Hey, thanks for the pointer. I did some checking and, yes, the Voyagers used an 1802 derivative, but Pioneer 10 turns out to not have an on board computer. The instruments just send out their data continuosly. Basically, Pioneer 10 is a very remote peripheral attached by a 9 light-hour link to a computer at Mission Control. Amazing.
Pioneer 10 hasn't made it yet, but it is actually still operating (barely) and it's main (only?) experiment still operating is to measure the extent of the heliopause.
Does anybody know what type of computer the Pioneer and Voyager craft contain? I can't seem to find this level of detail on any of NASA's web sites.
I was just wondering how a modern PC (dual or quad CPU) compares with the Cray 1 (1976 vintage)? I mean, just how fast is todays PC at doing the kinds of things that the Cray was designed for? Can I finally tell people that I've got the power of a Cray by my desk?
Well, I shuttle mine between work and work(err, I mean "home"). At work I use a Sun Ultra 2 and at home I have a box running Linux and BeOS. It's very, VERY nice to have the same keyboard on both machines. Also, the layout is just about perfect. It can be a bit annoying to switch virtual consoles in Linux, but I don't do that to often.
My previous keyboard was a Northgate Ultra 102, which was also very cool (though large). It had the function keys on the side, the control key next to the "a", and there was a complete duplicate of the number pad that was used for the direction keys. It had a numlock, but I never figured out why.
If you had had 1000 bytes instead of 1024 bytes, you might not have been able to run Peter Jenning's (no, not the same guy) really cool chess program for the KIM. He actually used the memory in the 6530 PIAs because he was so tight for memory.
Actually, the article calls it XSGA+. But, I still hate it when they just don't tell you the numbers. After doing a little poking around, I found that XSGA is 1280x1024. Maybe XSGA+ is 1600x12[80]0? I can only dream. I'd love to replace my 19" CRT with one of these.
I completely agree. I've been working as an independent contractor for seven years now. I do this because:
I like to set my own hours
The pay is much better
I get to move to interesting jobs easier
I've always had lousy experience with unions. When the company I was working for about nine years ago went to a trade show in Washington, D.C, we were required to hire two local union workers to set up our prefab display. These guys were costing us $50/hour each and if we didn't watch them every second they would just stand around and talk to each other!
On another occasion, I was sent to one of our field installations to debug an industrial fire control panel that I had written the code for (I also did some minor parts of the hardware design). I was not allowed to move some of the jumpers in the panel because I was not a union electrician! It's as if my arms were broken and I had to use this local electrician to move a couple of wires around. I just stood there saying inane things like "remove jumper 2A", then trying out some code, then saying "replace jumper 2A", and so on. Blah...
This (and other) experience with unions is part of the reason that I've, more or less, gone to the other extreme and work as an independent. Sure, it's possible that I could be screwed over by somebody, but, then, I'm pretty picky about the work I take. Plus, I've managed to build up a reasonable F.Y. fund.;-)
Mike (Currently working ~40hr/week in Zurich, Switzerland with my wife and kids.)
Well, you could always hook up some oscilliscopes to the o-scope outputs on the left side of the SYMs and do it with vector graphics! Forget about those inferior, new-fangled, raster graphics.;-)
I've still got my first computer (KIM 1) and someday I intend to hook it to the web. It would be cool to craft up a tiny (1k) server that offered up some kind of statistics page. I can still remember most of the 6502 opcodes!
Along with the KIM I've also got a SYM I. With a whopping 4k of RAM!
Well, I have Linux installed on an HP800 (less than 2 kilos) and I don't tote around anything but the laptop and power supply. After the install there was no need for the cdrom. I bring it to work, hook it to the net (100baseT) and use my Sparc station as the display. This lets me use Solaris and Linux at the same time and easily bring work home when needed.
Agreed. But, of course, this is just the beginning. What's important is all the potential uses of a digital model. If you can create a popular model, the profit potential would be huge!
BTW, the site was/.ed almost immediatly. Gee, a site announcing that digital women have arrived and it gets/.ed. What are the odds?
Why not, indeed! How about "/. Linux, OS for Nerds". It could come preconfigured with an "anonymous_coward" user account, Beowulf clustering, moderated package installer (eg. fortune: (4, funny)), etc.
I completely agree. Since Jon is a professional writer, I would expect him to own a grammar and spelling checker (and use them occasionally). If I wrote for a living I would certainly take some time to ensure that my stories didn't contain any obvious mistakes. It's very distracting to wade through a sea of errors in an otherwise good article.
I'm assuming that the experiment was conducted above the freezing point of water at whatever pressure they chose. How deep into the Martian surface does one have to go to be permanently above freezing? (I know, I know; it depends on where you are on Mars.)
BTW, imagine a Beowulf cluster of Martian methanogens. Sorry.
Slashdot Mirror
Hey, thanks for the pointer. I did some checking and, yes, the Voyagers used an 1802 derivative, but Pioneer 10 turns out to not have an on board computer. The instruments just send out their data continuosly. Basically, Pioneer 10 is a very remote peripheral attached by a 9 light-hour link to a computer at Mission Control. Amazing.
