3.3. General Notes on Consumer Devices and Embedded Systems

Over the past thirty years, the performance of computer hardware has doubled approximately every 12 to 24 months. This has led to unprecedented miniaturization and widespread usage of computer technology. The price of the microprocessor in today's personal computers is only a few cents per megahertz, and the price is still decreasing rapidly. Today's small wireless devices such as cell phones and two-way pagers have microprocessors that are similar to those that were commonly used in high-end desktop computers less than fifteen years ago.

Ultimately, computing power and storage capacity will become extremely cheap. Inexpensive devices, home appliances, and consumer products such as microwave ...

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