1. If you build it, will they buy it?
Processors will be multicore
It’s the only way the chip companies know how to use all those transistors! (pesky Moore’s law)
But, does the average computer user need it?
Probably not – the average user probably already has way too much compute power!
But, nobody has ever looked smart predicting that computers are as powerful as they need to be…

2. Hetero vs. Homogeneous
The easy path to Multicore is simply tile some old cores you have sitting around
Old being the operative word
Intel says – “Don’t worry, if you’re burning too much power, you can just shut off most of the cores.”
Heterogeneous makes more sense!
Only turn things on when you need them
When does Multicore become System on Chip?
Already the m.o. for embedded stuff

3. Pick your apps carefully!
Hmmm… How about hardware for Ray Tracing?
Loads of completely independent threads
Read-only database
Write-only output to frame buffer
Woo Hoo! Tiling these processors might actually make sense
Beware the memory, pin, power, wire, etc. issues!
Just because it’s embarrassing doesn’t mean it’s easy!

4. How about Asynchrony?
I’m a member of a strange religion the Asynchronous Systems cult
With lots of (heterogeneous?) cores on the same chip, how will they deal with communication, coordination, cooperation, contention, consumption, chronology?
How about asynchronous protocols?
Hmmm… It’s so crazy, it just might work!