Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Do you feel bad when devices aren't utilized to the extreme?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 132 posts

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel bad when devices aren't utilized to the extreme?

#101

Post by fock »

nrp wrote: post #89
MrTortoise wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

do you have any data to support that?

Sure. Two good sources are: 1. Life Cycle Assessment of Fairphone 4, showing an estimated 75% of energy use occurring during production and 16% during the lifetime of use: https://www.fairphone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Fairpho... 2. Eco profile of a 13.5" Surface Laptop 5, showing 85% of energy use occurring during production and 12% during the lifetime of use: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmat…

now a fairphone uses 2W during use, a dual-socket server 100W in idle (!). Assuming emissions scale with weight, I'd say for a typical server, this is very different.

Still, I agree with you: design for efficiency and then mend and use efficiently.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel bad when devices aren't utilized to the extreme?

#102

Post by SQueeeeeL »

dmitrybrant wrote: post #58

Yes, definitely. I feel a profound sense of despair when we purchase a mobile device with the most cutting-edge CPU and insane amount of memory, and proceed to saddle it with a bloated VM that's designed to guardrail and protect the device from even more bloated, leaky, crashy, unresponsive apps. And when we purchase a new desktop workstation, equipped with even more staggering horsepower, we're totally OK with insta…

Yeah, I feel an immense loss of "art" in modern software. Very specific example, but looking back at the sheer beauty of innovation to program the original Pokemon on a Gameboy, with it's complex compression schemes and systems to render the menus and battles. Compared to today where they release a $60 "next-gen" Pokemon game with massive performance issues and huge graphical bugs. It's just kinda sad to see software become so industrialized and commodified.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel bad when devices aren't utilized to the extreme?

#104

Post by kevinfiol »

Smartphone waste is the big one that makes me feel bad. I use my Pixel 5 for the same things I used my old Moto G5, but it was either I looked for an obscure custom ROM with an up-to-date AOSP version, or risk using an outdated now-slow phone.

I hope to keep my Pixel 5 as long as possible. One thing I'm trying to do is to only use stock apps or lightweight FOSS apps where possible, since most "big" commercial apps seem to get slower/more resource intensive with time cough Discord cough.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel bad when devices aren't utilized to the extreme?

#105

Post by brailsafe »

Yes, that's why I'm very frugal and critical of new purchases. I have a 2019 intel mbp, and I definitely use it to its limit, and it's relatively slow compared to M1, but I don't think I'd get $4500 worth value out of a new one.

People who buy new iPhones even once every 2 or 3 years kind of gross me out with that choice (lookin at you ATP). I have what I consider a phone that is nice enough for the money, and just don't consider anything beyond it to be a suitable use of money. Also don't push it to any limit, have a very standard set of minimally demanding activities I use it for.

I haven't had a car in 4 years. When I had one, it was easy enough to justify the stupid gas and insurance expenses. Since then, I'll periodically do the math on the ongoing and initial cost of getting even a used one, and I can't think of what I could do with it that would justify its expense and existence in my life.

A new GPU would be neat, but then I think "what game would be fun enough to warrant this purchase? what am I currently doing that would usefully push it" and the answer is nothing.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel bad when devices aren't utilized to the extreme?

#106

Post by trap_goes_hot »

tharkun__ wrote: post #95
trap_goes_hot wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People review products for their own use case. I see the comment and I go okay - thats a one star review. You may give it a 4/5 star, so its all good then?

I apologize in advance to other readers, but feeding this troll is sort of fun. I only have this one cookie left anyway. In fact, yes, that is exactly how reviews should work, if there wasn't so many fake reviews that it's not helping. People have a tendency to review and especially comment on a review, if they have an issue with something. Even a product with 3 stars could actually be a 4.5 star overall. The comment…

The OP used a product and it didn't perform as expected. The expectations are set by the marketing material, and conversations and comments by other fans enthusing about "awesome performance".

I have no clue what you're talking about calling it a fake review and such. Your cookie was a bit moldy ;)

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel bad when devices aren't utilized to the extreme?

#107

Post by Wheatbow »

I'm not sure that we are browsing the same internet, but many sites made with React and similar do utilize an entire core, so you do need a powerful processor. It's one of the problems people are trying to solve with server-side rendering and resumability, to only execute the JavaScript on the client needed for interactivity, when it's needed.

Obviously the machine is a tool, to be used for what you need it for. Just because you have a genitalia capable of making a thousand children it doesn't mean that you need a thousand children. Besides children are expensive to have, and so is electricity. Batteries don't grow on trees either.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel bad when devices aren't utilized to the extreme?

#108

Post by fifanut »

My oven spends most of its time off, and when I use it, it's heats only to 70% of its potential.

My hair clippers are unused 99.9% of the time.

There are benefits to having the ability to opportunistically burst into 100%, and some benefits aren't easily measurable in performance terms (having an up to date secure MacBook).

We can find wasted potential in various places:

* the millions of people receiving poor education

* people working in jobs below their potential skillset

* galaxies with vast idle resources

* people spending time on logistics/bureaucracy

There's a world of opportunity out there for improvement.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel bad when devices aren't utilized to the extreme?

#110

Post by maximus-decimus »

I'm sure software being slower than molasses wastes much more computer resources than unused outdated phones.

Plus, if computing power isn't strictly necessary to achieve a task, but makes the experience smoother, is it really wasted? Nobody wants their web browser to look like a power point (which it kinda does on my pinebook pro, a $200 arm laptop). Most people could daily it, but stuff running smoother is worth something.

Post reply on HN