3 ms·

I don't even know where to start with this. We had terminals that were way faster than you could type or see 30 years ago. They didn't need a GPU and ran on a C

by jbb67 8y ago

I don't even know where to start with this. We had terminals that were way faster than you could type or see 30 years ago. They didn't need a GPU and ran on a CPU 1000 times slower than what we have now. If this is progress... I'm not sure I want it

Const-me 8y ago
30 years ago, we didn't have 8+ megapixel displays. And the GPUs were character-based, with only 256 different characters, usually 16 colors/each. That's the main reason for the hardware requirements. Essentially, these shaders emulate a character-based fixed function GPU from 30 years ago, adding features like more colors, Unicode, and custom fonts.
syn0byte 8y ago
They were also char based display at something like 320x240 resolution and maybe 16-256 colors. Modern displays at 1920x1080 in millions of colors. 30 years ago a terminal was the whole display and nothing more. Now its a single window amid dozens of other windows including content ranging from high definition video to real-time rasterized 3D graphics. Yes, that's progress.
- Const-me 8y ago
  The resolution wasn’t that bad. VGA was introduced 31 years ago, in 1987. The text mode was 80x25 characters, 9x16 pixels/each, so the effective output resolution was 720x400 pixels. I currently develop a device with similar one, 800x480, only now I have GPU and GLES 3.2. Back to the old times, because RAM was so expensive, that high resolution only worked in text mode, where the frame buffer only had 2 bytes per character, one for character itself, another for attributes i.e. background and foreground colors. Graphic modes had way lower resolution, indeed.
- lytedev 8y ago
  Also, as others have noted, with many new layers of abstraction between user and system including the compositor, window manager, display manager, display server, and probably a host of others within the operating system and places I'm unfamiliar with.

by jbb67 8y ago

Const-me 8y ago

30 years ago, we didn't have 8+ megapixel displays. And the GPUs were character-based, with only 256 different characters, usually 16 colors/each. That's the main reason for the hardware requirements. Essentially, these shaders emulate a character-based fixed function GPU from 30 years ago, adding features like more colors, Unicode, and custom fonts.

syn0byte 8y ago

They were also char based display at something like 320x240 resolution and maybe 16-256 colors. Modern displays at 1920x1080 in millions of colors. 30 years ago a terminal was the whole display and nothing more. Now its a single window amid dozens of other windows including content ranging from high definition video to real-time rasterized 3D graphics. Yes, that's progress.

Const-me 8y ago
The resolution wasn’t that bad. VGA was introduced 31 years ago, in 1987. The text mode was 80x25 characters, 9x16 pixels/each, so the effective output resolution was 720x400 pixels. I currently develop a device with similar one, 800x480, only now I have GPU and GLES 3.2. Back to the old times, because RAM was so expensive, that high resolution only worked in text mode, where the frame buffer only had 2 bytes per character, one for character itself, another for attributes i.e. background and foreground colors. Graphic modes had way lower resolution, indeed.
lytedev 8y ago
Also, as others have noted, with many new layers of abstraction between user and system including the compositor, window manager, display manager, display server, and probably a host of others within the operating system and places I'm unfamiliar with.