Week 2 Reading Notes

Computer Hardware (Wikipedia)

Not much in this article was new to me, aside from learning the actual names behind some acronyms. In fact, my first thought upon recognizing so many things listed as obsolete was "Wow, I feel old."

Moore's Law (Wikipedia & Video)
I've heard the mantra "performance doubles every two years," but it had never been given a name. It was interesting to see how a prediction about something as specific as transistors on a circuit was embraced by an entire industry as a standard for production timelines. I tend to agree with those who believe this is a self-fulfilling prophecy--I've watched programmer friends work feverishly for days on end in the name of hitting deadlines & making progress.

I'll be interested to see what the next big innovation will be once we reach the limits of how small transistors can actually get. 

 Computer History Museum (website)

I grew up 15 miles from this museum, and I have to admit I’ve never been there (guess where I’ll be going when I visit for Thanksgiving?). The virtual exhibits are pretty impressive; I spent most of my time playing with the timeline and clicking through the descriptions of their archival collections. That would be such an interesting collection to work with!