Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!iuvax!cica!gatech!hubcap!eho
From: eho@bogey.princeton.edu (Eric Y.W. Ho)
Newsgroups: comp.parallel
Subject: Scaled-down CM ?
Message-ID: <5847@hubcap.clemson.edu>
Date: 26 Jun 89 12:16:37 GMT
Lines: 27
Approved: parallel@hubcap.clemson.edu

Does anyone at TMC considered building a somewhat scaled-down CM box -- like
putting just several hundreds or just a few thousands cells on say a big wafer
or several large chips so that it can be hooked to one's desktop (either as a
separate box next to the desktop or actually inside the desktop -- that would
be really nice) so that people with a limited budget that can take advantage
of this architecture (& don't want to learn another entirely new enviornment
-- it is nice that CM can adapt easily to the host's environment) but not
necessary need so many cells can go out and get one of this box (either for
personal use or to be shared by a small group of half a dozen or so people)
and start doing some useful things with it.  I think that the trick here is
partly costs (a CM now need megabucks and at least a machine room to house the
box and a small group just won't have the space for it, let alone the
megabucks) and partly technical -- i.e. how easily the CM can interface with
other desktops (it all boils to a matter of good compromise & good sense I
guess -- if you can't have the whole pie then at least get a small part of
it).

Eric Ho
Cognitive Science Lab.,		Princeton University
email = eho@bogey.princeton.edu


--

regards.

-eric-