Back in the day we used to read that sentence everywhere: IBM PC and compatible. It just meant that that machine was able to run the same software and support the same expansion cards. And for a time, it was good.
Now. Microsoft announces that new processors will not be supported on W7 or W8. W10S will use a store only, like iOS and Android/Chrome. Octane render only works on CUDA, a Nvidia proprietary standard while OpenCL which does wonder on AMD cards is not supported. Performances between software applications on the latest hardware vary greatly when it used to be a lot more homogenous.
We’re losing something here.
I know why: it’s a mix of simplifying/securing things for users while companies get more control on top of an absurdly more complex than ever computer world.
The move to students and schools is just a way to secure a future world where those people, that generation doesn’t even know that we used to basically run anything, on anything. That’s how geeks became geeks. You know, making Doom run on HVAC computer of whatever. Demoscene. Emulators. Game development.
We’re creating extremely docile consumers. Facebook does the same thing to almost 2 billion people now who are incapable to search for information now, outside the first result their phones give them.
At this rate by 2020 we will live in complete silos, never questioning anything. Engineers, I urge you to reverse some of that shit back. I know, they pay you guys very well to create that world but please resist more.