Thanks to the maturity of hardware, the PC just doesn't dazzle us anymore.
Nvidia's CEO Jen-Hsun Huang recently told the BBC News that the PC has lost its magic... or, at least, the PC as we've come to know it today. While he's not condemning the platform in any way, he does offer a valid point: hardware has reached a mature level, making it one of the reasons why PCs no longer amaze us as they once did. But what's the next level? Where does technology go from here?
The Nvidia CEO foresees a future where gesture recognition and computer "vision" come into play, when a PC knows that its owner is sitting in front of the screen simply by observing the user's face, the way he moves and speaks. While that may sound a bit far-fetched and ripped straight out of a science fiction movie, Huang believes it to be a possibility in the next generation.
"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," he told the BBC. "We think this GPU technology is going to transform computing in a way that will bring back the magic to consumers."
Huang's lengthy interview with the BBC spans the history of Nvidia, going back seventeen years when the market was saturated with over 70 companies churning out GPUs, to the recent CES 2010 trade show where Nvidia was boasting about its latest GPU-powered movie, Avatar. But during the interview, Huang made one thing perfectly clear: even though the company is expanding into new areas, PC gaming will still be its primary focus.
IMO, Nvidia should stop talking and just get to work for them to be able to put their paper-based GPU into reality.
Yeah and its because of Nvidia there is hardly any competition left except for ATI. Two Companies (little advancement and inovation) vs 70 Companies (Sky is the limit for advancement and inovation). Brings back the good old days of 3DFX, Diamond Mult, Trident...
Sounds awfully similar to Intel and Rambus Memory fiasco. You have to remember, Rambus Memory was much more faster and better than DDR. But, DDR was cheaper.
Jen-Hsun Huang is really saying: "ATI is kicking our behinds. We can't get Fermi out the door. People are catching onto our re-hash of older GPU's. Intel's a bitch. Um...nevermind that, look we know you guys will buy into our GPGPU processing because we are going to charge you an arm and a leg for something mediocre."
I miss being able to go into a computer store and actually have a decent selection of PC games to choose from. I miss having unique titles exclusive to the PC instead of all half-arsed console ports. I miss being able to pop in the CD, install and then play the game without downloading 2GB of data to 'authenticate' my copy. I miss being able to install and uninstall the game as many times as I like, or on newly purchased machines. I miss the simplicity of buying and comparing hardware, 200 MHz CPU vs 300 MHz? I miss operating systems that don't take 5 minutes to boot and which can actually keep up with my typing (on high end hardware). I miss not having popups or antivirus software or other nagware bothering me in the middle of a game.
There's a lot to be annoyed about if your PC gamer these days.
-Nvidia's CEO Jen-Hsun Huang
So, basically he is saying that the magic is lost, and the only way your going to get it back is through using one of their products. This statement is just self-serving rhetoric that basically comes down to "Buy Nvidia, we are your saviors."
This is a non-story from a company that is back-peddling to take the spotlight off of their tardiness to get products to the market.
I miss being able to go into a computer store and actually have a decent selection of PC games to choose from. I miss having unique titles exclusive to the PC instead of all half-arsed console ports. I miss being able to pop in the CD, install and then play the game without downloading 2GB of data to 'authenticate' my copy. I miss being able to install and uninstall the game as many times as I like, or on newly purchased machines. I miss the simplicity of buying and comparing hardware, 200 MHz CPU vs 300 MHz? I miss operating systems that don't take 5 minutes to boot and which can actually keep up with my typing (on high end hardware). I miss not having popups or antivirus software or other nagware bothering me in the middle of a game.
There's a lot to be annoyed about if your PC gamer these days.
IMO, Nvidia should stop talking and just get to work for them to be able to put their paper-based GPU into reality.