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"It's all fairly arbitrary stuff, and in the end, the point is to present something cool running on the hardware and within the nominal restrictions, even if you get tricky to do so."

Another good, detailed perspective on it. Appreciate it. I'll especially agree with the part I quoted. :)



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the point is precisely that it is more complicated than this obvious interpretation.

whilst i don't necessarily agree... i do agree that if you want to conform to specs then you can't go thinking this way.


I think by limiting the simulator to an obviously non-realistic output, they avoid the uncanny valley and unrealistic-judgement of using their operating system in lower-speced hardware.

Specific to the software discussed here: Bit weird criticism of software that obviously is not intended to run on end-devices with MCUs, but on a more powerful gateway. (But yes, there is overall too much focus on that part compared to the bits that run closer to the hardware)

This is also, what this article is actually about. It's just from a more "hermeneutic" perspective, rather than a bottom-up approach based on an analysis of the hardware.

It's basically for performance reasons, as I understand it, not technical limitations or something like that.

It's frankly only a kind of joke.

People take it seriously, and you can hear it here and there as "argument" against proper specs.


I think his point is worrying about hardware agnosticism with a device like this is a bit like putting the cart before the horse.

Isn't that the point? Make a system usable on low-spec devices.

> elbow grease and ingenuity can remove theoretical hardware limitations

Of course, 'theoretical' hardware limitations aren't hard limits -- they're soft[ware] ones. However, if you find yourself battling concrete hardware limitations, what you need is to put your back into it and a little know-how.


I read it as just stating the minimum hardware needed to successfully run this.

I don’t imagine them making it artificially higher, just because, would serve a purpose.


This is a great response and yes something I didn't really think about with the original idea.

Considering actual, real world hardware as you point out, it is not a very good idea.


This is why when someone says "It runs XYZ!" I presume they mean it runs it well enough that it doesn't get in the way under general usage.

People sometimes take liberties with claims about what runs on what, but generally do follow that guideline.


My apologies, I read too deeply into your comment. I just enjoyed (too much) the use of the phrase 'theoretical hardware limitations'.

I assume people just do it mostly for fun but perhaps also to push some weaker hardware to its limits or to demonstrate portability.

Disregarding standards is not uncommon when you're actually running a high-performance system that faces attacks. Plenty of stuff goes into specs that just doesn't make sense while operating. Their explanation of why they are disabling ANY seems perfectly fine.

He is pointing out that it isn't necessarily a constraint, just an improvement of the product by using more performant systems.

And there's nothing wrong with that. I think programming is fun, and hardware design can be too. However, if you're a company trying to sell a product based on some specific claims, you probably should do more to convince potential users.

Indeed, architecturally it's just asking for trouble. However it also lets user extend the system in ways that aren't previously planned for. Pros and cons...

> even if that means limiting it to one set of hardware

Or starting off optimized for one set of hardware as a baseline and go from there.

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