>yet computers don't feel much faster

it depends on the computer rather. The slowest I've experienced was a cheap laptop with Windows Vista where just right clicking on an icon to see the menu could take like 30 seconds. I'm now on an M1 macbook air where everything is pretty much instant. That said the other instant computer I had was a Psion 3 which came out 33 years ago so it's down to the individual design I guess. Windows has always been kind of bad to varying degrees.