Intel's Processor Future Plans
Ever heard of Moore's Law? It's the "law" that states that processor complexity (thoroughput / power, more or less) will double every 18-24 months (it's under debate which it officially is, but 24 is the healthy estimate). So far, since the inception of computers, the pattern has been followed, with slowdowns here in there like in recent times. The next technology being prepared is dual-core processors, which is basically two processors sharing the same piece of silicon, giving it double the performance. I say "being prepared" because right now there really is nothing out there by the way of software that takes advantage of the technology - that, and the fact that nearly all the dual-cores out there are bloody expensive. But what comes after that? According to this article by Tom's Hardware Guide, a heck of a lot more than just dual-core. For starters, as you can see, we're talking new logos. We're talking dual-cores for home and mobile use in 2006. We're talking quad core in 2008. We're talking eight-core after that. Pretty soon it will be as I predicted - no longer a race to maximize power, but a quest to maximize performance. It's gonna be an interesting future.
Top Secret Intel Processor Plans Uncovered [Tom's Hardware Guide]