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Blah, blah, blah... "software bloat = CPU cycles = energy consumption". Another boring blog post about the same old crap. I really was hoping to see an article

Blah, blah, blah... "software bloat = CPU cycles = energy consumption". Another boring blog post about the same old crap. I really was hoping to see an article about the harsh chemicals, heavy metals and exotic compounds used in chip fabrication plants, and printed circuit board production. Not to mention the all the batteries attached to them. ...or maybe at least how we consume all these devices like candy, compared with statistics gathered on actual recycling practices employed by end users. But no. Just another head-in-the-clouds post on Hacker News about software and conflated theories about chips from some blogger who probably hasn't ever even bothered to look at the assembly produced by a compiler (or even a disassembler). Oh well.

khitchdee 14y ago
We are actually planning to build gadgets based on fixed function chips which are significantly greener than microprocessor based solutions. Intel et al at the same time are taking microprocessor based design to its logical next steps. We want to highlight that there's an inherent flaw in making the assumption that programmable function == more utilitarian == makes more sense because that's the way its been done the last 40 years. There is a lot of bloat in today's gadgets which fixed function alternatives will completely get rid of.
npsimons 14y ago
Yeah, I think this was a sub-par post. I understand that maybe the author had a different point (even though the author's grammar and spelling are competent, I suspect English isn't their first language), but I suspect that they don't have a very good grasp of electronics design, or electronics manufacturing. And this is coming from a software weenie. Sure, you could make some good points about e-waste, and the bloat of software, the inefficiency of modern processors (up until recently), or even critique the whole disposable culture, but suggesting that producing locked down chips that are practically designed for planned obsolescence is the solution? No, sorry. That argument was lost when they started putting general purpose microchips in microwaves.
tlb 14y ago
Pollution from chip fabrication is worth exploring. In the old days, cleaning solvents were a big problem -- see for example http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/The-valley-s-toxic-history-IBM-trial-is-latest-2826844.php http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/The-valley-s-toxic-his... You should research and write such an article -- it would be valuable.

khitchdee 14y ago

We are actually planning to build gadgets based on fixed function chips which are significantly greener than microprocessor based solutions. Intel et al at the same time are taking microprocessor based design to its logical next steps. We want to highlight that there's an inherent flaw in making the assumption that programmable function == more utilitarian == makes more sense because that's the way its been done the last 40 years. There is a lot of bloat in today's gadgets which fixed function alternatives will completely get rid of.

npsimons 14y ago

Yeah, I think this was a sub-par post. I understand that maybe the author had a different point (even though the author's grammar and spelling are competent, I suspect English isn't their first language), but I suspect that they don't have a very good grasp of electronics design, or electronics manufacturing. And this is coming from a software weenie. Sure, you could make some good points about e-waste, and the bloat of software, the inefficiency of modern processors (up until recently), or even critique the whole disposable culture, but suggesting that producing locked down chips that are practically designed for planned obsolescence is the solution? No, sorry. That argument was lost when they started putting general purpose microchips in microwaves.

tlb 14y ago

Pollution from chip fabrication is worth exploring. In the old days, cleaning solvents were a big problem -- see for example http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/The-valley-s-toxic-history-IBM-trial-is-latest-2826844.php http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/The-valley-s-toxic-his... You should research and write such an article -- it would be valuable.