MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
November 97
Greetings Fellow Members,
The thing that I most like to do to relax or wind down is read. The subject matter can range from mysteries to spy novels to science fiction but my favorite is history, specifically the history of invention and technology.
One of the magazines that I receive deals in the subject of invention and technology history. The articles cover why the technology was needed, what inventions were developed, and what the political or social climate was that spurred on the technology.
The 1940's, 50's and 60's were full of technological advancement; advances in the medical field, with vaccines and new surgical procedures. The power of the atom was harnessed. Helicopters and super-sonic airplanes were developed. We were sending astronauts into outer space. There was a general feeling among the people of the day that there was nothing that could not be accomplished by technology and hard work.
There was a limit, however, to the advancements. This limit was usually due to the lack of advancement in other technologies. For instance, most mechanical-based technologies were either stalled or halted while waiting on advancements in materials or chemistry. But this same inter-relationship between different technologies is what causes new approaches, and actually feeds the advancing technologies. I'm sure materials like tungsten would not have been developed if there wasn't already a need for it.
In the past few decades, advances in mechanical technology have slowed considerably, but computer technology has grown faster than any technology in history. Just think about the advances in the past 10 years alone. It is said that history repeats itself, and I believe that to be true. Let's take a look at computer technology.
Computer technology is starting to stall. It used to be that as soon as you bought a new computer, the technology was obsolete. Shortly after the 286 chip was released, the 386 was announced. Shortly after it came the 486. Now, the 486 hung around quite awhile as leading technology, but it was finally replaced by the Pentium chip. While they have released the Pentium II chip, it is becoming obvious that the new chip release rate has slowed substantially.
Computer technology has reached a plateau, and is now waiting on advancements in other technologies. Silicon has been pushed to the max with current manufacturing technology, and until a major advancement is made in either the manufacturing of silicon chips, or the material chips are made of, I see computer technology coming to a halt. I'm sure that soon the advancement will be announced and computer technology will be off and running again, faster than ever. I can't wait.
See you at the next meeting.
Kevin