The CMOS end-point and related topics in computing

In 1954, the IBM 704 computer represented the state of the art with an add time of 36 /spl mu/s. Now we have add times of a few nanoseconds, representing a speed up factor of approximately 10000. One may get an idea of what this means by noting that an algorithm which once took ten minutes can now be done 15 times per second. As a result, industrial applications can now be based on algorithms that were once of academic interest only-an achievement of vital significance in subjects such as pattern recognition.