[ydl-gen] So, PS3

[Bill Mueller]

> I believe he means that using the whole chip (PPC cores, and SPUs) to 
> their fullest is fundamentally different from using just a 
> PowerPC-style CPU.

I can appreciate it, and not trying to trivialize it.  I just can
remember very similar situations when VMX and later 970 came out.
Do you remember how long it took to get Altivec support and having
application support that took advantage of it?

There is a little IBM 970 article I read a while back going over using
the 970 with gcc.  Its a good read all together, but check out it's little
section on VMX: (search for VMX)

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-pow-gnutool/

Having tried (and often failed) my hand at writing vectorized code, it
was a huge change to use VMX optimizations.  But there was/is plenty of
overlap of non-optimized applications being used.

> Both are true -- but, as the guy who was complaining about the lack 
> of the accelerated video hardware inadvertently pointed out, 
> Linux-on-the-PS3-today seems best suited for experimenting with the 
> Cell processor for scientific applications.  This is a small niche -- 
> but an exciting one that keeps me employed, and it's a niche that can 
> pull in a number of paying customers.  As more features and 
> refinement are added (and the price of the PS3 drops), I expect to 
> see Linux-on-the-PS3 being used for many other jobs.

Elegantly put, and I think pretty much what I've been failing to say.
Regardless of anyone's particular niche, having a stable base the tool
chain will help expand support for any application.

Ok, I'll step off my soapbox now :)

-Bill


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