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End Of The Line For Alpha
Scareduck writes "Infoworld reports HP has released the last iteration of the Alpha chip. I used these babies in the late 90's, and for a time, they were da bomb. Sadly, the economics weren't there, DEC management really didn't have much of a clue, and Alpha has, at long last, bit the dust. Alpha-based servers will continue to be sold through 2006, and supported through 2011. Farewell, Alpha; the world's line of chips seems to have declined to Intel and a handful of niche guys." Slashdot ran for the first 7 or 8 months off an Alpha box.
to "Omega" then?
Damn, sure took them a while to get to Beta...
Isn't this the fourth or fifth time Alpha has died? Let it rest already!
Zombie Alpha needs brains, badly.
Dragging people kicking and screaming into reality since 1996.
*sniff*
*sob*
Oh, this is just too much for me to handle. The greatest Quake platform is dead.
Good bye, cruel world!
Really, tho, this is a shame. Alpha procs are (*sob* were *sob*) the fastest thing a mortal could get. Ignoring compile problems, I'd take an Alpha over an x86 or PPC any day.
Back when Quake2 was the latest id title, I set up a dedicated server on my alpha box (a tiny multia). My roommate and I were amazed -- gameplay was glass -- it was actually better than running on an x86 dedicated server and better than running against a local server (same box). Could not believe it. It was so smooth.
Sorry, I'm going to go get drunk cry a lot (I'm working on solaris today, and I just can't take all the pain).
I was talking with CmdrTaco and Keith Packard along wtih a few of the other XFree86 people. They were all going on about heating the bedrooms with Alphas in the winter. And telling other Alpha related stories. Then Keith looks at me and asked if I have an Alpha. I never felt so inadequate as a geek. So a couple months later I did pick up a dual 21164 (EV56) based machine. Sure enough it did keep my bedroom warm, that is when it wasn't tripping the circut breaker. So I moved it to the server room at work, where it sits now still hosting my websites.
We didn't have any of this fancy-pants CPU-on-a-chip stuff. We built our computers by hand. 74xx TTL IC chips wirewrapped together. And by god we LIKED it.
Shouldn't that be "I for 1.000000000317"? Or did they fix that bug?
(-1, reference to overblown P1 rounding errors)
- fader
I for one, do. It runs on NetBSD on DEC Alphas. Dead OS on dead chips. :)
Windows is only $500 if your time is worthless.
How many appliances does your average household have compared to PCs?
That depends on whether you mean average household or average slashdot reader household.
I am Pentium of Borg
Division is futile
You will be approximated
(stolen from a sig - circa Pentium I)
Alpha...dead? Zordon must be pissed...
On the alpha box i worked with, at boot time an image of a cowboy on a horse was displayed. That rocked.
With that aggravating beauty, Lulu Walls.
I run a very busy mail server running FreeBSD on a "COMPAQ" Dual Alpha 500
So which will die first, BSD or the Alpha?
/ kidding
competating
probably a typographical error, but what is this word supposed to be?
Thanks to the internet, we can now all die alone together! -SomeWoman
My advice, "sell".
A customer enters a pet shop. /* - faster run time */ /* A[x][y][z][t]=sin(x+1)*sin(y+1)*sin(z+1)*sin(t+1); - takes more time */ ...(owner types an answer)
Customer: 'Ello, I wish to register a complaint.
(The owner does not respond.)
C: 'Ello, Miss?
Owner: What do you mean "miss"?
C: I'm sorry, I have a cold. I wish to make a complaint!
O: We're closin' for lunch.
C: Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this ALPHA what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.
O: Oh yes, the, uh, the DEC ALPHA...What's,uh...What's wrong with it?
C: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it!
O: No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting.
C: Look, matey, I know a ARCHITECTURE when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.
O: No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable CPU, the DEC ALPHA, idn'it, ay? Beautiful FP PERFORMANCE!
C: The FP PERFORMANCE don't enter into it. It's stone dead.
O: Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!
C: All right then, if he's restin', I'll wake him up! (shouting at the cage) '#include
#include
#define X 128
#define Y 128
#define Z 128
#define T 120
double A[X][Y][Z][T]; int x, y, z, t;
main() { printf("\nprogram uses %g MBytes\n",X*(float)Y*Z*T*8.0/1.0e6);
for (x=0;xX;++x) { for (y=0;yY;++y) {
for (z=0;zZ;++z) { for (t=0;tT;++t) {
A[x][y][z][t]=(x+1)*(y+1)*(z+1)*(t+1);
} } } } }
O: There, it worked!
C: No, he didn't, that was you Typing!
O: I never!!
C: Yes, you did!
O: I never, never did anything...
C: (yelling and hitting CPU) 'EHELO POLLY!!!!! Testing! Testing! Testing! Testing! This is your nine o'clock alarm call! (Takes CPU OUT OF CASE and thumps it on the counter. Throws it up in the air and watches it plummet to the floor.)
C: Now that's what I call a DEAD ALPHA.
O: No, no.....No, 'e's stunned!
C: STUNNED?!?
You're right. I'm stuck with this useless 2 dimensional desktop and dull, flat icons. It's just not pretty enough, dammit!
Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.
-- Terry Pratchett, Hogfather