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Does A Pentium 4 Need A Weapons License?
WindBourne writes "It appears to be that the U.S. house of Reps. want to classify Pentium 4 and above CPUs as weapons. This would mean that all these will require export licenses. Apparently, they have not heard about that the far east has developed large CPUs as well that are used in beowulf clusters." According to the article, this clause is unlikely to appear in the final version -- but stranger things have happened.
They were manufactured in Taiwan or someplace... ?! can anyone clarify this to me?
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
xboxes are already illegal to export(from the US) to certain countries, and Dell also has an export statement when you order
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Given the fact that many P4s are made in Malaysia (among other countries), how exactly is the US going to enforce this?
VIA is based in Taiwan, but its C3 processors are designed in Austin, TX and manufactured in Taiwan and New York. I wonder how the export laws apply in cases like this.
Ah you're right. I dunno why I though it was the G3. In any case, you can watch the ad here, labeled "Supercomputer.mov."
I dunno who it is
but it prolly is fhqwhgads.
The idea of restricting CPU's, or ANY form of computer software for that matter, is completly without justification. States do not require Pentium IVs to launch nuclear missiles or detonate nuclear bombs. These systems were deployed in the seventies with primitive CPUs and little memory or storage space.
Anyone determined to launch a missile, develop a weapons program, or design a new figher jet, is going to get their hands on computing power and software very easily. All that will end up happening is exports will be stifled as Joe bloggs in RougeStateistan won't fork over cash to US companies to pay for that PC he wanted so he could send email, browse the web and type up documents. Instead he'll give it to a european or russian company.
You can see the reason for this. The Pentagon is annoyed that foreign governments are using clusters to build supercomputers. Which means that they could start snooping on Pentagon comms instead of the other way around.
Obviously someone dropped a line like, "Terrorists use Computers to build a-bombs", in the House of Representatives caffeteria. Cue the assembled polititions nodding in agreement and shuffling off to draft a law to "protect the free world".
Just before lunch was the best time to drop this as their next meal was only seconds away. They still can't think past it!
May the Maths Be with you!
Generally there are two barriers to building a nuke:
1. Obtaining the materials. Uranium is very difficult and expensive to refine. The US has done their best to keep their process for refining out of foreign hands, but someone with a large enough industrial infrastructure could figure it out. One reason why third world countries have to steal U235 is because they lack the necessary infrastructure.
2. The only way to know if a bomb will fission properly (i.e. it will blow up and not just very hot) is to test it. This tends to show up on lots of spy satellites, seismic detection equipment, and radiation monitors. Thus enemies are generally prevented from completing any bomb they might be developing. The only known shortcut to this procedure is to use a computer to simulate the bomb. If the simulator results look good, they know they have a good chance that their bomb would work correctly during a live conflict.
Remember, the biggest trick for third world and terrorists parties is to keep the weapon secret. It's somewhat difficult to stop after you've used it, but if people hear of it ahead of time you're program (and possibly you) is dead.
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Better yet, as I'm a Brit I can make a killing buying these chips and sellng them on to countries that my government doesn't have silly rules against. Exactly the same way Europeans used to buy IBMs and sell them to Russia during the cold war.
1. US government make silly rules.
2. I start import/export co.
3. ???
4. Profit.
Cheers.
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number 1 is the only real problem for a terrorist group.
...
Correction, number 1 is only a real problem for anyone who would actually USE an ABomb in today's world. Larger countries (who are capable of developing an ABomb) certainly wouldn't be looking to tangle with the US's HBomb and Neutron bomb arsenal.
for number 2 they just do the test, at a target... If it fails, it is still a dirty bomb, if it suceeds, well then they blew up a city...
Believe it or not, the US is not a primary target for terrorists who get nukes. Most terrorist organizations want us out of the way because we help Israel. If they actually DID acquire a nuke, then they'd want to use it on the Israelis. The only downside is that a nuke that fizzled would only anger Israel and produce the combined force of Israel, the US, and many European powers against the perpetrator.
If fact, a failed nuclear detonation on US soil would inspire extraordinary amounts of fear, a long the lines of "what if it works next time...?".
For a 3rd world nation, a sucessful test is exactly what they want, a big sign that says "don't fuck with us, we got the bomb".
Because they can already see that the US is going to roll over and let them keep "their bomb".
HELL NO! We'd nuke their sorry asses (bomb and all) out of existence before we allowed a credible threat to US soil. Geez, what do we look like over here? Children who are afraid of being spanked with a rod? Hell, I'd be the first in line to sign up for war if we had a real nuclear threat pointed our way!
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Obtaining the materials is easy. I for instance just drive over to Gera-Leumnitz (it's on the Autobahn between me and my parents) and dig in the hills there. If someone wants to see an Uranium mine from close, I may direct you
And the process itself is not that difficult. It's just very, very slow. Take any industry grade centrifuge (one to process dairy milk will do), coat it with something which doesn't get solved in Hydrofluorid (HF) (like porcellain, gold), solve the Uranium in HF to get UF6 (Uraniumhexafluorid) and start centrifuging. Because the weight difference between 235U and 238U is quite small (1%), it takes a very long time to enrich 238U, but it can be done. Everything else is patience.
Mod me flamebait if you want... but think about it for a minute. What would have happened, in the heat of the moment, if instead of crashing a plane into the Pentagon, they detonated a small, dirty nuke.
What would have happened, in the heat of the moment, if instead of crashing a plane into the Pentagon, they detonated a small, dirty nuke.
Absolutely nothing. Dirty bombs are primarily scare tactics. They're actual ability as a tactical weapon has been highly overrated. Here's a good write-up for you.
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I think Afghanistan would be glowing in the dark right now; and we probably wouldn't have stopped there. The US policy if a WMD is used on us is to answer with WMDs. Since we don't use chemical or biological weapons, what does that leave?
Any terrorist who gets ahold of a bomb had to have help from a patron Nation. Any such patron would get glassed.
There is the argument that if anybody wants a position of power, they are automatically incompetent to hold a position of power.
Thus, instead of electing people, they should all be apointed and forced to serve at the point of a gun.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.