14 DAY TRIAL // All aspects of computing have been evolving and today's machines completely dwarf those that were considered top-end a few years ago. Central processors are reaching new computing heights, while becoming increasingly efficient and graphics have reached a stage where they can almost perfectly mimic real life. Having matured so much, however, new technological breakthroughs are no longer the subject of admiration because they are no longer truly unexpected. NVIDIA's Chief Executive Officer explains that PCs can only regain their lost charm if they can gain a new type of interactivity.
“The computer that we know of today has lost its magic in the sense that the technology has become rather mature and that is one of the reasons the PC has stopped amazing us,” NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said in an interview with BBC.
According to him, a newer, more advanced control mechanism that will be able to radically change the way human beings and PCs interact needs to be developed. This idea is shared by other strong names, such as Intel and AMD for instance, and is one of the reasons behind each of their efforts to increase the power of their respective chips. Performance has been increasing by two or three times each year and, based on this computing power, Mr. Huang says that, eventually, a technology will be developed that would give computers the ability to “know” when the user is trying to interact with it.
“The computer would simply know that it is me sitting in front of it. I wouldn't need to type in a password. It would know it's me based on what it sees of me, the way I am acting and talking. These kinds of capabilities are certainly within the next generation, because we have created a processor for the GPU that makes it possible to do parallel processing so much faster on a PC. We think this GPU technology is going to transform computing in a way that will bring back the magic to consumers,” Mr. Huang added.
Summing up, with the rate at which performance capabilities of chips have been growing, it is quite possible that the next big breakthrough will at least provide a basis for this new level of interactivity.