Interesting finds
European citizens are now living in a world of “pervasive computing”, where virtually every object has a processing power. Undoubtedly, computing devices are more ubiquitous and interconnected than ever, fulfilling the most varied tasks with little human intervention.
The size of these “pervasive computing” networks is significantly increasing, as well as the variety of the computing devices, both at chip (multicore and reconfigurable architectures) and system level (distributed processing). As their scope of application broadens, processing resources require greater flexibility and scalability to meet the various needs of users.
By the year 2020, embedded computing architectures will be far more complex, due mainly to the convergence of High Performance Computing and Embedded Computing technologies, the emergence of new hardware technologies and finally, the multiplication of heterogeneous computing devices.
Perhaps the greatest advantage of the new microprocessor architecture was its inherent ability to network, on instant demand, with any other similar microprocessor family based system. The code that ran the microprocessor was modular, with different program modules able to be written for different hardware, and the seamless integration of all parts under one operating system was a technological breakthrough…
UPDATE:
From plot summary of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003):
There is no Skynet core; Skynet is software running on thousands of computers throughout the world, making Judgment Day unavoidable. Skynet launches nuclear missiles, starting the war against humans.
From description of “Crystal Peak“:
Skynet, being distributed computing, never had a control center or system core that could be shut down.