I spent a part of my career supporting IBM PC/XT, PC/AT and then Compaq and the many PC clones.

Microsoft, as its name implies, started out and cuturally was always a software company. By the time Microsoft started dabbling in hardware it was seen as a competitor by the many software licencees. Microsoft could never control the hardware side of their platform like Apple has.

The other factor is that Apple ditched the proprietary OS and went down the Unix/BSD and derivatives path. MacOS is effectively a FreeBSD derivative overlaid with a custom desktop.

Without a quasi-portable OS at the core, there is no way that Apple could have made the switches from Motorola 68000 to PowerPC to Intel to ARM.

Windows, on the other hand, is running NT which is basically a port of DEC VMS. Didn't work out well for DEC/Compaq/HP.

I don't use WASM as a replacement for JS. I never have a need to manipulate DOM, etc from WASM. JS is perfectly fine and performant for those purposes.

As I see it, WASM is used to augment the JS/WebAPI ecosystem. For example, when you need to do heavy bit manipulation, complex numerical processing. The round-trip JS->WASM->JS is an overhead. So the WASM modules should perform a substantial amount of processing to offset that inefficiency.

I frequently find that V8 optimisations yield sufficient performance without needing to delve into WASM.

IMHO if you want to write WebApps in Rust, you're holding it wrong.

I disagree. That's how WASM is now, and I guess that's fine, but that's not all it could be. I really think it would be awesome if you could write code for the web in your preferred programming language.

With a miniPC you can always use a Raspberry Pico (or Arduino that supports Device Mode) for your GPIOs.

Perhaps you could be more specific.

For example, for architectural 3D modeling software, the operating the software is being the architect who visualises, designs and refines the building's design.

Even before recent AI capabilities, writing software was (now is) table stakes.

Deep domain knowledge and expertise is essential. Until you actually work at the coal face in a given industry you don't know the complexity nor the opportunities for improvements. Talking to the workers is good, but you never get the complete picture.

From a technical perspective: prices change constantly; prices are inconsistently expressed and the volume of products is massive. Scrapping the volume of data required and then processing it and updating it is a substantially difficult task.

From a business point of view an independent operation would require a very large investment. To recoup at least part of that requires advertising and affiliate revenue which in turn creates perverse incentives.

That is a good point because there are so many products all over web and would need a huge search to find even a small amount of Google. Thanks for your feedback!

As a project lead, I have worked on dozens of projects and 100s of contractors. Contractors have ranged from brilliant and productive to struggling incompetents. In almost every case, I worked with teams I was given and had no say in the hiring process. A typical case when management thinks they know better than their tech lead.

I very much believe that comprehensive domain knowledge and technical proficiency are both essential. Actual code production can be mostly delegated. If AI produces better quality code than the contractors available to you, then it is the preferable option.

IMHO a small team of experienced engineers using AI is the optimal choice.

Vibe-coded startups without competent technical oversight is tech-debt on steroids.

Unlikely. There is just too large an installed base of software that will only run on Windows and is widely in use.

However, we have to acknowledge that if you consider Android as being Linux based and all the servers in the cloud, then Linux has already supplanted Windows.

When people receive any written material from me, it is I that wrote it. My thoughts and expressions. If they wanted to read some AI generated drivel, then they don't need me and my contribution.

My process is very simple. I just write from top to bottom. Of course, the first pass is rough. But the focus is on capturing the material in approximately the logical sequence. For really complex and lengthy materials, I might write an outline with mostly headings and snippets as they come to me.

For emails and other time critical writing, I go back to the top and edit / re-write. I don't need nor use AI for this. Then send. Rarely do I use a third pass.

For reports and papers, I tend to put the first pass aside for a day or more. When I return to it, I edit viciously and re-write. Depending on the importance of the writing, I might repeat this process 2 or 3 more times.

I see you having a unique opportunity. There is a scarcity of strong SWE skills in the earth sciences related industries/businesses. You could refresh your reasons, motivations and interests for choosing earth sciences for your PhD. Perhaps your thesis and research connections reveal further dimensions.

In any earth sciences based work, there would be requirements for either data sciences or AI related processing, improvements, etc. Those are the sorts of areas that you might want to peddle your SWE skills as delivering.