30 years of Fetch

Over the last two decades I used a lot of software. And I really mean "a lot". I have seen projects come and go - sometimes the market was not ready, sometimes the developer messed up, sometimes a new app simply was better at solving the same problem, sometimes free software just became, well, good enough. Considering how short lived software is makes the fact that Fetch is celebrating their 30th anniversary even more noteworthy.

I think Jim puts it very well -

Fetch’s longevity has been a continual surprise to me. Most application software has the life expectancy of a field mouse. Of the thousands of other Mac apps on the market on September 1, 1989 I can only think of four (Panorama, Word, Excel and Photoshop) that are still sold today. Fetch 1.0 was released into a world with leaded gasoline and a Berlin Wall; DVD players and Windows 95 were still in the future. The Fetch icon is a dog with a floppy disc in its mouth; at this point it might as well be a stone tablet.

Jim Matthews

I have seen software being celebrated as a big innovation that will revolutionise everything which did not even make the 30 day mark.

I hope one day I will also be able to look back over decades and see software I am or was working on grow, have an impact on peoples life, still be in good shape and have some users who cherish it. Kudos Jim and team!

>> posted on Sept. 5, 2019, midnight in news