On a sunny day (27 Apr 2018 17:43:03 GMT) it happened Charlie Gibbs
 wrote in :

>On 2018-04-27, Martin Gregorie  wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 27 Apr 2018 17:29:08 +0100, Gareth's Downstairs Computer wrote:
>>
>>> Remeber Billy Gates? 640k is more than enough ...
>>
>> Indeed, the lesson is obvious: don't design or write anything that
>> depends on the limitations of current systems, which primarily means not
>> writing in anything lower-level than C - and certainly not in assembler.
>
>On the other tentacle, if you base your living on planned obsolescence,
>it's the ideal strategy.

It all depends.
In embedded if you write the code for a mouse or some sensor, then asm is just 
fine, or better,
smaller chip, cheaper (if millions are produced every cent counts).

I look at things different, I buy a computer, install Linux on it,
and it does what it does. I do NOT upgrade OS / kernel, I do install special
drivers.
After X years I buy a new one, faster, newer features, from big floppies to
smaller floppies to card slots,
from hard disks to flash-drives, from 80x24 text to 4048xsomething 36 bit deep
graphics, you name it.
Most of it is in hardware, video decoders, encoders. network, drivers.

That little bit C code I wrote will usually compile on the new system, else it
is easily fixed.
It does take at least a week to port all sort of things.

So things change, get used to it,

I see computer and software as one thing.
Tune it as fine as you want.

The new model opens new possibilities that require different approaches.

Interfaces change, standards change, applications change.

We live in a world where incompatibility sells. People buying analog TV,
digital TV, HD TV, ultra HD TV,
a consumer world, capitalism, throw away society, next cellphone has more
features, bigger camera, other display type,
different battery, what not, new 2G 3G 4G 5G, sell sell sell.

Programming languages change, you may not find a compiler for some old ones.
Now we get the internet of things.
Guess what, those standards will change.
 'planned obsolescence' it is.
Somebody once wrote:
 'The fun things about standards is that there are so many to choose from.'

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