Business apps. However, Mobile Apps have become the new desktop apps - at least until HTML5 becomes good enough.
But my point was that the typical readers on HN are interested in the kinds of posts here (it is a self-serving argument) - which is mostly about building web apps that help people communicate better, share content, connect people, remove middlemen, manage businesses, buy and sell stuff, increase productivity and consume content.
Scientific computing, low level programming, language research, theoretical computer science and the vast array of other computing related stuff that we don't talk about here - they are extremely important. But it doesn't find a place here for a reason and that is just fine.
It's one things, and perfectly fine, for certain programming topics not to have a place here (although I find it a bit sad), it's quite another to talk as if they don't exist or are irrelevant to programmers.
But my point was that the typical readers on HN are interested in the kinds of posts here (it is a self-serving argument) - which is mostly about building web apps that help people communicate better, share content, connect people, remove middlemen, manage businesses, buy and sell stuff, increase productivity and consume content.
Scientific computing, low level programming, language research, theoretical computer science and the vast array of other computing related stuff that we don't talk about here - they are extremely important. But it doesn't find a place here for a reason and that is just fine.