Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:11:55 -0800, Walter Bright wrote: > Justin Johansson wrote: >> Generally speaking on the substance of the remarks on this thread (as >> below; retard et. al) ... >> >> especially ... >> > Unfortunately computer programs seem to inflate over time. A typical >> > program doubles its size in 2-3 years. I would understand this if a >> > tradeoff was made between size and performance but unfortunately >> > many programs also perform worse than before. >> >> >> The blot is called marketing and is the hallmark of a capitalistic, >> consumerist, non-green and resource-unsustainable society. > > > It's generally a problem with the difference between what people say > they want and what they'll spend money on. They say they want a stripper > but over and over they buy the fully optioned version. > > I few years ago, I was looking to buy a pickup truck but instead got a > used commercial van. It's very interesting how different it is from a > consumer van. The commercial one is a "stripper" - nothing but what it > needs to get the job done. No radio, no stereo, no cupholder, no > electric windows, no A/C, no heated seats, no glove box, no courtesy > lights, no cruise control, no chrome, no badges, no trim, no nothing but > what is needed to do its job. It's actually kind of neat-o. You can't > buy anything like that in the consumer catalog. > > (Back in the 80's, the Japanese car companies discovered that sales > increased if all the "options" were rolled into the base configuration.) > > The same goes for most consumer items. When was the last time you didn't > prefer buying a phone with the longest feature list?
I actually prefer smartphones with smaller power consumption. A slower CPU and less features is better if you can increase the active uptime from 3 hours to one week. The worst smartphone I've had had to be recharged 3 times in a day because the buggy applications drained all battery almost immediately.
