DConf 2013 Day 3 Talk 1: Metaprogramming in the Real World by Don Clugston

[Peter Alexander]

On Thursday, 13 June 2013 at 16:53:38 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:
> Back in the bad old DOS days, there were many code editors that 
> worked instantly. No perceptible delays at all. I find it 
> ironic that today, with machines 1000 times faster, some 
> vendors consider it acceptable to have 15 second delays.

Indeed. Software responsiveness is my #1 pet peeve with just 
about all software.

If a video game can simulate physics, render millions of 
triangles, stream multiple channels of audio, and process game 
logic and AI in under 16ms then your crappy text editor can at 
least have the decency to put a character on the screen when I 
press a key without having to wait multiple seconds.

 From a cold boot, the terminal I use, iTerm, can take upwards of 
10 seconds to start up before I can start entering commands.

People just don't care anymore.

In 1977, when Alan Kay was describing DynaBook (basically, the 
iPad) he said:

"There should be no discernible pause between cause
and effect. One of the metaphors we used when designing
such a system was that of a musical instrument, such as
a flute, which is owned by its user and responds
instantly and consistently to its owner's wishes. Imagine
the absurdity of a one-second delay between blowing a
note and hearing it!"

http://www.vpri.org/pdf/m1977001_dynamedia.pdf

35 years later and we now have the device he described, but the 
absurdity isn't imaginary.