4 ms·

I feel this is an important topic sadly often overlooked. Repairability is important but also grants a license to customize your hardware/software and I feel in

I feel this is an important topic sadly often overlooked. Repairability is important but also grants a license to customize your hardware/software and I feel in the long run, we need more far reaching concepts for our electronics and computers. I often think about this regarding software. Most of us find it normal and reasonable, that older software needs to be updated/replaced. It seems all right, that Microsoft retires windows 7 for example. Yet, large corporation might still run decade old mainframes on the back end and nobody notices. Especially in the last decade, with dwindling hardware improvement, I ask myself, do we really need new Systems/Software all the time? What does the new version that needs improved hardware really bring to the table that makes it superior to the previous one? After all, many people just use the core functionality which hasn't really changed that much. I think going forward we need to redefine sustainability in regards to computing. Of course, as is often the case these days, it's mostly a redefining of capitalism as a whole from which would follow such considerations.

jaclaz 7y ago
>I ask myself, do we really need new Systems/Software all the time? What does the new version that needs improved hardware really bring to the table that makes it superior to the previous one? After all, many people just use the core functionality which hasn't really changed that much. Not only that, there is also a limit (talking of interactive software) in needed speed (and also "features"). I mean, having a file (or more generally information) loading instantly is a good thing (and it should be as fast as it can be), but when you need to create content (be it writing a letter, putting together a spreadsheet, drawing something or even merely inputting data) how much speed is actually needed? As an example, in the '90's creating/running a (complex) spreadsheet would imply to have "automatic calculation" turned off and you had to press F9 from time to time, or if you prefer, I was (slightly) faster than Excel. Since - say - the middle of the 2000's this is not anymore needed and the responsiveness is outspeeding me (this may also mean that I am getting old) on any system, with any version of Excel including the (venerable) 97 one or any of the similar spreadsheet programs around, even of relatively low powered machines. For Word (or more generally word processors) this happened even earlier, you have to think at what you are writing, which takes some time, and BTW most (and by most I think of 95% or more of the users) use a word processor to write a letter or a report, I don't believe that there is any new possible feature to be added that would make those letters or reports be written in less time.
T3OU-736 7y ago
As a corollary, I would suggest that the need for "next thing" is more for business reasons than technical ones. The business producing the things cannot stay still. And so... improvements.

jaclaz 7y ago

>I ask myself, do we really need new Systems/Software all the time? What does the new version that needs improved hardware really bring to the table that makes it superior to the previous one? After all, many people just use the core functionality which hasn't really changed that much. Not only that, there is also a limit (talking of interactive software) in needed speed (and also "features"). I mean, having a file (or more generally information) loading instantly is a good thing (and it should be as fast as it can be), but when you need to create content (be it writing a letter, putting together a spreadsheet, drawing something or even merely inputting data) how much speed is actually needed? As an example, in the '90's creating/running a (complex) spreadsheet would imply to have "automatic calculation" turned off and you had to press F9 from time to time, or if you prefer, I was (slightly) faster than Excel. Since - say - the middle of the 2000's this is not anymore needed and the responsiveness is outspeeding me (this may also mean that I am getting old) on any system, with any version of Excel including the (venerable) 97 one or any of the similar spreadsheet programs around, even of relatively low powered machines. For Word (or more generally word processors) this happened even earlier, you have to think at what you are writing, which takes some time, and BTW most (and by most I think of 95% or more of the users) use a word processor to write a letter or a report, I don't believe that there is any new possible feature to be added that would make those letters or reports be written in less time.

T3OU-736 7y ago

As a corollary, I would suggest that the need for "next thing" is more for business reasons than technical ones. The business producing the things cannot stay still. And so... improvements.