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Post-post PC: Materials and Technologies That Could Revive Enthusiast Computing

Posted by timothy on from the more-conflict-minerals-mean-more-fun dept.

Dputiger writes "Given the recent emphasis on mobile computing and the difficulty of scaling large cores, it's easy to think that enthusiast computing is dead. Easy — but not necessarily true. There are multiple ways to attack the problem of continued scaling, including new semiconductor materials, specialized co-processor units that implement software applications in silicon, and enhanced cooling techniques to reduce on-die hot spots."

2 of 128 comments (clear)

  1. Arsenide is a material? by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 4, Informative

    Of all the next-generation technologies that we’ve discussed at ET, including carbon nanotubes and graphene, III-V semiconductors that use materials like indium, gallium, and arsenide are by far the most likely to make an a mass market appearance within the next ten years.

    [Emphasis mine]

    Yeah, that article really seems to know what it's talking about.

  2. No by The+Cat · · Score: 5, Informative

    There is no such thing as post-PC for the same reason there is no such thing as "post-doorknob" or "post-handle."

    The PC is the correct form factor for getting work done by humans. Mobile devices are not. This will only change if human physiology changes, which is unlikely in any time frame measured in intervals shorter than 100,000 years.

    The "post-PC era" is a marketing slogan designed to make you buy things. It is designed to get you back on the upgrade treadmill starting from the beginning again. It is not technologically accurate.

    PCs are here to stay for a very VERY long time. Get used to them.