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When a machine is working very effectively we call it “well-oiled” What do we call a *computer* that is working very effectively?
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This is a good question. The key is to ask what is the equivalent of friction, and what removes it. Friction : lubrication :: X : Y. I think it's bitrot/entropy and the solution is organization. So a well-organized computer. Which is a property of usage rather than the device.
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Wouldn’t organization at the bit level be defragmentation? Except that is now something operating systems can do on their own, whereas machines can’t oil themselves
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Defragmentation is very specific to magnetic disks and other serial physical media. The actual low-level equivalent is deleting bits, which generates heat and obeys the 2nd law (Landauer principle). It's not particularly important in the "oiling" maintenance sense though.
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another interesting analogy direction is leaks... a well-oiled machine has no leaks... a closed circulation lubrication system with minimal oil leaks, proper gaskets/seals etc. The equivalent in computers would be no memory leaks, and equivalents all the way up.