One interesting line out of many in this article:
[WoW runs on] over 13,250 server blades, 75,000 cpu cores, and 112.5 terabytes of blade RAM, [...] 1.3 petabytes of storage.
[WoW runs on] over 13,250 server blades, 75,000 cpu cores, and 112.5 terabytes of blade RAM, [...] 1.3 petabytes of storage.
Which was kind of funny. Now, can we figure out something fun to do which will also make use of this type of capacity for something good?
Actually, I have several ideas. Let me get back to you...
Your wife's comment wasn't funny; it was pompous, pretentious and shortsighted. I don't play WoW myself, but apparently it serves as entertainment for millions of people. There is value in that -- if there wasn't, Blizzard wouldn't need nor could they afford all that hardware to run such "wasteful" software. WoW may not be feeding the whales or saving the homeless, but it's fun for a lot of people and that is something.
And if you simply can't sleep at night thinking what a waste it is, remember all the people who are employed to run and develop it, not to mention the people who made all the goods and provide all the services it uses. And all the technological innovation required to make it possible, a large majority of which was funded by and first deployed to the gaming sector, due to its lucrative nature. There's a forest among all those trees, believe it or not.
It's not necessarily a waste, but it's not unquestionably a good thing, either. There should be something other than blind acceptance or rationalization of its impact.
Edit: I love how I'm getting downvoted for expressing a reasonable and non-mean opinion.
But I think you mistake my comment as meant to ride in on my high horse and look down on all the "waste". I actually think there is tremendous potential in the breadth and the reach of the new computing platforms which offers nearly "unlimited" server capacity and access out in the periphery using anything from mobile phones to your average computer. We have barely started to scratch on the surface on the fun and the utility (if I dare say so) which this will offer us.
But now I will go and toss and turn in my bed, worrying about all that waste! ;)
Your wife's comment wasn't funny; it was pompous, pretentious and shortsighted. I don't do meth myself, but apparently it serves as entertainment for millions of people. There is value in that -- if there wasn't, Meth Labs wouldn't need nor could they afford all that hardware to run such "wasteful" operations. Your local Meth Lab may not be feeding the whales or saving the homeless, but it's fun for a lot of people and that is something.
And if you simply can't sleep at night thinking what a waste it is, remember all the people who are employed to run and calibrate it, not to mention the people who buy the cough syrup that fuels it all. And all the technological innovation required to make it possible, a large majority of which was funded by Robitussin, due to its lucrative nature. There's a forest among all those trees, believe it or not.