A Silver Bullet to the Demise of Moore's Law?

This week in my Systems Analysis class we discussed software engineering and the processes one might take in developing a software package based on the Agile fundamentals.  We also discussed briefly Moore's Law and how it's slowly coming to an end.  Although, I did find this article today announcing that IBM is still making leaps and bounds in terms of hardware development.  I guess someone did not tell IBM's techs that they should sit back and relax a while.


So, what do I foresee as being a possible "silver bullet" to combat the fatigue in Moore's Law?  The first thing we can do is to start a science and engineering education initiative in our public schools.  I didn't know anything about engineering before I went to college to become one.  I just knew that I was good at math and science and that computer engineering would be a good place to apply those skills.  But we really need to educate the next generation on what's possible and what real-life software engineers can accomplish.  We need to build momentum!

The next thing that could dramatically change the software development process is to gain buy-in from the community at large.  There are so many types of software development plans out there, and not all of them are applicable to certain situations.  So many companies get into ruts with their software development planning, if they have a plan at all, that they don't not see (or know) that there might be a better solution out there.  We need more places like TopCoder to really build momentum and educate the community around the cause.


The final item that could be a game changer is if a fundamentally new hardware product gets released on the market.  With the development of a new synthetic compound or with a change in how hardware and software interact, the bedrock of software development could essentially change or become obsolete.

In the immediate future though, I don't see there being a "silver bullet" to the werewolf of stalled innovation.  We will need to make significant changes to our culture to encourage and open doors to math and science for all ages, races, and genders.  Or another Steve Jobs.  Or a major break-through in hardware platforms.