The claim that “1000x is extraordinary” is demonstrably wrong.
You can browse virtually any modern website today and see time to full load of 15+ seconds, followed by time to link load of 7+ seconds.
Back in the days of single core pentiums, 1 second loads were considered severely broken.
Modern software on modern hardware takes tens of seconds to start, whereas software with more features in the pentium days loaded instantly.
1000x is not only not “extraordinary”, it’s actually the demonstrable norm today. You think it’s extraordinary as a result of simply not knowing what computers are capable of.