There is nothing more annoying than finding that perfect application on my phone that I can’t use on my computer the same way. I would trade MS Outlook in a second if I could get Nine (or any number of ActiveSync clients) to work on my PC without jumping through a ton of technical hoops – hell, even Thunderbird is better but you can’t reliably connect to an Exchange Server.
Now it’s websites – new articles advertising their app where you can get articles from your favorite writers sent to you automatically. Why isn’t that an option in a Chrome tab so that I don’t have to search and click through on the site itself? Yes, I know it is possible but it isn’t easy or automatic. It’s almost as if the Windows ecosystem (once the easiest to build programs in) is an ancient rust bucket of unusability. Everyone wants me to use my phone for everything.
I live on my computer because I can’t work as easily from a tablet or phone yet. Maybe that day is coming and it is around the corner. But the reality is that Google and Apple are running circles around Microsoft when it comes to making easy to interact with environments. This is my biggest fear of getting a Surface or something similar – I’m still locked into Windows and their anti-developer tendencies.
One day someone will develop an OS that can support desktop features and app features at the same time. My money is still on Chrome/Android but the race is far from over.