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Top-level
 @tinker Something I think about often is that for most circumstances computing is a solved problem. Sure, there is always room for improvement, but in general, any new PC you buy today is basically good enough to do everything any typical person will ever need to do. The main reason for higher performance systems is because of inefficient and superfluous software (AI being a great example of both). Hardware improvements only have marginal benefits. /1 8 comments
@tinker Capitalism cannot handle the concept of a solved problem. It can never be satisfied. Everything good is eventually destroyed by its need for growth. /end  @malcircuit @tinker case in point, the latest smartphone models from all brands have had issues capturing the general public’s interest for years @GuillaumeRossolini @malcircuit @tinker at this point I only update when the security patches stop coming in. Otherwise I would keep using the same phone for longer. @malcircuit @tinker it saddens me that an old MacBook I have from 2008 would still work were it not for unsupported (and unsecure) OS. Only thing bad is the battery but it otherwise still works.  @nashenas @malcircuit - You could load linux on it. Various distros are supported and secure: https://itsfoss.com/macos-like-linux-distros/ @tinker @malcircuit I'll have to try again. I previously tried nix and that ended in a disaster. That's still not a good option for the average person though. Most people will not know how to get into their bios to allow the install |
Gregory's Server
@tinker It's a theme I see in so many domains. We have the tech right now to solve most of the material problems people have. It's good enough to make everyone's life so much better than it is, but because capitalism is always searching for growth, nothing is ever sufficient. If no improvements to a technology can be profitably made, the technology is turned into a service and rented, or systematically squeezed to extract every last drop of value that it can produce until nothing is left.
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