[ktosiek]

Moore's Law was about the amount of transistors you can put in a chip cheaply, so it may be coming to an end. But I don't think it will stop machines from getting faster - we are seeing lots of progress in multi-core usage even on desktop and in mobile computing (multicore smartphones), and using dedicated hardware outside the CPU socket/package (GPGPU) is getting normal too - those look like new ways of making faster personal machines.

[toemetoch]

On the x86 front I'm a bit pessimistic. In 2006, Intel promised 80-cores by 2012 but I haven't seen them anywhere yet [0].

[0] http://news.cnet.com/2100-1006_3-6119618.html

(Disclaimer: don't know how the crowd here reacts to CNET articles)

[gaius]

Well, there was this: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/15/larrabee_32_cores/

[toemetoch]

It was cancelled in 2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larrabee_(microarchitecture)

[gaius]

Ah but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Corner_(Intel)#Knights_...

[toemetoch]

Well played, sir.