[dba-Tech] WIndows Share

I agree wholeheartedly with you, H-C. I would estimate that 99.5% of the
users -- even of desktops, let alone smartphones and tablets -- have
absolutely no interest in knowing how or learning how to write code.
Roughly the same percentage of the population that knows or cares to learn
how to repair the fuel-injection system in their car.

When I started out in computing (circa 1980), almost every user wanted to
learn about programming. Every computer sold, regardless of platform, came
with at least one programming language. Some remained amateur programmers;
some turned pro. Since then, the percentage has steadily dwindled, as the
market shifted towards "mere" users.

Since I declared myself "semi-retired", one of the first things that I did
was to inspect my system. There were at least a couple of dozen programming
languages aboard/or database implementations aboard, most of which I
installed and then used a few times, perhaps more, mostly for investigative
purposes, in a vain attempt to keep abreast. So I made a rule for myself --
if I haven't used something in the past year, lose it. I was astonished at
how many items I removed. Hundreds of Gigs were freed up.

And on the other side, I've since installed several more "development"
tools -- but they are such things as word processors optimized for writing
screenplays. I still play around with a few programming languages and
databases, but the array of such tools has been reduced by about 90%. I can
see a trajectory here. Previously I was thinking of buying a second, much
more powerful development machine. Now the only circumstance in which I see
that happening is if the current one dies. I'll be spending less and less
time working on my desktop and correspondingly more time on a tablet. Also,
I feel little or no need to keep up with new smartphones; a stupidphone and
a tablet will do the largest chunk of what I need to do.

A.