> Jordan Hazen <jnh@aug.com> wrote:
>
> I've sometimes thought that, for all of the headaches, Windoze and similar
> bloatware might actually be doing us some good in the long run, by
> accelerating development on the hardware side.
Clearly true. The Msofties are always writing for the next generation and thats why they can get away with being so sloppy.
That is also why Intel is so concerned that the hardware may get to the point that it effectively runs most software, that they are providing capital to companies to invent more things to suck up CPU cycles. I can't wait until my computer can record those few TV shows I think are worth watching and carefully edit out the commercials...
>
> If Joe Average didn't feel the need for a 64MB PII-450 to run his latest
> word processor and web browser, such hardware might not be quite so cheap
> today :)
I hate to tell you this, but Windows 2000 Beta 3, runs quite nicely on a 2 year old, 64MB, dual 200 MHz Pentium Pro machine. The processors have already caught up with the software and applications. The only thing driving stuff forward at this point are things like games, DVD, DigitalTV and the really silly stuff like SETI@home or cracking encryption codes that someone already knows the answer for.
Robert