Tannishblog

As fatigued as I am tonight, my inner geek leapt from his habitual slouch at this news: AMD acquires ATI. That’s right. The World Best CPU maker has merged with the Worlds Largest GPU maker, a move that will surely shake things up in the tech sector. While the story is two days old (centuries in Internet time,) I find out about it tonight through Digg, via a hardcore hardware site I visit infrequently, [H]ard OCP.

There’s bound to be virtual reams of speculation about this unprecedented move, so here’s my first guess. As AMD and Intel continue their slug-fest over processor technologies, the biggest buzz words this past year is "dual-core", of two processor cores on one socket. Effectively this provides a properly equipped computer access to two CPU’s which could run in parallel or in tandem, depending on the needs of the current software application. That said, both chip makers are looking into their scrying devices and seeing possibilities for quad-core processors.

Now imagine if a dual- or quad- chip had its own graphics unit, aka a GPU, built right in. This would be wonderful for laptops, as circuitry real estate and power usage are factors in the design. Such a strategy would decrease latency for data traveling through the graphic subsystem to you monitor, as it would run throught the microscopic pipelines within chip itself and never need to travel along the (comparatively) interminable traces of a motherboard and video card, resulting in faster, smoother pixel pyrotechnics in games and video.

Nvidia, the competitor to ATI and my favorite GPU brand, must be convulsing this week. A quick check at Morningstar showed no change for today, but investors probably can’t yet fathom the merger’s effects yet. Stay tuned.

To contrast all the interest in our next World War as it begins, fascination with biblical prophecy as it seems to pertain to current events, I would again like to show you an alternate view of "how the world works."

First, I offer another quote brought to us by the Dzogchen Organization.

Everybody has the beauty of enlightenment in his or her own mind. Buddhahood is within yourself. Wisdom is within yourself; it cannot be found somewhere else.

      ~ His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa

While the Western world implodes from its own carelessness, bringing on war and environmental damage, a few quiet people around the world are devoting their lives to improve whatever will be left of the planet after Western ideals run their inevitable course. While other religious icons recline in riches accumulated over centuries, making pronouncements based on medieval practices, some people of modest means are living lives of compassion caring for others in need. From his web site:

Dear My Friends,
On this small planet, in the daily dreams of our life, beneficial deeds are always recommended, simply because we are all born to help each other.

By sharing our love with different expressions and through the practice of generosity, morality and understanding, we will then be fulfilling our purpose of being members of the human race.

How refreshing that a person take such a stance wholly unheard in our dysfunctional society. How rare is the individual whom advances the well being of others over himself? If, as is often quoted, the "meek shall inherit the earth," I dearly hope people like the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa survive to bring the dregs of humanity back from the ashes of our current conflagrations.