THE FUTURE - The Need For Speed

 The vast amount of processing power generated by today's computer manufacturers has not yet been able to quench mankind’s thirst for speed and computing capacity. In 1943, Thomas Watson, the then chairman of IBM said “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers”. Other notable computer engineers of the time, made similar errant predictions about the sheer amount of computing power that would support our growing technological needs.

The proliferation of personal computers, the emergence of the Internet and ever-expanding scientific research means our computing needs are growing at a tremendous rate.

As you read this web-page, computer chip manufacturers are furiously racing to make the next microprocessor that will topple all other speed records. However it will not be long before microprocessors made of silicon reach their limits of speed and miniaturisation.