⭐ Changes to how Rainmeter is released

[jsmorley]

It would be a goal for me that the entire "minimum required version" concept be phased out of the .rmskin creator. There will be only ONE version of Rainmeter, the latest one, and we are going to be working on ways to encourage and help folks to stay current. There will be NO benefit at all in not staying current all the time, and no reason to "insist" on a particular version in a .rmskin.

In my view, it won't be long before Rainmeter in general requires at least 64bit, and Windows 10 or better, so the check for those things will phase out as well. There are diminishing and frankly pointless returns in supporting 32bit and Windows 7 in any case. All the "Windows 7 was the last good version" Luddites feel free to hammer me.

[Yincognito]

It would be a goal for me that the entire "minimum required version" concept be phased out of the .rmskin creator.

Hmm... I don't know. What if some issue that's critical to skin functioning has been added or changed for the better with that particular version? I mean, besides the (sometimes annoying) block if you try to install a skin on a Rainmeter version below the MRV, that's the whole purpose of it, right?

There will be only ONE version of Rainmeter, the latest one, and we are going to be working on ways to encourage and help folks to stay current. There will be NO benefit at all in not staying current all the time.

Encouraging folks to do so is fine, forcing them to do so would be a disaster though. I'm strongly opposed to the latter, I've seen software going down that path and personally I would (and actually did, every time I encountered this behavior) instantly uninstall such software trying to force me into something I simply don't want. I (mildly, this time) disagree with the "no benefit" thing, for example if I like a certain feature that has been removed or altered in subsequent versions, it will be beneficial to me to stay on that last version that had the feature I liked. To put it bluntly, I personally couldn't care less about the "update to latest or else..." thing, and that is true for every software I come across, not just Rainmeter. I want to be the person choosing what's best for him.

[jsmorley]

Hmm... I don't know. What if some issue that's critical to skin functioning has been added or changed for the better with that particular version? I mean, besides the (sometimes annoying) block if you try to install a skin on a Rainmeter version below the MRV, that's the whole purpose of it, right?


Encouraging folks to do so is fine, forcing them to do so would be a disaster though. I'm strongly opposed to the latter, I've seen software going down that path and personally I would (and actually did, every time I encountered this behavior) instantly uninstall such software trying to force me into something I simply don't want. I (mildly, this time) disagree with the "no benefit" thing, for example if I like a certain feature that has been removed or altered in subsequent versions, it will be beneficial to me to stay on that last version that had the feature I liked. To put it bluntly, I personally couldn't care less about the "update to latest or else..." thing, and that is true for every software I come across, not just Rainmeter. I want to be the person choosing what's best for him.

We certainly won't "force" anything. It's not how Rainmeter rolls.

[Yincognito]

We certainly won't "force" anything. It's not how Rainmeter rolls.

Excellent!

[SilverAzide]

I think if we ever had to do that, it would mean this exercise has gone disastrously wrong. Kabul Airport wrong...

Haha! Ok, perhaps I didn't think that idea all the way through. But at least we have a new meme!

[SilverAzide]

All the "Windows 7 was the last good version" Luddites feel free to hammer me.

And it was Windows NT 4.0 that was the last good version! /jk