future of computers

[jetjaguar]

so i need to come up with 6 things that will happen in computers in the next 50 years ...

i was thinking of the move away from silicon ( to what?) holographic storage devices .. nanotechnology .. quantum computers

what else do u guys think ?

[CmB]

totally immersive gaming, maybe enhanced ai on machines

[stunirvana]

Computer might make the move off binary. I have heard that they have tried using different number systems with quantum computer work.

One of my professors even suggested that we may use Binary Encoded Decimal again because it is supposedly easier to work with, although inefficient. Computes could become so powerful that we may not even know what to do with all the processing power, hence a move to BED as well as other things.

[Boogerlad]

multi touch interaction.

[moiraesfate]

Real holography. Like the holodeck from Star Trek. We're already heading in that direction.

[Particle]

Computes could become so powerful that we may not even know what to do with all the processing power

Now, now. That has never and will never be true.

[EniGmA1987]

Definitely Nanotech, Holographic storage disks, and quantum computers.

Possibly Optical CPUs. I know Intel had designed some prototypes a while back that they were going to use for research into future CPU tech.
Maybe we could get something like the holodeck in Star Trek. Definitely holo technology will be good like that in the future, the only thing I dont know about is if it will be solid and be able to touch you and do damage like in Star Trek.
3D immersive gaming will definitely happen in the next 50 years some time. Movies are getting better 3D tech, and Nvidia is trying and failing to push 3d LCDs and glasses. Eventually something will be made that works well and is cheap enough to start the trend.

[B.E.E.F.]

http://www.ivovos.com/img/nano_experiments_03_64col.gif

[stunirvana]

Now, now. That has never and will never be true.

We have much more processing power then what we know what to do with it already. I will agree that there are some tasks (one such example folding) that utilize the currently available processing power. On the flip side, so many programs are not optimized and lazily written because of all the available power. So much inefficient code is reused and not reviewed that it creates a snowball effect of bad code. This could be attributed to a lack of programmers and/or funding to correct this. The average user has by far more then enough processing power. Most of the time their processor remains idle. It is true that we expect almost instantaneous responses by our processor rather then the same tasks spread out over time with a lesser processor working almost constantly.

I guess I would agree that there are uses for even greater processing power. I am contradicting myself now. I really cannot see into the future for what new tasks we will assign to computers. I don't know. It does seem like we have enough already though.:shrug: Your probably right though, historically speaking.

[Xel'Naga]

Quantum computers in datacenters in the next 20-30 years. Never for normal users, but most likely will change to nanophotonocs based CPUs in 15-20 years. Spintronics based storage in 20-30 years. This one for both markets. Single chip single device instead of PDA, Netbook, phone, mp3-player.

[perkam]

We have much more processing power then what we know what to do with it already. I will agree that there are some tasks (one such example folding) that utilize the currently available processing power. On the flip side, so many programs are not optimized and lazily written because of all the available power. So much inefficient code is reused and not reviewed that it creates a snowball effect of bad code. This could be attributed to a lack of programmers and/or funding to correct this. The average user has by far more then enough processing power. Most of the time their processor remains idle. It is true that we expect almost instantaneous responses by our processor rather then the same tasks spread out over time with a lesser processor working almost constantly.

I guess I would agree that there are uses for even greater processing power. I am contradicting myself now. I really cannot see into the future for what new tasks we will assign to computers. I don't know. It does seem like we have enough already though.:shrug: Your probably right though, historically speaking.A real time 3d worldwide weather prediction system that uses the Crytek engine to map the land, cloud cover, oceans and artic regions down the last centimeter of actual detail :p:

Yep, we'll never stop finding uses for processing power :D

Perkam

[RazzleUltra]

Yeah, but what about home users...?

There's always pr0n I suppose.... applying real-time temporal super-resolution to low quality video is a :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:, but at least it scales well...

[ToTTenTranz]

Making predictions for 50 years is practically impossible..
We can predict for 5 years, we'll have a hard time trying to predict things for 8 years and 10-12 years is the absolute maximum for a plausible prediction.

If we were talking about vehicles, medicine and buildings (i.e.) you could come out with something because those progress a lot slower.
But with computers? Forget it.

If you want a 5-10 years prediction for computers:
- Solid State Hard-Drives will replace magnetic hard drives in home computers
- The current modular systems with motherboard, CPU, graphics card etc will be replaced with one-chip, "system-on-chip" builds for power efficiency and lower cost
- Most heavy tasks in home computers (gaming, encoding, etc) will be processed through cloud computing
- OLED screens will replace LCD screens
- Portable computers will have big, foldable screens.
- Virtual Reality devices will make a comeback, because we now have the technology to make it work decently.

[Dragy2k]

dx 10 to be fully realised and crysis to be playable over 120 fps....apart from that ...who cares most of us will be dead anyways.....cryogenics anyone!!

