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in reply to Re^3: CPU cycles DO NOT MATTER! (EXPLETIVE!)
in thread CPU cycles DO NOT MATTER!

And when power prices make it more economical to optimize vs. throw hardware at it is when it will become cost-efficient to do so. Until then, the business loses money if it optimizes at every turn. As businesses only exist to make money, a money-losing business doesn't stay in business.
My criteria for good software:
  1. Does it work?
  2. Can someone else come in, make a change, and be reasonably certain no bugs were introduced?
  • Comment on Re^4: CPU cycles DO NOT MATTER! (EXPLETIVE!)

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Re^5: CPU cycles DO NOT MATTER! (EXPLETIVE!)
by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Apr 17, 2008 at 18:39 UTC
    As businesses only exist to make money, a money-losing business doesn't stay in business.

    In the 70s, it was cheaper to use iron instead of aluminium for engine blocks. And cheaper to throw CCs at the resultant weight than to make the engines more fuel efficient. But then, oil was $3/barrel, now $115/barrel.

    Have you heard the expression. Costs the earth?

    My machine is currently generating a 250M element dataset. My first attempt would have run for 57 days. I abandoned it. My second attempt would have run for 4 days. A couple of optimisations and I got that down to 20 hours. Total time expenditure was maybe 6 hours.

    Or I could have bought 70 machines, plus clustering software with shared memory capability. You do the math.

    Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
    "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
    In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
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