Forget DataCenters. How about 12V DC at home, so that I can get rid of the half dozen little tranformers plugged-in under my desk?
What are the real objections to 12V in the home?
The most sensible one I've heard is most digital devices need a fairly fixed voltage drop, which probably means that need to be in parallel. That pushs your current thru the entire system up, perhaps to dangerous levels.
I'm surprised at the absences in some of these lists. The top SF contemporary authors, IMHO, are Iain Banks (with or without the M.), Greg Egan and Kim Stanley Robinson. That is not to slight Jonathan Lethem, Jeff Noon, Steven Brust (look beyond the admittedly entertaining Jhereg), and the topical Susan R. Matthews.
In particular, Greg Egan is the inheritor of Arther C. Clarke's "hard science" mantle, except with better, more well-rounded stories. I believe the most recent novel is "Schild's Ladder". Driven by quantum vacuums and peopled by quantum computers, he develops his theme of intelligences moving between computational substrates. (See "Permutation City" and "Diaspora") The previous "Teranesia" is more concerned with evolution.
Recently I've enjoyed Jon Courtenay Grimwood's novels ("redRobe", "Pashazade", "Effendi" and others). They own a significant debt to Gibson but with original variations on the cyberpunk themes.
But if you are after a _real_ geek book, look no further than the brilliant novel by Katherine Dunn, "Geek Love".
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Forget DataCenters.
How about 12V DC at home, so that I can get rid of the half dozen little tranformers plugged-in under my desk?
What are the real objections to 12V in the home?
The most sensible one I've heard is most digital devices need a fairly fixed voltage drop, which probably means that need to be in parallel. That pushs your current thru the entire system up, perhaps to dangerous levels.
I'm surprised at the absences in some of these lists. The top SF contemporary authors, IMHO, are Iain Banks (with or without the M.), Greg Egan and Kim Stanley Robinson. That is not to slight Jonathan Lethem, Jeff Noon, Steven Brust (look beyond the admittedly entertaining Jhereg), and the topical Susan R. Matthews. In particular, Greg Egan is the inheritor of Arther C. Clarke's "hard science" mantle, except with better, more well-rounded stories. I believe the most recent novel is "Schild's Ladder". Driven by quantum vacuums and peopled by quantum computers, he develops his theme of intelligences moving between computational substrates. (See "Permutation City" and "Diaspora") The previous "Teranesia" is more concerned with evolution. Recently I've enjoyed Jon Courtenay Grimwood's novels ("redRobe", "Pashazade", "Effendi" and others). They own a significant debt to Gibson but with original variations on the cyberpunk themes. But if you are after a _real_ geek book, look no further than the brilliant novel by Katherine Dunn, "Geek Love".