Posted on 01/21/2005 6:58:16 AM PST by fso301
Cell Architecture Explained: Introduction
Introduction
Designed for the PlayStation 3, Sony, Toshiba and IBM's new "Cell processor" promises seemingly obscene computing capabilities for what will rapidly become a very low price. In these articles I look at what the Cell architecture is, then I go on to look at the profound implications this new chip has, not for the games market, but for the entire computer industry. Has the PC finally met it's match?
To date the details disclosed by the STI group (Sony, Toshiba, IBM) have been very vague to say the least. Except that is for the patent application which describes the system in minute detail. Unfortunately this is very difficult to read so the details haven't made it out into general circulation even in the technical community.
I have managed to decipher the patent and in parts 1 and 2 I describe the details of the Cell architecture, from the cell processor to the "software cells" it operates on.
Cell is a vector processing architecture and this in some way limits it's uses, that said there are a huge number of tasks which can benefit from vector processing and in part 3 I look at them.
The first machine on the market with a Cell processor will steal the performance crown from the PC, probably permanently, but PCs have seen much bigger and better competition in the past and have pushed it aside every time. In part 4 I explain why the PC has always won and why the Cell may have the capacity to finally defeat it.
In part 5 I wrap it up with a conclusion and list of references. If you don't want to read all the details in parts 1 and 2 I give a short overview of the Cell architecture.
(Excerpt) Read more at blachford.info ...
Well, it's interesting, I guess, but perhaps not really a Free Republic sort of story. Vanities are generally political in nature here.
It IS interesting that you've described an article written by yourself as a "good read," though. Perhaps this belongs in the personal section of Free Republic.
"The first machine on the market with a Cell processor will steal the performance crown from the PC, probably permanently"... "why the PC has always won and why the Cell may have the capacity to finally defeat it."
That is the speculation here where Microsoft with the xBox by having dropping the Intel chip (heresy) and shifting to IBM's PowerPC chip (and then next to the Cell chip) could quickly become a dominant hardware pc player where the new high ground is computer simulation.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1304001/posts
I can only conclude you are not a member of any profession requiring analytic abilities.
"Ohio has an area of 116,103 sq miles. It ranks 34th in state size."
From your homepage... Your 34th in size is correct, but Ohio is 44,828 square miles in area. If it was 116,103 square miles in area, then it would be the sixth geographically largest State in the Union.
dvwjr
Perhaps mis-classified, but I certainly am pleased that it was posted.
My error...sorry. I misread the header to the post. I apologise.
Yet another article where a non-existent chip is promised to revolutionize everything. Massively parallel vector processors are great for stuff like pushing polygons around in video games, but the problem is that there are whole classes of computing problems that are neither vectorizeable (e.g., the DES algorithm) or readily parallelizable (e.g., sparse matrix algorithms), or both.
Hence the use of Cell architecture in next generation game consoles like Sony Playstation and Microsoft X-Box.
IBM will formally unveil technical specifications of Cell early next month.
I tend to think Cell will probably be an interesting and well-performing architecture. I also tend to think taht this guy is misleading by virtue of the fact that he doesn't really know what he's talking about. Of course, what would we expect from a guy who styles himself an inventor and lists a time machine among his accomplishments?
Oops, not a time machine, an antigravity machine. Even better.
I remember reading somewhere that IBM has a patent on the 'cursor", and charges any company that includes the cursor in their PC or software.
Can't comment on the other contents of his website.
BTW, antigravity is not as far-fetched as time travel. Boeing Inc. and anti-gravity
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