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ARM Designer Steve Furber On Energy-Efficient Computing
ChelleChelle writes "By now, it has become evident that we are facing an energy problem — while our primary sources of energy are running out, the demand for energy is greatly increasing. In the face of this issue, energy-efficient computing has become a hot topic. For those looking for lessons, who better to ask then Steve Furber, the principal designer of the ARM (Acorn RISC Machine), a prime example of a chip that is simple, low power, and low cost. In this interview, conducted by David Brown of Sun's Solaris Engineering Group, Furber shares some of the lessons and tips on energy-efficient computing that he has learned through working on this and subsequent projects."
For less than the cost of the financial stimulus package, or the Iraq war for that matter, the US could produce almost all it's electricity with solar thermal plants with present level technology (and the cost for plants would probably be quartered by the time you are done because of economies of scale, so it would cost far less). Hugely reducing electricity costs in the US would probably do more for the economy than just about anything else the money could be spend on.
As a European I'm envious ... the US really has it all, virtual dead deserts with round the year sunlight, a reserve currency which gives you nearly limitless free money to spend on these kinds of projects, and hell quite a nice supply of oil reserves as well ... it's frankly a miracle how your politicians manage to fuck that kind of potential up.