What would happen if computers never got any faster?

Re:What would happen if computers never got any faster? by rubatuga on Friday November 27, 2020 @03:00AM (#25226446)

I think the author is misguided by saying "we need more thoughtful, and more creative humans". It's as if the author is lamenting some lost productivity that we would have otherwise achieved as a society by now. Just like how human work naturally fills up the time allotted to it [1], programmers tend to use up the hardware resources to make their apps usable. If time was spent hyperoptimizing, it would not change the computing landscape moving forward. Maybe the author should look into algorithm design and CS research as a way to directly affect the future of computing efficiency.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law

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Re:What would happen if computers never got any faster? by konjin on Friday November 27, 2020 @03:31AM (#25226601)

That I can outpace the cursor on a windows desktop in word 365 on a 30 page document and need to stop for a good second for it to catch up with nothing else open on a 8 gb, 4 core, 3GHz machine is so outrageous I don't know how anyone still uses Windows.

Computers have gotten so unoptimized for people that a machine from the 80s has better capabilities for the average office worker than one used today. The only reason why we don't use WordPerfect 3.0 is because Microsoft has managed to force planned obsolescence on software and hardware for 30 years for no reason other than they can.

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Re:What would happen if computers never got any faster? by alliao on Friday November 27, 2020 @06:57AM (#25227919)

Hear hear. I remember when MS Works was so slow I'd type and watch letters appearing. Then Word got better, and got quick, I was almost happy. Then cloud happened, and suddenly now whenever I'm saving a file, I find myself waiting again, to connect to the cloud... I am missing full keyboard system where once you learnt a little you could do everything by touch without touching that mouse.. and I'm missing the snappiness.

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Re:What would happen if computers never got any faster? by AntiImperialist on Friday November 27, 2020 @05:12AM (#25227248)

The author seems to think that not spending time optimizing for slower hardware when the hardware keeps getting faster is somehow not thoughtful or creative.

We're thoughtfully and creatively optimizing for the world that exists now (i.e. one where hardware keeps getting faster). When hardware stops getting any faster, we'll thoughtfully and creatively optimize for that then.

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Re:What would happen if computers never got any faster? by econeuler on Friday November 27, 2020 @03:22AM (#25226549)

I agree, why not use the resources we have, but, I guess he meant that even though processing power were to stagnate we could still make progress?

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Re:What would happen if computers never got any faster? by b0rsuk on Friday November 27, 2020 @03:37AM (#25226632)

I can't help to see the analogy with muscle building. Train to gain mass first, then add more repetitions to make those muscles effective.

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