Shocking Discovery: Why Are Modern Computers Slower Than 20 Years Ago?

By comparing an old computer running Windows NT 3.51 to a new one running Windows 11, the author reveals shockingly slow application launch times on the latter. This sparks a discussion about the regression in modern computer performance. The article delves into the reasons behind this phenomenon, including software bloat, frameworks and abstraction layers, overemphasis on developer efficiency, and widespread adoption of managed languages. Despite significant hardware advancements, poor software design choices have eaten away at these improvements, resulting in a degraded user experience. The author argues that unless software development priorities shift, even Apple's Apple Silicon chips cannot prevent this performance decline.