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Here's <a href="http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/cpu/xbox360-2.ars">a good overview of the 360's PPC processor</a> by John Stokes of arstech.
I think he dwells too long on cache and core parallelism drawbacks for a specialized media cpu. It'll certainly require developers to tune their code to the execution units, but that's fine so long as MS doesn't add too many scheduler bells to the OS. Lots more bang for the dollar if they keep it simple.
Overall, a good intro. Hope we see silicon soon.
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There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195
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