20 years in IT history: Connectivity

For decades computer scientists have known there's an alternative to traditional computing: having many processors working on the same problem at the same time. But programming for parallel processing is much harder than programming for a single processor, and that difficulty has discouraged us from exploring that technology.

Truth is, we never really had to go there because single processors got faster so quickly, we never really needed an alternative.

However, ironically, it's the need for processor speed that is now forcing us to figure out parallel computing. The faster processors run, the more power they consume and the more heat they generate. Both of these are limiting factors. Because multicore gets its edge by running more processors, not faster ones, it allows the core to stay cool and energy-efficient. Many analysts expect multicore to dominate processor design from now on, with the number of connected cores per motherboard rising steadily as we get better at solving the programming problems presented by this new architecture. A decade from now parallel programming will be the standard and perhaps we will be a lot closer to matching the skills of the human brain.

2006: The Network

The growth in average traffic level (75%) outpaced the growth of capacity (47%) on the world's Internet backbones for the third consecutive year.