Reversible computing may improve mobile performance
Researchers are working hard at developing one of the first reversible computers, a machine that promises to reduce energy consumption and thereby enable performance improvements in cellular telephones, laptops, and other battery-operated devices. ...
Agent Hell: A Scenario of Worst Practices
A little confusion goes a long way--too far--with software-based agents. Engineering discipline is the solution.
Languages and the Computing Profession
Translating natural language is too important and complex for computing professionals to tackle alone.
Billion-Transistor Architectures: There and Back Again
In September 1997, Computer published a special issue on billion-transistor microprocessor architectures. Comparing that issue's predictions about the trends that would drive architectural development with the factors that subsequently emerged shows a ...
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The Zen of Overclocking
Overclocking is a large, uncontrolled experiment in better-than-worst-case system operation.
Voice Authentication Speaks to the Marketplace
Individuals trying to make a purchase with a credit card, access a protected computer system, or retrieve account information from their bank can speak into a telephone and have their voice identified by a voice-authentication system to verify they are ...
Will Interoperability Problems Give IP Telephony a Busy Signal?
Internet telephony is attractive to customers because it uses lower-cost equipment and is less expensive to operate than traditional, circuit-switched telephony, thereby enabling carriers to charge lower rates. However, there are technical obstacles ...
News Briefs
The article looks at two new display technologies: Heliodisplay, which condenses the air above a video projector - the device then projects an image onto the condensed air; and FogScreen, a display surface made out of a cloud of water vapor diffused ...
Computer Society Connection
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Managing Systems Development
Management must view IT project development as a business rather than a technical activity.
Metamorphic Programming: Unconventional High
A programming methodology that violates most of the rules of good programming has shown spectacular reductions in simulation times on several benchmarks. Applying this technique in logic-level VLSI circuit simulation also improved simulation ...
Speeding Up Processing with Approximation Circuits
Current microprocessors employ a global timing reference to synchronize data transfer. A synchronous system must know the maximum time needed to compute a function, but a circuit usually finishes computation earlier than the worst-case delay. The system ...
Going Beyond Worst-Case Specs with TEAtime
Virtually all engineers use worst case component specifications for new system designs, thereby ensuring that the resulting product will operate under worst-case conditions. However, given that most systems operate under typical operating conditions ...
Making Typical Silicon Matter with Razor
Voltage scaling has emerged as a powerful technology for addressing the power challenges that current on-chip densities pose. Razor is a voltage-scaling technology based on dynamic, in-situ detection and correction of circuit-timing errors. Razor ...
Theme Issue Introduction: We May Need a New Box
Meeting emerging computer design industry challenges requires finding a balance between continuing to apply old technology beyond the point where it is workable and prematurely deploying new technology without knowing its limitations.
Reliable and Efficient System-on-Chip Design
To increase processor performance, the microprocessor industry is scaling feature sizes into the deep submicron and sub-100-nanometer regime. The recent emergence of noise and the dramatic increase in process variations have raised serious questions ...
Embedded Is the New Paradigm(s)
Embedded computing can support a world of applications not possible with mainframe or desktop interfaces.