That NEC and Alcatel recently pushed nearly 11 trillion bits per second down a single strand of fiber? That's about the equivalent of 1,900 CD-ROM's every second. Did you also know that every 18 months for the past 20 years or so they have doubled the previous record? Which means that by 2014, if the trend continues, they will be able to send 1.8 quadrillion bits per second down the same strand of fiber? Although recently, they have been tripling capacity nearly every 6 months, so that means that as early as the end of next year they could pass the 1 quadrillion bit per second barrier. The fiber is largely already in place for the most part, so there is not really that much of a huge cost to upgrade infrastucture. Mind boggling really...
What do these advances in technology mean? I don't even think we know or can predict, but they do predict that by 2013 there will be a supercomputer in place that will exceed the computation capability of the human brain. By 2023, the computer most people will be able to buy for $1,000 will exceed the computation capability of the human brain, and by 2049, that same $1,000 computer will exceed the computation capability of the entire human race... Absolutely amazing, and I can't wait!
It is also estimated that 1.5 exabytes of new, unique information will be generated worldwide this year, which is a LOT of information. Just to give you an idea of what an exabyte is, at the end of 1999, the sum of all human-produced information (including all audio, video recordings and text/books) was about 12 exabytes of data.
It will be stunning to see what people will be able to do with that sort of computing power at their command... The even funnier thing is, people that are currently studying technology, whatever they learn this year will be obsolete the year after next. The top ten jobs that will be in demand in 2010 didn't even exist in 2004. So pay attention to what's going on around you kids... :)
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6 comments:
Huh, I didn't know! So amazing! I think the computer is pretty quick now, it will be good. :D So, maybe tech school may be more important than the regular old 4-year college for our future children. Good to know.
Do you think then maybe my cell phone will improve, too. I just hate it when it doesn't work (dropped calls or just didn't go through). It's so darn frustrating!I'm shocked more people don't break them by throwing them across the room... I haven't yet, but sure considered it from time to time! :D
LOL! Well, what happens in the lab vs. what's available for us to use is a big difference... Although, the gap between when it happens in the lab and when it is available for normal use is narrowing tremendously...
So hopefully your phone issues will soon be resolved... :)
No, I didn't know.
I have the same issues with the phone, Jackie. So frustrating. There's a whole stretch on ft. Lewis where there is 'no network coverage' - drives me crazy. lol
Oh yeah Matt - about Andy's phone calling your phone. I meant to tell you that it never shows up on his phone as a dialed call. This is indeed a mystery!!!
Yes, it's totally amazing what they can do with technology now...and they keep expanding it. Just when you think "what more can they do?", they come out with something totally amazing.
I knew it was compounding fast (I had a professor that was a computer guru since the beginning of home computers) but it is still mind boggling. It will be interesting as to how it affects the cultural and social structure. No one can predict the results either since there is nothing to compare against.
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