Disappointing to see all the snarky remarks here. Let me tell you, it's not easy to ignore the AI wave. The fear of being left behind is very, very real. AI-based tools are quadrupling their revenues in a matter of months, even on a very high base (Cursor famously going from $100M to $300M in 3 months). Reading "it's all over", "graphic design is dead" all over social media doesn't help either.
I am an author of a Desktop App [1] myself. More often than I like to admit, I find myself wondering how I can integrate AI, because that's all the rage these days and gets views, clicks, and potentially revenue.
Taking a firm stance like this and standing up for creativity is not an easy stance. Kudos to Procreate team for taking it!
If you were judging based on HN comments, you'd think that AI is failing miserably. In reality, people are using generative AI more and more - even if they do so silently or while criticizing it.
The jury is still out on AI-centric workflows, but AI augmented workflows are here and won't go anywhere irrespective of what the Internet mob says.
I wasn't expecting much, and I personally didn't get a lot from the article, but if I was in early 20s, I would've been hugely inspired. Jessica surely has a gift for clear and motivating writing.
It should a case study how every tech company eventually ruin the experience of their platforms, and how Apple never does. You can fault Apple for not innovating enough, but what they never do is 'shoving in the face', which is endemic to companies like Microsoft. I had to use Windows to test my app's Windows build [1], it's crazy how many random things are there, with no obvious way to remove them.
There's donkey right in the corner of the bottom search bar reminding me that today is "World Donkey Day". On the other corner is some random info clicking, which I get breaking news, weather, and stock-related info. I just begin using the system, when there's popup about co-pilot chat or something. Search is almost useless as it seems more interested in returning bing-related results vs what's actually on my computer.
Everything seems to be designed to maximize 'user engagement' of products that are hot right now, and what upper management seems to be interested in. The news is no surprise as it seems everyone in the company is rallying behind AI efforts without paying heed to user experience.
Maybe Apple hasn't shoved AI into all their applications yet, but that doesn't change the fact that 'Apple Intelligence' uses a very meaningful chunk of the non-upgradable storage on their current laptop + mobile OSes and cannot be uninstalled even if you disable every AI feature you're allowed to.
> Everything seems to be designed to maximize 'user engagement'
That's precisely what it is. Pointless middle managers will do anything to juice their engagement numbers and get that promotion. Microsoft as a whole considers customers a resource to be exploited. The subjective experience of users is not even a point of discussion because metrics "prove" that users love copilot popups every fifteen seconds.
This is a pretty bad take, imo and confuses cause and effect. Why does US press hype their startups? Because they do have track record of creating revolutionary companies, something that can be traced back to 70s (Atari, Apple, Microsoft).
It’s much easier for an established player to replicate the success elsewhere, despite of over-regulation. Just see how successful are US firms in India, but it will be mistake to not fault Indian bureaucracy and regulation for the lack of its own set of high-tech companies. So I would take Airbnb's success in EU with a grain of salt.
In US, you can start a LLC, get a bank account, a tax ID, all within a few days. The process is completely online. Taxes? A single form for the whole year when you’re starting out. Hiring and laying off employees is relatively easy. How many European countries can claim the same?
> In US, you can start a LLC, get a bank account, a tax ID, all within a few days. The process is completely online. Taxes? A single form for the whole year when you’re starting out. Hiring and laying off employees is relatively easy. How many European countries can claim the same?
In Poland, for example it's remarkably similar. I had an LLC, bank account and EU VAT ID without leaving my home.
Hiring gets a little bit more tricky because we like having accessible health care and don't like throwing people under the bus so you have a notice time of anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months depending how long that particular person has been your employee.
Taxes? You pay once/month but even then you most likely have an accountant handling that for you.
>In Poland, for example it's remarkably similar. I had an LLC, bank account and EU VAT ID without leaving my home.
That simplicity changes drastically once you're a newly arrived immigrant into an EU country, with some countries being much worse than others, see France for example.
