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42 minutes to set up a Mac
42 minutes on a Mac
The Mac needed a software update and a few other steps before it was ready to use. Computers are about a trillion times faster than the ones that put people on the moon, and yet a new one takes 42 minutes before real work can start.
A two-minute install
Omarchy installs from a USB key: type a username and a password, and about 2 minutes later everything is in place. It started near 4 minutes, and an obsession with install speed brought it down.
The bigger mission
Millions of people, maybe billions, are subjected to slow setups and poor tools, and collectively a fast setup could save trillions of hours every year. Those hours could go toward productive outcomes, and by now there might be flying cars. Taking some of that drudgery out of the world's gears is part of the mission, along with making the computer beautiful.
How do today's computers compare to Apollo's?
The Apollo Guidance Computer, which flew on the moon missions, had about 4 kilobytes of erasable memory and about 72 kilobytes of fixed memory. Its clock ran at roughly 2 megahertz. A modern laptop has billions of bytes of memory and processors running at several gigahertz across multiple cores. A single photo on a phone today takes up more storage than the Apollo computer's entire memory.
Why do new computers need updates before use?
A device is manufactured and loaded with software months before it reaches a customer. In that time the operating system maker releases newer versions and security fixes. The setup process downloads those updates, and their size and the speed of the connection set how long it takes. Large updates must also be installed and checked before the machine restarts.
Why did people expect flying cars by now?
Magazines and television in the 1950s and 1960s routinely pictured flying cars, and The Jetsons, which premiered in 1962, showed them as everyday transport. Moulton Taylor's Aerocar received certification from US federal aviation authorities in 1956. Only a handful were built. Flying cars have stayed rare because they must meet the weight, noise, and safety limits of both cars and aircraft.
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