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> unless I’m building software for a disconnected desktop? ... Why wouldn't you build software that works there? As I understand things, the purpose of comput

by zahlman 9mo ago

> unless I’m building software for a disconnected desktop? ... Why wouldn't you build software that works there? As I understand things, the purpose of computers is to run software. But more importantly, let's suppose your software does require an Internet connection to function. Why should that imply a requirement for your development environment to have one? Why should that imply a requirement for a code generation tool to have one?

raw_anon_1111 9mo ago
Because to a first approximation, no one wants desktop software, maintenance is a pain, it’s a pain to distribute across a large organization and people want to use the same app across devices and no one will pay me for it. > But more importantly, let's suppose your software does require an Internet connection to function. Because I have been able to depend on “fast” internet since 2000 both at home and at work, just like I’ve been able to depend on a compiler since 1992? There is nothing so important that can’t wait in the rare chance that internet goes out. > Why should that imply a requirement for a code generation tool to have one Because I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars to run a frontier model locally when I can spend $20/month and codex is included with my ChatGPT subscription?
- zahlman 9mo ago
  Then why are people constantly talking about how expensive it is now to get a new computer with 64GB of RAM and several TB of flash storage and a modern graphics card? Why would they remotely need any of that, if "to a first approximation no one wants desktop software"? > when I can spend $20/month and codex is included with my ChatGPT subscription? I bought the machine I'm posting from for about $1k (with some minor upgrades since then). Canadian. More than 11 years ago. And that gets me the entire computer rather than one specific cloud service. $20/month is a lot, actually. Even comparing to a new computer (which there is apparently still a lot of demand for): monthly charges really should be compared to a couple decades of principal, the amount you'd have to save up to yield that cash flow as a return on investment (or just interest). But even just a year or two of $20/month is hundreds of dollars. That's not insignificant, when the opportunity cost is reckoned in terms of physical goods that perform general computation.
  - raw_anon_1111 9mo ago
    People outside of the small nerd community aren’t buying computers with 64GB of RAM. With that $1000 computer can you run an LLM that can write code for you?
    - zahlman 9mo ago
      With this computer I can write code.
      - raw_anon_1111 9mo ago
        So can Claude, if you’re wanting to be relevant for the next 5 years, hopefully it won’t be based on “I codez real gud”.

by zahlman 9mo ago

raw_anon_1111 9mo ago

Because to a first approximation, no one wants desktop software, maintenance is a pain, it’s a pain to distribute across a large organization and people want to use the same app across devices and no one will pay me for it. > But more importantly, let's suppose your software does require an Internet connection to function. Because I have been able to depend on “fast” internet since 2000 both at home and at work, just like I’ve been able to depend on a compiler since 1992? There is nothing so important that can’t wait in the rare chance that internet goes out. > Why should that imply a requirement for a code generation tool to have one Because I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars to run a frontier model locally when I can spend $20/month and codex is included with my ChatGPT subscription?

zahlman 9mo ago
Then why are people constantly talking about how expensive it is now to get a new computer with 64GB of RAM and several TB of flash storage and a modern graphics card? Why would they remotely need any of that, if "to a first approximation no one wants desktop software"? > when I can spend $20/month and codex is included with my ChatGPT subscription? I bought the machine I'm posting from for about $1k (with some minor upgrades since then). Canadian. More than 11 years ago. And that gets me the entire computer rather than one specific cloud service. $20/month is a lot, actually. Even comparing to a new computer (which there is apparently still a lot of demand for): monthly charges really should be compared to a couple decades of principal, the amount you'd have to save up to yield that cash flow as a return on investment (or just interest). But even just a year or two of $20/month is hundreds of dollars. That's not insignificant, when the opportunity cost is reckoned in terms of physical goods that perform general computation.
- raw_anon_1111 9mo ago
  People outside of the small nerd community aren’t buying computers with 64GB of RAM. With that $1000 computer can you run an LLM that can write code for you?
  - zahlman 9mo ago
    With this computer I can write code.
    - raw_anon_1111 9mo ago
      So can Claude, if you’re wanting to be relevant for the next 5 years, hopefully it won’t be based on “I codez real gud”.