Computing State of the Art

Nintendo unveiled the video game industry's first new major home console since 2006. 


Not 'A' new console, the sole new console since 2006!


Think about this for a moment, computer games require more horsepower to run than anything else most humans use computers for. Scientists obviously use a lot more power for modelling and crunching data, and the world governments use a crap load of power to watch us and each other. Normal users however browse the web and maybe do a little office work or watch a movie, none of which requires much power at all.


So, 5 years ago was the last real advance in gaming horsepower. Now get a load of this, Nintendo has always used technology that is actually a little out of date. Why? Well it costs less and it gets the job done. They have more units sold than Microsoft and Sony combined.


My thought on this subject though is a bit closer to home. Why does the computer industry try to tell me I need a quad core machine with no less than 4 gigs of RAM when it is running the same basic software I started using in 1995? I use that year because it was my first Windows based system. In reality I have watched video, ran spreadsheets and word processing, plus played high quality games since 1987 on the Amiga 1000 I bought that year. The software has not changed that much but mysteriously it uses a lot more resources to do the same basic job.


Lets compare...

Amiga	Windows PC - Toshiba Satellite
Motorola 68000 @ 7.16MHz	Intel Core i3 @ 2.3GHz
512KB RAM	3GB RAM
July 23,1985	Current

These two sets of numbers say a lot.My laptop has more power than an Amiga by several hundred percent! The RAM is no less than 500% more on most systems than an Amiga 1000.


If I could do all those nifty things on the Amiga back in 1987, why does it take so much more power to do it today?! Speedier? Not really. More features? Sure there are more features but do I use them, nope!


Plain and simple it is bloat. If a Word Processor only did its job rather than constantly add code in the background so it can be instantly placed as a web page, or used for video presentation (yeah it can do that too!). Or how about those video playbacks? Back then it was equal to low quality VHS, but today the best you can use is HDR, most people don't, they still use DVD quality or less if streaming across the web.


I am glad prices have fallen on equipment, but I would like my new computer to be as stable as my Amiga was, and actually run everything as smoothly. After all, my Motorola Droid can! (512KB memory and 512MHz processor running Android/Linux)

Overthought Ideas

I was reading an article at Fast Company about a French engineer that wants to tow icebergs from Greenland to Saudi Arabia in order to provide fresh water.

At least one commentor pointed out it would be cheaper to use a tanker and pull the water from the flow under the glacial icecap, or melt them on site using mirrors into a tanker system.

Things not pointed out is that we now have global modelling systems to see what the effects would be and no one has run this scenario. Without the model I can see reduced desalinity in the water at the proper time and place, reduction of krill habitat that feed under icebergs as they melt, reduction of resting sites for sea birds and sea mammals that use icebergs. Not to mention the carbon footprint of towing or shipping that much water.

I have a better idea for those Saudi princes and really the world near a coast line...
Use salt water through an extra line entering each house to provide clean salt water for use in bathing, swimming pools, and get this toilets!

Salt water is naturally a bit of an anti bacterial, the salt also mildly scrubs surfaces. Look at that would ya! Two things we like, clean toilets and less bacteria! Why do we need clean potable (drinkable) water to flush detrius out of our homes? Or to shower in when a salt bath works better (read how many salts are in your shower products folks!)? Many pool owners are switching to saline water since it is more environmentally friendly.