Re: Can anyone identify this card?

[Matt Jenkins <mdj@bob.dynalias.net>]

On Tue, 09 Dec 2003 02:19:23 +0000, Michael J. Mahon wrote:

> Moore's "Law" used to give us about a factor of two
> every year or two--usually every year in the processor
> race.

Fortunately we're still a ways from the limit of Moore's Law
in terms of what's physically possible with the manufacturing
processes we use. We should really get another 15 years out
of it yet. I think though that over the next few generations
we'll see some alternative strategies used in processor design.
I'd be expecting (mainly from AMD) to see multi-core units start
to appear. Increasing density in data centers is a potentially 
large market. The ability to have 4 or even 8 2+ Ghz CPU's per
unit of rack space would be a huge advantage over the current 2.

> Sad to say, the market in computer applications is even more
> sedate--everything moving from version 6 to version 7, without any big
> improvements in capability or innovation.

It's a big problem. What we really need a better software development
environments and languages that can take advantage of the computing
horsepower available today to dramatically reduce the amount of
man-hours needed to develop today's software applications. In
many ways, it the tremendous amount of human effort and hence cost
which is stifling growth in the software industry - the corresponding
flow-on affect to the hardware industry might even make a liar out of
Moore!

Cheers,

Matt