Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ub!acsu.buffalo.edu From: cloos@acsu.buffalo.edu (James H. Cloos) Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds Subject: Re: Dream Machine (Re: HP Announces New Calculator!) Message-ID: <69319@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> Date: 6 Apr 91 03:55:50 GMT References: <1991Apr2.130722.16548@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu> <9390@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> <559@lysator.liu.se> Sender: news@acsu.Buffalo.EDU Organization: State University of New York @ Buffalo Lines: 74 Nntp-Posting-Host: lictor.acsu.buffalo.edu I've got even higher expectations. What I'd like to see is a line of devices from one the size of the bar-code readers FedEx deliverers use, all the way to IBM 3080-F sized machines. All of the "chips" would in fact be 3-D arrays of transistors, etc. (This technology *IS* being worked on.) The 48-sized portrait-orientated machine should have an array of about 4x4x4 uP's (Say, 16 each of CISC (68040 compatable), RISC (88000 compatable), DSP (56001 compatable), and graphics-accellerator (??? compatable) type processors. The kernal would be an evolved mach, able to use this vast array of power effectively. A window system resembling X11r5 (I hear it may include PostScript-like interpretation by then; see comp.sys.unix.amiga, as I recall) would be part of this kernal. All of the "uP's" in the array would have 4096-bit internal and 256-bit external archetectures, with 256 address and data lines each--word (256 bit) addressed! This means 2**270 bits of addressable memory. The memory blocks (chip sounds too two-d) would, at best, be more like core memory than current DRAM or SRAM technology, needing power only to change mem contents, none (ie 0) to maintain them. Internally, then, something akin to grobs would be used, but at 256 bits per channel, 25400 dpi (ie, 1 pixel per um.) This would be the same along the whole product line. Also, blocks of pixels would be rounded into a value for each screen pixel, depending on the screen's pitch and brightness-scale size. The I/O prots would include a fiber-optic port for some std protocol similar to TCP, though at somewhere around 100_MHz. (It would be the same rate as the cpu's clock.) TCP, itself, should be able to be overlayed on this, to facilitate IP connection to other hosts. Also, a mini-DIN-8 connector or 2 for rs232 a/o rs-4?? (I forget the number, exactly) communications, plus the I/R, though with a more powerful transmitter and an about as powerful receiver. Whether it comes w/ a keyboard and partial color-lcd or a full color-lcd display is buyer-selectable (for this and the note-book sized units, anyway; the larger and smaller units would look pretty-much like today.) 256-channel audio would be standard on all systems, at say 256 bits per sample, and a sample rate of 16_MHz or so (actually, 16.777216_MHz, or 2^24_Hz). Some form of 2-way radio communication, probably including both cellular and broadcast style bands, would allow instant communication w/ anyone. In this fashion, it could be used like a phone/fax/etc. "RAM" "cards" (remember, they would be completely non-volatile, and 3-D) would be the software-exchange medium. I'm thinking a pair of processors, one maintaining a filesystem in its filled up memory, the other running communications. This would mean 2^256 words of memory, or enough to hold just about everything anyone wants on just a single "card." For batteries, Kodak would take it's 3-lithium cell Ultralife 9V battery, and based on that come out with a line of batteries sized like the 1.5V ones but with a lithium cell each. Two AA or AAA sized ones or those would last quite some time, especially since the memory wouldn't be using up much of it. AC adapters would also be useable. Running on top of that mach-like kernal would be a number of useful programs like a rpl-environment for calculator tasks, as well as any number of editors, word processors, etc. More useful on the larger systems, yes, but runnable non the less on the smaller systems, so you'd never have to worry about file format incompatabilities among the various machines in the line. (Of course, software-vendor incompatabilities could still exist.) Also, emulators of various currently popular systems would be available, so that people's current investments would not have to be thrown out. Imagine how fast these could be!!! (Oh, just remembered, I'd say about 4 of those "ram-cards" could be plugged in at a time, to give you an idea of how large I'd want them to be.) Given all of the above, the handheld sized units would double as our handheld tv's, raios, cd-players ("ram" block players, actually...). -JimC -- James H. Cloos, Jr. Phone: +1 716 673-1250 cloos@ACSU.Buffalo.EDU Snail: PersonalZipCode: 14048-0772, USA cloos@ub.UUCP Quote: <>