Kutaragi Ken: "True character of PS3 & Cell"

[jvd]

I know exactly what will happen when the first 1000 cell network goes online . The whole northeastern usa and parts of canada will black out

 

[Megadrive1988]

Lets cut out all these lofty dreams that Ken K. has and talk about what we will actually get to do on PS3 in the 2005-2006 timeframe.

we will see a game box capable of sustaining several hundred GFLOPs, even if PS3 does reach 1 TFLOPs, it would never reach that in practice.
if we had a machine that could sustain 500 GFLOPs, we'd have a nice machine. We will probably have games in 2005-2006 that look like todays old PS2 CGI. much like we had games in 2000 on PS2 that looked like old PS1 CGI.

PS3s will not be able to share computing power over the internet. no way, no how. And probably, there wont be games that can make use of several PS3s all in the same room, connected together, until the 2010 timeframe, if ever. by then, PS4 will be around the corner.

 

[marconelly!]

and Id maintain that the true genius is that which solves the problems needed to get there

That sounds like an issue of creative mind vs practical mind, designer vs developer, architect vs worker...

Bottomline is, there's *tons* more people who are practical minds, and almost any of them can deliver the vision of the creative minds, which are much fewer in number, and therefore more respected in our society (and by that I mean creative minds that actually can produce significant results, as pretty much anyone can be 'creative' and get his mom to like his creations)[/quote]

 

[MfA]

Cell didnt need creativity ... he can get the glory for all I care, but he didnt contribute anything thousands of people before him didnt already. Whereas each solution to making a usefull (programmable) parallel architecture is unique (for all of 5 minutes of course, after which it will be independently reinvented ... but still).

Bottom line is we need tons more people who are productive ... we can select from a great big pool of people for cushy jobs on the top, but just because there are few jobs doesnt mean there are as few people who can do it well. Im sure he is one of the best at what he does, but the so called paradigm shift was a long time coming ... it needed money, a market and sufficient integration. He happened to be in the right market (of which there are 2, maybe 3 if you count classified supercomputers) at the right time and with sufficient money ... and a good enough head on his shoulders to foresee the inevitable.

The only creativity necessary was a wish to make optimal use of chip area, a Cell like architecture is the logical consequence. Just as grid computing and distributed computing fabrics are a logical consequence of cheap broadband and wireless.

 

[Paul]

PS3s will not be able to share computing power over the internet. no way, no how.

A good point. It could be a reality if EVERYONE had 10/10mbs Fiber optics though. Maybe in 2015 for PS4.

Unrelated: I found this interesting what sony was saying in 99 about PS2.

"We don't care about the cost of the chips. Cost is a secondary issue," said a senior Sony engineer at the Embedded Processor Forum.

Sony said it needs a lot of computing power to create a compelling experience for users, and that will be done at "any cost."

http://news.com.com/2100-1040-225434.html?tag=nl

Let's see if cost isn't a concern come PS3.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Mfa,

Ken Kutaragi is still an engineer who has worked his way to the top pushing SCE and the digital revolution at Sony ( not alone, but he was one of those key mavericks which went against the flow and kept pursuing their ideals ) producing results: he also happens to be a man with a certain vision of the future ( and a background hat can guide him ) and is able to recognize what you call are logical consequences at the right time.