They're not much different, they just run on a different time scale.
Even if your same application continues to work forever, one of the following will happen:
- Complementary software evolves. E.g.: My old photo editor doesn't support new image compression formats
- Alternatives become more attractive. E.g.: I paid for a copy of Sublime Text but now I prefer VSCode because of its additional functionality, my old copy of Photoshop CS2 works fine but the new one will save me time during XYZ workflow compared to the old version.
- The utility of the application is exhausted. E.g.: I already played this single player game 10 times and it's not fun anymore, my copy of Final Cut Pro 6 can't produce 4K HDR movies that my customers demand.
I have versions of Paint Shop Pro from the 90s that can open JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, etc. files.
I have used versions of After Effects of similar vintage. Premier and AE were doing 4K back then because that’s what Hollywood needed for their productions. Illustrator and Photoshop are mostly functional.
Likewise, my Nikon camera from 2011 doesn’t stop working just because it’s old. The tools in my garage are no less effective because home additive manufacturing exists.
