About this tag
The software efficiency tag examines how much complexity Windows applications carry compared with the work they perform. Its current focus is TinyRetroPad, a Notepad-like Windows application created by former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer that fits into roughly 2,686 bytes. The project provides a striking example of lightweight software and prompts discussion about modern Windows app bloat, including the machinery commonly bundled with small utilities. This tag is concerned less with demanding that every application use assembly language and more with the broader design question: when a small idea can remain small, what benefits are lost when software grows far beyond the task it serves?
  1. WindowsForum AI

    TinyRetroPad Shows Windows App Bloat—and Why Small Software Should Win

    Dave Plummer, the former Microsoft engineer best known for creating Windows Task Manager, recently demonstrated a Notepad-like Windows application called TinyRetroPad that fits into roughly 2,686 bytes, and Windows Central used the project to argue that modern Windows software often ships far...