Any request for data that has to be pulled from DRAM has already been through a couple of cache faults. Adding an extra hardware lookup mechanism can certainly be done in a way that does not noticably impair performance.
What this invention does is significantly decrease the frequency with which virtual memory needs to be accessed. Disk access is very expensive, so the savings can be quite substantial.
The only substantial reason Microsoft has to prevent open access to the spec, is to prevent interoperability. This helps entrench Microsoft's desktop OS monopoly at the expense of consumers who, even according to Microsoft, desire increased interoperability.
You can't use one law to break another. Kudos to Slashdot for fighting this. The potential damage to Microsoft from this incident is easily measurable in the billions of dollars.
Slashdot Mirror
Any request for data that has to be pulled from DRAM has already been through a couple of cache faults. Adding an extra hardware lookup mechanism can certainly be done in a way that does not noticably impair performance.
What this invention does is significantly decrease the frequency with which virtual memory needs to be accessed. Disk access is very expensive, so the savings can be quite substantial.
The only substantial reason Microsoft has to prevent open access to the spec, is to prevent interoperability. This helps entrench Microsoft's desktop OS monopoly at the expense of consumers who, even according to Microsoft, desire increased interoperability.
You can't use one law to break another. Kudos to Slashdot for fighting this. The potential damage to Microsoft from this incident is easily measurable in the billions of dollars.
JWS