5 ms·

Doom is 30, and so is Windows NT. How far we haven't come

33 points by RachelF 3y ago

whynotmaybe 3y ago
What's the term for when some great technology is constrained by our own human limits? We all have a 2000's supercomputer equivalent in our pocket but still can't type faster than 60wpm. The first car to reach 100kmh did it in 1899 but we're still driving at that speed on many highways around the world (+-20%) because us humans can't react quickly enough to drive it safely above that speed. I was promised a flying DeLorean when I was a kid, I'm starting to think that won't be the case before I'm older than Old Biff Tannen.
- karmakaze 3y ago
  I'm less disappointed by lack of flying cars, I can wait for those. But that in 30 years of computer history where advancements are literally exponential and all we have to show since NT is Windows 11!?
  - pohl 3y ago
    “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Also, Windows insists on being backward compatible. It is therefore doomed to mediocrity.
    - whynotmaybe 3y ago
      I don't qualify as mediocre the fact that I can still play Total Annihilation(1997) on my windows 11 computer.
      - CoolCold 3y ago
        oh, TA! get +1 from me! Hope you tried Supreme Commander too - TA2 if you ask me (from the same guys, more or less) and made much better especially in micromanagement.
    - deafpolygon 3y ago
      I think it's a celebration that we can still play and run software from 40 years ago. Why shouldn't we push for backwards compatibility? We should demand it, as consumers.
      - lproven 3y ago
        [Article author here] Because it's holding us back, very very badly. When I swear at my computers, which I do quite a lot, I want them to know what it means and to pay attention.
        deafpolygon 3y ago
        I understand but compare this to what else we've got. Apple seems happy to throw everything out and start over every few years. I would say they've conditioned the Apple fanbase to always want changes, even if they're not to the benefit of end users. I'm not sure how older software fare on macOS but when I used macOS for ~10 yrs... it was always something new that everyone should be using. Or use the software that is packaged with the OS. The push is stronger every year to move to iCloud or some sort of managed platform, which means an ever-increasing amount of lock-in. On the Linux side of the house, you're bound to run into lib incompatibilities. There's ever an ongoing churn of breaking changes on Linux. So, unless someone has been maintaining packages for your specific distribution, you might be out of luck unless you're technically inclined. On mobile OSes, you fare even worse. Running older software is a herculean task on that front. Then there's the never ending cycle of in-app purchases and subscriptions you have to tangle with. Being on Windows, for all of its warts, is a much-needed departure from the above. I can still run games I played back in 1997 as well as most software from that time. With WSL2, you get the added benefit of running a Linux environment alongside your Windows one now.
        wkjagt 3y ago
        I have an old iPad Mini (2nd or 3rd gen, can’t remember) that would make a perfect controller for my Sonos speakers. Its hardware is more than capable enough. Except the Sonos app requires a version of iOS that this iPad can’t run. Sometimes backward compatibility is wonderful. (Typing this on my 1st gen iPhone SE. A wonderful phone, but I’ll probably have to stop using that soon as well, for similar reasons)
    - ls612 3y ago
      I hope Windows remains backward compatible as long as humanly possible. I hope in 2050 I can load games from my childhood and they run just fine on modern Windows. Even if it means it isn’t as streamlined as macOS.
    - pjmlp 3y ago
      It is also a reason why I keep using it as main OS, despite my years of experience with UNIX like OSes.
    - karmakaze 3y ago
      Backward compatible only has to run the older software. Windows versions have no qualms about moving/duplicating settings about all willy-nilly. The start button/menu and notifications have changed numerous times, just not in the best (to be generous) ways.
  - black_13 3y ago
    [dead]
IronWolve 3y ago
Pretty happy with the advanced of windows, with windows terminal and vms, I have WSL running ubuntu, I have cuda running local LLM's and Stable Diffusion. The demo of GTA 6 looks photo realistic. Microsoft Code is pretty nice. I have access to instant streaming music and videos. Think we came pretty far actually.
NikkiA 3y ago
I remember installing Win32S sometime in (earlyish) '93 to be able to run an app that had only been released for NT beta; seems so far away now.

