Windows specific bug takes 3 to 4 times longer to fix because of VM testing and long feedback loops between builds.
The moral reasons are: It spies on its users like crazy. I mean, screenshots of your whole desktop every few seconds and telemetry you can't even turn off? That's way over the line. That's actually unacceptable. It's totally incompatible with NoorNote's privacy promise. With NoorNote, I don't store any data on my side, I don't even run it on a server so I'm not even subject to Europe's GDPR, I'm don't even ship it with a relay (I leave that to other, way more intelligent folks) and I secure everything as best I can... only to ship it for Windows? That would be a joke, that'd be a huge contradiction. That just doesn't work, I can't do that.
MacOS is still kinda shaky on the edge. It has some crappy defaults, but you can turn off all the integrated AI and cloud stuff pretty easily. Not as bad and controlling as Windows. If that changes for the worse down the line, then no more MacOS support either. Simple as that.
The IT and Internet landscape is shifting hard right now. Its users are at a crossroads. Either the cyberpunk path (Bitcoin payments, Linux, GrapheneOS, open source, and Nostr) or the old fiat path (Instagram/YouTube, AI slop, fiat payments, Android and iOS, KYC, and proprietary systems like Windows). The middle ground is disappearing more and more.
MacOS (the desktop OS) survives technically thanks to its FreeBSD base, even if it's not 100% GNU/Linux. But it at least allows GNU tools. Even if the business side seems different, they leave a door open at least. We'll see how long Apple can keep up this balancing act.
1. Technical friction: For communication between NoorSigner and NoorNote, Windows needs separate code paths for IPC (named pipes versus Unix sockets), file system handling, and media uploads (WebView2 CORS restrictions). Every platform difference brings in potential bugs that are tough to reproduce and debug.
2. Code signing costs: Without a paid certificate (around 300 to 400 bucks a year per app), Windows users get "Unknown Publisher" warnings that scare them off from installing. That expense just isn't worth it for an open source niche app.
3. Target audience: Nostr draws in tech savvy early adopters who are mostly on macOS and Linux. The average Windows user who wants a one click install is probably going to find the setup (key management, Zap/Lightning wallet etc.) way too complicated anyway. And NoorNote has (and will have, insh'Allah) A LOT OF features normies are unfamiliar with.
4. Maintenance burden: Every Windows specific bug takes 3 to 4 times longer to fix because of VM testing and long feedback loops between builds.
The moral reasons are: It spies on its users like crazy. I mean, screenshots of your whole desktop every few seconds and telemetry you can't even turn off? That's way over the line. That's actually unacceptable. It's totally incompatible with NoorNote's privacy promise. With NoorNote, I don't store any data on my side, I don't even run it on a server so I'm not even subject to Europe's GDPR, I'm don't even ship it with a relay (I leave that to other, way more intelligent folks) and I secure everything as best I can... only to ship it for Windows? That would be a joke, that'd be a huge contradiction. That just doesn't work, I can't do that.
MacOS is still kinda shaky on the edge. It has some crappy defaults, but you can turn off all the integrated AI and cloud stuff pretty easily. Not as bad and controlling as Windows. If that changes for the worse down the line, then no more MacOS support either. Simple as that.
The IT and Internet landscape is shifting hard right now. Its users are at a crossroads. Either the cyberpunk path (Bitcoin payments, Linux, GrapheneOS, open source, and Nostr) or the old fiat path (Instagram/YouTube, AI slop, fiat payments, Android and iOS, KYC, and proprietary systems like Windows). The middle ground is disappearing more and more.
MacOS (the desktop OS) survives technically thanks to its FreeBSD base, even if it's not 100% GNU/Linux. But it at least allows GNU tools. Even if the business side seems different, they leave a door open at least. We'll see how long Apple can keep up this balancing act.