A colleague recently told me about a quote made by science fiction author Jerry Pournelle prior to 1990 that “Silicon is cheaper than iron.” This is something that Pournelle wrote as a columnist for Byte Magazine.
My friend explained that this, dubbed “Pournell’s Second Law,” was a very early argument that SSDs would eventually render HDDs obsolete.
I found a credible review of the statement in a LowEndMac.com web page that excerpts articles in the September 1990 issue of Byte Magazine. Byte celebrated its 15th anniversary in this issue by Continue reading “Is Silicon Cheaper Than Iron?”
