#Michael Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 NEW YORK -- Future microprocessors from IBM will optimize their performance by altering themselves, adding memory or removing unneeded bits of circuitry on the fly, the company's chief technologist said Wednesday. The self-morphing chips, still in development, were disclosed as IBM revealed wide-ranging plans for the company's current generation of chips, the Power5. Big Blue hopes to work with outside technology developers to make Power chips a flexible, widely used driver of several kinds of computing systems, from high-end corporate servers to video game consoles and handheld devices. For decades, microprocessors have gotten ever faster by cramming more and more transistors onboard, but the physical limitations of the materials involved is making it harder to shrink the dimensions much further. Instead of relying on continual improvements in chip speed, future chips must be more cleverly designed to combine more computing functions, said Bernard Meyerson, IBM's chief technologist. The self-altering chip is one means of achieving that. Here's how it would work: Continually running electrical current through a tiny circuit can cause its materials to erode, as individual atoms get stripped and dragged away by the electricity. Eventually the metal breaks. Chip designers got around the problem by carefully choosing a blend of metals. Now, Meyerson said, IBM has developed a way to make the metal erosion happen at will -- when software running the chip determines that part of the circuitry needs cutting or tuning. Read more at the Chicago Sun-Times: Thursday Chicago Sun-Times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 seems like a pretty cool idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkler Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 april fools :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 actually, it's entirely feasable, so I wouldn't doubt if this isn't an April Fools joke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathanael Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 OMG! OMG! My IBM chip changed in to 1st of April! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTallack Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 The article is written very unprofessionally. It's very obvious that it's an April Fools joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniacid Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 rofl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#Michael Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 (edited) I promise you this isn't an April fools joke. I read this as the top story of the Sun-times business section and then found the story on their site to post here. If anyone doubts me I can scan the article and post it. Edited April 1, 2004 by AthleticTrainer1981 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Oh noeessss!!!!!111 It's becoming self aware! Run for the hills! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 see? told you it was feasible... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuarterSwede Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Now that's what I call a breakthrough in computer technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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