Patent Filing Reveals Nvidia May Build Tiny Computers
Not every patent results in an actual product. However, if this patent filing has any substance in Nvidia's product plans, then there is a good chance that Nvidia will soon play a much bigger role in CPU manufacturing and even compete with PC vendors.

The "portable computer system" is described as a small computer that is about the size of a USB memory stick.
Nvidia's filing outlines the idea of packing a Tegra processor, Flash storage, RAM, at least one USB port, and other interface types such as a parallel port, a serial port, IEEE 1394 (Firewire), VGA, HDMI, S-Video, AV, DVI, LAN and WiFi into a package that is just 40-60 mm long, 10-20 mm wide and 5-10 mm thick. The feature set would be comparable to a entry-level computer system with limited storage and cloud connectivity.
Of course, it would not be a powerful local gaming rig, but most likely enough to bring along on a key chain. There is no display; the idea is to plug the device into an LCD or TV to be used as a display or into a regular computer to perform simple computing tasks much more efficiently as the device will consume just about 10 watts.
One could argue that much of the potential features are already covered by smartphones, but this Nvidia Tegra system could be substantially cheaper than a smartphone. In volume production, Nvidia could push the bill of materials well below $100, which could make it the most affordable new computer on sale.
If this is now a "little computer", I have to wonder what the term will refer to in a decade or two.
If this is now a "little computer", I have to wonder what the term will refer to in a decade or two.
hope they can run linux.
in one decade there will be such incredible changes I don't think people realize what is coming and how soon it will be here. The very word "computer" may no longer have meaning ten years from now. The IBM "watson" computer will be ordinary tech in a desktop size by then and owned by private individuals. In two decades I'm thinking personal android assistants will be available. The technological singularity is expected to arrive in 2045 if current rate of technology acceleration continues.
Forget it, your stupid Linux never had good hardware support and never will, since open source fools are stubborn and refuse to accept proprietary drivers easily. So unless nVidia will develop it for Linux from day 1 and support it (which is sooooo not likely!), expect a ton of issues. Linux users like them, it's why they don't need gaming - they play with their OS all the time instead.
Got a netbook for all that already
http://www.raspberrypi.org/
Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've been prognosticating for several decades that a lot of technology, such as robots, flying cars, cheap space travel, etc. were only X years away, and many of those things are still a long ways away. The big technological leaps tend to be ones few were predicting.
Thank you. So sick of this "ZOMG, in 10 years everything is gonna be SO different.."
The Eniac, in 1946, could do something like 400 multiplications per second. It weighed 27 tons.
In the 90's supercomputers were getting close to 1 GFLOP. That's 2.5 million times better.
China had a computer performing at 2.5 Petaflops in 2010. That's another 2.5 million times better.
At this rate, I'd say the supercomputers of 2030 will be pretty good.
As for the computers you will buy for home... These days a GTX 560 claims 1075 GFLOPs. That's like the supercomputer of 20 years ago, but 1000 times faster and 1000 times smaller and many thousands of times cheaper. And that's the graphics card I did NOT buy after all, because I wanted something a little faster, LOL.
What will happen in another 20 years? At this rate, a mainstream card will be the size of a nickel, it will cost a nickel, and two or three of them in SLI will beat China's supercomputer of 2010.
Bah you missed the point of being able to browse the web on a 19-30" monitor at resolutions from 720p to 1080p, and type on a standard size keyboard. If I had a netbook, I wouldn't look to use it at home.
Well, one of the main reasons technology isn't evolving as fast as we thought it would is because there has been a bottleneck for the past 100 years. Which is energy. It isn't the fact we don't know how to build flying cars, laser guns, cheaper space travel. It is the fact electricity and fossil fuel is just too weak to handle such devices. Nuclear energy on the other hand is just too dangerous to be used by consumers. Guaranteed, the second there is a new, powerful, reliable, and safe power source, that technology will leap and move so fast, we won't be able to keep up.
http://www.marvell.com/solutions/plug-computers/
They essentially are cell phones without the LCD.
Granted a Tegra-3 or Tegra-4 would make for a MUCH faster one.
Yeah. We have the technology to develop and build devices that could be sent up into the ozone layer and repair it. It's financially unavailable, similar to many things being restricted by the power sources.
Anyway... it'd be nice to browse the web for under 50 watts total - power for: display, computer, interface devices like keyboard/mouse, modem, and router... Maybe someday... to the experts, how close are we realistically?
Maybe if I pump a bunch of hamsters full of growth hormones and get them to spin up an alternator... hmmm... Ok, I'm just going to stop here... lol