> Can I click on a link into Inkscape's code repository and try it out right now?
I can select Inkscape in aptitude (or any other package manager of any other decent OS), wait a few seconds for the download, and can run it immediately.
Okay, this won't give me the latest bleeding edge version, but instead I get a mature application that is well-tested and provides more functionality than I ever needed. (in particular, more functionality than SVG-edit)
> Comparing this with a desktop app is missing the point.
You seem to imply that SVG-edit has some inherent advantage over Inkscape because it is a web application.
However, the main criterion is still: getting things done for the user, isn't it?
So yes, maybe SVG-edit will evolve more quickly due to being a web application. However, in that case it should surpass Inkscape in the near future. Only then it has proven to be better - not because it is a web application, but because it is more useful.
Okay, this won't give me the latest bleeding edge version, but instead I get a mature application that is well-tested and provides more functionality than I ever needed. (in particular, more functionality than SVG-edit)
But the same goes for Google Docs and OpenOffice. Having more features isn't always what matters most.
> But the same goes for Google Docs and OpenOffice
I beg to differ. Google Docs does provide some important features which OpenOffice doesn't provide.
However, I didn't find any such thing in SVG-edit.
> Having more features isn't always what matters most.
Apart from stability (which could also be considered a feature), what else are you talking about? The set of features determines the usefulness (or uselessness) of an application, doesn't it?
Apart from stability (which could also be considered a feature)
At what point does anything that makes an application more useful a feature? If this is the definition of a feature, then your second point seems a bit obvious.
I can select Inkscape in aptitude (or any other package manager of any other decent OS), wait a few seconds for the download, and can run it immediately.
Okay, this won't give me the latest bleeding edge version, but instead I get a mature application that is well-tested and provides more functionality than I ever needed. (in particular, more functionality than SVG-edit)
> Comparing this with a desktop app is missing the point.
You seem to imply that SVG-edit has some inherent advantage over Inkscape because it is a web application.
However, the main criterion is still: getting things done for the user, isn't it?
So yes, maybe SVG-edit will evolve more quickly due to being a web application. However, in that case it should surpass Inkscape in the near future. Only then it has proven to be better - not because it is a web application, but because it is more useful.