Re:“Clean” Code, Horrible Performance
by Wowfunhappy on Tuesday February 28, 2023 @07:50PM
(#34977247)
What you're basically saying is "modern computers are so much faster than anyone needs them to be, it's okay to make them a little slower."
This works until your computer is old enough to be slower than what a majority of wealthy people (ie desirable customers) are using, at which point you need to buy a newer, faster computer, even though your current one was already "faster than anyone could reasonably need it to be".
This is all harmless enough—a little disrespectful perhaps, to make other people waste their money, but not so terrible—until you consider the environmental impact of all these new computers, which the average spreadsheet absolutely should not need but does anyway. It's also an equity issue—someone on a fixed income can't necessarily afford a new machine.
What would actually happen if Moore's law ended tomorrow, and we were no longer able to make computers any faster than they are today? It would really suck for scientists and hardcore gamers, but I actually think a majority of computer users would benefit The experience of someone who just writes documents and checks email would be unchanged, except that their current computers would never slow down!
This works until your computer is old enough to be slower than what a majority of wealthy people (ie desirable customers) are using, at which point you need to buy a newer, faster computer, even though your current one was already "faster than anyone could reasonably need it to be".
This is all harmless enough—a little disrespectful perhaps, to make other people waste their money, but not so terrible—until you consider the environmental impact of all these new computers, which the average spreadsheet absolutely should not need but does anyway. It's also an equity issue—someone on a fixed income can't necessarily afford a new machine.
What would actually happen if Moore's law ended tomorrow, and we were no longer able to make computers any faster than they are today? It would really suck for scientists and hardcore gamers, but I actually think a majority of computer users would benefit The experience of someone who just writes documents and checks email would be unchanged, except that their current computers would never slow down!