I’m sure you’ll agree with me that having the biggest or the latest doesn’t exactly mean having the best. There are things which just should not be altered or be reincarnated into something which purports to be a better version of the original.

Of course, I’m talking about software here, although I’m sure you could sew hundreds of threads on this subject without mentioning malware, antivirus, or God-forbid, Microsoft. Going back to my blabber, there are applications that seem to be already perfect as they are, even if they were made during the Reagan administration. Altering them would be unforgivable, while replacing them would be sacrilegious.

Necessary Evil

While I’m one with the nostalgic few in romanticizing 0.2 MB applications, I must admit that software must eventually put on some weight in order to be able to pack a punch that would actually hurt. While keeping it simple may be the way to go as far as keeping everything neat and practical is concerned, such is an ideal that only a handful of software makers are willing to embrace (probably due to lack of resources).

Dual Core, Do More

I’m sure you’re already familiar with Intel’s Core 2 Duo slogan. The chipmaker’s new processor could definitely do more than just run a single program. In fact, it could shuffle applications as big as the marshmallow man with such flamboyance that one might think that one processor would already be enough to power ten PC units.

It would be a shame then, if all those muscles would just go to waste. Naturally, software makers would be encouraged (or tempted) to pack their products with a few more pounds in order to exploit the steroid-enhanced chips that are fast becoming mainstream.

Man’s ideas are infinite. Programs and its functions are products of some geek’s wild but profitable imagination. Ergo, icons illustrating a program’s features or capabilities could clutter the whole user interface. And with the virtually unlimited might of processors today, you can be sure that software designers would not be holding their horses when adding components to their creations.

Security

Not every chowhound application is detestable, though. Many a times, there are valid reasons why programmers choke their creations with hundreds of megabytes.

Malware is one of the leading causes of software bloat. You can’t expect software authors to just let their applications be mangled by viruses. In order to insulate their masterpieces from cyber graffiti, they have to pump in vaccines in the form of additional algorithms or programming instructions in order to ensure that it won’t get easily messed up by any malicious application. While antivirus and anti-spyware programs are already becoming regular mainstays in every PC unit, software makers are still fencing their applications in order to forestall any attack that security suites might not be able to prevent.

Not So Evil After All

The next time Microsoft or Apple announces the arrival of a successor to a popular software of theirs, clip that eyebrow of yours for a sec and see if it deserves your cynicism. While having the biggest or the latest may not always be a good thing, the caveat is also definitely not the general rule.

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A few weeks ago, I’ve written an entry regarding the dizzying pace at which chipmakers are churning out processors in their manufacturing plants. I lamented that many of those who bought the Core Duo model felt cheated when Intel released the Core 2 Duo unit in just a short span of time after it has introduced the former.

At the rate Intel and AMD are going, one might not help but wonder on how are we going to use or what are we going to do with all that computing muscle. The two chip-making giants have been injecting steroids in their products in order to meet the processing requirements of various applications, especially Windows Vista. However, many experts are now saying that Intel and AMD might have overshot the runway by about a mile and a half.

Wait for Me

There was a time when software manufacturers were constantly whining on how slow chipmakers are in developing a processor that could fully exploit or support the full potentials of the former’s products. Indeed, the computers back then seemed to be always inadequate. Intel and AMD can’t seem to satisfy the insatiable demands of programs, especially those which involve image or video editing, for more computing power.

Things have drastically changed since then. The lot of software authors and chipmakers has taken a 180-degree turn. It’s the application manufacturers’ turn now to do be the “it” in their game of tag with Intel and AMD. Processors have not only become faster, but it also developed multiple brain or cores.

Fitting Everything in One Package

A few years ago, Consumers and chipmakers were toying with the idea of putting two processors in one motherboard. The idea seemed plausible, although those who entertained the scheme were turned off by the thought of introducing PCs that are preposterously expensive due to the fact that it has two chips.

Advances in chip-making during the past 3 years have enabled Intel and AMD to assimilate 2 or more cores into just one chip. This proved to be more economical and viable than the 2-chip unit. Both manufacturers immediately embraced the idea.

We Can Only Use One

Software manufacturers hailed the developments in the chip-making industry. Sadly, they could not yet exploit the full potentials or capabilities of the dual or multiple core chips that are already available in the market. Many of the programs that are being sold today are not designed to take advantage of the multiple processing capabilities of the chips. Hence, the extra power of the CPU is wasted. It’s as if the computer is just running on a single core processor.

Rude Awakening

Program makers admit that they are lagging behind in the race. In the recently held Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles, software giants urged each other to come up with products that would be able flex every muscle of the computer. Even this year’s most talked-about application, Windows Vista, is not designed to make use of every core of multiple-brained chips. Microsoft’s Ty Carlson expressed the need for the next Windows to be able to fully utilize the number of processing cores that would be hailed or considered as the industry standard in the future or during the period when the new OS would be released.

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There will come a time (and it’s sooner than you think) when that dual or quad core processor of yours will become obsolete and will be replaced by a new chip that is 10-20 times more powerful. The news of its impending arrival has been received with both elation and frustration. Some are accusing Intel and AMD of flooding the market with beta chips, and that the two companies have been less candid with consumers on the release dates of their latest models.