[amdinside]

Now, at the beginnig, I am expecting Photonics CPUs (+boards supplied with optical interconnects) and a revolution in the architecture - x86 is very very old, isn't it.
And after 10-20 years - perhaps a Quantum Computer (wow, sounds very 'exotic').
But it is a good idea to mention single-electron transistors based on carbon nanotubes, which promises to continue the manufacturing of "Transistor CPUs" with many years.
What is your opinion about this- Is is possible photonics to "kill" electronics. Or photonics is just a part of electronics = opto-electronics and their future is shared.

[enteon]

shared. since it would be very dumb to ignore well-established and cheap technology that actually does the job better in favor of optical processing. which isn't nearly possible today since some of the most basic components are still to be developed^^ therefore it's optoelectronics. but quantum computers in the today form will never make it to the home user since it is not like processing as we commonly know it. anyway i'm still hoping for the world wide grid...just imagine seti finally doing some real work...rendering 3d-porn :P

[bahlgren342]

I guess this may or may not deal with computers, but after my cousin told me about some book. Real Virtual Reality Gaming.

[jetjaguar]

thanks guys for all the ideas .. basically i need to pick 6 things that i think will happen technically with computers in the next 50 years .. and get a picture of it .. and say like 2 sentences describing .. very simple .. but i just was wondering what you guys thought

thanks again

[Bobsama]

Fiber optics basically replacing metal inside computers--meaning that on-die data pins will be transmitting and receiving from fiber optic cables on a printed circuit board.

[Gomar]

so i need to come up with 6 things that will happen in computers in the next 50 years ...

i was thinking of the move away from silicon ( to what?) holographic storage devices .. nanotechnology .. quantum computers

what else do u guys think ?


I've heard lots about biological storage. No discs, no lazers, but something based on human brain. The brain ifcourse never shuts off or crashes, etc.

But I am sure peripheral devices such as HDDs, discs, etc. will be replaced by fixed Flash drives in the next 5-10years.
Also, DVDs/Blu-Ray will be replaced by Flash drives as well, as soon as they reach 100gb capacity.

[jetjaguar]

I've heard lots about biological storage. No discs, no lazers, but something based on human brain. The brain ifcourse never shuts off or crashes, etc.

But I am sure peripheral devices such as HDDs, discs, etc. will be replaced by fixed Flash drives in the next 5-10years.
Also, DVDs/Blu-Ray will be replaced by Flash drives as well, as soon as they reach 100gb capacity.

hmm .. so dvd/bluray will go to flash drives ( do u mean like SSDs ?) because for present .. i did at 2008 SSDs started to become more readily available .. so i dont think i can use them again for future ? or is it something different ?

[B.E.E.F.]

hmm .. so dvd/bluray will go to flash drives ( do u mean like SSDs ?) because for present .. i did at 2008 SSDs started to become more readily available .. so i dont think i can use them again for future ? or is it something different ?

I think what he means is, instead of optical media you'll have massive storage on something like a microSD card but alive. Seems realistic IMO but without the live part. What do you do, keep the thing fed in order not to lose the data? Is the thing edible?

[3Z3VH]

The way I see computing going is to a more centralized design. People will no longer be buying PCs... they will be upgrading the computing power of their home, and use terminals all throughout the house to access it. Your "PC" will now simply be a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, that is connected to a small terminal box, which then connects through the network to the actual computer that is built into the home. All upgrades will be for that one larger computer.

We are already seeing a lot of evidence of this with Home Theatre PCs and PCs in the kitchen... no one wants to maintain an entire computer in these locations. A thin client box attached to the screen, or in the theatre rack is more ideal, as it cuts out fan noise, requires less power, and would need to have network access to be useful anyway.

[Cliff Burton]

Duke Nukem forever to be released

[amdinside]

Wow, the thread get more and more interesting. I have been looking for something like this for weeks because I was afraid to post it. :D Go on, colleagues! ;)
Now, I'll ask you a question. Do you think that carbon will replace silicon in the following years and what will AMD/Intel/nVidia do after the last litographic process (22 or 16nm)? Do you think intel will have started manufacturing the photonic CPU by this moment?

[B.E.E.F.]

Wow, the thread get more and more interesting. I have been looking for something like this for weeks because I was afraid to post it. :D Go on, colleagues! ;)
Now, I'll ask you a question. Do you think that carbon will replace silicon in the following years and what will AMD/Intel/nVidia do after the last litographic process (22 or 16nm)? Do you think intel will have started manufacturing the photonic CPU by this moment?

For transferring data I can definitely see more photonic transfer, but not for crunching. I can see carbon being used instead of silicon assuming its pure enough. Graphene maybe once the recipe is worked out for mass production.

[amdinside]

OK, just have a look ... HERE (http://www.insidetech.com/news/articles/4375-mit-graphene-multiplier-may-push-cpus-to-1000-ghz)
Unbelievable :D
Doesn't this achievement make Intel's Silicon Photonics worthless ?

[orangekiwii]

would be epic to say the least :)

no more cpu bottlenecking in ANY game