Quicknotes :

Five 9s : 99.999% uptime [where are they now ?, AN]
Avoid loss of capabilities

Robustness is declining
Productivity is declining [not sure about that..., AN]
The argument that software is advancing is obviously false

Techonology, by itself, will degrade
We must simplify by itself, at every level:

• the hardware
• the OS
• the libraries
• the application code
• the communication systems (e.g. internet)
• how we compile
• how we debug
• how we distribute
• how people interface with software

Surviving as a developper : removing complexity is the right short-term play, even if it doesn't seem so.