The Computing Trend that Will Change Everything

[ronjor]

Computing isn't just getting cheaper. It's becoming more energy efficient. That means a world populated by ubiquitous sensors and streams of nanodata.

The performance of computers has shown remarkable and steady growth, doubling every year and a half since the 1970s. What most folks don't know, however, is that the electrical efficiency of computing (the number of computations that can be completed per kilowatt-hour of electricity used) has also doubled every year and a half since the dawn of the computer age.

http://www.technologyreview.com/business/40016

[Pinga]

...A development with profound implications for how businesses, and society generally, will develop in the decades ahead. It will enable us to control industrial processes with more precision, to assess the results of our actions quickly and effectively, and to rapidly reinvent our institutions and business models to reflect new realities.

Journalism is the art of recycling clichés

[ronjor]

Interesting nonetheless.

As one of many examples of what is becoming possible using ultra-low-power computing, consider the wireless no-battery sensors created by Joshua R. Smith of the University of Washington. These sensors harvest energy from stray television and radio signals and transmit data from a weather station to an indoor display every five seconds. They use so little power (50 microwatts, on average) that they don't need any other power source.

[Keatah]

Tesla style! Except on a pico-watt scale as opposed to a mega-watt or terra-watt level..