Dave Plummer is a software developer who has been around since the early days of Microsoft Windows. He has retired and not maintains a chunk of old computers (especially the PDPs which are close to my heart). Very smart. Very humorous (“and whatever dark pact your printer made with the devil”). While this video may give off a bit of “get off my lawn” vibe, it absolutely isn’t. He is honest about the different world modern devs have to deal with and is more concerned about bringing past discipline into today’s modern tools, projects, and approaches.
His point about constraints being important is foundational to any creative process. His point about software buyers being the driver for this lack of focus on performance is also spot on. The speed of hardware and networking has reduced the pressure on software to be efficient. “AI comes along with a can of gasoline.” AI creates mediocre code with, unless prompted properly, no concern for performance and throughput.
The last half of the video is the best (but you need the first half for background and context). The better title would be: How to make your coding prompts better. It isn’t just about features. ~16 minutes.
Video is ~16 minutes.