In the last few weeks I have come across some interesting news stories related to the future of computers. It always amazes me that technology continues to move forward at such a blistering pace.
Intel recently announced that they will be releasing a six-core processor by the end of this year. While it will initially be a server CPU, I’m sure it won’t be long until it makes it to desktops. In only a couple of years Intel has gone from single core CPU’s to quad-core. Now by the end of this year six-cores. I have to wonder how many cores do we need? Intel obviously thinks we need more. A little over a year ago, Intel claimed that they will be producing an 80 core processor. In fact they already have a working prototype. The prototype is about the size of a typical motherboard at the time, but it is still pretty impressive!
http://www.betanews.com/article/Sixcore_Intel_processors_coming_this_year/1205790710
The ongoing theme in almost every industry these days is going “green”. The technology industry is no different. MSI has announced that they are developing a new CPU heat sink fan that requires no additional power. While it doesn’t take much electricity to run a small fan, every small cut in power usage makes a difference. The fan they are developing uses Stirling engine technology which has been around for centuries. To learn more about how a Stirling engine works, check out this Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine. This new fan will use the excess heat from the CPU to run the fan that cools the heat sink attached to the CPU. It makes a lot of sense, and I’m a little surprised that nobody’s thought of it before now.
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/9051/msi_employees_stirling_engine_theory/index.html
Another theme in technology is making things smaller. Intel revealed recently the size they think the PC motherboard could be shrunk to by 2010. It is crazy to think that everything that currently fits on a motherboard the size of a sheet of paper could be shrunk to the size of a post-it note.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/03/video-intel-reveals-moorestown-pc-motherboard-possibly-worlds/
April 17, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I have to agree. It is just amazing on how fast technology changes. You can get some software or hardware one day and give it a week and it seems there has been some kind of improvements made. I have kind of seen a bit of a trend to making things smaller. That is good, I could use more space on my desk.