Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
In 1946, ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was first
introduced in with a speed of one thousand times that of electro-mechanical
machines, heralded in the press as a “Giant Brain”.
7
The humble beginning of
computing technologies evolved successively to Cloud Computing of these days
via Centralized Computing, Distributed Computing, Mobile Computing, and Ubiq-
uitous Computing. At the core of these evolutions lies the rapid development of the
computing power of chips. In 1965, the Intel co-founder Gordon Moore announced
“Moore's Law,” saying that the computing power of chips doubles roughly
every
2
years
. In 2002, “Hwang's Law,” originated by the former head of Samsung
Electronics Semiconductor Business replaced the Moore's Law stating that mem-
ory density doubles
every year
. In 2008, however, Samsung Electronics, the
world's biggest memory chip supplier, has dropped its use of the “Hwang's
Law,” for technical reasons.
8
Owing to its evolution in computing powers, solution for large-scale spatial
models that once considered not solvable because of the limit of computing
powers,
9
become no longer an issue at least as far as computing powers are
concerned.
10
17.3.2 Implications of Pervasive Use of Instantly Available
Information and Communication Tools
Constantly changing and ever evolving alternative information and communication
technologies (ICTs) have prevailed in past decades that force us to consider in
developing alternative spatial models for future cities and regions. Ubiquitous
access technologies provide relatively new sets of concepts, practices, and
standards. “The emergence of these technologies need to be understood within a
broader context of both paradigm changes in computing technologies—from
centralized to distributed, mobile, and ubiquitous computing—and the advance-
ment of ICTs including ubiquitous geographic information (UBGI), radio-
frequency identification (RFID), location-based services (LBS), global positioning
systems (GPS), and sensing technologies (Kim
2013
, p. 36).”
These technologies opened doors for providing tailored services to each individ-
ual (Kang et al.
2007
). As an example for implications of utilization of these
technologies, location-based service technologies enable drivers searching parking
spaces without driving around the block. “Driving around the block looking for a
7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC
. Accessed in May 30, 2013.
8
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2008/09/123_30944.html
. Accessed in October
30, 2010.
9
Lee (
1973
, p. 169) cited one of reasons for discarding large-scale urban models is due to the limit
of computing powers.
10
Example of large scale spatial models and how it can be solved by the increasing computing
power are examined in Sect.
17.5
below.
