Mailbag: Multi-Core, Veterans Day
Microsoft recently revealed that the next rev of Windows Server 2008 would be
able to use
up
to 256 processors, but Seth isn't really buying the multi-core excitement:
You're missing the point with the core support: There's virtually no
application software out there that will leverage the multi-core systems at
the scale they exist at today, and there isn't really need to grow it in the
future. The only thing that will need that many cores is a virtualization
platform, and even then you're going to have RAM limitations well before you
get to the processor bottleneck.
Show me an application platform that will benefit from the processor
scaling and do so cost-effectively in a single chassis, and I'll get excited.
Until then, it is just a marketing number that is rather irrelevant. Talking
with an MS program manager a couple months back, he let on that 256 processors
was probably going to happen, but also that there really is about zero demand
for it in the market and that demand isn't expected to grow. It isn't that
surprising really.
-Seth
Today is Veterans Day in the U.S. Readers share their thoughts on the holiday,
and how they plan to pay their respects:
As a Vietnam vet, I take this holiday very seriously. Having seen war
first-hand, I can appreciate the contributions of those that served before,
during and after my time. God bless them all.
-George
My husband and I are both taking the day off as we are both veterans.
He's a veteran of Vietnam and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and I'm a veteran of
the Air Force. We both have some very dear fellow veterans to salute and remember.
-Anonymous
Having lived in the U.S. for nearly two decades, we're astonished at the
ease with which many disrespect the military and deride those who chose to
extinguish modern-day tyranny. It seems we in the U.S. are incapable of putting
ourselves in the shoes of others who are being systematically eradicated just
because they don't agree with the ruler. Imagine if the Constitution were
set aside by a government with sufficient authority that wanted to silence
its opponents; wouldn't 'the targets to be silenced' want someone to come
in and decisively put an end to that? I would suspect that even the President-elect
would welcome that.
We know several veterans of Iraq -- one, at least, multi-tour -- who
have yet to reach 25 years of age, and the parents of other such sons who
died in Iraq setting people free. All these are worthy of respect and honor
-- doubly so, in my opinion, as multitudes of them are so young.
-Stephen
Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on November 11, 2008