triplecoil - Slashdot User

The Ultimate Limit of Moore's Law 418

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday October 13, 2009 @05:39PM from the double-double dept.

BuzzSkyline writes "Physicists have found that there is an ultimate limit to the speed of calculations, regardless of any improvements in technology. According to the researchers who found the computation limit, the bound 'poses an absolute law of nature, just like the speed of light.' While many experts expect technological limits to kick in eventually, engineers always seem to find ways around such roadblocks. If the physicists are right, though, no technology could ever beat the ultimate limit they've calculated — which is about 10^16 times faster than today's fastest machines. At the current Moore's Law pace, computational speeds will hit the wall in 75 to 80 years. A paper describing the analysis, which relies on thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and information theory, appeared in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters (abstract here)."

Polaroid Lovers Try To Revive Its Instant Film 443

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday May 26, 2009 @02:13PM from the dust-off-the-sx-70 dept.

Maximum Prophet nods a NY Times piece on a Dutch group living the retro dream: they are trying to bring back Polaroid film. This group has the machinery to make the film packs, but needs to recreate the chemicals. Polaroid Inc. stopping making the specialized chemicals years ago, after having stockpiled what they would need for their last production runs. "They want to recast an outdated production process in an abandoned Polaroid factory for an age that has fallen for digital pictures because they think people still have room in their hearts for retro photography that eschews airbrushing or Photoshop. 'This project is about building a very interesting business to last for at least another decade,' said Florian Kaps, the Austrian entrepreneur behind the effort [in Enschede, The Netherlands]. 'It is about the importance of analog aspects in a more and more digital world. ... If everyone runs in one direction [i.e. digital photography], it creates a niche market in the other.'"

Comment Re:Obviously sign of jumping to conclusions (Score 1) 626

by triplecoil on Friday December 12, 2008 @04:37PM (#26095407) Attached to: Followup To "When Teachers Are Obstacles To Linux"

You do realize you just confirmed what I said, don't you?

Going between different guitars, there is no need for "poking around," "exploring," or "figuring out details." You can just play the thing. A guitar is a guitar.

I completely agree that if you know one system, you can figure out another. But that's the thing...you have to figure it out.

Comment Re:Obviously sign of jumping to conclusions (Score 1) 626

by triplecoil on Friday December 12, 2008 @03:49PM (#26094651) Attached to: Followup To "When Teachers Are Obstacles To Linux"

I think your analogy is definitely heading in the right direction. Well done.

Comment Re:Obviously sign of jumping to conclusions (Score 1) 626

by triplecoil on Friday December 12, 2008 @03:42PM (#26094531) Attached to: Followup To "When Teachers Are Obstacles To Linux"

Your Gibson and Fender analogy is also flawed. Anyone who can play a Fender guitar can also play a Gibson guitar. With zero additional training/learning. They're essentially same damn thing. However, the average person cannot pick up an operating system that is totally foreign to them without having to figure out a lot of new things. While Linux and Windows can essentially do the same thing, a new user on either system will have to spend time gathering their bearings.

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