Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!ccut!wnoc-tyo-news!astemgw!kuis!rins!will
From: will@rins.ryukoku.ac.jp (will)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Digital Holography
Message-ID: <268@rins.ryukoku.ac.jp>
Date: 14 May 91 00:54:43 GMT
References: <1019.282B28FD@nwark.fidonet.org>
Organization: Ryukoku Univ., Seta, Japan
Lines: 34

In article <1019.282B28FD@nwark.fidonet.org>, Samuel.P..Uselton@p0.f13.n391.z1.fidonet.org (Samuel P. Uselton) writes:
>        The NAS project at NASA Ames regards pushing industry into producing
>        a teraflops computer by the year 2000 as a "Grand Challenge" problem.
>        It'll be quite a while longer before that capacity finds its way
>        into workstations for the broad market.
>

	From what I have seen and heard (from the people doing this research)
	this technology should be availible to the government and big
	industries by 1997 (and maybe by 1995) and into the home a few years
	later.  As I have been told, the biggest problem now is not making
	teraflop computers, but manufacturing techniques must be updated for
	production and quality control standards must be updated for mass prod.
	The reason cited was that these computers use components that require
	more advanced manufacturing technologies and that current facilities
	must be redesigned to meet these requirements.

	A little side note: I was once told that another reason for the delay
	of the teraflop technologies was that:
		All of the Corporations that make computers and have these
		technologies currently cannot just release it at this time even
		if they could.  The reason is "Economics".  They and thier
		customers have invested billions in current technolgy.  To make
		it absolutly obsolete over night would destroy there companys.
		Not to forget that many of these manufacturers have warehouses
		full of new equipment ready to be sold.  Worth billions.

		This is one reason that companies do incremental scaling of
		computer technologies.  To get as much money as possible with
		as small an investment as possible.  It's all "Economics".



							Will...