Another PowerPC in space
The last POWER1 on Mars may be dead, but there are still Power ISA chips out there in space. The newest one to join them is another BAE RAD750 (a radiation-hardened PowerPC 750, the processor generation Apple called a G3) in the James Webb Space Telescope Integrated Science Instrument Module, clocked at a ripping 118MHz (.pdf) with 44MB of RAM and appears to run VxWorks. The JWST managed to flawlessly open its sunshield this weekend made from multiple layers of fragile Kapton as thin as a human hair unfolding "like origami." Can't wait to see the photos it will produce.
A 118MHz G3 and 44MB RAM is enough to do major astronomical work, but a 5GHz Threadripper with 64GB is just barely enough to keep up with corporate hacks forcing web developers to shove in the eighth ad or fancy picture fading effect.
ReplyDeleteWhat a world we live in.
The invisible hand of the market is usually blind and deaf to rational arguments ;-)
DeleteI'd hope so -- I'd rather not have any eyes or ears growing on /my/ hands. Where would they go, the palms? That must hurt if you were to ever ball it into a fist.
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