Leaf nodes in the "Internet of Things" are often constrained by energy and computation. Today, you can run a sensor with a radio and 16 bit processor for decades on a CR2032 coin cell; there is no role here for 64 bit Linux; check out Arduino and the maker movement. Battery chemistry (non-nuclear) was all done in the 1800's and is now on a slow path to optimization--nothing spectacular left. BTW, there is an interesting mathy problem here--how do you do security when you have only a few microjoules and a few kB of memory in a 16 bit processor? RSA is not even remotely feasible. --R On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 9:56 AM Henry Baker <hbaker1@pipeline.com> wrote:
FYI -- Does this mean that even cheap microprocessors -- e.g., in the "Internet of Things" -- will be 64 bits?
OpenWRT -- open source SW originally used in routers -- is still 32-bits; I wonder how long this will last.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/05/linux_letting_go_32bit_builds_on_the...
Linux letting go: 32-bit builds on the way out
Ubuntu joins calls for users to let go of i386 versions
5 Jul 2016 at 00:56, Richard Chirgwin
Major Linux distributions are in agreement: it's time to stop developing new versions for 32-bit processors.
Simply: it's a waste of time, both to create the 32-bit port, and to keep 32-bit hardware around to test it on.
At the end of June, Ubuntu developer Dimitri Ledkov chipped into the debate with this mailing list post, saying bluntly that 32-bit ports are a waste of resources.
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