Hacker News Reader

There is no speed of computer which cannot be overwhelmed by badly written code.

I guess your point is that sloppy web developers / web companies make poorly performing code and shift the burden of handling it out to visitors’ machines, so those machines have to keep improving to not be left behind?

That might be true, but is pretty depressing.

View on HN

Conversely: There is no speed of computer which cannot be utilised to reduce developer effort.

Faster computers enable easier programming strategies, which improve net productivity. People are expensive, so giving them better "power tools" improves efficiency.

We don't complain that coal miners just need to shovel more efficiently. We give them enormous trucks and hydraulic mining shovels.

I think "fast, cheap, good, pick 2" applies. Obviously the current bloated, ad-laden state of the web is pretty horrible and indefensible. But if we can keep making compute faster, it should ultimately save programmer time, which can be used to either get cheaper or better programs.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com