I wish I could use my phones longer than I already do. Unfortunately, the lack of software updates for older hardware turns that into a security risk as even critical issues are no longer getting fixed.
Likewise, the 'modern' web breaks things left and right. The heavy use of JavaScript for trackers etc makes it impossible to read even simple news web sites on an old iPad, even though the actual content is just static text. With Discourse and similar platforms gaining popularity, I'm getting locked out from more parts of the web unless I have up to date hardware. I don't understand why web forums became such complex beasts that a device capable of streaming video, realtime sound synthesis and 3D gaming is not sufficient to display what is essentially just text and some images.
HN is a positive exception, I sincerely hope it remains that way.
Where is the disconnect I wonder? Your old iPad I am sure runs software that is many more times more complex, more lines of code, and more intense than the ad tracking software on a browser. Will web assembly help here?
Unless Apple surprises us with an iOS 5 update that includes a browser with web assembly - no, it won't help.
Either way, simply going to spiegel.de crashes (!) Safari in a 1st gen iPad. The Washington Post web page also would constantly get reloaded in my iPhone 4S.
Likewise, the 'modern' web breaks things left and right. The heavy use of JavaScript for trackers etc makes it impossible to read even simple news web sites on an old iPad, even though the actual content is just static text. With Discourse and similar platforms gaining popularity, I'm getting locked out from more parts of the web unless I have up to date hardware. I don't understand why web forums became such complex beasts that a device capable of streaming video, realtime sound synthesis and 3D gaming is not sufficient to display what is essentially just text and some images.
HN is a positive exception, I sincerely hope it remains that way.