To be fair, company formation difficulties vary country by country in the EU, which is part of the problem. Hence the Collison brothers calling for a EU level incorporation to smooth over this stuff (which would be great).
TextQuery actually uses DuckDB under the hood :) DuckDB is no doubt an excellent piece of software already. The differentiator is that GUI client is just a good lever to make many things easier.
In context of TextQuery: you can use tabs you can work on multiple queries. With Table editor you can edit multiple field values at once. During import, you can have better control over what the final table would look like (select/deselect columns, define data/time format etc.)
Again, it's a personal preference. Some people swear by psql, and some can't live without TablePlus/Postico.
IIRC, SQLlite requires you to define a schema first, which can be a bit tedious. DuckDB is actually a better tool for this in every regard, since it can parse CSV files quite well. The latest version includes support for XLSX as well.
My personal take is, yes, it's possible in multiple other ways, but I just like having a well-designed GUI app do it for me. Just how TablePlus does for Database Management.
> I just like having a well-designed GUI app do it for me.
MSSQL/SSMS supports this with some fancy techniques.
> This wizard was created to improve the current import experience leveraging an intelligent framework known as Program Synthesis using Examples (PROSE). For a user without specialized domain knowledge, importing data can often be a complex, error prone, and tedious task. This wizard streamlines the import process as simple as selecting an input file and unique table name, and the PROSE framework handles the rest.
> PROSE analyzes data patterns in your input file to infer column names, types, delimiters, and more. This framework learns the structure of the file and does all of the hard work so users don't have to.
Author here. It uses DuckDB under the hood, which is a fantastic piece of software.
Yes, even DuckDB has UI now, but I didn't find it to my taste. There's no table view, filters are a bit weird, and not exactly keyboard accessible. TextQuery also has Visualize feature to quickly create charts and tabs to run things in parallel. Again, it's personal preference, but there are advantages in being a desktop-first app.
> Zoho was in talks with the Department of Electronics & IT under India’s Semiconductor Mission, and reports reveal that they had set aside some $200 million for a pilot 28 nm wafer line in Tamil Nadu.
My guess is 28nm is already an aging node, and by the time any fab based on it becomes operational, the technology will be even more obsolete. It’s hard to predict what the market will look like then. You can't expect a private company to pour billions into a dicey market.
This is a case where free-market capitalism doesn’t work. You really want a government pitching tens of billions of dollars to get to the cutting edge fast, not expecting companies to foot the bill and just dangle a few incentives.
Frankly, for India, the entire semiconductor ambition feels like putting the cart before the horse. It won't create jobs, most value will be captured by fab owners. The smarter approach would be top-down: start with component assembly, then build up CNC machining, injection molding, and other foundational industries that can fill in the gap for components. Only after that should we talk about high-value semiconductor manufacturing.
India lacks even the most basic manufacturing. We import stuff like lighters, toys, and basic electronics. Why do we want to make the giant leap to semiconductors?
Unfortunately, Indian policymakers are more interested in optics than in long-term industrial planning.
The general public forgets that old nodes are the vast majority of what's made in fabs.
Cars, most appliances, military, etc all run on old nodes. They're not running cutting edge stuff. Desktop PCs and gaming stuff is nothing compared to the reliable bulk orders that last years for a car line or a line of washing machines.
india does not lacks it, its not price competitive as compared to china which has better supply chain and economy of scale.
India and other countries are not going in fab for jobs but for self-reliance.
Going for high-value semicon later is similar to the logic of removing poverty first before investing in space tech. It doesn't work that way.
India had sound policies it was quite ahead of time when it created SCL, check this video for more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isBYV6QWDIo
it does lacks execution though and had some bad luck.
India does have 130nm plants right now its obsolete node but works fine for low volume needs of its govt.
India has a significant industrial manufacturing sector, contributing heavily to its economy and global trade. Key areas of manufacturing include textiles, steel, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and electronics. The country has the world's second-largest steel production and is a major exporter of textiles and clothing. The "Make in India" initiative aims to boost manufacturing growth and create jobs.
