It’s kind of a weird tech trend I’ve noticed over the years - someone makes a product or item, and usually due to it being expensive or overpowered, they release a “slimmed down,” “lite,” or otherwise reduced version of it to greater appeal to the middle-of-the-road user. But then they stop making the original “maxi” version so that the “light” version becomes the de facto “normal one.”
Is there a name for that trend?
A few examples from my personal corner of nerd-dom; Nintendo replaced their DS handheld system with the “DS lite,” a smaller and stripped-down version. But now that’s the only one they make! There is no “normal” - the “light” is the normal. Another example is the synthesizer maker Clavia, who went from Nord Lead 2 to Nord Lead 3 before going back to 2.5 - and now 2.5 is the default one, not 3!
Nisus Writer (a very good word processor) which gave rise to Nisus Writer Express, which for an annoyingly (and maybe permanent :() long time has been the only Nisus left standing.
There’s nothing slimmed down about the DS Lite. It’s actually an enhanced version the “normal” DS (which is still sold in stores).
Off the top of my head the Lite offers a brighter screen (hence the “Lite” in the name) with three brightness settings, better battery life, a longer stylus and a smaller, more portable form factor.
Yeah, from what I understand, there is nothing about it that makes it inferior, except maybe a smaller screen (does it have a smaller screen?) The CPU, RAM, video quality, etc… are all the same as the original DS.
Best example I can think of is Firefox. The Mozilla Application Suite was a great big bloated heap of software that tried to do everything and didn’t really succeed at anything. Firefox started out by stripping away all the useless crap from Mozilla until they were just left with a web browser. Nowadays the Mozilla Suite is more-or-less dead and Firefox’s market share is growing faster than ever.
On preview I see that you weren’t really asking for more examples, but you were after a name for this phenomenon. Oh well, too bad, I’m posting this example anyway. If you don’t like it, I suggest that you pick up your telephone and call someone who gives a damn.
