Week 2 Readings

These readings complemented each other very well; I tabbed back and forth between them. The subject matter this week well beyond my area of expertise, so my notes this week are basic outlines to aid myself in getting the material straight.

Computer Hardware (the Guts)

I. Motherboard
-CPU (brain)
-internal buses (connect internal components)
-external bus controllers (connect to external devices)
II. Power Supply
-converts AC to low-voltage DC power, includes cooling fan
III. Removable media devices
-include CDs, DVD, blu-ray discs, and others
IV. Internal storage
-hard drive
V. Sound and Graphics cards
VI. Networking
-modem, other internet connections
VII. Input and output devices include:
-keyboard, mouse, game controllers, scanner, microphone, webcam
-printer, monitor, speakers


Moore's Law

Exploring some of the linked articles (esp. transistors) was well worth the extra time - things made much more sense to me with the aid of some background info.

I. History
-a few similar predictions prior to Moore's Law
-1965: Moore's orginal observation of transistor count doubling every year
-1970: term "Moore's Law" coined
-1975: projection altered to doubling every two years
II. Areas of similar growth
-number of transistors per integrated circuit
-rate of increase of transistor density at minimized cost
-cost per transistor
-manufacturing costs have gone up, however (not sure I understand this)
-transistor speed per cost unit
-power consumption (closer to Moore's original rate)
III. Moore's law evolved from an observation of an existing trend into a goal for the pace of these technological advances
IV. The future and limits of the law
-remember, originally only referred to semiconductor circuits. many have broadened the usage to describe many other technologies
-expected to continue for anywhere from a couple decades to several centuries (?!) by a few speculators.
-ultimately, transistors built on the atomic scale (necessary stopping point)

Computer History Museum

The Computer History Timeline was a good (non-technical) supplement to the Moore's Law article. I found the Internet History Exhibit quite interesting as well.