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> Nobody but programmers gives a damn what width their memory bus is. How can you possibly imagine otherwise? Ideally, yes. Practically, abstractions leak. A

> Nobody but programmers gives a damn what width their memory bus is. How can you possibly imagine otherwise? Ideally, yes. Practically, abstractions leak. A NES is Turing Complete, so can theoretically do anything. Practically it's much better suited to some tasks than others, which is why you're not going to see one play 4K video, and everything you see will be made of 8x8 or 8x16 blocks with a limited color palette. Consumers get wind of this and even if they don't understand very well what a data bus is they do get overall idea that more bits -- roughly more functionality. That's why there's a huge enthusiast segment discussing various hardware stats with gusto, even if they can't actually explain what's the technical difference between DDR3 and DDR4. This happens everywhere. Theoretically, a car gets you from A to B, it doesn't matter much how. Practically, lots of people care about whether a car is electric or an ICE, because the difference between them can't be entirely abstracted.

fragmede 4y ago
Actually, that’s a sticking point for electric cars - range anxiety. Using an electric car like an ICE car means you fill up when the tank is empty, not realizing that, because it’s electric, it means you can charge the car at home (assuming you have a garage), and can charge it every night, and wake up in the morning with a full "tank". Similar service for gasoline cars never took off. Why is this relevant here? Because in the service of going from A to B, the theory is incomplete if it assumes all cars have an infinite range. They don't, but consumers (who may not know what a memory bus even is) need to be taught why they don't need a 400 mile battery on their new-fangled electric car.
- upsidesinclude 4y ago
  I understand your metaphor, but you've failed to address time. The problem is not leaving with half a tank. The problem is the time required to "refill" the tank. The equivalent being baud rate or whatever measure you want to use to account for the bus limitation.

fragmede 4y ago

Actually, that’s a sticking point for electric cars - range anxiety. Using an electric car like an ICE car means you fill up when the tank is empty, not realizing that, because it’s electric, it means you can charge the car at home (assuming you have a garage), and can charge it every night, and wake up in the morning with a full "tank". Similar service for gasoline cars never took off. Why is this relevant here? Because in the service of going from A to B, the theory is incomplete if it assumes all cars have an infinite range. They don't, but consumers (who may not know what a memory bus even is) need to be taught why they don't need a 400 mile battery on their new-fangled electric car.

upsidesinclude 4y ago
I understand your metaphor, but you've failed to address time. The problem is not leaving with half a tank. The problem is the time required to "refill" the tank. The equivalent being baud rate or whatever measure you want to use to account for the bus limitation.