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View Full Version : The future of PC's?



Bobinovich
15-May-06, 22:08
Although the PC technology hasn't changed an awful lot in the last 10 years, there have been massive advances in speed, capacity, function, etc. I've been wondering where it will all end.

I predict if the general architecture doesn't change dramatically then we'll see more memory-based storage. We've seen massive increases in USB Pen Drive capacity (up to 4Gb I believe just now) so will it be long before, instead of hard drives in our PC's, we'll just have permanent memory instead. No moving parts and much faster access speeds will dramatically speed up our computing experience.

We're already seeing multi-core processors enhancing performance instead of the constand processor speed war between Intel and AMD. So long as the software takes advantage of the multi-core capability this is really gonna make things rapid.

Broadband has already taken us to a new level of Internet. Is anyoun in Caithness getting near the magical 8 meg. level yet - fastest I've seen to date is still 2.2 meg. I've contacted my ISP and they're preparing to do the deed shortly, albeit a new 12 month contract being required. :confused

What about a bug-free release of Windows? Naah, only joking! It's simply not possible...[lol]

What's everyone else's thoughts on the revolutions to come?

krieve
15-May-06, 22:22
The highest i have seen my connection is 2.2 meg. :~( :lol:

Niall Fernie
16-May-06, 09:13
I see us at a bit of a crossroads at the moment with all the carry on with Digital Rights Management and Intellectual Copyright. At the moment the legality of home recording from the TV and radio is under question as we all go digital. If it becomes impossible to store things like music and video on your PC why would you need all the storage. Already we are seeing huge repositories set up online, photobucket is a good example but you can also get document storage and general storage online so again, why would you need the space.

On the other hand, you can now install a very good operating system onto a 128mb memory stick so I don't see why this would not become a more popular way of storing all your work and everything else. Have everything you ever need on 1 memory stick, a 4 gig one would fit everything I need for work at least, and simply carry that about with you to be used on any PC you care to sit in front of. I will probably be doing this soon anyway as a method of backing up not only my work, but my working environment as well.

Desktop processing speed really seems to be driven by the games market, with higher demands from the games developers, the manufacturers will keep on pushing their technology to the limits, most people reading this will be sitting in front of a PC already capable of playing music, watching high quality video, doing all the office tasks at a good speed, surfing the net and sending e-mails. Most machines sold today have pretty good games capabilities as well although most "off the shelf" PCs are not up to the task of running games with all the settings at highest quality. Thats where your gamers come in, they are willing to spend £300-£500 or more on individual components to "pimp up" their PC. There is a world of different playing a game at 640x480, low quality on a 17" LCD with crappy sound and playing one at 1600x1200, highest quality on a 22" CRT with 7.1 surround sound. So gamers keeping their machines up to speed with the latest games forces the prices down for the slower components (still fast these days). I doubt projects like the $100 PC (http://laptop.org/) would ever have got off the ground otherwise, at least not as quickly.

Dali
16-May-06, 10:43
Yes i have 8meg with no drop in speed as of yet since it was put on over a month ago .

Niall Fernie
18-May-06, 10:18
Well, the USA are ahead of us once again, the first radio station to be sued for broadcasting music that can be recorded...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/18/riaa_radio_analysis/

How much do you think Apple is spending on maintaining the legality of the iPod?

dozerboy
18-May-06, 20:30
Personally, while I am happy to utilise quite a few "modern digital" gadgets, I think all this technology is going too far. Yes, of course it means that a lot of things that were not possible before, now are. But where is it all going to end? Answer is that it will never end. There always will be new advances, meaning that everyone eventually have to buy more modern equipment to cope with it, we have already gone from vinyl, to cassette, to cd, to mini disc, to mp3 / ipod etc. How many of us had records that we ended up buying on cd as well? It's money all the way. The technology for cars, has meant that emmisions have been able to be reduced, and engine life prolonged, but also meaning that the day of the cheaper back street garages are numbered, as make specific diagnostics take over. You open your bonnet now, and find youself scratching your head, and that's just trying to work out where the distributor went! It all means more cost, as many parts can't be repaired, they need replaced and then the system reset at more cost to the consumer. I think it will end up blowing up in our faces, and will end up bartering for goods again, because fraudsters managed to crack the new chip and pin system and made it useless, 'cos they pinched all wur cash!!

Bobinovich
18-May-06, 21:17
Yes i have 8meg with no drop in speed as of yet since it was put on over a month ago .

If you don't mind me asking whereabouts are you?

tommy1979
18-May-06, 22:30
A nice story about the evolution of computers by Isaac Asimov

http://infohost.nmt.edu/~mlindsey/asimov/question.htm (http://infohost.nmt.edu/%7Emlindsey/asimov/question.htm)

Dali
18-May-06, 22:46
If you don't mind me asking whereabouts are you?

On the Halkirk exchange .