Recent stories about the NCSA cluster computer built out of Sony PS2's mention that the physical modeling "emotion engine" specs out at 6.5 gips. The polygon/rendering chip in the same consumer product comes in around 50gips, albeit rather special purpose instructions. That's what the market will bear to support the output side of a man/machine control loop through the visual sense.

Meanwhile, algorithms to support voice input by cleaning up noise and separating speakers spec out (PDF) in the mid tens of mips, as much as three orders of magnitude difference. That's a stunning difference in willingness to pay for this sense compared to vision. Is this an anomoly to be rectified in due course, or a true reflection of actual or perceived value in the man/machine interface?

Update: See Kokoro's dissection of the architecture of the next generation PlayStation core chip.
11:32:15 AM    

A group of German dot-com survivors has self-funded blog hosting service 20six, including the ability to post from mobiles.
11:00:38 AM    

From a longer story at The Weekly Standard:

In the Gulf War, equipment, fuel, and food poured slowly into Kuwait. It took 25 to 30 days for an item, once ordered, to arrive. Now it takes little more than a week. When soldiers in Afghanistan said they needed saddles, they were delivered in four days. In Iraq, each shipped item had a radio transmitter tag rather than a bar code. It could instantly be determined exactly where the item was and how soon it would arrive. Major General Dennis Jackson, Centcom's logistics boss, is a fan of Jeff Bezos, the Amazon CEO who established a state-of-the-art distribution system. Jackson may have gone Bezos one step better. During the war, he told Franks the military now has the capability to feed its troops in the field forever.

Via Den Beste
10:56:54 AM