8GB vs 16GB for M1 Mac — The TRUTH About RAM!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma8KjSH7Hok

I wrote five years ago that 8 GB of RAM would not be adequate in five years. Some people disagreed. Things haven't changed a whole lot except that Apple has come up with more powerful processors. In the last six years, I have upgraded to a newer Intel-based iMac three times! I currently have 16G of RAM. My previous computers had 40 GB, 32 GB, and 24GB. I keep going down, but just like five years ago, 16 GB seems to do the job. I believe that for the software development I am learning, 8GB would be a bottleneck.

The M5 Makes $1,600 Feel Like Theft

The video title is click bait.

The 2010's were a computer performance desert.  Companies were bragging about single digit performance improvements from one year to the next.  My 2017 iMac was only about twice as powerful as my 2009 iMac.  Both computers were energy hogs.

AMD and especially Intel were having a hard time shrinking chip circuits.  The laws of physics were starting to get in the way as the circuits got smaller.

So in 2020 Apple introduced a much simpler chip based on Arm Risc technology, with significantly smaller circuits, and it blew the competition out of the water.  

Apple had purchased a chip design company, although the real hero is the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company who figured out how to manufacture smaller circuits.

Apple abandoned Intel compatibility, but they were betting on great performance to lure away Intel customers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AtTk3XoQVs

The M5 Makes $1,600 Feel Like Theft

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AtTk3XoQVs

1985 Credit Cards were Insane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix2ETzMMBMA

I find these claims questionable, as does the comment section.  I am quite familiar with 8-bit computers at the time.  Ram chips were expensive and bulky, requiring many to make 64K.  

The wikipedia page on smart cards doesn't seem to support this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_card