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Computers are all the same now. I often think about that. Especially since I've hauled an old SGI box from work to home, encouraged by someone here on HN. Syste

Computers are all the same now. I often think about that. Especially since I've hauled an old SGI box from work to home, encouraged by someone here on HN. Systems were actually designed differently, let alone the OS and CPU architecture differences. Buses, graphics, memory, almost everything was different from system to system. Now, it comes down to bland server boxes and a race for that power/performance ratio and which OS you're using among a few. On desktop it's not any much different. Sure, systems are extremely powerful now and are getting more so. It's just that homogeneity and dominance of intel&clones kind of killed all the fun out of it. I'm not holding out any hopes for ARM either.

agumonkey 11y ago
Early markets are jungles full of diversity. Every tiny detail is a huge differentiator. A bit more ram means more complex software, a bit more transistor means faster interaction.
vidarh 11y ago
> I'm not holding out any hopes for ARM either. Why? ARM devices outsell x86 devices by a massive factor, and there's a massive amount of diversity in ARM systems that you can buy as general purpose computers, ranging from TV sticks, through devices like the Pi and similar class devices, to experimental computers like the Parallella (A "Zynq" - which is an ARM + FPGA - coupled with a 16 core Epiphany CPU). In terms of avoiding the same monoculture, consider the rise of FPGA based computers - e.g. there are now multiple re-implementations of classic Amiga hardware, as well as pretty much any other classic home computer, but many of them are being pushed beyond original specs. E.g. there are people working on seriously complicated out-of-order M68k FPGA based accelerators, for example. They're still "slow", but FPGA advances means we're getting steadily closer to the point where home-brew FPGA based platforms are viable for relatively normal use.

agumonkey 11y ago

Early markets are jungles full of diversity. Every tiny detail is a huge differentiator. A bit more ram means more complex software, a bit more transistor means faster interaction.

vidarh 11y ago

> I'm not holding out any hopes for ARM either. Why? ARM devices outsell x86 devices by a massive factor, and there's a massive amount of diversity in ARM systems that you can buy as general purpose computers, ranging from TV sticks, through devices like the Pi and similar class devices, to experimental computers like the Parallella (A "Zynq" - which is an ARM + FPGA - coupled with a 16 core Epiphany CPU). In terms of avoiding the same monoculture, consider the rise of FPGA based computers - e.g. there are now multiple re-implementations of classic Amiga hardware, as well as pretty much any other classic home computer, but many of them are being pushed beyond original specs. E.g. there are people working on seriously complicated out-of-order M68k FPGA based accelerators, for example. They're still "slow", but FPGA advances means we're getting steadily closer to the point where home-brew FPGA based platforms are viable for relatively normal use.