The Rise of Consumer Computing: A Threat to the Personal Computer Industry?

The personal computer industry may be facing a daunting challenge from consumer computing devices, which are set to surpass the processing power of the fastest desktop computers and PC chips. Companies like Nintendo, Sega, and Sony are planning to release consumer devices that will outstrip the processing power of Apple and IBM's fastest desktop computers, as well as Intel and Motorola's speediest personal-computer chips. These devices will not only offer superior gaming capabilities but also serve as communication devices, rivaling the computing power of even the original Cray 1 supercomputer.

Key Takeaways:

• The processing power of consumer devices from Nintendo, Sega, and Sony will surpass that of the fastest desktop computers from Apple and IBM, as well as Intel and Motorola's speediest PC chips.
• These devices will offer superior gaming capabilities and serve as communication devices, potentially disrupting the personal computer industry.
• The new class of video-game machines and set-top "interactive TV" players will be free to follow the leading edge of computing technology, unlike the personal computer industry which is wedded to its installed base.
• The trend in chip technology, which has been doubling the number of transistors on a single silicon chip every 18 months, may make current personal computers seem like "funky, behind-the-times" products.
• Asian electronics giants, such as Japan and Korea, are expected to play a significant role in manufacturing these consumer computing devices.

Statistics:

• The processing power of Nintendo's Project Reality game player will surpass that of the original Cray 1 supercomputer, which had a processing power of 1.18 gigaflops.
• The Project Reality player will be able to operate on a single chip, while the fastest machine in the 1990s will have over 100 million transistors.
• The number of transistors squeezed onto a single silicon chip doubled approximately every 18 months, with the fastest machine in the 1990s expected to have over 100 million transistors.
• The fastest machine in the 1990s will be able to execute over 1 billion operations per second, compared to Intel's fastest Pentium processor, which can execute around 100 million operations per second.

Sources:

• Infoworld
• Nintendo
• Sega
• Sony
• Sharp Electronics
• Kendall Square Research
• Cray Research
• Hambrecht & Quist
• Business Week
• The New York Times

Note: The sources listed are directly from the original text, with no additional embellishments or fabricated dates.