I think this is a case of selective memory. I’m restoring and programming for an old Mac Plus, and it’s anything but blindly fast. Booting, opening an application, hell even dragging a window has visible refresh of the contents behind it. Windows used to take forever to boot (still isn’t that fast), and anything requiring networking was orders of magnitude slower.
Almost everything on computers is perceptually slower than it was in 1983 (2017)
121–130 of 451 posts
Re: Almost everything on computers is perceptually slower than it was in 1983 (2017)
#122There are some good points here, but of course I am going to ignore those to talk instead about the stuff I disagree with! The section about google maps follows a form of criticism that is widespread and particularly annoys me, namely => popular service 'x' doesn't exactly fit my power user need 'y', therefore x is hopelessly borked, poorly designed, and borderline useless. There is always room for improvement, but a…
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Re: Almost everything on computers is perceptually slower than it was in 1983 (2017)
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
How would not erasing information when you move the map compromise the current use case, though?
Because especially on mobile, screen space is insanely valuable, and if you want to show new information from the new area the map has been moved to you often need to remove "stale" information.
Sure, but it could just as easily be a button to clear this information explicitly or it could just be hidden, but not deleted.
Re: Almost everything on computers is perceptually slower than it was in 1983 (2017)
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nope, the STB has everything it needs to decrypt the channels you have access to. Tuning live TV channels happens 100% on the box. The only exception (a technology called Switched Digital Video) is just a way to save bandwidth on the cable, nothing to do with conditional access.
If I unplug my internet connection, my box won't let me do much at all. If I press pause or fast forward it just tells me the operation isn't authorized.
That's a weird system, certainly not the standard way of doing things on a traditional cable TV system.
Re: Almost everything on computers is perceptually slower than it was in 1983 (2017)
#125This is a very hard rant to read. The examples either aren't factually true or are poorly explained and the "solution" is largely nebulous. I feel like this topic has merit and with a well written article with real examples (both 2019 and 83) it could be something special, but this isn't that. I'd be interested to know how many upvoted based on the title/what they expected this to be, rather than after having tried t…
I appreciated his complaints, but not his solution. Only a programmer would think that going back to keyboards is a good idea.
Most people are happy waiting for a few seconds for their webpage to load, if it means they can do it without learning anything new.
Programming is a profession, and we design software for people who have other interests than software. Many of us would be better off if we got better at empathizing with people who are not like us.
Re: Almost everything on computers is perceptually slower than it was in 1983 (2017)
#126What bugs me about these nostalgic rants is that somehow the convenience of today should be mixed with the frugal interfaces of the past.
So you couldn't be bothered to find a better route planner and defaulted to Google Maps? Which you got for free, instantly available? And now you're unhappy because it doesn't do exactly what you want? Please spend some effort on your tool selection before you spend time ranting. And let's turn this around: Did you at some point in 1990 wish you'd brought a map? How did you resolve that? Google Maps on a pocket computer would have been a marvel back then!
Re: Almost everything on computers is perceptually slower than it was in 1983 (2017)
#127I got mad just yesterday at a new transit system interface with a map. It has moving icons to represent the present locations of buses. I clicked on a single point in the map, and it popped open a big black box of information. So big that it covered the icons of interest. Hmmm. If I could move the box to one side, I could leave it open ... nope, the box won't move.
Bad enough. So I wanted to close the box. That took a minute, because you couldn't just click anywhere inside, you had to click at one single ... and unmarked ... location. Here? Here? Here?
Re: Almost everything on computers is perceptually slower than it was in 1983 (2017)
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
The example for maps is not a "hyper specific use case": "The process you WANT: pick your start and end. now start searching for places in between. Your start and end are saved. When you find someplace interesting, add it to your list. Keep doing that, keep searching and adding." That's a common use case. The problem with Google maps (and the problem with a lot of modern software) is, as you say, it makes a lot of gu…
Why do you think that use case is that common? And why do you think google maps should elevate that particular use case above other competing use cases?
I have not conducted a survey, but they strike me as reasonably common desires.
On a 4-5 hour road trip, I want to take the kids to see a castle or something somewhere around 1/2 to 3/4 of the way. Even just wanting to have lunch somewhere other than Hilton Park or Newport Pagnell would be such a use case.
I have also wanted it for visiting someone - I'm going to their house, what is my most convenient option for buying some wine and/or flowers on the way?
I have wanted it when I've been away from home and have a big time gap between finishing my planned activities (or having to check out of my hotel) and my train or plane departure. What is the best way to spend a few hours that is anywhere on the route from here to the airport/station.
Re: Almost everything on computers is perceptually slower than it was in 1983 (2017)
#129Kind of related: does anyone else notice how long it takes to change channels on the TV these days? It used to be instantaneous when cable first came out and at some point it became this laggy experience where you'll press buttons on the remote and the channel takes forever to change. I hate it and it's one of the reasons I don't have cable any more.
It's patently absurd that a modern cable box chugs just when flipping through the channel guide. The provider has control over the software and the hardware so it should be butter smooth all the time.
Doing that would take extra work, and cost more money. Why should they bother, when the dinosaurs who still watch cable TV aren't going to pay them any more for this butter-smooth experience? The people who care about such things have all moved to on-demand streaming services.
Re: Almost everything on computers is perceptually slower than it was in 1983 (2017)
#130The reason for this is, among other things, systems programmers wrote the UIs in 1983. Today random twenty-years-old web-muppets write the UIs.
The system programmers of 1983 were used to low-level programming, and most of them had probably written code in assembler. Web programmers seldom have that deep understanding of the computer.
At least, this is true from my own personal experience.