I’ve read some versions of this post dozens of times over the years. At first I would nod along, sympathetic but now I realise that we shouldn’t chase some platonic ideal of perfect software. It has to exist in the real world and there will always be trade offs. In the end, most software exists to make businesses money.
There's quite a wide gap between "platonic ideal of perfect software" and "leaks 32 GB of memory" in which we could aim...
And fortunately that seems to be where the vast majority of software lands.
As much as I like the article, I begrudgingly agree with you, which is why I think the author mentions the physical constraints of energy as the future wall that companies will have to deal with.
The question is do we think that will actually happen?
Personally I would love if it did, then this post would have the last laugh (as would I), but I think companies realize this energy problem already. Just search for the headlines of big tech funding or otherwise supporting nuclear reactors, power grid upgrades, etc.
I agree completely that there is no platonic ideal, that there will always be trade offs, and that running successful businesses is part of the equation, but let's not ignore the fact that profit _to the exclusion of all else_ is bad.
And buggy software makes more money because customers have a reason to buy subscription.
How much money was made by a worse calculator in the 'real world'?