July 5, 2026
Lag today, trust issues tomorrow
Fast Software, the Best Software
Why people swear instant apps feel smarter — and the comments got weirdly personal
TLDR: The article says fast apps matter because speed makes software feel trustworthy, while lag makes users nervous. In the comments, people argued less about speed itself and more about the article’s title, its 2019 date, and whether calling it “slop” was outrageous or hilarious.
A love letter to snappy software somehow turned into a tiny comment-section cage match. In the article, writer Craig Mod argues that fast apps simply feel better to use — like the digital version of a perfectly balanced tool. He gushes over nvALT, a plain-looking notes app that opens in a blink and finds old notes instantly, while side-eyeing prettier tools like Ulysses when they lag behind his typing. His big point is deliciously relatable: when an app hesitates, users don’t just get annoyed — they start to lose trust. If it can’t handle basic stuff quickly, what else is going wrong under the hood?
But the real popcorn moment is in the reactions. One commenter came in swinging with the gloriously grumpy line, “No, no software is the best software,” instantly turning a simple praise piece into a philosophy fight. Then came the mini-drama over whether the article was “slop,” with defenders rushing in to protect Mod’s honor. One fan called him a “prolific, talented, and very human writer,” while another fired back with a joke so niche it practically wore glasses: “What makes you think it is slop? The emdash?” Yes, the em dash is now evidence in the court of internet opinion. Even the article’s age became a subplot, with multiple commenters reminding everyone this was from 2019 — as if timestamp correction is the comment section’s favorite sport. In the end, the vibe was split between cranky purists, loyal fans, and readers saying, basically, call it whatever you want, it still hit home.
Key Points
- •The article argues that software speed is a major factor in usability and in whether an application fits naturally into daily work.
- •nvALT is presented as a fast note-taking and text-cataloging tool that opens instantly, prioritizes keyboard use, and returns search results immediately.
- •nvALT syncs with Simplenote, whose iOS app extends access to notes beyond nvALT’s macOS-only desktop environment.
- •Ulysses is described as useful for organizing writing, but occasional lag during editing causes the author to question its engineering quality and reliability.
- •Sublime Text is cited as a fast editor that handles very large files smoothly, although the author does not prefer it for long-form composition.