From theregister.co.uk: AMD practises safe computing Relax, you'll just feel a tiny prick Chimpzilla's new - ahem - entry level chip, Duron, would appear to share advanced technology with condom giant Durex, if the contraceptive company's website here is to be believed.
The site states: "New technology has considerably improved the condom and enabled the production of far more sophisticated versions than our ancestors were used to. The latest development is DUREX Avanti made from a unique polyurethane material, DURON, which is twice as strong as latex enabling a thinner, more sensitive film."
AMD would not confirm rumours that Duron would ship in packets of three rather than trays of ten, nor that the company was planning a 'Duron Inside' ad campaign. ®
Looks like you'll need to lap that Duron processor as it may be ribbed for her pleasure.
Never work for someone you don't respect. You've obviously never met an IT manager. If most/.ers took this advice they'd be unemployed. --Shoeboy (former microserf)
Most of the posts microsoft referenced in their original complaint did not actually contain the content they alleged it did. Ask them what the #$%^ they were smoking. I am so glad I quit my job at microsoft. I can have self respect again. --Shoeboy (former microserf)
It is obvious that money isn't a concern - so why not fork over the money for some Oracle licenses and a competent Oracle admin? Well, I can't speak for the/. crew, but one good reason would be that oracle is a piece of shit. There are much faster rdbms's than oracle. Sybase and Microsoft (really) make products that completely spank Oracle on equivalent hardware. Oracle's sweet spot is large (Sun E1000 or HP V class) boxes used for data warehousing. Even there, oracle is an inferior solution to DB2 and Informix. Oracle is a lot like windows, it's a shitty product that just happens to be the market leader. The big difference between oracle and MS is that MS is run by Bill Gates and oracle is run by a guy who wishes he was Bill Gates. --Shoeboy (former microserf)
It's worth noting that the tpc scores you are comparing are of an 8 node, 96 proc alpha cluster vs. a single, 32 proc hp box. Compaq's top single box score is half that of hp's best single box score, but that's not a fair comparison either. It's also worth noting that Compaq has been selling GS series boxes since the intro of the 21264, but these new ones are the first of the GS line to feature the switched crossbar architecture. They should stomp the HP V-Class, but IBM's S80 and Sun's E1000 aren't going to be far behind. --Shoeboy (former microserf)
Let me repeat myself: check the real performance numbers. Even though nothing from the GS line is even in there yet, Alpha is still way out in front. I checked the numbers, did you? Clock for clock, the PA-Risc outdoes the alpha at integer ops. For database systems, this is generally more relevant than floating point speed. --Shoeboy (former microserf)
Okay, these were supposed to ship early last year, but compaq was getting lousy yields on the custom asics used in the box. What's cool about these is they've got a crossbar switched architecture, so they scale better than a bus or omega switched network. What sucks is that the alpha architecture hasn't kept up in the clock speed race. Ghz alphas were supposed to be out by now too. Historically, the alpha has had the highest clock speed of any chip on the market. No longer. This is a bummer since they don't do as much per clock as, say, a PA-Risc system. Still, these are sweet boxen and should deliver truly obscene tpc-c and tpc-h results. Drop a couple of storageworks coffins into the server room and all your data warehousing needs are met. --shoeboy (former microserf)
Why should we allow.com to be squatted by pornographs perverting kids? Why is this flamebait? This guy has a real point. The internet does corrupt kids. We got the internet in our house 3 months ago and now my two teenage sons are constantly talking about girls. It's like they're obsessed. I know the internet is to blame because it is totally unnatural for teenage boys to be obsessed with sex. It's part of a slippery slope. First the health teacher tells them that girls don't have cooties, then they start looking at pictures of breasts on the net. Next stop is blindness, insanity and hairy palms -- or worse -- dating, marriage, child rearing and 401k's. We must stop the net! --Shoeboy (former microserf)