Major Industries and Their Importance:
Iron and Steel:
India is the world's second-largest steel producer, with major players like SAIL and private companies like Jindal Stainless and JSW Steel.
Textiles:
India is a major exporter of textiles and clothing, with a strong domestic textile industry serving both local and global markets.
Automobiles:
Chennai, Pune, and the National Capital Region (NCR) are major hubs for automobile manufacturing.
Pharmaceuticals:
Hyderabad and Bangalore are key centers for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Electronics:
The electronics sector is experiencing growth, with government initiatives to promote domestic manufacturing.
Other Key Industries:
The Indian economy also features significant manufacturing in areas like cement, paper, and petrochemicals.
Steel, textiles, pharma, auto etc. are all relatively "primitive" stages of manufacturing. Parent comment is probably talking about manufacturing precision tools and complex micro-electronics at a gigantic global-level scale like China and Taiwan, as is required for semiconductor-related stuff. India's electronics manufacturing is absolutely nowhere near industry leaders.
I am not a manufacturing expert, although I do have some experience developing software projects for two manufacturing companies, but overall, I think I have enough broad industry knowledge, both as a software developer and an educated and widely-read layman, to say that steel and textiles maybe primitive or basic industries, but pharma and auto are more than that.
My reply to him was about exactly that (the "basic" part), and nothing else.
So, this part of your comment is actually corroborating my point:
>Steel, textiles, pharma, auto etc. are all relatively "primitive" stages of manufacturing.
The rest of your point (about the advanced stuff) is irrelevant to this particular small subthread starting from that quoted point, even if relevant overall.
>India's electronics manufacturing is absolutely nowhere near industry leaders.
I never said it was. So you are disputing a point I never made.
And India does make some more advanced stuff too, but I will not bother to get into that; you can look it up yourself, if so inclined. I anyway gave many Wikipedia and other links above.
Except for one below, which is worth giving separately:
>The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO /ˈɪsroʊ/)[a] is India's national space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister of India, with the Chairman of ISRO also serving as the chief executive of the DoS. It is primarily responsible for space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies.[3] The agency maintains a constellation of imaging, communications and remote sensing satellites. It operates the GAGAN and IRNSS satellite navigation systems. It has sent three missions to the Moon and one mission to Mars.
>ISRO built India's first satellite Aryabhata which was launched by the Soviet space agency Interkosmos in 1975.[8] In 1980, it launched the satellite RS-1 on board the indigenously built launch vehicle SLV-3, making India the seventh country to undertake orbital launches. It has subsequently developed various small-lift and medium-lift launch vehicles, enabling the agency to launch various satellites and deep space missions. It is one of the six government space agencies in the world that possess full launch capabilities with the ability to deploy cryogenic engines, launch extraterrestrial missions and artificial satellites.[9][10][b] It is also the only one of the four governmental space agencies to have demonstrated unmanned soft landing capabilities.[11][c]
ISRO's programmes have played a significant role in socio-economic development. It has supported both civilian and military domains in various aspects such as disaster management, telemedicine, navigation and reconnaissance. ISRO's spin-off technologies have also aided in new innovations in engineering and other allied domains.[12]
>India lacks even the most basic manufacturing. We import stuff like lighters, toys, and basic electronics. Why do we want to make the giant leap to semiconductors?
I already answered you more than once about your misconceptions or misinformation about Indian basic manufacturing, in my sibling comments to this one.
And as others have said, importing is not done only due to inability to make the products at home. Sometimes it is done for pure cost /benefit reasons. That should be pretty damn obvious to anyone, but looks like you missed that out in your assessment. Even so-called first-world / developed countries do it. What do you think the outsourcing from such countries to India for software development is about? It is about exactly that, at least some. You are a software guy, so you should know this. I am one too. If you work for them, do you think they would hire you in India, all other things been the same, if your price was the same as equal people in the US or Europe? Of course not. It would be easier for them to deal with their local people than someone partway or halfway across the world. Get real.
