What is HP’s new operating system and why do they need it anyway? First of all, HP started developing what they call The Machine– a new generation of computers that will save up huge amounts of energy and will run faster than currently conceivable.
The technology will be run by an operating system, a software called Carbon. Now, before Carbon gets integrated into the Machine, HP wants to simulate the technology first and they are open for suggestions too.
HP has been showing off the Machine’s possible capabilities for a long time but they are yet to make a functioning model.
Machine
The Machine is a new kind of a computer, one that saves huge amounts of energy and speeds up the processing. It sounds like a logical step forward, but this is actually a giant leap because the Machine will use 80x less energy than it is used today on computing.
It will better the performance immeasurably and bring forth the future. How does it work? It uses electrons to compute, photons to communicate and ions to store information.
It doesn’t have two separate memories like your usual computer, but a single one called the universal memory which is based on electronic components – memristors.
Carbon
That is the name of the Machine’s future software. HP have concentrated most on developing the hardware so now they realize that they have to start simultaneously developing the software because this computer needs brand new applications.
This means that there are a lot of things that need to be changed and reinvented. This process is certainly overwhelming for a team of people because they are making a whole new OS that might replace all of the existing ones.
Carbon will be the life force of the Machine so it has to run smoothly with this kind of hardware. For example, all of the aircraft in the sky could be connected through this software and hardware and the result would be amazing.
Pilots would know what the weather is like at any given moment and in that way they would save fuel, reduce cost of flight and increase the security of their service.
Linux ++
HP is doing a great job at delaying the release of its product so, before they launch Carbon, they will release Linux ++ which is a software that emulates the Machine. The open source software will be available to anyone who wants to test their code against the new OS.
Top universities from all around the world are invited to collaborate with HP in order to bring this technology to a level on which we will be able to start utilizing it successfully.
They are inviting anyone with good ideas to help them write software that will be most suitable for such an OS.
There will be additional tools that will come along Linux++ but that information is unfortunately not available.
Where Are The Memristors?
In 2010 HP had announced that in 2013 its memristor technology would see the light of day and that day actually never came.
Current predictions are that they will be ready in 2016, but even that is possibly too soon. The technology they want to introduce is extremely advanced and, personally I think that they are not in a rush to implement it.
HP is about to entirely change the way in which we live. With the creation of The Machine we will be able to actually utilize technology in a way that was once unimaginable. We will be able to do everything on the cloud, much faster and safer than ever before.
The Machine will assist us in real time, without having to waste time on waiting for a command to be processed. It will be instantaneous. The future of computing is upon us, and these are the very first glimpses at it.
Of course, maybe HP will not deliver their product on time but, I can wait a few years for such an enormous leap toward a new era of computing.
featured image hp.com