IANAA (I am not an astronomer) but the technique they described was more than passive telescopy. Instead of looking really hard they bounced radar waves off the thing. This would require a lot of processing power to decode and a lot of signal strength to receive. Also, it mentions that the telescope was recently upgraded to be able to image distant objects. Try reading the article instead of trying to get an early post. --Shoeboy (former microserf)
The problem with Bussard ramjets is that unless the hydrogen is quite dense, the drag is greater than the thrust. The cool thing to do is to maximize drag and get rid of the thrust altogether. Then you have a magnetic solar sail. Since the article seems to imply webs of flowing hydrogen, maybe we could see a sort of cross between Star Trek and The Pirate Movie. On second thought, that's not such a good idea. I don't think I could take hearing Shatner say "Shiver me timbers!" --Shoeboy (former microserf)
From the article: The company's legally required material-safety data sheets warned of possible nausea and dizziness from the chemical-filled tubs over which he worked, Loanzan said, "but they didn't say anything about tumors. They never talked about the place being dangerous." Correct me if I'm wrong here, but don't the material-safety data sheets HAVE to state it if the chemical is a known carcinogen? And seriously, is acetone all that carcinogenic? I used to wear nail polish, and I hate to think of how many tumors I caused myself while removing that stuff. Here's another one: One of the main ingredients in the cutting fluid, according to Hawes, has been linked in studies to brain cancer. Hmm, what's this mystery ingredient? Anyone know? Who did the studies? Why is a lawyer being quoted on the subject of whether or not something causes cancer? Now the concerns raised in the article may be quite valid, but the fearmongering crap makes it almost impossible to take seriously. --Shoeboy (former microserf)
While I'm on the subject of beating Visual-Dredd 4.0, did anyone notice that it has limited input options? Computer: Was the suspect intoxicated? Cop: No. Comp: Was the suspect driving in a suspiscious manner? Cop: No. Comp: I am ready to give my verdict. Please close all windows and click "OK" Cop: Click... Click... Damn hourglass. Comp: (5 minutes later) Not guilty. Cop: Well Mr. Shoeboy, the computer says I have to let you go - but for the love of god either put some pants on or get tinted windows.
Only stupid lawbreakers will get sentenced by this program. Those of us that have seen "Logan's Run" 30 times will have no problem. Simply tell the computer "this statement is a lie" and watch it start blinking and saying "does not compute" over and over again until it explodes in a shower of sparks. I can't wait till they get these stateside. I'll get liquored up, smash my taillights and drive around chanting "there is no spoon" -- and get away with it too. --Shoeboy (former microserf)
Right at the end of the article I see this:
The average child in the United States sees 200,000 killings, stabbings and beatings on television by the age of 18, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The academy cites numerous scientific studies demonstrating that many children learn violent behavior from shows they watch.
After a few years of exposure to television, it's hard to imagine that anything on the Internet would be worth filtering out--even if the filters worked. I don't get it. This has nothing to do with the rest of the article. Is there some perl script at CNET that automatically includes this line in any story about children and censorware? Is this part of some conspiracy by CNET to get people away from the TV and onto the net? It just doesn't make sense. Looks like they were desperate for some kind of closing paragraph and just pulled one out of their asses.
Two can play at this game.
The average american consumes 15 gallons of salsa a year. Can moronic CNET articles detract from the spiciness of life after that? Of course not! --Shoeboy
What you REALLY want is multics.org. It's available and waaaaay more geeky than unix.com.
For the old time COBOL monkeys out there, primeOS.com is available. I think there are ~6 prime boxes still in operation, so there's a built in audience.
If you want to go head to head with taco and hemos, I suggest ampersanddot.org. It's free as well. &., how cool is that?
Ok, I work for Microsoft. It's a good gig and I don't generally feel that I'm a servant of evil. After clicking the link and loading the ESR paper, my win2k box promptly rebooted. It took a few minutes of deep breathing before I was able to convince myself that this was a coincidence. Or was it?
