Valuable Resources Wasted!

If you are a programmer, sooner or later you will find yourself in a discussion with other programmers (or computer professionals) about how “such and such” technology is obsolete and should simply be trashed. I get criticised because I still support Windows 95/98/ME. Now maybe I am “penny pincher” or maybe I simply don’t want to see the world turned into a huge garbage dump, but no matter I am concerned about the soundness of the mindset that you must replace your technology (computers) every few years.

This mindset is not only wrong, but immoral in my opinion. It is based on the idea of “coolness”, rather than on being rational. Why ?

Why does everyone want the latest technology ?

Because they really need it ? No! It’s because often people simply don’t want to look old fashioned (its not “cool”). They want to be like everyone else. This is probably why we have kids (I mean little kids) running around with cell phones and the like.

Did you realize that some computers built 10 years ago are better built than todays computers ? Its true. Ok, they are not as fast as todays computers and they don’t have as much memory, but they are still better built. Why ? Because today price is everything, so computer makers are doing everything possible to make computers cheaper, but remember the old adage “you get what you pay for”. Maybe these companies figure you won’t hold onto your computers for more than two or three years, so who cares if they break in a couple of years.

Well, I think its time to rethink how valuable resources are viewed, such as older computers (and software too). If we keep at the pace we are going, the world will be a huge junk yard full of old computers and devices. My impression of so called “electronics” recycling is that it is pitiful. Likely these computers are ending up in some third world country being taken apart in the most unsafe way possible. And even if recycling gets better, what about the cost of such technology ? What does it mean to consumers and businesses if they are forced to buy new equipment every couple of years ? A lot of wasted money!

To make matters worse, software developers are forcing people to junk older computers. Each new generation of software, simply pushes hardware requirements higher, so you just have to buy that new PC. Is it really necessary ? No it is not. For those of you who are not programmers (ie. consumers), did you realize that sometimes the problem is not the computers, but that the programmers are getting lazy. Yes, rather than work harder to find ways to get the most out of a computer, software developers just keep forcing hardware developers to provide more and more power to compensate for poorly designed software.

In the “old days” of preIBM compatible computers (ie. Commodore 64), programmers did amazing things with almost nothing. For example, the Commodore 64 computer had a 1mhz CPU and 64 KB memory. You could do only so much with it right ? No, not right. Some amazing programmers came along and wrote an operating system for it call Geos, which turned the C64 into a mini-Mac. They pushed the limits of the hardware to far beyond what it was designed for. Now that is programming !

Programmers don’t do that anymore. Because hardware is improving at such an amazing rate today, programmers don’t feel the need to push the limits of the hardware anymore. They are getting lazy. It’s so much easier to just call older hardware “obsolete”, than to work harder at getting more out of it. Programmers can be lazy and use this excuse (which it is) and people listen to it. Why ?

Because they don’t want to be called “uncool”.

Do you see how we have been tricked ?

Years ago, when I used to write custom software for local businesses, I had an important rule I followed. My customers worked hard for their money and I had a responsibility to not waste their money. It was my job to help them get the most out of their computers. I viewed their existing resources as valuable. Maybe thats why one of my customers was still using an old 486 (CPU) PC, running a DOS application which I wrote, when others were using Windows XP. By time the customer actually stopped using his 486 PC and upgraded to Windows XP, it was hard to find a Windows XP computer because it was starting to become obsolete as well. Oh, did I remember to mention that they are still using that DOS application today!

Now that customer really got their moneys worth out of their investments. Other companies would have upgraded their computers four or five times in the same time frame and probably their software as many times too.

So at least I can have a clean conscience knowing I saved my customer possibly thousands of dollars and also kept a number of computers from ending in the landfill (the customer never had to purchase them in the first place).

True this may mean less computers need to be built (computer companies may not like that), but maybe they could concentrate more on building better quality computers for a slightly higher price.  Or maybe they need to start getting into the software business and find ways to build better software which gets the most out of the hardware. (Sorry, I can’t solve every problem in the world).

Software developers (programmers) need to take more seriously the value of other peoples valuable resources.