At an otherwise run-of-the-mill conference in San Francisco next week, a heavyweight triumvirate consisting of IBM, Sony and Toshiba will announce details of an immanent technology that is expected by many to usher in a new generation of personal computing.
The group's new "Cell Architecture" chip is not just a more powerful microchip, it is also a new kind of microchip. The trio have redesigned the hardware and software architecture of the microchip from scratch, opening up new possibilities for distributed number-crunching and communications among all sorts of household appliances, from TV sets to mobile phones.
In short, the Cell may well change the way all computerized devices behave, much as the internet changed the way personal computers behave. Chips in servers, PCs, cars, cameras, PDAs and mobile phones will be able to "talk" to each other, and to share tasks. Indeed, the manufacturers claim that the product is being developed for the Playstation3 -- I suspect they are trying to avoid too much hype.
The Cell chip itself has been described by computer.org as a "supercomputer", not only capable of impressive linear computing, but also utilising advanced distributed computing techniques.
The Register claims that "no chip in years has caused as much excitement".
For an introductory (and nonetheless mind-boggling) explanation of the Cell and why it is so different to any chip that has gone before, see Nicholas Blanchford's comprehensive analysis.
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