On Tue, 24 Jun 2014 13:06:56 +0200, Johannes Bauer wrote: > On 24.06.2014 03:23, Steven D'Aprano wrote: >> http://www.iflscience.com/technology/new-type-computer-capable- >> calculating-640tbs-data-one-billionth-second-could >> >> Relevance: The Machine uses *eighty times less power* for the same >> amount of computing power as conventional architectures. If they could >> shrink it down to a mobile phone, your phone might last 2-3 months on a >> single charge. > > The article is highly unscientific and unspecific. It does not elaborate > on what it means to "calculate" a terabyte of data nor does it specify > what it means to "handle" a petabyte of data. They're terms used by > ignorants, written for ignorants.
Heh, yes, it's a puff-piece, based on HP's publicity, not an in-depth review. Considering that The Machine isn't publicly available yet, that's hardly surprising. > So all in all I think it's safe to discard the article. Taking it with a generous grain of salt is one thing, but outright rejecting it is a bit harsh. I understand that HP has actually demonstrated the Machine, so unless they faked the demo, the basic facts are probably more-or-less correct. > Also, mobile phones don't waste most of their power doing "calculating" > and "handling" terabytes of data, but the RF and display consumes the > most of power. Therefore, even if you could scale the CPU down your > phone would still not go 2-3 months on a single charge. Fair point. But given how much smart phones get used for playing games these days, I think the savings would still be considerable. -- Steven -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
