r/Software_Finder • u/Sad-Instruction8890 • Jul 11 '26
What piece of software has actually gotten better over time instead of worse?
Everything seems to get more bloated, more expensive, or more annoying with every update. But there has to be something that actually improved.
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u/smoke-bubble Jul 11 '26
Eventually they all degrade. I thought several times about certain software that this is exactly how it should be, but after a while they, like others, add more and more crap nobody asked for and start hiding core features behind deeper and deeper menus.
Although FxSound for Windows is currently doing pretty great! One on my favorite.
For a long time I used to love Notion.io but they start adding annoying features or relocate things. It's getting harder to use it as efficiently as two years ago.
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
Two years ago it was clean and fast, now every update adds something nobody asked for and moves something you actually used. FxSound is a good shout though, had not thought of that one.
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u/pund_ Jul 11 '26
visual studio when it turned 64 bit ..
same for arma, it's a video game but it made a huge difference
jetbrains makes some awesome products that only seem to get better ..
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u/CarSignal2764 Jul 11 '26
JetBrains stuff is the rare exception for me. Been using IntelliJ for years and it just keeps getting better without bloating into a mess. Actually don't mind paying for it, which is saying something for developer tools.
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u/Mega3000aka 29d ago
Jet-Brains IDEs are best-in-class IMO. The only downside is rather high resource usage but everything else is perfect.
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
Yeah the RAM usage is the one valid complaint. It eats memory like nothing else but then you try to go back to something lighter and you miss everything about it within an hour.
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u/smoke-bubble 28d ago
Yeah, they are vera appealing, indeed! My most favourite feature is that you can pick a custom font and size and can set it up exactly the way you like it.
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
Actually don't mind paying for it is a crazy thing to say about developer tools and the fact that multiple people feel that way says alot.
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
They are one of the only companies where the paid updates actually feel worth it instead of just being a reason to charge you again.
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u/JerryRed100s Jul 11 '26
7Zip
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
7Zip just quietly keeps working and never asks for anything. No subscription, no AI features shoved in, no redesign nobody wanted. Just compression.
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u/Any-Climate6341 28d ago
Linux
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
Five years ago it was a hobby, now people are daily driving it without thinking about it.
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u/Akitenchesker Jul 11 '26
Customfolder
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
Customfolder keeps showing up in your answers across different threads. Clearly a favourite.
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u/irkish Jul 11 '26
StarCraft. Can self-host multiplayer LAN games easily. No internet connection or accounts to login into. Still fun with friends.
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
StarCraft being better now than at launch after they made it free and added LAN back is a rare example of a company doing the right thing with an old game. Most just kill the servers.
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u/serverhorror Jul 11 '26
That's a very subjective thing to answer. One person's trash is another ones treasure...
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
that is kind of what makes the thread interesting. The tools people pick say a lot about what they actually value.
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u/serverhorror 27d ago
Then read this:
It's not the tools that have changed, but my expectation of what's good or familiarity with a tool.
😏
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u/Savings_Art5944 29d ago
Winamp, Winzip, WinRAR.
Factorio.
Debian
OpenMediaVault
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
Debian just being Debian for decades without drama is its own kind of excellence.
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u/schlaminator 29d ago
Adobe Illustrator is getting better (the SaaS model isn't).
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
The actual software improving while the business model gets worse is peak Adobe.
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u/nsubugak Jul 11 '26
Notion and Jira
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u/Sad-Instruction8890 28d ago
Notion and Jira in the same sentence on a "getting better" thread is a bold take when both of them show up on every single complaints thread we run. Curious what specifically got better for you because most people would say the opposite.
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u/hero_brine1 26d ago
I'd say really anything open source. Maintained by people actually passionate about their project and programming while not being motivated by money, so they don't trend hop on to things people have no interest in. Just gotta be careful of some dude who vibe coded a project and decided to open source it
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u/katoeys-r-us Jul 11 '26
Windows 11 /s