A hot feature of the G1 phone is the ability to take a picture of a UPC and go to web pages to find other places that item is on sale. This patent, for a handheld device that scans a bar code and then links to a website - just like the G1 phone - could result in huge moolah from Google.
It is unfortunate, because the only reason Intel killed off the poorly designed Pentium 4 was the strong competition, and the only reason you can buy a Core 2 Duo for under $150 is the competition from AMD.
AMD is showing that it costs them more to make worse chips than Intel - since they have no choice, they are selling them at price points that often make them a great value, especially if you don't need the best performance per watt. But AMD isn't making enough profit to do the development they need to catch up.
Note to IBM: buy out AMD and set them on the right path before it is too late. There is great potential in their CPU designs, but without more cash and technology to speed up development to compete, they will die a slow death.
The chart is all wrong. HP and Dell are still selling new computers with 256MB of RAM. It is absurd to say that in 2008 low end computers will have 4GB, so that people are forced to need a new O/S. It may happen someday, but it won't be 2008. If we say that the lowest end in RAM doubles each 1.5 years, we are still 4 doublings away before we get to 4GB. That means 6 years, so not until 2012 or 2013 will the low end require 64-bit.
Slashdot Mirror
Vista is faster with 1.5GB if you have a separate graphics card that is decent. With integrated graphics, XP is better even with 2 or 3GB.
Just like every other thing.
A hot feature of the G1 phone is the ability to take a picture of a UPC and go to web pages to find other places that item is on sale. This patent, for a handheld device that scans a bar code and then links to a website - just like the G1 phone - could result in huge moolah from Google.
It is unfortunate, because the only reason Intel killed off the poorly designed Pentium 4 was the strong competition, and the only reason you can buy a Core 2 Duo for under $150 is the competition from AMD. AMD is showing that it costs them more to make worse chips than Intel - since they have no choice, they are selling them at price points that often make them a great value, especially if you don't need the best performance per watt. But AMD isn't making enough profit to do the development they need to catch up. Note to IBM: buy out AMD and set them on the right path before it is too late. There is great potential in their CPU designs, but without more cash and technology to speed up development to compete, they will die a slow death.
The chart is all wrong. HP and Dell are still selling new computers with 256MB of RAM. It is absurd to say that in 2008 low end computers will have 4GB, so that people are forced to need a new O/S. It may happen someday, but it won't be 2008. If we say that the lowest end in RAM doubles each 1.5 years, we are still 4 doublings away before we get to 4GB. That means 6 years, so not until 2012 or 2013 will the low end require 64-bit.