DEAD PROJECTS! We see dead projects and lived to tell you about them.

Episode Overview

• The episode begins with a humorous confession about losing 45 minutes of recorded audio, which serves as a creative introduction to the main topic: the "death" of software projects.
• The hosts conduct a "graveyard tour" of influential but now-defunct or legacy technologies, including Meteor.js, Quicksilver, RethinkDB, and ICQ.
• Through these case studies, the discussion analyzes why innovative and beloved projects fail, exploring themes like first-mover disadvantage, poor market fit, and being outcompeted.
• The conversation highlights that a project can fail commercially but still have a lasting impact, with its core ideas living on in modern tools and operating systems.

Key Concepts

• Meteor.js: A once-hyped JavaScript framework that received significant VC funding but eventually declined after its parent company pivoted to focus on its spin-off, Apollo, leaving Meteor as a legacy project.
• Quicksilver: The revolutionary Mac app launcher that pioneered the command-palette interface but languished in a perpetual beta state, allowing competitors like Alfred and Apple's native Spotlight to capture the market it created.
• RethinkDB: A technically impressive NoSQL database that ultimately failed commercially due to choosing a difficult market (competing with database giants) and optimizing for the wrong engineering metrics instead of what the market valued.
• First-Mover Disadvantage: A recurring theme that being the first to market with an innovative idea does not guarantee long-term success, as demonstrated by both Quicksilver and RethinkDB.
• Legacy and Influence: The idea that a "dead" project's DNA can survive in modern software; for example, the concepts pioneered by Quicksilver are now standard features in tools like Raycast and Spotlight.
• Nostalgia for Defunct Tech: The hosts reflect on other obsolete tools like the ICQ messaging app and early multi-protocol chat clients, highlighting the transient nature of software.

Quotes

• At 1:51 - "We just spent 45 minutes recording some dynamic dialogue for y'all... and it's now into the ether." - Jerod Santo confesses that they lost a significant portion of the recording right before the show, setting a meta-theme for the "death of projects."
• At 35:48 - "To me, it felt more like a toy than a tool that I would build a business around." - The host shares his personal experience using Meteor.js, finding it impressive but not robust enough for serious business applications at the time.
• At 43:02 - "always seemed to be in beta, basically in beta for 10 years." - Describing how the influential app launcher Quicksilver never seemed to reach a stable, final release, which contributed to its decline.
• At 46:04 - "Why didn't they win?" - A succinct question summarizing the core paradox of Quicksilver: despite being the first and most innovative in its category, it ultimately lost its market leadership.
• At 54:03 - "There were two main problems. They picked a terrible market, and then they optimized the product for the wrong metrics of goodness." - Quoting the founder of RethinkDB's post-mortem analysis on why the innovative database ultimately failed commercially.

Takeaways

• Technical innovation alone is not a guarantee of a project's survival; market timing, business strategy, and development velocity are equally critical.
• A project can fail commercially but still leave a lasting and influential legacy, with its core concepts being adopted into mainstream tools.
• Choosing the right market and optimizing for what customers actually value is more important for success than pure technical excellence.