Computer Hardware
-I found it of interest that "the computer hardware familiar to most people, form only a small minority of computers (about 0.2% of all new computers produced in 2003). " This is an amazing statistic when considering the relatively small size of today's computers. This also brings up the question of how much computers really needs to be understood in order for them to be useful to its maximum effciency. Not surprisingly, PCs are the are at the top of the list.
-I will be a challenge to remember all the terms, mostly the acronyms, used when referring to computer hardware. I take it that we won't have to memorize all, or even most, of these terms
Moore's Law
Due to all the arcane language, this is a difficult article to understand but I'll try to do my best. The section of the article I found the most interesting, probably because it's apocalyptic, is the ultimate limits of the law. Eventually, the rate at which transistors are increasing will not be able to sustain itself. What does this hold for the future? Obviously, Moore's Law will cease a predictive indicator for the currents fields in which it is used, but how will it be used for other rapidly advancing technology? There must be other types of technology where the this law is, at least, referred to tangentially.
I would like to see this concept explored more in depth in class (beyond the two minute video - which at least used the folding paper analogy. That made it a little easier to understand). It's fascinating, even by the layperson's point of view, but it needs to broken down so that we can understand the impact it has on computers and the flow of information. Why, exactly, is it so crucial that transistors have been produced to nearly the size of atoms? I'm not sure the article makes this clear.
Computer History Museum
The CHM helps from the standpoint of a timeline. Under the internet history link (http://www.computerhistory.org/internet_history/), one can really get a feel for how much we've advanced (although the information available, rightfully, is basic). This makes it easier to put in context, say, Moore's Law.
Also, I think the youtube channel makes it easier to digest to information, at least among younger generations. But, then again, they'll already understand computers more than those who prefer to read for information anyway. I count myself among the latter group (though I'm still in my 20's).
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2 comments:
You brought up a good point about how much do people really need to know about computers. When I read this article I recognized most of the terms and acronyms, but had no idea what some of them stood for. I think that having information on computer hardware is beneficial, but by no means necessary. Today if most people have a computer question they call the IT help-line for step by step instructions, or have geek squad come over and help them. I think as time goes on people will actually need to less about hardware.
I agree with what you wrote concerning Moore's Law. I actually had to read through it a few times, especially some of the terms but I believe I finally understood it.
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