News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Apple's accidental moat: How the "AI Loser" may end up winning. Parent comment

Re:Apple's accidental moat: How the "AI Loser" may end up wi... by appreciatorBus on Monday April 13, 2026 @10:57AM (#47752948)
Some software has millions or even billions of users. The cost of 16 GB multiplied by million millions or billions would pay for a lot of refactoring.

That said, I think it’s more of a collective action problem. The person who could pay for the refactor to operate in 640 K is not the same person who has to pay for the 16 GB. And yes, the 16 GB is cheap enough in comparison to other costs that the latter group doesn’t necessarily notice that they are subsidizing inefficient development.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Apple's accidental moat: How the "AI Loser" may end up wi... by loloquwowndueo on Monday April 13, 2026 @11:39AM (#47753618)
I think stavros means amortization on an individual level - if all software is bloated and requires 16GB to run then my expense for a 16GB stick is not caused by a single piece of software, but everything I use.

Not that I agree of course :) I’m talking more of the net negative of everyone needing to buy 16gb sticks so developers can YOLO vibe-coded unoptimized garbage. But at least I think the former explanation is what stavros meant :)

[ Parent | on HN ]