Messages in this thread | | | Date | Wed, 4 Aug 1999 04:14:34 -0700 (PDT) | From | Alex Belits <> | Subject | Re: OT: Re: First WinModem for Linux |
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On Wed, 4 Aug 1999, Bjorn Wesen wrote:
> I'm not saying that I would put a word processor embedded on a PCI board. > But if, say, operating systems were so bad they couldn't run a word > processor reliable, then somebody would probably make one!
Actually it already happened long time ago. Ever seen card-punching or tape-punching machines? Or, a bit later, 3270 terminals? The difference, of course, was that it never was the issue of performance or reliability -- just the input devices and interfaces weren't suitable for "dumb" terminals at those times. Later when both communication hardware and OS design became ready to support first dumb terminals, then character-cell terminals and later graphical terminals, with no significant "cost" increase, dedicated devices that performed text editing became unnecessary. However the concept of having text input processing "somewhere else" still exist -- you use it every time when submitting form in a web browser, a heavily mutated software-implemented modern descendant of 3270.
With modems for relatively low decrease of cost (that will become less and less significant over the years) the price is either introduction of "harder" realtime or decrease of reliability, and in both cases increased CPU load and amount of bus transfers. CPU and bus resources won't become cheaper over the years because "modems" (or network cards) speed increases at the rate comparable to CPU speed increase and at higher rate than bus bandwidth increase. So I don't expect WinEthernet to ever appear (even though some [^G] definitely will make WinISDN or WinDSL card), and the whole trend will die after modems/network cards will become cheaper and faster. The same applies to video cards -- don't hold your breath for the glorious emergence of $15 AGP-whatever dumb framebuffer.
Another possibility is the increased flexibility of I/O devices that may (or may not) make them more "intelligent" or even interchangeable (such as high-quality modem that can be reprogrammed to become a high-quality soundcard), and the whole thing will (or will not) be turned into some kind of asymmetric cluster over NUMA (and will kill a monstrosity called SMP in the process -- rejoice lock-haters ;-)).
-- Alex
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Excellent.. now give users the option to cut your hair you hippie! -- Anonymous Coward
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