1. How we (Ethiopians) can be part of the
future
What we must know
Then, Now, and Tomorrow
EYOB ALEMU
2. Outline
The Now
Where are we
Who gave it to us
How much do we know it?
○ Where is its source?
○ Can we unify the now?
The Then
The 1940’s
The 1960’s
The 1980’s
The 2K’s and Today
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3. Outline …
The Future
Where is it heading
Can we be part of it?
○ Where is it going???
○ Where should it go???
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I focus only on the Overall
Technology
4. The Now…
Where we are and what we have
High end servers (Mac, IBM, HP, Sun, …)
PC’s and Laptops (Various brands, )
Smart Devices (phones, pads, …)
○ Various Brands
Embedded Devices and Machineries (Industries,
Cars, …)
Questions
Are they Similar? Or Are the really different?
○ Let’s describe what we know!!!
What makes them similar?? / different??
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5. The Then…
The 1940’s
Computer invented
Grew towards human orientation
○ Machine code ---> human readable state
Centered around Mathematics and Math. Logic
1946 Jon Von Neumann designed the
Computer’s Architecture
○ Stored program concept based architecture
○ Was a critical Land Mark (Milestone)
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7. The Then…
The 1960’s
Two major Types of Problem areas identified
○ Algorithmic (Mathematical)
Targeted by conventional programming till today
○ Intelligence (Natural – Human, Animalistic)
Targeted by Artificial Intelligence
The algorithmic area easily got solution and
prevailed still in the Now!!
○ Why??
Why do you think AI didn’t progress that much??
○ My understanding is that the has not been created for
it!
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8. The Then…
The 1970’s
Supercomputers and Mainframes
○ Multiprogramming and Multiprocessing,
timesharing,…
Procedural Programming Languages
○ C, Cobol, Fortran, Pascal,
All are algorithmic
Some attempts to solve AI problems using
Procedural Programming
○ Very Slow Progress
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9. The Then…
The 1980’s
Micro-Computers
Two Major Brands
○ IBM Compatible
○ Macintosh
Operating Systems
○ IBM: DOS, Linux
○ Mac: Mac OS
IBM vs Mac
○ Similar / Different?
○ What makes them Similar/the same?
○ Why the difference?
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10. The Then…
The Hardware Competition Stabilized
The 1990’s (first dimension)
OOP and Java
Networking and Middleware's
Microsoft Dominated innovation
The 2k’s
Internet/web applications
Two Major Development Platforms (Java, .NET)
Extensive IDE’s
Distributed Systems
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11. The Then…
The 1990’s (the other dimension)
Wireless networks and Mobile
phones
○They have a processor and memory
Refined RISC type processor
Algorithmic family (in the Neumann’s family)
Got smarter/smaller/elegant through time
○Miniature (Embedded) Operating
Systems
Symbian OS (Nokia), Ericson?
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12. The Then…
The 2k’s (the other dimension)
IPhone and ???
Where did they come from
○ Iphone – from Apple (Steve Jobs)
○ ??? – from ????
The Operating Systems On them
○ iOS for Iphone
○ Android for ???
Are they brand new OSes?
○ NO!!!!!!!!!!!!
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13. The Then…
The 2k’s (the other dimension)…
IOS is a miniature of MacOS
Android is a miniature of Linux
They are both results of a very
simple Idea
Question
Where was Microsoft?
It could have an alternative for Android!!!
○ But was very late to come.
Its new Idea is Windows 8
○ Provide features for both Desktop and Smart Devices
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14. Summary (The Now and The
Then)
The
Roots
One Computer
Architecture
Von Neumann
Then Two Computer
Organizations
(Variations)
Macintosh
(Mac)
IBM
compatible
Near
past
Operating Systems
(Desktop)
Mac OS Linux
(UNIX)
Windows
Now Smart Devices The I___ Family Miniature IBM
compatible devices?
Now Operating Systems
(Smart Device)
IOS Androi
d
Windows
Phone
Everything we have and use is based on VON NEUMANN’s
Architecture
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15. Summary (The Now and Then)…
Roots One Computer
Architecture
Von Neumann
Then Two Computer
Organizations
(Variations)
Macintosh
(Mac)
IBM compatible
Near
past
Operating Systems
(Desktop)
Mac OS Linux
(UNIX)
Windows
Now Smart Devices The I___
Family
Miniature IBM
compatible devices
Now Operating Systems
(Smart Device)
IOS Android Windows
Phone
Near
future
???Far
Future
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16. The future
The Near Future
Mobility(Current)
Cloud Computing (Current)
Internet of Things IOT (Future)
How can we capitalize on it?
It is about IOT (Internet of things)
Seamlessly integrating IT and OT
IT: Information Technology Systems
ERP / GIS / Office / SCM /
OT: Operational Technology Systems
SCADA / Manufacturing / …
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19. The Far Future…
Questions that need practical answers:
What is actually the changing (dynamic) part?
○ Why is it changing ? Its driving forces?
What is the core and the constant?
○ What are its qualities?
○ What are its limits???
Then
Let’s capitalize on the constant first (inside out).
The dynamics will be simple to handle
We can also be part of the dynamics
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20. The Far Future…
Intelligent Processor??
Can we efficiently combine the two qualities:
○ Computation (Algorithmic) nature
○ Intelligence nature
Both On a Singe Machine
○ It is considered to be IMPOSSIBLE
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21. Development Platform Technology
The Future…
Layers of Concern
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Hardware
Deployment Platform
Operating System
Database, Web and Application Servers (Containers)
Operating System
Middle-
ware
Applications / User interactivity
Hardware Hardware
22. Is this Impossible???
Designing the Intelligent System
A Computer that learns and then KNOWS like us
Not improving Von-Neuman’s Model
○ Minimizing it
○ Increasing its speed (no of transistors), …
Design the computer system from a new
perspective
An approach of storage
An approach for Knowing, interpreting, self
enriching
Redesign
○ The Processing (the processor itself)
The Computer itself
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23. An Attempt is underway
IBM (nearly two years ago)
IBM Unveils a ‘Brain-Like’ Chip With 4,000
Processor Cores
Announced in August 2014
(http://www.wired.com/2014/08/ibm-unveils-a-brain-like-chip-
with-4000-processor-cores/)
Does it mean that it is Intelligent, then??
In the Turing test: (Allen Turing)
If a machine can fool judges into believing that it could
be human
○ Then it is intelligent
Not achieved yet!!!
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24. 24
If we target the seemingly
impossible,
We are making the rest
possible
