Slow Software for a Burning World

https://bonfirenetworks.org/posts/slow_software_for_a_burning_world/

#HackerNews #SlowSoftware #BurningWorld #TechForGood #ClimateChange #SoftwareDevelopment

With our modern #computing technology -- desktop #computers with 8 or more CPU cores, each running at multiple #gigahertz, executing a sum total of many billions of instructions per second, with memory measured in double-digit #gigabytes, blindingly fast main storage from SSDS -- I am always continually amazed that #slow #software even exists.

I'm not talking about something where extended calculations genuinely tie up the processor for an arbitrary length of time. I mean, "this program takes a seeming age just to do X".

I was reminded of this again yesterday. Audacity, the audio-editing program, takes about 10s from clicking the icon to it showing a window (on a Linux x86_64 PC). This isn't opening a project or any data files; it's just to get the program initialized to a state where you can see the UI.

And that's the cache-hot behaviour on this machine, which isn't slow.

What the heck is #Audacity doing in those 10s? If the answer is "loading plugins", I'd again point out that this is sufficient time to load many gigabytes of data from SSD, open and read hundreds of files, , and execute many billions of CPU instructions, with time left over. I don't buy this as a legitimate explanation.

#SlowSoftware #waiting

@uncanny_kate Re-start. We need to re-start #slowsoftware. #Agile is equally to blame as the #javascript insanity.

@jaredwhite As I reflect on this, I think there are some other things that are sort of in the same nexus as #SlowSoftware: offline-capable, old and small tech, privacy-protecting software, #FLOSS, etc. Projects like #Gemini and #NNCP are great examples of things that fit in with your idea (#gopher too). Distributed, peer-to-peer systems are common.

What is this big "blob" of properties? I mean, there's the Small Technology Foundation. Your approach is about 20degrees different, also good 🙂

Thanks, @strypey

I'm following up on @laura and @aral now.

I remember the WWW before Wired magazine interrupted and took over the narrative.

Paulina Borsook wrote about that moment in "Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp through the Terribly Libertarian Culture of High Tech" (2000).

http://www.cyberselfish.com/

As they say, if you want to change the world, change the language you use to describe it. The rest will follow.

#EFSchumacher #SmallIsBeautiful #SlowCulture #SlowSoftware

Welcome to the fediverse @mark_mcguire !

> I’ve been thinking about EF Schumacher's Small is Beautiful

I read most of this book about 20 years ago, very influential on my thinking. The permaculture principle "small and slow solutions" was not doubt inspired at least in part by Schumacher's work. I like to think of the fediverse as small and slow solutions for social media ;)

See also @laura and @aral 's work on Small Tech.

#EFSchumacher #SmallIsBeautiful #SlowCulture #SlowSoftware