billg@hitachi.uucp (Bill Gundry) (07/06/89)
From article <110573@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>, by khb@chiba.Sun.COM (chiba): > I am hoping that one of you NetLanders can enlighten me ... why are > the TRONfolks working so hard ... what are the problems they are > trying to solve. Until these are clearly articulated, arguments about > how many wires are needed to build a robust applicance communications > channel seem moot. > The history of TRON goes back to about the 1983-1984 timeframe. A researcher at the University of Tokyo, Dr. Ken Sakumura, surveyed the current computer situation at the time. which was dominated by propietary operating systems and architectures ( even more so in Japan) and came to the conclusion that this was not the way to do computing. His design premise was to ignore the past sins and start fresh, a whole new computing environment composed of hardware and software that was designed to work togther. He also took this concept a step further, that a computing environment should benefit mankind by making life easier and *better* for everyone. This is where the TRON house and other environmental concepts come from. In Japan, most of this goes with their automated society. Where else do you find battery vending machines and electronic toilets? Most of us in America find such intrusions degrading and rather silly, hey I can do that myself, I don't need - or want- a machine to do that for me. While the concept is noble the implementation does sound a little farfetched. The scope of the TRON Project is huge, and things like the TRON house divert some attention from the basic technologies being developed. Bill Gundry ...uunet!hitachi!billg Hitachi America Semiconductor & IC Division