@Google team: Intel says to prepare for 'thousands of cores'
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I wanted to share this as this is relevant to the future development of Sketchup:
Intel is telling software developers to start thinking about not just 'tens' but 'thousands' of processing cores.
Link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-9981760-64.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
And a second link: http://blogs.intel.com/research/2008/06/unwelcome_advice.phpThe article:
*"Intel currently offers quad-core processors and is expected to bring out a Nehalem processor in the fourth quarter that uses as many as eight cores.
But the chipmaker is now thinking well beyond the traditional processor in a PC or server. Jerry Bautista, the co-director of the Tera-scale Computing Research Program at Intel, recently said that in a graphics-intensive environment the more cores Intel can build the better. "The more cores we have the better. Provided that we can supply memory bandwidth to the device."
On Monday, an Intel engineer took this a step further. Writing in a blog, Anwar Ghuloum, a principal engineer with Intel's Microprocessor Technology Lab, said: "Ultimately, the advice I'll offer is that...developers should start thinking about tens, hundreds, and thousands of cores now."
He said that Intel faces a challenge in "explaining how to tap into this performance." He continues: "Sometimes, the developers are trying to do the minimal amount of work they need to do to tap dual- and quad-core performance...I suppose this was the branch most discussions took a couple of years ago."
Now, however, Intel is increasingly "discussing how to scale performance to core counts that we aren't yet shipping...Dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of cores are not unusual design points around which the conversations meander," he said.
He says that the more radical programming path to tap into many processing cores "presents the 'opportunity' for a major refactoring of their code base, including changes in languages, libraries, and engineering methodologies and conventions they've adhered to for (often) most of the their software's existence."
"Eventually, developers realize that the end point is on the other side of a mountain of silicon innovations...Program for as many cores as possible, even if it is more cores than are currently in shipping products."*
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I think Google, as a whole, is more interested in Thin Client stuff, like Google Docs, where only the interface resides in your particular computer and everything else--files and apps--is in "the cloud."
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HAHAHAHA! Let's just worry about more than one, for starters.
Every day, this becomes more unbelievable and ridiculous. There is just nothing like watching the spinning beachball (mac) while also watching one core pegged and seven others with their thumbs up their collective a#$.
I guess seeing one pegged and 999 doing nothing would be a treat, too.
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@lewiswadsworth said:
I think Google, as a whole, is more interested in Thin Client stuff, like Google Docs, where only the interface resides in your particular computer and everything else--files and apps--is in "the cloud."
I know.... somehow I have the gut feeling that both GE and Sketchup will evolve to end up being completely web based applications.
With internet connection speeds increasing (VDSL) for HD video content, software developers seem to jump on the same train (see: Adobe with their online photoshop experiments) to start going the 'fully web based' route. Google, being a web pioneer, will probably be one of those to lead the herd.I can easily see both GE and SU merging into 1 web based application eventually.
However, in Sketchup terms, it would mean the end of being a design and CG tool.
Can we blame them?....
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Personally i think itd be a bit of a shame to see SU turn in to a web based application. There is something quite pleasing about having it residing on ones own computer.
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If Google ever turn SU into a web based application they'll have to pay me to use it. Internet connectivity and bandwidth is pretty expensive in South Africa.
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Mmmmmm but this appraoch might be acceptable for PART of
the SketchUp session. I would have no problem uploading
heavy duty CPU stuff for instant 'send back'! -
I think a web based viewer application makes sense. but for content creation on a large scale or high poly models only an on board application will work.
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