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Low-power 'millicomputing' is a focus at Usenix
By Sharon Machlis

(Computerworld) BOSTON — Your laptop is likely to soon go the way of 5.25-in. floppy disks, made obsolete by smaller, more useful technology: the smart phone.

Based on current trends for low-power chips used in devices like cell phones and iPods, we're likely to see eight times the CPU power in handheld devices by 2010 that we have today, computer architecture enthusiast Adrian Cockcroft said at the Usenix '08 technical conference this afternoon.

(Computerworld) In the 1984 cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, author William Gibson describes a future in which people can acquire knowledge by buying special chips called "microsofts" that plug into a surgically installed jack behind the ear. Once you plug in the chip, your brain can access its database and — voila! — knowledge!

It's an interesting and creepy idea, but one that we're going to have to face eventually. No, not painful implants; we're going to have to face the problem of education in a world in which nearly all knowledge is available to everyone, instantly, all the time.

A mere 20 years ago, almost no one had heard of the Internet, had ever used a cell phone or even knew what "GPS" stood for.

Today, most people I know over the age of 12 use the Internet every day, access data all day on their cell phones and use GPS gadgets to get from one place to another. Mobile broadband is rapidly getting faster. Mobile devices are getting radically better screens and user interfaces. And the whole world of data access on mobile devices is quickly bringing us to the point where we can find out just about anything from anywhere.

Where will we be 20 years from now in terms of our ability to access any information from anywhere? The mind boggles. Let's look at a few trends..."

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(Click image to enlarge)

The other day I was at my friend Lee's house watching "Snatch" with his fiancée, who suddenly asked "Why don't you have a girlfriend?" I faltered, initially finding it intrusive and countering my efforts to watch the film at hand. My hesitation earned a follow-up "... or boyfriend?" which I appreciated, considering fairness and courtesy, regardless of its base in suspicion. I then speculated that the people I meet in Knoxville generally do not impress me, and that the ones that do impress me usually have their heads too far up their own ass; or, they intimidate me and, thus, I do not impress myself. She assured me she did not include herself in the general Knoxville rabble and we left it at that.

But I ran over it again in my head: wait, why didn't I have a girlfriend? Why have I ignored this pervasive suggestion of my society? Was I too busy with school? Somehow, I always found time to get spun. Was I too fat? No, fat people have girlfriends. Wait, maybe I'm totally hideous? I considered this seriously, and concluded that she wouldn't have asked why I didn't have a girlfriend if the answer was literally written all over my face. So were my suspicions correct? Did I just not like the people around me? Perhaps I refuse to care.

Girlfriend, fiancée, wife; adored, adorned, and adulterated. The concepts seem tired, conjuring images of the traditional court, organized marriages, and large families; yet, I am reminded of my youth, and my own fleeing memories of love: first impressions, the chase, unity. And then the unmet expectations, unnavigable distance, and caustic despair. The stuff that twists your insides up real good. It's all so damn overwhelming. Not the least of which is picking apart your motivations, figuring out who the hell you are and why you're doing anything at all.

Original story here: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/04/21/080421fa_fact_paumgarten

UPDATE:
Obligatory parody follow-up... Trapped in an Elevator...With Diarrhea

(12:00:50 PM) BigConna: thanks for taking care of the regions deposit
(12:02:51 PM) Dad: No prob!
(12:03:08 PM) Dad: I'm loaded!
(12:03:29 PM) Dad: Thanks for studying hard!
(12:04:10 PM) Dad: I gotta get back to looking at funny things on YouTube. Bye.

PS my dad is actually poor. probably because he watches YouTube videos instead of working.

Simply amazing...