Comment by jacquesm
10 hours ago
I love these efforts to get proper models running on lower cost hardware and I think this is where the next real breakthrough will come from. The more efficient this sort of thing can be done the bigger the chance to democratize this tech, 'good enough' is what you need and as long 'top of the line' gives a competitive edge even if it is at a cost there is a substantial risk of the door closing on general computing at some point in the near future. Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that the pendulum has to swing back, it can swing one way and get stuck, and then you're going to have to beg for crumbs from the haves.
I think there's a very good chance that history will rhyme a bit.
DOS/Windows and PC clones were by no means the best available, but they were cheap, ubiquitous, and versatile compared to alternatives that were either much better at one task but more expensive or better at everything but wildly expensive. They were "good enough" and represented a solid improvement over what many existing computer users had as well as a good entry point for new users. As such they spread like wildfire and became the standard while the expensive alternatives either became hardcore niche or vanished.
SUN Apollo SGI
Though to be fair it was Linux more than Windows that killed them. Dos and Windows were competition for DEC and - ironically - IBM.