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To: SBHX who wrote (73242)	5/18/2001 10:54:16 PM
From: Dave B	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

SbH, The hardware is actually way ahead of the application and has been for a couple of gens. Outside of several niche applications like video editing and less-sophisticated DVD piracy shops in HongKong, noone really needs the fast streaming apps. And no one needs VCRs, or DVDs (heck, you can go to the movies). No one needs cars (you can walk or ride a bike). You get the picture -- I could go on and on. Here's an interesting exercise that I started doing for myself after I had children -- make a list of all the things that we now take for granted that didn't exist when you were a kid. My list is multiple pages now (airbags, calculators, graphite shafts on golf clubs, PCs, anti-lock brakes, blah, blah, blah). What I can promise you is that the world in 10 years will have an entire new set of capabilities (not just things, but capabilities) that don't exist now. And I'll step out on a pretty sturdy limb and predict that the delivery of high-speed bandwidth and faster processing will be a part of that change. Who knows? Maybe we'll have true 3-D displays (watch a movie as if you were watching a play on a stage) or virtual reality capabilites will be standard on every PC. But to paraphrase a line from Jurassic Park, "Technology will find a way". I actually think that while moore's law is not dead, the need for it has stalled until a true killer app shows up, that could happen next month or 5 years from now. Who knows when? So I guess we're almost saying the same thing. <G> The interesting thing is that advances rarely move in gigantic leaps. Did you ever see the crappy quality of the first video displays on PCs. Now you can watch a full length movie with great sound and video quality. The marginal increases we see in technology even today will get someone thinking "hey, I'll bet we can try to do XYZ now!" And while the first attempts might be laughable, they'll provide a direction. And let me add one more thought -- I don't know if you saw my post from earlier this year detailing all the AI-type processing that goes on in just the basic Office apps, but I do know that the performance of Office 2000 was poor on my P200 (sometimes taking 5-10 seconds to update the display when I typed), whereas it's not a problem at all on my PIII-500 or PIII-600. Even the basic apps will improve with faster processing capabilities in the stuff that goes on under the covers. If Microsoft thought of ways to "improve" Word that makes the performance suck on P200's, they'll think of things to add that will someday make the performance suck on a PIII-600. Okay, I'm off my soapbox (for the remainder of this post, at least). <G> Dave

To: SBHX who wrote (73242)	5/19/2001 2:21:40 AM
From: NightOwl	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Hi SbH, The hardware is actually way ahead of the application and has been for a couple of gens. Outside of several niche applications like video editing and less-sophisticated DVD piracy shops in HongKong, noone really needs the fast streaming apps. Trying to push for fast streaming bursting advantage of faster memory by association with 1Mbit/s (or 384kbps) broadband internet is like someone who already has a 10" wide pipe into a maple tree dripping syrup, and asking him to get a 20" wide one to get more syrup. You just won't eat more pancakes unless you grow more trees. One might argue that this is a question best submitted on a Software Thread, but I would like to know what exactly you Hardware guys see as a "streaming app." Every time I see the term mentioned in reference to a PC environment, it makes me just want to wretch pellets for days! What are the dadblamed things anyway? I haven't got a clue as to what it really is but I can tell you right now that the terminology "streaming app" brings to mind nothing whatever that I normally associate with "computing" of any sort. I mean really when I want something to stream into my house I turn on a light, a gas burner, a cable TV, a radio, or a telephone. The only "streaming" I need/want/use that relates in any way to a PC is downloading e-mail and a regular anti virus update. If voice, video or music/files "streaming" into a home is what one wants why would any rational being look to the "computer" as the "appliance" to do it? As you say, if someone wants to manipulate or produce mass duplicates of such incoming data streams, then yes by all means go with the "computer" model. If not the addition of "intelligence" to TV/radio/telephone and other such appliances seems clearly the way to go. I am not a movie studio, switchboard, or composer. I don't pirate data or even resale under license. I have more computing power at my personal disposal than my Grandchildren will ever need. And my modest data requirements, to the extent that they can be improved, would best be served by a network infrastructure upgrade to match the capabilities of the millions of PC's, at home and office, all ready and waiting. It seems to me that there is no need or possibility for a "killer app" in the PC sector. What is missing is a "killer design" for (a) a rational communications capital structure; and (b) an integrated, rational network infrastructure to put that capital to good use. PC's are a generation (human, not technology) ahead of the communications folks. And the semiconductor sector isn't the problem. The Com industry appears to be in a competitive war for sales and share price. Simply put the companies in that industry are no where near arriving at a market consensus on what they want the semi sector to produce. Frankly I don't know that they'll ever arrive at such a universal integrated com network. ...At least not before the next Big Rock arrives to start the process all over.<vbg> In the mean time I suggest putting out the cash for the next generation PSII if you want "streaming apps."<Ha Ho 8-> 0\|0