4 ms·

I insist on using the minimum spec device for every product that I work on; it means that my job is often frustrating, but we build better products as a result.

by dleslie 10y ago

HerraBRE 10y ago
Absolutely. "Programmers with fast computers write slow code" has been my justification for always buying a cheap shitty laptop, and my excuse for still not having a SSD... Similarly: "Programmers with reliable Internet connections write unreliable code."
- falcolas 10y ago
  I gave in to the SSD craze because OSX became unusably laggy without one.
  - dleslie 10y ago
    Using a Mac is the first thing to stop doing, if you're at all interested in targeting the median case. Silicon Valley's obsession with high-powered boutique notebooks and the high-frequency replacement cycle of Apple products is in part why so much software that comes from the region is inaccessibly slow.
    - falcolas 10y ago
      FWIW, I write software for servers, not clients. But yeah, I understand what you're getting at. That said, I'm fine with folks using top of the line computers for developing, just not for testing. Nothing will frustrate you more than attempting to use an IDE on a memory and CPU starved system with a spinning rust drive. Nothing prompts you to silly shortcuts more than having a minute plus code/build/test cycle. But once the coding is done, pull out that netbook from 2012 and make it run fast on that platform.
bitL 10y ago
This. Get an iPhone 5c with slow cellular data plan and make your app fast there. People will love it!
Klathmon 10y ago
I've found using the most un-optimized code i can on a lower spec device for the entirity of development really helps with writing faster code. When I run it through a minifier, optimize a few things, remove the debugging code, and run it on a "recommended" spec device, things run so much faster, and it's nice. It gives a nice feeling of accomplishment in addition to the other benefits. It also lets us say no to UI features that would run too slowly early on instead of wasting time on trying to get them running on the lower spec hardware.
drittich 10y ago
Same reason I give my devs a really slow database server to develop on :)

I insist on using the minimum spec device for every product that I work on; it means that my job is often frustrating, but we build better products as a result.

by dleslie 10y ago

I insist on using the minimum spec device for every product that I work on; it means that my job is often frustrating, but we build better products as a result.

HerraBRE 10y ago

Absolutely. "Programmers with fast computers write slow code" has been my justification for always buying a cheap shitty laptop, and my excuse for still not having a SSD... Similarly: "Programmers with reliable Internet connections write unreliable code."

falcolas 10y ago
I gave in to the SSD craze because OSX became unusably laggy without one.
- dleslie 10y ago
  Using a Mac is the first thing to stop doing, if you're at all interested in targeting the median case. Silicon Valley's obsession with high-powered boutique notebooks and the high-frequency replacement cycle of Apple products is in part why so much software that comes from the region is inaccessibly slow.
  - falcolas 10y ago
    FWIW, I write software for servers, not clients. But yeah, I understand what you're getting at. That said, I'm fine with folks using top of the line computers for developing, just not for testing. Nothing will frustrate you more than attempting to use an IDE on a memory and CPU starved system with a spinning rust drive. Nothing prompts you to silly shortcuts more than having a minute plus code/build/test cycle. But once the coding is done, pull out that netbook from 2012 and make it run fast on that platform.

bitL 10y ago

This. Get an iPhone 5c with slow cellular data plan and make your app fast there. People will love it!

Klathmon 10y ago

I've found using the most un-optimized code i can on a lower spec device for the entirity of development really helps with writing faster code. When I run it through a minifier, optimize a few things, remove the debugging code, and run it on a "recommended" spec device, things run so much faster, and it's nice. It gives a nice feeling of accomplishment in addition to the other benefits. It also lets us say no to UI features that would run too slowly early on instead of wasting time on trying to get them running on the lower spec hardware.

drittich 10y ago

Same reason I give my devs a really slow database server to develop on :)