Latency is the Enemy: Why Aren’t We Fighting It?

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Is latency a new issue? No, in fact, in the days before transistors, television sets operated with vacuum tubes, which required a warming up period before they worked. It could be five or 10 seconds before the picture tube lit up after turning the set on, something which was sufficiently annoying that many manufacturers built a system called “instant on”, which was a major selling feature.

To achieve this, the TV manufacturers simply kept the tubes warm at all times, drawing considerable energy, but allowing the picture tube to light up immediately when viewers flipped the switch.

Why would manufacturers put such an energy wasting feature into a product just to save the user from five seconds of inconvenience? Because five seconds is an eternity when you’re waiting for something to happen. Latency matters, yet it is still with us. Why?

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*ABOUT END OF THE LINE:*
Manufacturing veteran James Anderton expresses his compelling and unique opinions about the state of the manufacturing sector and the engineering industry more broadly. He shares his thoughts and insights to help engineering and manufacturing professionals navigate through the challenges of world events, the blending old with new technologies, evolving processes, gaps in skilled labour, in an effort to help maximize productivity of their daily operations. Occasionally, he just likes to vent.

James is a former editor of trade publications in the automotive, metalworking and plastics industries with contributions to a wide range of print and on-line publications. He also brings prior industry experience in quality and manufacturing for a Tier One automotive supplier.

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#latency #software #consumerproducts