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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.

9 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. What _is_ this site coming to? by JeanBaptiste · · Score: 5, Insightful

    People are doing this same thing constantly.

    Not that its not cool, but acting like it hasn't been done since 1982 is grossly incorrect.

    1. Re:What _is_ this site coming to? by CharAznable · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Those are mostly maps of Internet topology. The xkcd map is a map of address allocations. It's entirely different.

      --
      The perfect sig is a lot like silence, only louder
  2. God, STFU by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm colorblind and I can see the difference in shades just fine.

    Maybe you should ask the people you're acting like you care about whether they actually need you to whine for them.

    1. Re:God, STFU by pcgabe · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm red-green colorblind, and I absolutely, positively, cannot tell the difference between these two colors on this map. I can see the shades, sure. I just can't see what they are shades OF.

      Maybe you should ask yourself whether you're acting like a jerk for attention.

      [It's great that YOU can read this map just fine, but that doesn't help ME. In fact, coming here and saying that there's no problem for anyone is actually detrimental. Perhaps you can keep your mild color-blindness to yourself in the future? You're not speaking for the rest of us; no one appointed you representative of Colorblindopolis.]

      --
      Don't put advice in your sig.
  3. And in other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    XKCD's writer shows his love for /. . http://xkcd.com/301/

  4. Re:Really useful for the colorblind by Matthew+Bafford · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm still waiting for the braile version.

    Seriously guys, wtf.


    The main difference being, of course, that designing visual medium so that it supports both color-blind and normal visioned people equally well is extremely easy. Designing visual media that supports blind people is extremely difficult. There's no excuse, other than ignorance (which is the real reason in most cases), for not supporting color-blind people.
  5. Re:See also xkcd comic "Online Communities" by maxume · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I figure anybody who manages not to mistake the Isle of Slash for Slashdot deserves the extra points; Stallman's Airship is easy.

    --
    Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  6. Re:My adventures in doing a "census" by SignupRequired · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It was a low bandwidth activity. Had you told the truth to your ISP, they likely wouldn't have given a shit.

  7. Re:Yay, we really are Digg. by pv2b · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As a part-time grammar nazi and xkcd reader, I'm not falling for that one. ;-)