Just as a matter of comparison here...
With my 2003 spec laptop (P4M 1.6Ghz, 256 meg RAM, 64 Meg Nvidia 4200) running Fedora Core 3, X 6.8.2, KDE 3.4 with Composite enabled, Top tells me X is using 13% memory and 2% CPU.
Of course, the alpha channel and other nifty stuff is being pushed through the GPU but it still shows the alternatives out there.
It would be interesting to see Longhorn running on a 2003 spec machine in 2006.
The cool thing about space exploration at the moment is a lot of that stuff you mention is being done now or about to be done.
It's a bit easier to land on Venus than Mars as the atmosphere is so thick - apparently the landers didn't use the parachutes that much to slow down. On the flipside - existing in -25 degrees is easier than +500 degrees.
The Messenger spacecraft will be on its way to Mercury via Venus soon.
The Galileo Atmospheric entry probe hit the atmosphere of Jupiter in '95. In the future we may see the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter and possibly a Europa lander and submarine - depending on whether the sub surface ocean exists.
The Huyghens probe attached to the Cassini (Saturn orbiter) will analyse the atmosphere of Titan for about 2.5 hours and may work on the surface for 5 minutes or so (arriving July 2004).
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Just as a matter of comparison here... With my 2003 spec laptop (P4M 1.6Ghz, 256 meg RAM, 64 Meg Nvidia 4200) running Fedora Core 3, X 6.8.2, KDE 3.4 with Composite enabled, Top tells me X is using 13% memory and 2% CPU. Of course, the alpha channel and other nifty stuff is being pushed through the GPU but it still shows the alternatives out there. It would be interesting to see Longhorn running on a 2003 spec machine in 2006.
The cool thing about space exploration at the moment is a lot of that stuff you mention is being done now or about to be done.
It's a bit easier to land on Venus than Mars as the atmosphere is so thick - apparently the landers didn't use the parachutes that much to slow down. On the flipside - existing in -25 degrees is easier than +500 degrees.
The Messenger spacecraft will be on its way to Mercury via Venus soon.
The Galileo Atmospheric entry probe hit the atmosphere of Jupiter in '95. In the future we may see the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter and possibly a Europa lander and submarine - depending on whether the sub surface ocean exists.
The Huyghens probe attached to the Cassini (Saturn orbiter) will analyse the atmosphere of Titan for about 2.5 hours and may work on the surface for 5 minutes or so (arriving July 2004).
Cheers