--Shoeboy
Of course if the water isn't pure that would entail a massive ammount of electricity to move through the body killing the person. Look sissy-boy, overclocking isn't for everyone. If you aren't willing to pay the ultimate price for ultimate performance, why don't you go roll in the grass with the rest of your tree hugging luddite hippie friends. Real men will do anything for a few extra frames in Q3 (Quicken 3.0). Kyle Bennet over at HardOCP.com even has a computer powered by indonesian schoolchildren he bought from Nike. If you can't handle a little thing like death by electrocution I suggest you haul your pansy ass outta here. Hugs and kisses, --Shoeboy
How long will the motherboard last for under the conditions that you suggest? Wow, you really are ignorant of overclocking lore. Motherboards are designed to last ~ 10 years. That's a long time. Overclocking will reduce the life span by about 50%. So if your board was built in 1994 overclocking will cause it to fail in 1999. Since it's already 2000, that would entail a temporal anomaly. This may cause your motherboard to achieve infinite mass and destroy the earth. Proper cooling will prevent this. I suggest water cooling. After completing the upgrade take your computer and plunge it into a bathtub full of ice water. Be sure that a) the computer is still plugged in (it's amazing how many newbies forget this), b) that you are gripping it with both hands and c) that your feet are properly grounded. (wear a grounding strap around your ankle for best results). This will keep your system running fine until ~ 2004. (assuming you keep adding ice to the water) Your pal, --Shoeboy
Not exactly overclock savvy are we, here's the deal. ISA runs at 8Mhz, PCI (Portable C++ Interpreter) at 33Mhz, AGP at 66Mhz. What does this mean? It means that you need to run your ISA bus at ~33Mhz to get it to run correctly with a PCI device. So what I'm gonna tell you is simple. You've only got ISA slots, right? So you've probably got a 386. What you'll need to do is take a soldering iron and replace the clock signal generating crystal and replace it with one that's faster. How do you do that? Simple, go buy an intel 44BX based motherboard. These motherboards run at either 66Mhz or 100Mhz. Find the northbridge chip (should be under a green heatsink) and remove it. Now find a chip of roughly the same size on the 386 motherboard and replace it with the northbrige chip. This should speed your system from 20 Mhz to 100 Mhz. Now your ISA bus is running at 40Mhz!!!! Nearly agp speed. Now to go the rest of the way. Flash your computer with the lateset bios. This will let you get the FSB (fourier series broadside) up to 133Mhz!!!! NOW YOUR ISA SLOTS ARE RUNNING AT a stomping 54Mhz. Well withing the AGP spec! Now insert your agp card into the ISA slot. Doesn't fit does it? Of course not. Remember the BX board? It has an agp slot. Remove it and solder it onto the 386 board in place of one of the ISA slots (which you just removed with a pair of pliers and a claw hammer) Now fire up your computer. Doesn't work does it. Of course not, AGP cards draw too much power for your power supply. You'll need to take your power cord and stip the end to expose the 3 wires. Now throw away your cheap P.S. and drop 120 volts of AC current dirrectly onto the motherboards power connectors. I guarantee you'll be shocked with the performance of your computer. With love, --Shoeboy
Too bad all these processes only allow companies w/billions of dollars in the bank to play. Yeah. Damn shame. Modern civilization is opressing the home hobbyist. Why can't I set up a.07 micron process in my kitchen? It must be a conspiracy. If these lousy scientists weren't all in the pocket of big buisness we'd see a better world. I've got seventy bags of cement and some turbines, but can I generate massive ammounts of hydroelectric power? Hell no. Thanks to the military industrial complex, they've crippled the technology so that it requires a river to function. A river! Who has one of those in their appartment. Nobody. It's all due to the power companies and the oil companies being in bed with Microsoft! --Shoeboy
Someone on IRC lying about their identity? It defies belief. I'd write more, but this 19yr old 36DD nympho I met online wants to meet me "alone and unarmed". I'm so excited! --Shoeboy
It should return a list of responses, which could be marked "commerical but user friendly" or "very technical" as appropriate. That's extremely subjective, but an interesting idea. Here's a thought. You could have a "Help me understand more about buying ethernet cable" response as one of the top results. The user would then be lead through a dialogue where they specify how much they know about networking products (linking them to a tutorial if they need it), whether they want bulk cabling or just a 12 foot run, whether they want to find the best deal or just replace what the toddler chewed through etc... With user submitted and properly rated dialogues, you could offer a hell of a lot more value than ask jeeves. You could have a conversation with gneeves. Coding it would be a lot of fun too. (I admit it, I like database design and SQL coding) --Shoeboy
Slashdot Mirror
It's also worth noting that you must be over 18 and supply a credit card number to view the duron being inserted into amd's new socket architecture.
I wonder if they make spermicidal thermal paste.
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
From theregister.co.uk:
AMD practises safe computing
Relax, you'll just feel a tiny prick
Chimpzilla's new - ahem - entry level chip, Duron, would appear to share advanced technology with condom giant Durex, if the contraceptive company's website here is to be believed.
The site states: "New technology has considerably improved the condom and enabled the production of far more sophisticated versions than our ancestors were used to. The latest development is DUREX Avanti made from a unique polyurethane material, DURON, which is twice as strong as latex enabling a thinner, more sensitive film."
AMD would not confirm rumours that Duron would ship in packets of three rather than trays of ten, nor that the company was planning a 'Duron Inside' ad campaign. ®
Looks like you'll need to lap that Duron processor as it may be ribbed for her pleasure.
