Re: [NTLK] Re - Speed increase, "stupid teacher mode" example

From: Jim Witte (jswitte_at_bloomington.in.us)
Date: Thu Jul 18 2002 - 00:06:52 EDT


   My smart-arse remark is that eventually the RIAA would sue them all out of business..

   But as I was reading the example, I thought this could become a really interesting discussion (somewhat OT) about asynchronous computing: basically chips that run without centralized clocks, just specialized circuits that keep data flow from one part of the chip to another orderly. There was at least one roaring debate on Slashdot about the technical feasibility of this (which looked rather intelligent and to-the-point, a change for Slashdot..), which I skimmed mostly because I don't have a background in chip design.. There was an article in the latest SciAm, written by some tech wizard/visionary who predicts it will completely revolutionize the industry (and make the Megahertz myth die once and for all, as the chip won't *have* a fixed clock speed anymore), and said that asynchronous chips are apparently already in use in certain specialized settings by companies like Sun.

Jim

> Imagine you just started a business that sells MP3 CD's. People send you
> a list of hits they want and you burn it. Thus no two CD's are
> alike.

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