Re: future computers
- To: "sagalore " <sagalore@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <sagalore@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <MISC>
- Subject: Re: future computers
- From: "Graeme Dunbar" <G.R.A.Dunbar@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 09:42:48 +0000
- In-reply-to: <200006212027.AA657850592@mail.pcspower.net>
- Organization: The Robert Gordon University, E&EE
- Priority: normal
On 21 Jun 2000, at 20:27, sagalore wrote:
> Anybody here a fan of Star Trek?
>
> I know this question sounds silly, if not juvenile. How do you think the Enterprises (or Voyagers) computer system processes? Is it trillions of MISC type optical processors, or it is one giant Pentium XVII? Has there ever been an episode where the
captain says "hail them", and at a push of
the console the view screen gets a fatal protection fault and the whole ship self destructs?
>
> I think that is a legitimate, however comical question. The ship's computer core is no larger than some of the super computers we have today, everything else is just terminals, subsystems, and storage. Maybe in a few decades Forth will not reign supr
eme, maybe another language that is even
faster and smaller... but the minimal approach is not a limitation - it's powerful.
>
Maybe you watch a different Star Trek to me. It is all done with neural gel-packs or is it jel-paks ;-)
Regards,
Graeme
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Graeme Dunbar
School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
The Robert Gordon University
Schoolhill, Aberdeen AB10 1FR, Scotland, U.K.
Tel. +44 1224 262415
Fax +44 1224 262444
email g.r.a.dunbar@rgu.ac.uk
www http://www.eee.rgu.ac.uk/staff/esgrad/
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