FPGAs and the future of computing

The number of transistors in an Integrated Circuit (IC) doubles about every two years - Moore's law

One of the more recent breakthroughs in technology is FPGAs, or Field Programmable Gate Arrays. They contain transisors, like a regular processor. What makes them special is what we are able to do with them.

What on earth does that mean?

Unlike conventional processors, FPGAs are reconfigurable. The underlying logical circuitry can be "rewired" as easily as flashing firmware on a development board. No disassembly, no soldering, just software-defined circuitry, implemented in the "field".

This should be a bigger deal

As of right now, FPGAs aren't widely implemented in home computing. There are a few exceptions though. For example, the Analogue Pocket, a Game Boy-sized handheld that plays retro games on the hardware they were designed for, no emulation, just a software-defined reimplementation of the original hardware they ran on. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW COOL THAT IS. WE ARE LIVING IN THE FUTURE