Check out the minutes of the Pioneer 10 Virtual Conference for more details.
mike
Pioneer 10 hasn't made it yet, but it is actually still operating (barely) and it's main (only?) experiment still operating is to measure the extent of the heliopause.
Does anybody know what type of computer the Pioneer and Voyager craft contain? I can't seem to find this level of detail on any of NASA's web sites.
mike
Actually, Pioneer 10 is still functioning and returning data 27 years after launch! Amazing. The latest status can be seen here.
mike
I was just wondering how a modern PC (dual or quad CPU) compares with the Cray 1 (1976 vintage)? I mean, just how fast is todays PC at doing the kinds of things that the Cray was designed for? Can I finally tell people that I've got the power of a Cray by my desk?
just curious,
mike
Well, I shuttle mine between work and work(err, I mean "home"). At work I use a Sun Ultra 2 and at home I have a box running Linux and BeOS. It's very, VERY nice to have the same keyboard on both machines. Also, the layout is just about perfect. It can be a bit annoying to switch virtual consoles in Linux, but I don't do that to often.
My previous keyboard was a Northgate Ultra 102, which was also very cool (though large). It had the function keys on the side, the control key next to the "a", and there was a complete duplicate of the number pad that was used for the direction keys. It had a numlock, but I never figured out why.
mike
If you had had 1000 bytes instead of 1024 bytes, you might not have been able to run Peter Jenning's (no, not the same guy) really cool chess program for the KIM. He actually used the memory in the 6530 PIAs because he was so tight for memory.
mike
Actually, the article calls it XSGA+. But, I still hate it when they just don't tell you the numbers. After doing a little poking around, I found that XSGA is 1280x1024. Maybe XSGA+ is 1600x12[80]0? I can only dream. I'd love to replace my 19" CRT with one of these.
mike
- I like to set my own hours
- The pay is much better
- I get to move to interesting jobs easier
I've always had lousy experience with unions. When the company I was working for about nine years ago went to a trade show in Washington, D.C, we were required to hire two local union workers to set up our prefab display. These guys were costing us $50/hour each and if we didn't watch them every second they would just stand around and talk to each other!On another occasion, I was sent to one of our field installations to debug an industrial fire control panel that I had written the code for (I also did some minor parts of the hardware design). I was not allowed to move some of the jumpers in the panel because I was not a union electrician! It's as if my arms were broken and I had to use this local electrician to move a couple of wires around. I just stood there saying inane things like "remove jumper 2A", then trying out some code, then saying "replace jumper 2A", and so on. Blah...
This (and other) experience with unions is part of the reason that I've, more or less, gone to the other extreme and work as an independent. Sure, it's possible that I could be screwed over by somebody, but, then, I'm pretty picky about the work I take. Plus, I've managed to build up a reasonable F.Y. fund. ;-)
Mike (Currently working ~40hr/week in Zurich, Switzerland with my wife and kids.)
Well, you could always hook up some oscilliscopes to the o-scope outputs on the left side of the SYMs and do it with vector graphics! Forget about those inferior, new-fangled, raster graphics. ;-)
mike
I've still got my first computer (KIM 1) and someday I intend to hook it to the web. It would be cool to craft up a tiny (1k) server that offered up some kind of statistics page. I can still remember most of the 6502 opcodes!
Along with the KIM I've also got a SYM I. With a whopping 4k of RAM!
Man, I feel old.
mike
Well, I have Linux installed on an HP800 (less than 2 kilos) and I don't tote around anything but the laptop and power supply. After the install there was no need for the cdrom. I bring it to work, hook it to the net (100baseT) and use my Sparc station as the display. This lets me use Solaris and Linux at the same time and easily bring work home when needed.
mike
Agreed. But, of course, this is just the beginning. What's important is all the potential uses of a digital model. If you can create a popular model, the profit potential would be huge!
/.ed almost immediatly. Gee, a site announcing that digital women have arrived and it gets /.ed. What are the odds?
BTW, the site was
So when will the Great Renaming occur? Too bad you cant be just "slashdot" without a top level domain.
Good luck! Watch out for the PHBs.
Mike
I'll bet those are at least played on different stations. Here in Zurich, the stations appear to have no format at all.
Why not, indeed! How about "/. Linux, OS for Nerds". It could come preconfigured with an "anonymous_coward" user account, Beowulf clustering, moderated package installer (eg. fortune: (4, funny)), etc.
Mike
I completely agree. Since Jon is a professional writer, I would expect him to own a grammar and spelling checker (and use them occasionally). If I wrote for a living I would certainly take some time to ensure that my stories didn't contain any obvious mistakes. It's very distracting to wade through a sea of errors in an otherwise good article.
I'm assuming that the experiment was conducted above the freezing point of water at whatever pressure they chose. How deep into the Martian surface does one have to go to be permanently above freezing? (I know, I know; it depends on where you are on Mars.)
BTW, imagine a Beowulf cluster of Martian methanogens. Sorry.
I bought mine at Fust in Zurich last Thursday for CHF 69. Not $25, but not too bad.
Mike