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User: Willie_the_Wimp

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  1. It will only get worse.... on Is the Net The Cause of California's Power Problems? · · Score: 2

    I work at Cisco Systems, and am on the architecture team designing the next generation multi-tera bit L3 switch. One of our biggest problems in designing this switch is cooling. The switch will encompass a standard network rack, be about 6 feet tall, and consume around 10-15kW in a typical configuration. That's 10-15kW in a 4 square foot region.

    Granted, a networking closet won't have a whole bunch of these beasts (yet), but when you add in a bunch of lower power switches along with the big aggragator, you have some serious power density.

    Keep in mind that one of the ways power-people measure power usage is by the power density: kW / square feet. A large data center can consume megawatts in a single building. As speeds and feeds increase, so do the power requirements needed to make it shake and dance.

    Todd

  2. Re:70 ms latency on 120 Gigabit Pipe To Oz Begins Operation · · Score: 2

    As a network equipment design engineer (I do crossbar / networking fabric ASICS), I am always just amazed at the progression of speed. I am working on a next generation super layer 3 (IP) switch (I won't say where (The Big Guy on the block...)). The box will support many tera-bits / sec inside a 6 foot enclosure...

    Get this: we are using 7+ GHz serial channels to move the data around the box (input linecard to fabric to output linecard). When you factor in the speed of electrons across the wires, the length of the wires, the data rate per serial link, and the number of parallel serial links that make a channel, at any given time, there can be a complete 64 byte ethernet min size packet living only on 20" copper wires.

    Also, we are making a switching decision every 300 ps (trillionths of a second).

    :) Great time to be an engineer!

    Willie

  3. Re:It is kind of cool. on Life as Video Game Art · · Score: 2

    Can look at it two ways.. either these images point out that bad scenes aren't nearly so horrifying when done on a computer (and thus people need not worry about video game violence), or computers trivialize the reality of violence to the extent that it is unable to effect us like it should.

    Good point, but given the reaction I had to the Quang Duc screenshot, I also see a third view: Computer violence is only horrifying if the depicted violence relates to *real* occurences. I have been playing FPS games since the Wolfenschtein days and have hundreds of game play hours... I have never been affected on an emotional level by the violence; I must subconsciously realize it is depictions of fiction. However, I felt a strong emotional reaction to the Quang Duc screenshot. I think this is an important data point in the discussion of the effect of violence in video games. For or against, I don't know yet... I still don't know how to call it, but this opens my eyes a bit more.

    Very interesting, and worthwhile.

    Todd

  4. Re:Splitteroo on Sony Bets Its Future On PlayStation II Console? · · Score: 2

    Yeah, I agree. I read the article, and it makes it sound like splitting the stock is some kind of wild and crazy margin'ing technique. Stock splits simply make it easier for the average Joe to buy shares of the company. The market captialization for the company remains the same. The average lot people often buy when they purchase a specific stock is 100 shares: Sony (SNR) closed at 270 today, so it would take $27,000 to buy 100 shares, vs $13,500 if they do a 2 for 1 split. No big deal. Sony is a large company; I doubt *everything* rides on the PS2. I have a Sony TV, VCR, Satelite, DVD player, receiver, walkman... :) .02, Todd