33 points by RachelF 3y ago

What's the term for when some great technology is constrained by our own human limits? We all have a 2000's supercomputer equivalent in our pocket but still can't type faster than 60wpm. The first car to reach 100kmh did it in 1899 but we're still driving at that speed on many highways around the world (+-20%) because us humans can't react quickly enough to drive it safely above that speed. I was promised a flying DeLorean when I was a kid, I'm starting to think that won't be the case before I'm older than Old Biff Tannen.

karmakaze 3y ago
I'm less disappointed by lack of flying cars, I can wait for those. But that in 30 years of computer history where advancements are literally exponential and all we have to show since NT is Windows 11!?
- pohl 3y ago
  “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Also, Windows insists on being backward compatible. It is therefore doomed to mediocrity.
  - whynotmaybe 3y ago
    I don't qualify as mediocre the fact that I can still play Total Annihilation(1997) on my windows 11 computer.
    - CoolCold 3y ago
      oh, TA! get +1 from me! Hope you tried Supreme Commander too - TA2 if you ask me (from the same guys, more or less) and made much better especially in micromanagement.
  - deafpolygon 3y ago
    I think it's a celebration that we can still play and run software from 40 years ago. Why shouldn't we push for backwards compatibility? We should demand it, as consumers.
    - lproven 3y ago
      [Article author here] Because it's holding us back, very very badly. When I swear at my computers, which I do quite a lot, I want them to know what it means and to pay attention.
      - deafpolygon 3y ago
        I understand but compare this to what else we've got. Apple seems happy to throw everything out and start over every few years. I would say they've conditioned the Apple fanbase to always want changes, even if they're not to the benefit of end users. I'm not sure how older software fare on macOS but when I used macOS for ~10 yrs... it was always something new that everyone should be using. Or use the software that is packaged with the OS. The push is stronger every year to move to iCloud or some sort of managed platform, which means an ever-increasing amount of lock-in. On the Linux side of the house, you're bound to run into lib incompatibilities. There's ever an ongoing churn of breaking changes on Linux. So, unless someone has been maintaining packages for your specific distribution, you might be out of luck unless you're technically inclined. On mobile OSes, you fare even worse. Running older software is a herculean task on that front. Then there's the never ending cycle of in-app purchases and subscriptions you have to tangle with. Being on Windows, for all of its warts, is a much-needed departure from the above. I can still run games I played back in 1997 as well as most software from that time. With WSL2, you get the added benefit of running a Linux environment alongside your Windows one now.
        wkjagt 3y ago
        I have an old iPad Mini (2nd or 3rd gen, can’t remember) that would make a perfect controller for my Sonos speakers. Its hardware is more than capable enough. Except the Sonos app requires a version of iOS that this iPad can’t run. Sometimes backward compatibility is wonderful. (Typing this on my 1st gen iPhone SE. A wonderful phone, but I’ll probably have to stop using that soon as well, for similar reasons)
  - ls612 3y ago
    I hope Windows remains backward compatible as long as humanly possible. I hope in 2050 I can load games from my childhood and they run just fine on modern Windows. Even if it means it isn’t as streamlined as macOS.
  - pjmlp 3y ago
    It is also a reason why I keep using it as main OS, despite my years of experience with UNIX like OSes.
  - karmakaze 3y ago
    Backward compatible only has to run the older software. Windows versions have no qualms about moving/duplicating settings about all willy-nilly. The start button/menu and notifications have changed numerous times, just not in the best (to be generous) ways.
- black_13 3y ago
  [dead]

IronWolve 3y ago

Pretty happy with the advanced of windows, with windows terminal and vms, I have WSL running ubuntu, I have cuda running local LLM's and Stable Diffusion. The demo of GTA 6 looks photo realistic. Microsoft Code is pretty nice. I have access to instant streaming music and videos. Think we came pretty far actually.

NikkiA 3y ago

I remember installing Win32S sometime in (earlyish) '93 to be able to run an app that had only been released for NT beta; seems so far away now.