IBM Introduces Chip Morphing Technology (A thinking chip? )

Big Charts ^ | FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2004 3:33 PM | Market Wire

[gilliam]

HAL is born

[John Jorsett]

Nader Press Release: Giant Corporations Developing Genetically Modified Computer Chips! Cross-Contamination Feared!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

How do they do that?

This seems like a major deal!

[fourdeuce82d]

HAL is born

Open the frigging door or I'll rip every single one of your eFUSEs out one by one.

[John Jorsett]

HAL is born

Skynet's DNA.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFL!

My son is always talking about Gate Arrays.....maybe this is an advanced Gate array....with special fuses embedded.... Where is the decision mechanism?

[Mark]

Will it be easier to set the time clock?

[John Jorsett]

How do they do that?

The precursor to this technology has been around for some time. In fact, I'm currently designing something using it. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). It's a collection of unconnected logic blocks on a chip. You write a "program" that defines the functionality you want, and translation software figures out how to implement it in the logic available on the chip. You program the chip with the connections the software creates for you and, presto, you've got a custom chip. You can create anything you want, within the limitations of the number of logic blocks available and the input/output pins. Some people have even implemented replacements for obsolete microprocessors so that old software can continue to run. Some really fancy designs will even load different connections "on the fly" so that the FPGA can take on different roles at different times. Very cool stuff.

[John Jorsett]

Where is the decision mechanism?

See my reply #9. In the gate array chips, the human being who defines the chip connections via a high-level language like VHDL (for example) is the decision maker. Sounds like this new stuff is going to push that decision-making about internal connections down into the chip itself, no doubt with algorithms supplied by the designer. Very interesting idea, and I'll be watching to see how it develops.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks, i didn't realize you were into the technicalities of chip design.

I find it very amazing and they say they have it in production.

Ever since the IBM 3033 the IBM Main Frames have had attached processors that continually monitored special circuits and gates and the overall system and recorded major data. But that was not in the actual computer itself.

[shadowman99]

Drop the balloons HAL!!! More balloons! More balloons! More balloons! Where are my goddamn balloons? What the fsck are you doing, HAL?!?

[thoughtomator]

I'm sorry, Terry, I can't do that.

[Coyoteman]

A preview of the new Macintosh ?!?!?

[FairOpinion]

Very interesting!

Thanks for the ping.

I think calling them "thinking chips" is more than a bit of exaggeration, but it's still impressive that they can adapt to circumstances.

[fourdeuce82d]

Drop the balloons HAL!!!

much funnier, and more topical than my effort!

[DoctorMichael]

Cool!

[kenth]

This is cool.

[Master of Orion]

1's and 0's

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I don't know if a user would even know anything was happening.