Thad Cochran: “based upon statements made by Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration William Reinsch, it is highly…”

“based upon statements made by Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration William Reinsch, it is highly unlikely that personal computers capable of more than 2,000 MTOPS will be available by next year. At a recent hearing Secretary Reinsch said, ``high-end Pentium-based personal computers sold today at retail outlets perform at about 200 to 250 MTOPS,'' and at another hearing, this one before my subcommittee on June 11, he also said that ``computer power doubles every 18 months, and this has been the axiom in the industry for I think about 15 years.'' The math is straightforward; if top-end PC's are capable of 250 MTOPS today, 18 months from now they'll be capable of 1,000 MTOPS; and 54 months from now--in 42 years--they'll be capable of 2,000 MTOPS. Fifty-four months from now is not, contrary to the claims of some computer manufacturers, the fourth quarter of next year.”