I've been having a bit of a think, which is always dangerous, and as i see it, the current model of computing can't last the next decade. My vision: Distributed cloud computing.
to the first part of my divine epiphany: Distributed computing. I think this is definitely going to happen, for two reasons. One, PS3's have got it. PS3's know everything before it happens. Reason Two, Quad-core processors. As most of my readership would probably know, quad-core processors are everywhere. On a more technical side, quad-core processors have no real increase in actual CPU speed. But, can they multi-task or what? They can do everything,at once. They can run multiple different games of Unreal Tournament. They can be editing twenty-five PowerPoints at once. They can even run mutiple OS's (Macintosh, yay!). And yet, nobody actually uses four processors worth of power at any one time. So what are the other three cores doing. Jack all. Why not, in this ultra-connected world, let the freakin huge network that is the rest of the world, have a bit of your processor. This way, if any computer slows down for a little bit, it nicks a bit of power off someone else who's not using it and KA-BOOM everyone's computer goes way faster.
And if everyone's connected up anyway, why store anything locally? Or on a USB disk. Or on a Portable HDD, or even on an iPod (i've seen it happen waaay too many times). Why not just store it on the biggest cloud in the entire blue sky (i'm pretty sure it's the biggest): the InterWeb. What a great place to store it. Drop it off at one place, pick it up again three continents later and it's still good. You don't need software, there aren't any file types. Everything, just, works. So my opinion might be a little skewed by the fact that 80% of the computers i use won't remember me or anything i save on them after i log out, and the other 20% have no veritable means of connecting with the 80% except for a tired old USB key that tends to randomly disconnect and connect again. Not fun. Whereas, the internet can hold anything, anywhere. There is already a bit of work on this front, especially with online documents. Some are brilliant (Google Docs), some nothing short of dismal (Windows Live Workspaces), but there is still a lot of untapped potential there.
I think if tech keeps advancing at the veritably rapid pace it is at the moment, it can only go closer toward the internet...
It's not that my guess is any better than yours, but i've got the blog...
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12 years ago
3 comments:
This a brilliant idea! If this could happen within the next 5 years then it could mean we could just build a 100 Core Processor, put it in a central location and everyone could leech off it.
On the cloud computing thing...just read my post here
I quite like the idea of a cloud computing approach. I don't need to worry where something is - on my USB, which one of my laptops partitions, the Mac, or anywhere else it might find itself.
Of course, on the other hand, is it going too far? Are you giving up your right to keep your privacy? (This next bit might just be the linux/freedom side of me talking)
Where's the customisability? The freedom to shape it to exactly how you want? Stallman had a bit to say about it last september, which I also agree with:
"One reason you should not use web applications to do your computing is that you lose control," he said. "It's just as bad as using a proprietary program. Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary program or somebody else's web server, you're defenceless. You're putty in the hands of whoever developed that software."
Don't listen to any of that if you don't want to, I just seem to like playing devil's advocate with you...
As for you Jackson, piss off! you're worse than the worst of the moralistic civil libertarians, and that's pretty bad. But yes, it's true, you have an unerring tendency to start playing devil's advocate at a moment's notice.
And Hugh, are you kidding? That sounds like one of the worst ideas i've read since the last time i read Jackson's blog...
Every computer on the planet or 25 computers worth. I've seen tricycles with more processing power...
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