Tuesday, August 24, 2010

China Moves Closer to Challenging American Dominance in Computer Processors

As has been repeatedly written about on these pages, once a country gives up production, it gives up employment and tax revenue, and eventually everything. People laughed at Japanese cars once, even in the early years of my life, before they drove two of the Big Three to bankruptcy.

Computer processing giants AMD and Intel represent the cutting edge of technology where United States-based companies still command dominance in world markets. But that will probably change in the next decade, and it appears that the Chinese Loongson processor could even leapfrog these companies. Powering it is money; the fact that China dominates world production has given its government enormous resources in order to finance research. And very little technological research these days can thrive without state support, something the Washington Consensus cannot grasp and whose failed philosophy is driving the U.S. into the ground.

As for Loongson, it is not what is called a x86-based chip, which Windows is programmed from, but a MIPS chip which is compatible with open source, or free software systems. Therefore, if Loongson processors prove viable both Intel and Windows will all together be shut out of the Chinese market based on price alone.

1'China's Loongson Processor Effort' - OS News
2'China's Loongson Processor Could Power First Natural-Born Chinese Supercomputer' - Gizmodo

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