Do you know that we also export plenty of things, many of which go to developed countries too, and to other developing countries, and that some of the latter cannot manufacture some of the things we do?
As for your point about why we manufacture or are trying to manufacture semiconductors, that has also been answered by others, so I will not comment. Having some amount of self-reliance is the answer. Not just profit.
Same for our space program, satellites, etc, which I did comment about in reply to somebody else in this thread.
It seems you're the one who's plenty misinformed. Most countries outsource when labour costs in their own country inch higher and it makes sense to use cheaper external labour supply. Same is not the case with India, where labour costs are still extremely cheap. Even with sky-high import duties, we're not competing with China.
I never said we don't manufacture. There are few notable industries that we are decent at and export it as well: two wheelers, pharma. But we manufacture only teeny tiny bit of mass-manufactured goods, especially electronics.
Self-reliance makes no sense when you're trying to one component out of hundreds involved. Sure, it won't be entirely useless, it will decouple some of the chip imports for defense and auto, but it will do nothing to bootstrap the electronics industry.
I have to post another comment, even though I said I would not in my previous one, because your comment is so ignorant;
>There are few notable industries that we are decent at and export it as well: two wheelers, pharma. But we manufacture only teeny tiny bit of mass-manufactured goods, especially electronics
Note highlighted words and compare them with what I say below, people.
Check the result of this Google search that I just did:
>highest selling 100 cc motorcycle in the world
And an excerpt from the results:
>The Hero Splendor is the highest-selling 100 cc motorcycle in the world. It is a popular commuter bike in India and is known for its fuel efficiency and low maintenance. The Splendor consistently leads the 100 cc segment in sales, and Hero MotoCorp, its manufacturer, is the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer by volume.
If that is not a mass manufactured good, I don't know what is.
>Self-reliance makes no sense when you're trying to one component out of hundreds involved.
What the heck does "trying to one component" mean? Ungrammatical again.
Overall, your comments are full of falsehoods and crap.
"lacks even the most basic" implies that we don't have the higher stuff too. That in turn implies that we don't have any. All of which is false, based on the earlier links that I provided. Are you saying that those are lies? (Also anyone can google that info for themselves.) Then be open about it, and say so directly.
That was such a global, wide-ranging and patently false and pretty insulting statement (even if ignorantly done) that you made about Indian manufacturing.
Many top Indian multi-hundred-crore-or-multi-thousand-crore turnover (in rupees) industrialists or groups like the Tatas, Birlas, Bajajs, Singhanias, Thapars, Godrejs, TVS group, TTK group, Munjals, Ambanis, Premjis, and many more, may like to have a word with you, or rather, would smile and giggle at your ignorance.
And now you try to weasel your way out of it by saying, in the comment above that I am replying to:
>I never said we don't manufacture.
Those two statements are clearly quite contradictory.
Laughable.
Even your first paragraph above is wrong.
I have had enough of your false arguments. If I feel like it, I may point out what is wrong with that, later, otherwise not.
And about this:
>There are few notable industries that we are decent at and export it as well:
Maybe check out the difference between "few" and "a few", which have opposite meanings (a mistake that Indians often make), and at the same time, improve your English grammar generally.
Can't help but post another link, related to what I said above:
>Many top Indian multi-hundred-crore-or-multi-thousand-crore turnover (in rupees) industrialists or groups like the Tatas, Birlas, Bajajs, Singhanias, Thapars, Godrejs, TVS group, TTK group, Munjals, Ambanis, Premjis, and many more, may like to have a word with you, or rather, would smile and giggle at your ignorance.
Not all of those are about manufacturing, but many are.
Their combined total revenue adds up to hundreds, if not thousands, of billions of US dollars, going by a simple conversion of thousand crore rupees to USD that I just did in Google.
I am an author of a Desktop App [1] myself. More often than I like to admit, I find myself wondering how I can integrate AI, because that's all the rage these days and gets views, clicks, and potentially revenue.
Taking a firm stance like this and standing up for creativity is not an easy stance. Kudos to Procreate team for taking it!
[1]: https://textquery.app/