Why I Bothered With Dub vs Emi
Got sick of hearing tech bros argue about Dub vs Emi at conferences while chewing kale chips. Decided to actually install both and see which one worked without making me wanna throw my laptop out the window. Grabbed my crusty old MacBook from 2018 and hit download.
Installing Dub Was Like IKEA Furniture
Followed their fancy guide step-by-step:
- Step 1: Typed magical commands in Terminal. Felt like a hacker.
- Step 2: It asked for 47 permissions. Clicked “Allow All” like a reckless idiot.
- Step 3: Got error messages in red text. Panic-Googled. Turned out forgot coffee mug was sitting on USB port.
After restarting twice, Dub’s dashboard popped up looking like a spaceship control panel. Buttons everywhere. Pressed “Start Demo” and it actually ran a fake project. Surprise!
Then Came Emi – The Minimalist Nightmare
Emi’s website said “simplicity” in huge letters. Lies.
- Gotcha 1: Installation demanded Python updates. Spent 2 hours watching progress bars.
- Gotcha 2: Ran first command. Black screen blinking cursor. Zero instructions. Felt stupid.
- Gotcha 3: Found secret tutorial buried in forum post from 2017. Copy-pasted weird symbols until something happened.
Finally made a text file print “HELLO WORLD”. Felt like I’d scaled Everest. Took screenshots to prove it.
Real Test: My Aunt’s Bakery Website
Plugged in actual project – needs online ordering and cupcake photos.
Dub: Made flashy buttons in 10 minutes. Added shopping cart that looked like a video game. Then crashed when 3 products were uploaded. Error message: “Eggnog singularity detected”. Still dunno what that means.
Emi: Took half a day to display one image. But once working? Smooth like butter. Handled 500 cupcake photos without sweating. Downside? Looks like a 1995 Geocities page. Aunt said “Where’s the glitter?”.
Who Should Use What?
Pick Dub if: You want shiny demo mode for clients tomorrow, don’t mind random crashes, and have a USB fan pointed at your laptop.
Pick Emi if: You’re patient, hate flashy stuff, and value “won’t explode after 3 months”. Warning: May cause excessive hair-pulling during setup.
Personally? I keep both installed. Use Dub for quick prototypes when boss is breathing down my neck. Use Emi when actually need things to work long-term. Neither’s perfect, but that’s why we drink coffee.
