Steve yes that's the thing, a lot of it has to do with circuit size. 40 years ago the circuits used to be much larger and more durable. But now with nano-circuits they are extremely tiny, and prone to degradation from even the quantum heat-radiation of being at room temperature.
To make longevity hardware, we really will have to make larger circuit sizes, and likely build in some redundancy, like multiple processors. Something like those toffoli gates may allow for 3 dimensional computing, so what we lose from circuit density, we can gain by having multiple relatively cool layers. On Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 12:25 PM, Steve Richfield <[email protected] > wrote: > Logan, > > On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 11:16 PM, Logan Streondj <[email protected]>wrote: > >> One issue that many seem to overlook, is the longevity of hardware issue. >> Fact is, that most hardware produced today, has a half-life of 4-7 years. >> > > That is because they now use cheap plastic packaging, aluminum bonding > wires, and don't gold plate much of anything. The military stuff lasts for > about a century. > > I just purchased a 40-year-old analog computer. It had a broken resistor > from shipment because the mounting bolts for a small power transformer had > been omitted (possibly from the original factory) so the transformer had > bashed the resistor, and it needed some alignment to compensate for its > aging components - but the alignment controls were there to align, so this > wasn't technically even a "repair". Now, it all checks out and is ready to > be put back into service, in this case, to evaluate real-time algorithms > for smart hearing aids. With this, prospective algorithms can be programmed > in a few minutes, and changes can be made in a minute or so. > > In this next-generation design, the output is added to what the user hears > without it, so the analysis must be instantaneous (a few microseconds of > delay are OK, but a millisecond would be disastrous) in order to maintain > proper phase relationships. Sure this could conceivably be done digitally, > but this would be a big hassle, and there would be no apparent advantage in > doing so. > > Of course I didn't have to go WAY back 40 years to find a suitable > computer, but in addition to being quite functional it is a beautiful > antique, complete with its glowing Nixie tube digital display. Besides, I > only had to pay $312 for it. > > Steve > > *AGI* | Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now> > <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/5037279-6ef01b0b> | > Modify<https://www.listbox.com/member/?&;>Your Subscription > <http://www.listbox.com> > ------------------------------------------- AGI Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/21088071-c97d2393 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=21088071&id_secret=21088071-2484a968 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
