ageorge- I recall explaining how to upload pics on this forum to you because you said you were hardly able to operate a tv remote. And now you say you design computer chips for one of Japans largest electronics companys? So I quess you could design a tv remote and you wouldnt be able to work it. Im curious, did you work in Japan with Japaneese engineers or does NEC have some subsidiary in Scotland?

Originally posted by Vortex
Can you explain that a bit? EVERYTHING generates heat….bio-computing, DNA-computing, optical-computing….The problem with electronics at higher “bandwidth” (actually a stupid name because it’s not really a “width” in this case) is the loss of electron conduction and other “things” may have a higher “bandwidth” but eventually it’ll start to fall off too….so, heat is always always an issue.

This is starting to go over my head, I was hoping someone with more of a background in this would jump in. But yes, I agree that everything creates heat to some point, but some alot more than others. For example where I live, I have to have a room fan blowing on my computer or the thing will get hot as an oven. The temp on my Athlon 1.5mhz would regularly hit 170deg F before I used the fan. Why? Because AMD uses aluminum instead of copper like intel, which has higher resistance. I supose if I ran my processor in liquid nitrogen it might superconduct and then I could really overclock the thing. Working with light, Id think the heat gernerated would be minute. I dont know enough about DNA, biocuputing, etc to comment, but I dont think theres a big problem with heat and therefore “layers”.

Votex-
“even today Mixtec you can have multiple “layers”, as much as you want physically via wafer bonding, thining, or epitaxial growths. The problem isn’t “layers” but the heat generation. “

Heat generation is a very major roadblock to electromic circutry. It effects not only the “layers” you can work with but mhz speed. Your not held back by that with all the other emerging alternatives. A thousand layer computer chip would have about 250 times the processing power of coventional chip much the same ways computer chips are connected in parralel to make cheap supercomputers.

“There’s an ideal bus width “ie, 64, 128 bit etc” based on what the application is for. If i only need a 8bit address…what am i going to do with the rest?”

Your going to make a faster computer is what your going to do with the rest. It can take up to 150 instructions for a computer to access a simple 8 bit address. All those pipelines are going to get everything done at once instead of cycleing around 150 times.

Interestingly, high speed serial with multiple pipelines or channels can be quite fast too. With current silicon based ICs, i’ve heard predictions that the technology can be stretched to at least 2020…so, that’s still quite some time”

I think things are already being stretched thin with conventional circuit technology. Although that doesnt bother me as Id like technology to remain as it is for I while and give me time to catch up.

mongu-
“I think that by making chips more and more complex there is a risk of high production losses due to flawed chips.”

Thats the other limiting factor, the “wires” inbedded in chips are reaching the limit of how thin they can be made which is why molecular technology is being sought to take things even farther.

“Perhaps the future will bring lots of smaller chipsworking together, like brain cells.”

Its being done now, you can buy mother boards with dual processors, servers have been doing that for a long time. But theirs a severe speed loss (measured in nanoseconds) which is another reason that chips just keep getting smaller

Originally posted by dhfan
Mixtec, you might be alright in the States, but a distro download can’t even be considered with a modem. Despite what the governing idiots say, broadband is only available in big towns and cities in the UK.

When you buy a distribution, what you’re paying for is manuals and support. I bought SuSE 7.2 Pro last year, about 4 inches of manuals, 90 days support at £29.
Microsoft manuals now are about 40 pages saying how clever they are (sic).

I think I read a few months ago that all council desktops in Denmark are moving to Linux.

What its going to take is enough bussinesses and governments converting to linux that finally some common standards will be formed and linux will finally become the OS of commerce. The dists as you describe just want to load people up with manuels to try to getthem hooked on their little linux turf. Not at all what opensource is aboutl.

Interesting article elp. Id like to mention that there is no reason to pay “retail” prices for any linux distribution, because its opensource, ALL open source software is freely available and downloadable for any and all use. The linux dists are trying to imitate MS by the “charge to use” method. The whole idea of opensource is to stop software companys from owning every little application and standing next to these bridges of utility like trolls collecting money from everyone who passes. The idea is too bring back software to the grassroots level where the owners of the software are in control of their softwares development, which makes the Microsoft-Germany’s spokesmans comment even more funny:

” Microsoft Germany spokesman Thomas Baumgaertner contends that open-source software can get more expensive in the long run because of training costs and add-ons, such as administrative software updates.
“The cost analyses are in Microsoft’s favor,” he said.

Thats exactly where the linux dists should be putting their attention, in the aftermarket and service of linux systems, but theyre not. A sad shame.

I also want to mention that the Mexican
govenment has switched to linux.

Keep in mind that a cruise missle is an aircraft not a rocket. Its always amazed me they have never used cruisemissles for recon or AA as these are UAVs that are capable of these missions. All composites airframes are not practical for such aircraft
because though composites are very strong, they do not have the inherent rigidity of metals. Dont confuse flexablity with elasticity. This is why you dont see any 100% composite fighters. The wings especially can not be composte because they provide lift and are load bearing whereas a rocket is more of a projectile where the control surfaces of merely provide control and stabiliy (in a tight turn techinally the fins of a rocket are providing lift, but not efficiently as their tiny area only work at high speed (with thrust or momentum). A slight flexing in a 500 mph 1000 lb fuselage is not tolerable.

The only operational use that Im aware of is by germany in WW2 for the V-1 buzzbomb. The reasons the germans were forced to use this concept is due to the extreme lack of stratigac metals, which
is also why the Me-262 had such pathetacly short engine hours (16 as I recall). You have to realize the concept of a pulse jet is like a diaphram or piston that moves back and forth at an extemly high rate, pressing in air in one side, than releasing it out the back at one time. Try too imagine the pistons in your car using compression stroke to create thrust, were talking very low efficiency here.

I plan to install linux on a partion to use only for internet browsing as linux doesnt attract all the malicous crap on the web. I plan to use Mandrake as they say thats one of the easyier dists. Im going to wait to do a clean install rather than try to use Partition Magic as Im worried about my programs not recognizing the new drive letter. Anyone out their install linux with Partition Magic?