Regarding this whole blogging project, I'm really quite pleased. It was great to be able to write about what I want; one would be amazed at how much one writes when discussing a topic of great interest. It was much more fun to learn the chapter keywords in a context that we ourselves understand, rather than simply trying to understand the textbook-given example. Also, I feel that synthesizing information and context is learning on a much higher level than simple "copy-it-out-of-the-textbook" busy-work. I'll give you an idea of the thought process. First, I'd look at the keywords that I needed to incorporate. Then, I'd think of a situation in the computer industry that applied to the given keyword. For example, when I needed to use "asset" and "stockholder", I wrote about AMD's aquisition of ATI. Of course, such an article would use those keywords in a way that did not sound artificial and forced. Then, I looked up specific information regarding the article, in this case by viewing AMD's press release about the aquisition. After that, I put it all together in a coherent manner that sent the message that I was looking for. This is the kind of passion and initiative that this project creates. I really and truly think that this is an excellent idea, and has a major role in the future of education.

So. The AMD corporation really bought ATI. Hopefully their BOARDS know what they're doing; AMD needs to borrow several billion dollars just to make the aquisition. They plan on paying 4.2 billion dollars and 47 million AMD shares to the ATI stockholders in a complete merger. This is a make-or-break move for AMD. If the future of graphics is a specialized part of a 24 (or more) core CPU, or if AMD designs a GPU that can fit into a processor socket, totally bypassing PCIe and becoming part of the HyperTransport link (as some believe may happen), then AMD will succeed. ATI's experienced ASSETS, especially their engineers, will be key in making such a thing happen. If the graphics market continues long-term (like, 5-10 years long-term)along the path that it has, then AMD is in trouble. It will take a miracle to save ATI's Crossfire, and any moves that AMD makes incorrectly could anger Nvidia. And if AMD fails, well, at least STOCKHOLDERS have LIMITED LIABILITY. We'll see.

Many ask the question: Am I better off with a pre-built rig, or with a DIY (do-it-myself, in this case) rig? My personal preference is definitely to build my own. However, I want an upper-midrange computer. Companies like Dell can produce low-end computers for less money, because of wholesaling and buying in bulk. However, upper-midrange and above systems from Dell-like companies command a premium. They figure that since the consumer is willing to pay more for a better computer, then they might as well boost the price. This is where they make their major MARGINAL REVENUE; they get much more money per high-end unit sold than per low-end unit sold. Thus, if one's grandmother needs an internet/e-mail PC, a Dell is the way to go. If you want a nice, highly customized system without the premium, then DIY is the way to go.

The latest battle in an old war? No, not sectarian violence in Baghdad. It's AMD vs. Intel. As I've said before, the Core 2 Duo has won Intel the performance crown, and they will begin agressively down-pricing their NetBurst chips. In order to stay competitive, AMD is cutting its costs too. After all, untill they can beat the Core 2 Duo, price will be their only option for competition. AMD's 1MB L2 cache in the X2 is toast. Unfortunately for performance, cache is expensive to add to the die. It's a MARGINAL COST in production; the more cache you have, the fewer chips per wafer of silicon one can manufacture (unless one drops to a smaller nm rating of manufacturing). Less chips per wafer boosts costs per chip, and thus we see AMD's problem. Although the on-board memory controller allows AMD to have much less cache than Intel in order to have comparable latency, any loss of cache will still cause a performance hit. On the bright side for AMD, its aquisition of ATI will save it millions of dollars per year (at least according to the press releases). Plus, ATI's access to AMD's production facilities will save much in FIXED COSTS, such as rent.

Hello everyone, and welcome to Army's blog. I'm ,of course, Army. If you have any interesting computer-related discussion, it's welcome here. I have some writing to do for economics class, so be prepared for some inter-relation between economics and computers.