Week 9 Clear: Moore's Law

This week we watched lectures and read about Moore's Law. This was a pretty easy week in terms of information and terminology as we have already discussed some of the material earlier in the course. This week we did discuss Gordon Moore and learned a little about his history and how Carver Mead coined the phrase "Moore's Law." Moore's Law refers to a 4 page paper that Moore wrote in Electronics magazine discussing how chip performance, per dollar, doubles every 18 months and how next generation chips should be twice as fast & cost the same as 18 months ago.

Image Created by: (David Feng)  http://www.flickr.com/photos/fenng/4095211300/

We also discussed Price Elasticity, which is: The rate at which demand fluctuates with price change. High price elasticity: drop in price results in a spike in demand. In everyday situations, think of the price of gas as having Low price elasticity: As the price of gas increases, people change their driving habits and in turn are more conservative, resulting in using less gas or Decreasing the demand. Much of this material I have already encountered in both my Micro and Macro Economics classes and my Marketing class, so I was already familiar with most of this material.

We also discussed the 5 Waves of Computing:

1. 1960's-Mainframe Computing

2. 1970's-Introduction of mini-computers

3. 1980's-Personal Computing

4. 1990's-Mobile Computers

5. 2000's-Ubiquitous Computers

Another important item of discussion is as a manager in the business world, the concept of having a "Crystal Ball." This is knowing or anticipating what will happen in the future with technology based on the past and being able to make decisions for computing technology in the business world, based on costs and time.

*Permission granted for reuse by Standard YouTube License.