Yes, Visvanath, thanks for pointing this out. I support the discontinuation.
I have the Moodle Desktop installed, but I never use it. Here's my take. Other LMSs, like Canvas, have a mobile app. Many students seem to like it. Recall that Canvas is not "responsive" so if you run Canvas from your smartphone's browser, you need to "pinch in" and "pinch out" a lot. This is why the Canvas app "must" be used on a student's smartphone. Moodle, however, is responsive (Boost) so I don't really see a need for even a mobile app, recognizing that Moodle's mobile app is really good, and some students like it. However, running the web-based Moodle on a smartphone is quite good. (I never run the Moodle mobile app.)
Anyway, I have always argued that if students like the Canvas app, it's look and feel, why doesn't Canvas convert its web product to look like its mobile app. Why confuse students? Well, this was the (small) role of Moodle's Desktop app, in my mind, to allow students who like the Moodle mobile app's look and feel to have the same look and feel on their desktop. However, to me, such a small benefit never seemed to justify the development of this Moodle desktop app. If it was Canvas, yep, big advantage. Probably the same for Blackboard, and perhaps Desire2Learn (Brightspace.) These other companies have not been able to transition their web-based products over to a "responsive" web design. Remember, the concept of "responsive" web pages is really really new,
developed in about 2010! You can't expect LMS companies to be that modern, can you? 😀
Now, actually, back a long time ago, somewhere around Moodle 2.0 or so, I was running the "formal white" theme because it was somewhat responsive. Of course, once Boost arrived, I switched! It was great having a Moodle theme that looked good from a smartphone's small browser screen.
So the only role that I ever saw for Moodle Desktop was a slight "marketing" advantage. Being able to claim "If you like Moodle's mobile app, you can also have the same look and feel on your Desktop." But Moodle doesn't "market" Moodle! So is this really an advantage? (Perhaps, especially when other LMSs make marketing claims that they cannot do.)
That's my long version of my view of the Desktop app.
To end this story, what is most significant is probably that Apple, now with its own CPU, says that their Macs will be able to run any mobile app right on the desktop! I haven't seen this in action yet, but it is quite significant if true. (I think mobile apps might need to be designed for them to run on the Mac with the M1-CPU, but it probably is not that hard a transition.) I am still waiting for Apple to finalize their newest 16" Mac with the M1 chip. (And I still owe Visvanath a Mac, when we meet in person in Switzerland someday. 😉 )
