[pbohun]

There are some good points here, but I disagree that programs are slow because they are accessible. Computers are ridiculously fast, and it doesn't take more time to display a string in Japanese than it does English.

The problem is ultimately with how the software is structured from the the start. Pressure to release fast, and the fact that most software engineers are not experts, means that nearly all software systems and libraries have poor design. They will be bloated and buggy, and difficult to work with.

Poor design means that development velocity dramatically slows as a project matures. Frameworks ensure that you start development fast, but eventually it takes a week to add a button.

[Theaetetus]

I'm guessing we agree about 95% of this, but re: "it doesn't take more time to display a string in Japanese than it does English":

1. It takes more time to detect a user's language than not to detect it. 2. It usually takes more time to render a page that can handle both LTR and RTL than one that does only LTR.

...and you can give many more such examples.

I don't disagree that basic proficiency is a more important cause of slow software.