This is an odd take. Why shouldn't software benchmarks be showcased with the best available hardware? How am I supposed to reason about MySQL performance results taken from a run-of-the-mill dual-core machine from 2015?

I think they intended to refer to software development QA, not benchmarking. I do agree with the sentiment that consumer software should generally be usable on 10 year old hardware. "Generally" carries a lot of weight here, because intensive applications like CAD will always be laggy on old hardware.

I'm not talking about benchmarks, I'm talking about average end user experience.

Replace MySQL with any client-side app

it's meant for the multitude of electron crapware that's being shoveled down our throat.

The same thing happens with displays. Designers and devs are using things like high-end Dell Ultrasharps, LG UltraFines, the integrated screens in MacBook Pros, iMac 27" displays/Studio Displays, Pro Display XDRs, etc but in reality a huge number of the screens in use are things like those terrible 1366x766 TN panels that dominated budget 10"-17" laptops for over a decade. I'm fairly confident the low-contrast flat design trend that's been going for a while now wouldn't have been a thing if it were a requirement for UIs to be usable and reasonably good looking on a crappy $250 Walmart special Dell Inspiron from 2012.

The wonderful thing about webpage design is your user don't give a f**k about color correction. Monitors nowadays are almost shipped with a default configuration of high saturation, high contrast, high color temperature. To the point that I think standard srgb 'paper white' is pointless for webpages. Because virtually nobody except designer themselves will enable it on their monitor.

Maybe some group should get consensus about modern monitor 'paper white' so at least everybody has a daily monitor in same setting no matter how good/bad his monitor is.

Web devs should be getting 10 years old netbooks, then we might have web that's not dog slow and fat

I have a 6-months old laptop with the latest intel processor and many of these web 3.0 websites (including alchmey own website) are too damn slow to be operable.