miniblog.

I find it really interesting how some areas of tech are widely expected to improve radically (e.g. LLMs and smart home tech), others gradually (CPU speed, battery capacity) and others very slowly (e.g. compiler optimisations). Predicting the future is hard.

There's a class of performance bugs that you can feel. Today I inadvertently implemented "Schlemiel the Painter's algorithm", and it's obvious: performance was great at first, and then it gradually deteriorates.

Apparently eBay decided to change their background colour gradually, to avoid user backlash! https://kulor.medium.com/how-ebay-secretly-changed-their-background-colour-from-yellow-to-white-ffd9718e7bb