3 ms·
TL/DL: yes, it does, and by significant amount Key fob has nRF52840l, 64 MHz ARM, 1024 KB Flash, 256 KB RAM Apollo Guidance Computer was 2MHz, ~72 KB ROM, ~4
by theamk 11mo ago
TL/DL: yes, it does, and by significant amount
Key fob has nRF52840l, 64 MHz ARM, 1024 KB Flash, 256 KB RAM
Apollo Guidance Computer was 2MHz, ~72 KB ROM, ~4 KB RAM
The comparison might be up to 10x different due to more efficient architecture and different MIPS/MHz ratio, but it does not change much, since the differences are so dramatic.
(This is based on links in the podcast description, which I assume what they talked about. Those pretty new keyfobs, older ones might have something like nRF24LE01, which is only 16 MHz, 18 KB Flash, 1KB RAM)
- y7 10mo agoI guess even a disposable vape has more computing power than the Lunar lander. (I don't know if that's more or less ridiculous than a key fob, but at least a key is not so disposable.)
- beachy 10mo agoA keyfob is more analogous though - i.e. a computing device used to control a vehicle.
- Detrytus 10mo agoThe keyfob was brought up by someone so they can make a clickbaity title: "A thing in your pocket has more computing power than Apollo guidance computer. And it's not your smartphone"
- observationist 10mo agoCar chargers for usbs, or digital thermometers, or disposable pregnancy tests - it's absurd the amount of compute that ends up even in single use or trivial products.
- enlightens 10mo agoNever mind the car charger, what about the cable itself? https://appleinsider.com/articles/12/10/16/lightning-cables-authentication-chip-found-to-offer-just-enough-security https://appleinsider.com/articles/12/10/16/lightning-cables-...
- fencepost 10mo agoA lot of that is because those devices have far more than they actually need because the processors/packages are so cheap. Particularly if it's a relatively low volume item it's probably cheaper to just use a slightly overpowered component even if it's a penny or two more vs changing things.
- antihero 10mo agoThat said, the lunar lander still leads the keyfob in peripherals.
- bitwize 10mo agoHere's something to bake your noodle: Apple makes Lightning to HDMI dongles that contain 400 MHz Samsung ARM SoCs and 256 MiB of RAM onboard. They run frickin' Darwin. There is more power in one of those dongles than there was in the OG iMac, and it runs a cut-down macOS. No cap. And yes, Doom has been ported: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4XCkeN0XuqA https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4XCkeN0XuqA
- ASalazarMX 10mo ago"it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail." -- Abraham Maslow
- bitwize 10mo agoApple has an RTOS, called RTKit, that it uses for certain devices that have to hit ridiculously tight timing windows, or which don't have enough resources to support a full xnu kernel, such as the AirPods and Apple Pencil.