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Full Net Census Takes a Hint From xkcd

Posted by kdawson on from the you-say-hilbert-i-say-dilbert dept.

netbuzz writes "The University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute says it's the first full census of the 'visible Internet' since David Smallberg canvassed a piddling 315 allocated addresses in 1982. They're talking about 3 billion pings directed toward 2.8 million addresses over the course of 62 days. Oh, and they credit the comic strip xkcd for sparking the idea of presenting the data using a Hilbert curve." The main page for the census project has links to versions of the census at various scales.

23 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. first census by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    here I am. continue counting...

    1. Re:first census by ubrgeek · · Score: 2, Funny

      For some reason I'm reminded of the M*A*S*H episode, "Five O'clock Charlie" -

      Radar: Are you One?

      Hawkeye immediately throws his hand on his hip and with a touch of foppishness replies:

      Hawkeye: Yes, are you?

      --
      Bark less. Wag more.
  2. Yay, we really are Digg. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    xkcd on the front page...

    1. Re:Yay, we really are Digg. by hansamurai · · Score: 5, Funny

      http://xkcd.com/301/

      and Slashdot in the comic.

      A delicious cycle.

      --
      Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
    2. Re:Yay, we really are Digg. by Plaid+Phantom · · Score: 5, Funny

      But the awesome comic was what effected the cool map.

      --
      All comments are properties and trademarks of the voices in my head. Not like I'm gonna claim them.
  3. See also xkcd comic "Online Communities" by saibot834 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Randall Munroe (xkcd author) also made this comic entitled "Online Communities". Also a nice way to make a map of the internet. (Extra points for those, who find "Stallman's Airship")

    1. Re:See also xkcd comic "Online Communities" by mooingyak · · Score: 4, Funny

      I didn't know I didn't want to know, but thanks to the other poster who replied I am regretfully informed.

      --
      William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
  4. Plot of the internet 9ft tall by N1ck0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't you just hate it when the internet wraps onto the ceiling. All those packets are horrible on the acoustic tiles.

    And once it gets up there you know its going to be hard to get it back down.

  5. over under? by SIIHP · · Score: 2, Funny

    So what's the over under on the percentage of porn sites?

    85%?

    --
    I only go to buffets for the unlimited soft serve.
  6. Re:Really useful for the colorblind by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 4, Funny
    I'm still waiting for the braile version.

    Seriously guys, wtf.

  7. Well if they need it... by CaptainPatent · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd be willing to be a guinea pig for their next project

    --
    Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
    1. Re:Well if they need it... by apt142 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Knowing my luck, I'd be in the control group.

      --
      Star Pirates
    2. Re:Well if they need it... by fph+il+quozientatore · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'd be willing to be a guinea pig for this project

      --
      My first program:

      Hell Segmentation fault

  8. 61% are non-replies by digitaldc · · Score: 3, Funny

    39% are pr0n

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  9. Stand up and be counted? by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Funny

    They're talking about 3 billion pings directed toward 2.8 million addresses over the course of 62 days.

    I assume 90% are spambots, 5% are people trying to get Frist Psot and the remainder are legit.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  10. you forgot some by OrangeTide · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... 5% downloading porn, 10% stealing copyright material. the remainder are legit.

    sure, that might be 110%, but that just shows you how efficient the Internet is.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  11. Re:Why has nobody commented on the Hilbert Curve? by dextromulous · · Score: 5, Funny

    I knew the Hilbert curve could fill the space by replacing each segment with a copy of itself (a basic concept in fractal theory, self similarity). But I didn't know that the curve had this interesting property: Similar addresses had nearby locations in two-dimensional space. The XKCD guy is a genius.

    Anyway, here's more info on the Hilbert Curve. Enjoy. News bulletin: two points that are close to each other on a line are close to each other when the line is curved.
    --
    There are two types of people in the world: those who divide people into two types and those who don't.
  12. Re:Really useful for the colorblind by mcmonkey · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm waiting for the version for the deaf.

    WHAT??

  13. Re:colorblindness IS fairly comon by kefler · · Score: 5, Funny

    as well as the affect that has varies significantly from one color-blind person the next.

    Now, I'd normally think this should be 'effect', but I wonder if you might be doing this.

  14. Re:Really useful for the colorblind by Guysmiley777 · · Score: 2, Funny

    The ANT Lab doesn't care about color(blind) people.

    --
    Coding with assembly is like playing with Legos. Coding an application in assembly is like building a car with Legos.
  15. Oh no! The Total Perspective Vortex (mark 0.7) by tjwhaynes · · Score: 2, Funny

    The Total Perspective Vortex is the most horrible torture device to which a sentient being can be subjected. It shows its victim the entire unimaginable infinity of the universe with a very tiny marker that says "You Are Here" which points to a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot.

    --
    Anything I post is strictly my own thoughts and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the opinions of IBM.
  16. Re:Really useful for the colorblind by Matthew+Bafford · · Score: 2, Funny

    What about simply not caring? Isn't that an excuse?
    Sure it is; excuses are really quite easy to generate. Reasonable excuses are a little harder to come by, though.
  17. Historical version by HeadlessNotAHorseman · · Score: 2, Funny
    For a historical comparison, just to show how far we have come, I have printed below an equivalent map that was generated based on 1957 data:

     


     


       


         


       


       


         


       

    --
    I like my coffee the way I like my women - roasted and ground up into little tiny pieces.