Discussion
There is a technology which is so expensive to operate that *just by existing*, it has made things like RAM and hard drives unaffordable to me and the humans I know, because the expensive technology's operational demands are so high they had to buy RAM and hard drives *until there weren't anymore RAM or hard drives*.
*A technology with this property is not, and was never going to be, a "democratizing" technology*.
@mcc it's an enclosure technology. Enclosing humanity's common knowledge and creativity.
@mcc Firstly, AI can fuck right off.
Secondly, don't blame AI because the SSD and DRAM fabs are insanely greedy and signed long-term advance deals with AI and datacenter companies that fucked up pricing for everyone else.
The obvious solution to rich customers fucking over everyone else is to limit delivery sizes, as is demonstrated in this scene from Blade Runner... The fab vendors have less spine than a noodle vendor.
"it has made things like RAM and hard drives unaffordable to me and the humans I know"
Wow, you weren't around when hobbyists were paying $200 for 64k of ram. We were poor, but determined to get a handle on this new technology.
At the turn of the century, 1 TB of storage space was 4 x $250 hard drives. Now, 24 TB is under a grand. If you have a use for it, you'll buy it. It f you don't have a use for it, it's kind of something not worth complaining about.
Computers are still cheap - we just went through a period in time where they were throw-away cheap. Same happened with cell phones - people bought new ones because they wanted new ones, not because their old one was broken.
I'm not happy with the current ramaggedon, but that will change after AI collapses. In the meantime, we either make do with what we've got or upgrade where necessary for our needs, not our "wants." Same as it's always been for some of us.
@barbra what an amazingly stupid perspective.
How is a historical perspective, that puts things into perspective, stupid?
It's not like we HAVE to always upgrade to the newest just because it's new. Cell phones are the best example. They don't wear out after 3 years, and the latest "feature", which I have zero use for, is "AI" .
Same as I have no use for folding screens.
If you NEED another drive, or more ram, you'll buy it. If you don't NEED it, you'll make do until the AI scam collapses and manufacturers rediscover the consumer market.
And of course there's China. By next year their ordinary ram will be both good enough and cheap enough for consumers. That will help revive their consumer motherboard and power supply manufacturers.
And that will help retailers around the world (except the US, which will block them).
2029, things are either back to normal wrt hardware or we're in a world-wide depression. I can wait a couple of years for my next upgrade. So can most people.
I won't buy it, because I don't have the money. Nobody can magically manifest money, even if they really need it. Unless you're suggesting the problem here is I'm not willing to work hard enough for the techbros that they give me enough money?
You're right that hobbyists made do in the 70's and 80's, but that doesn't mean we aren't currently in a world-wide depression. People are suffering today, more than they ever did in the 70's, thanks to the worldwide neoliberal coup. That computers were more expensive back then does not diminish this suffering.
...well OK there's less pollution at least, but otherwise things have been going to hell in Russia, S. America, the Middle East, and Africa. And the USA, as much as USAers want to pretend they're privileged.
"Democratizing" seems to imply it brings some sort of power to everyone, more or less equally, "democratically". Is there a word for a technology which brings power exclusively to people who can afford high financial demands, and brings more power to you the more you are able to pay for it? Yes, there's a word for that. The word is "classist"
@mcc them: “democratizing”
me: [puts on the “they live” glasses]
them: “monopolizing”
"Oh", but maybe you are thinking at some level. "You're talking about the cost to *operate* the technology. The cost to *use* the technology is generally free, because a bunch of centibillionaires are using *their* money to let everyone else use it at free or subsidized price".
Oh worm. Hey so why do you suppose they are doing that
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