Since the introduction of the microprocessor in the 1970s, our central processing units (CPUs) have rapidly become more powerful, and often smaller in size, too.
In the early '70s, processors were able to carry out just thousands of instructions per second. Today, processors in our home computers are easily capable of performing thousands of millions of instructions per second.
Moore's law, which states that the number of transistors that can be inexpensively placed on an integrated circuit is increasing exponentially, doubling approximately every two years, continues to hold true.
As we move into an era of multi-core computing, the systems in our homes are beginning to provide performance similar to that which was once deemed available only from supercomputers.
Intel, the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, has its sights set on designing CPUs that perform with up-to petaFLOP performance. But we want to know, what would you, the consumer, do with such processing power?
Aside from the obvious "I'd do more of the same, but quicker", what else might you begin to do? Will increased performance urge you to try something new? Will you try your hand at video editing, will you become a gamer, or will you use the processing power to help find cures for diseases?
There's endless possibilities, and we're asking you, our readers, what would you do if you had more processing power? Let us know in the HEXUS.community forums.
