On Tue, Mar 14, 2017 at 07:07:14PM -0700, Chris Trask wrote:
> Having seen the ramifications of all these changes in the personal
> computer landscape, I've been wondering what the next step will be in forced
> obsolescence. It scares me, but it may be the end of all support for 32-bit
> systems with a determined focus on 64-bit systems and the headlong charge
> into 128-bit systems.
>
> We need to be at least one step ahead of this potential threat, so I'm
> proposing that a resistance group be formed: The 32-Bit Under Ground (32-BUG).
A group very similar to 32-BUG already exists... I don't know what
they're called, but they're in the office between the Flat-Earth
Research Society and the Order of Male Chauvinist Pigs. "The secret is
to bang the rocks together, guys" :)
Seriously though, the only problem with a 32-bit platform is the hard
3.5G-ish memory limit. Fine for most normal things but if you process
homogenous bulk data (digital image processing, anyone?), the disk gets
thrashed doing memory-swapping and the machine does very little useful
work ('doze machines that are more than a week old do this, as the user
profile data has grown to gagabytes* in size!).
The sad thing is that the skript-kiddies in the development department
expend no effort on efficient coding. To make it worse, most programmers
are taught in Java-like languages, which can never be tight... and
requires an underlying 'virtual machine' (old farts like me would say:
interpreter) to execute it. This is also subject to bloat and full of
security holes (I miss you, Chuck :,( ).
If more people were to adopt efficient OS's in general home computing
instead of the usual bloatware, the push to faster and wider would be a
whole lot less... However as a result of the fatware, us experimenters
get lots of nice _cheap_and_powerful_ junk as cast-offs to build real
computers with! The other fall out is that the pro-grade kit is also
much cheaper for the big boys...
davidt
*hyperbole alert!!!
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