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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.

11 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

  4. Re:Really useful for the colorblind by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 4, Funny
    I'm still waiting for the braile version.

    Seriously guys, wtf.

  5. 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
  6. 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.
  7. 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.