The Next Computer Revolution
In less than 50 years computers have become essential to industrial society; in the next phase they will grow more powerful by at least an order of magnitude and become a ubiquitous intellectual utility
In less than 50 years computers have become essential to industrial society; in the next phase they will grow more powerful by at least an order of magnitude and become a ubiquitous intellectual utility
Conventional computers attack problems one step at a time. Advanced computers are able to do several parts of the problem at once, just as a team of workmen might divide a task to complete it more quickly
In 1959 the number of transistors that would fit on a chip was one; now it has surpassed a million. As limits are reached, the pace is slowing, but by 2000 there will be chips with a billion components
Parallel computers pose the major challenge: they demand programs that do many things at once. How do we organize a complex beehive of activities to form a coherent whole?
In five years magnetic devices will write and read data twice as fast as today's systems on a disk holding five times more data. Magneto-optical technology offers an even higher storage density
Why should sophisticated computers be difficult to use? The coming generation of supercomputers will have the power to make elaborate artificial realities that facilitate user-computer communication
Computers linked in networks can interact and can share programs, data and expensive hardware. The physical link is not enough: one computer must be able to understand what a different one is saying
Computational experiments are enriching scientific investigation. They are now becoming as important as theory, observation and laboratory experiments
In time computers may be as basic to medicine as the stethoscope. Medical systems can store data and retrieve it selectively; soon they will be smart enough to advise on diagnosis and treatment
Supercomputers may assume a major role in industry. They have already greatly influenced the design of such aerodynamically efficient products as airplanes and cars