Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by p1esk 998 days ago
They used 2008 transistors. In my opinion that’s not enough to do anything interesting. What can this computer do?
1 comments

If it can interface an external memory, and given enough time, it presumably can do just about anything any other CPU can
No, I mean - what can it do in its current form? Not "presumably".
I meant presumably because I didn't look at the details and what matters is the ability to address memory (which is external to the CPU by definition) and you can emulate any machine with a smaller machine
No, what matters is an effective demo. It seems to be missing from the project page. And with 2k transistors I doubt you can do much.
You can't have a fast processor with 2k transistors, but don't underestimate how clever designs can build Turing complete engines out of unexpected substrates. "Given enough time" can mean it could take thousands of clock cycle to add two numbers
Your comment is a good illustration of why many startups fail and why we need sales and marketing departments.