Indeed, it would seem that Intel and AMD are taking us for a ride. It wasn’t long ago when Intel bannered its Core Duo processor as the best in the industry. Many rushed to buy new laptops and desktops that have the new chip. A few months later, Intel released the Core 2 Duo processor. Needless to say, the new chip’s predecessor became a collector’s item overnight.

Deceived

Many consumers bought the Core Duo processor, thinking that it’s Intel’s long-term replacement for the Pentium 4. It’s not surprising then, that they felt cheated when Intel released the Core 2 Duo in just a short span of time after it flooded the market with Core Duo chips. They said that Intel should’ve been candid enough to divulge that they will be coming up with another chip that’s twice as powerful as the Core Duo.

I’m one with those who feel bad about the way Intel plays in the market. Of course, it’s a good business strategy. However, consumers might also fight back by delaying the purchase of the chip-maker’s new releases. This could be very detrimental to Intel’s fiscal health, considering that consumers have the ability to delay the purchase of things, even essential ones, for an unreasonable length of time. The top producer of computer processors could then face the dilemma of having to advertise or banner both chips as the best in the market.

Patience Consumes Time, But Saves Money

You might contend that such a situation wouldn’t be a very big headache for Intel. In fact, it might even help them in reaching both spectrums of the market. The company has been successful before in marketing its Celeron and Pentium 4 chips. The former is considerably weaker compared to the latter. However, the Celeron is also substantially cheaper than the Pentium 4 and other more powerful processors. Intel marketed the Celeron to low-income consumers, while aggressively pushed for the use of its high-end chips to those who have plenty of cash to spare.

While the strategy proved to be successful for Intel in their Celeron-Pentium “situation,” especially in developing countries, such a scheme may not be applicable to its present dilemma. For one thing, the price discrepancy of the Core Duo and the Core 2 Duo is not that wide, if there’s any at all. Even if they do decide to cut the price tag of the weaker chip, I don’t think consumers would take a bite at it since they’re already anticipating the release of the next line of processors that Intel and AMD would be releasing within the year or early next year.

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“15 seconds just to load Microsoft Word? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

I’ve heard this a lot of times, especially during the days when Intel’s Celeron was reigning it over the other processors in terms of sales. It’s not surprising why applications ran slower a few years ago. There used to be a time when 64MB of RAM was an impressive spec already.

You may argue that the programs back then were not that big or complicated. True. However, multitasking was already as heavy and demanding three years ago as it is today. And with just 64MB of RAM, you shouldn’t wonder why it was hard running several applications simultaneously during the years when Shaq and Kobe were still together.

As you may have noticed, IT years are like dog years. Your Pentium IV may just be a year old, but it has actually reached its prime already. Dual core processors are the way to go today. Never has there been a time when the computer was so fast and powerful. For the first time, chip makers can claim that they have outpaced software manufacturers. No application today can complain that the available processors are not that powerful enough to satisfy its demands.

With all this computing power at your disposal, does this mean that applications should load up or run in a heartbeat? Theoretically, it should. However, the shriek at the beginning of this article continues to reverberate, and a number of them even come from people who have the best commercially-available laptop or desktop in the market.

How is this possible?

Well, for one thing, applications continue to get bigger and more complicated. But with a Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of memory, size shouldn’t really matter. So what’s really causing the slowdown?

Chip manufacturers blame software developers for faulty programming. They claim that there are applications which don’t terminate properly or completely. As a result, the RAM that it uses doesn’t become free. It continues to get occupied. This virtually and effectively reduces the size of your system memory. And if you’re physical memory is heavily clogged with programs, Windows will now use virtual memory. In case you don’t know, virtual memory is slower since it is just a space in your hard drive.

What if you’re just running one application and your system is acting as if it is running ten?

Don’t blame the software developer on this one. If your Core 2 Duo PC is performing like a Pentium II, then chances are that it’s infected with spyware. Spyware is often blamed (and rightly so) for most cases or incidents of computer slowdowns. No amount of optimization or hardware upgrade could fully improve the performance of your PC if it is infested with malicious programs.

Removing spyware can be challenging. However, there are many third-party programs out there which could make this task as easy as deleting a file from your hard drive. PC World has just featured a great article on how to determine if your PC is plagued by malware and how to remove them.

Don’t automatically tag spyware as the guilty party whenever your PC’s stamina is dropping. Malware infestation is just one of the many causes of computer slowdown. Determine the problem first before performing the remedy.

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Just when it seems that Intel has already made the ultimate processor in Core 2 Duo, it raised the bar yet again when it recently unveiled its new line of microprocessors.

Intel will be using the 45nm manufacturing process for the dual and quad-core chips dubbed as “Penryn”. This new innovation will allow the leading chip-maker to reduce processor size while continuously pushing clock speeds up.

This news can be either good or bad. Of course this is positive news in general for the IT industry. The faster the processor, the more productive the user is. However, software developers will be designing their products in such a way that it will demand more from the new processors since the latter have something extra to give.

I don’t know if I’ll be changing my still reliable Pentium D desktop anytime soon. Even though programmers are now designing their products in such a way that it will only run smoothly when using at least a core duo processor, I still believe that many applications won’t be needing that amount of computing power. As long as you have at least 512 GB of RAM and constantly optimize your unit, you’ll feel that your Pentium IV or III is running on steroids.

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