In 1995-1997, I wrote and maintained an application that was used, during every surgery, in critical ways in every operating room in a large, regional hospital.

In 1995-1997, I wrote and maintained an application that was used, during every surgery, in critical ways in every operating room in a large, regional hospital. This app ran on a regular computer running normal Microsoft Windows 95. It wasn't terribly complicated, but it also wasn't simple. It accessed a database over the wired network for most everything it cared about doing. It took some thought and care, but it wasn't impossibly difficult to ensure that the app was always highly responsive. I think it comes down to priorities. I worked closely with the doctors who were actually using this app on a day to day basis, and working with an app that didn't slow them down was quite important for them.