The chip may grow flaccid if not in use.
Feel free to make your own juvenile jokes.
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
Never work for someone you don't respect. /.ers took this advice they'd be unemployed.
You've obviously never met an IT manager. If most
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
Most of the posts microsoft referenced in their original complaint did not actually contain the content they alleged it did. Ask them what the #$%^ they were smoking.
I am so glad I quit my job at microsoft. I can have self respect again.
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
It is obvious that money isn't a concern - so why not fork over the money for some Oracle licenses and a competent Oracle admin? /. crew, but one good reason would be that oracle is a piece of shit. There are much faster rdbms's than oracle. Sybase and Microsoft (really) make products that completely spank Oracle on equivalent hardware. Oracle's sweet spot is large (Sun E1000 or HP V class) boxes used for data warehousing. Even there, oracle is an inferior solution to DB2 and Informix. Oracle is a lot like windows, it's a shitty product that just happens to be the market leader. The big difference between oracle and MS is that MS is run by Bill Gates and oracle is run by a guy who wishes he was Bill Gates.
Well, I can't speak for the
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
It's worth noting that the tpc scores you are comparing are of an 8 node, 96 proc alpha cluster vs. a single, 32 proc hp box. Compaq's top single box score is half that of hp's best single box score, but that's not a fair comparison either.
It's also worth noting that Compaq has been selling GS series boxes since the intro of the 21264, but these new ones are the first of the GS line to feature the switched crossbar architecture.
They should stomp the HP V-Class, but IBM's S80 and Sun's E1000 aren't going to be far behind.
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
Let me repeat myself: check the real performance numbers. Even though nothing from the GS line is even in there yet, Alpha is still way out in front.
I checked the numbers, did you? Clock for clock, the PA-Risc outdoes the alpha at integer ops.
For database systems, this is generally more relevant than floating point speed.
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
Okay, these were supposed to ship early last year, but compaq was getting lousy yields on the custom asics used in the box.
What's cool about these is they've got a crossbar switched architecture, so they scale better than a bus or omega switched network. What sucks is that the alpha architecture hasn't kept up in the clock speed race. Ghz alphas were supposed to be out by now too. Historically, the alpha has had the highest clock speed of any chip on the market. No longer. This is a bummer since they don't do as much per clock as, say, a PA-Risc system.
Still, these are sweet boxen and should deliver truly obscene tpc-c and tpc-h results. Drop a couple of storageworks coffins into the server room and all your data warehousing needs are met.
--shoeboy
(former microserf)
Why should we allow .com to be squatted by pornographs perverting kids?
Why is this flamebait? This guy has a real point.
The internet does corrupt kids. We got the internet in our house 3 months ago and now my two teenage sons are constantly talking about girls. It's like they're obsessed. I know the internet is to blame because it is totally unnatural for teenage boys to be obsessed with sex. It's part of a slippery slope. First the health teacher tells them that girls don't have cooties, then they start looking at pictures of breasts on the net. Next stop is blindness, insanity and hairy palms -- or worse -- dating, marriage, child rearing and 401k's.
We must stop the net!
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
IANAA (I am not an astronomer) but the technique they described was more than passive telescopy. Instead of looking really hard they bounced radar waves off the thing. This would require a lot of processing power to decode and a lot of signal strength to receive. Also, it mentions that the telescope was recently upgraded to be able to image distant objects.
Try reading the article instead of trying to get an early post.
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
The problem with Bussard ramjets is that unless the hydrogen is quite dense, the drag is greater than the thrust. The cool thing to do is to maximize drag and get rid of the thrust altogether. Then you have a magnetic solar sail. Since the article seems to imply webs of flowing hydrogen, maybe we could see a sort of cross between Star Trek and The Pirate Movie.
On second thought, that's not such a good idea. I don't think I could take hearing Shatner say "Shiver me timbers!"
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
From the article:
The company's legally required material-safety data sheets warned of possible nausea and dizziness from the chemical-filled tubs over which he worked, Loanzan said, "but they didn't say anything about tumors. They never talked about the place being dangerous."
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but don't the material-safety data sheets HAVE to state it if the chemical is a known carcinogen? And seriously, is acetone all that carcinogenic? I used to wear nail polish, and I hate to think of how many tumors I caused myself while removing that stuff.
Here's another one:
One of the main ingredients in the cutting fluid, according to Hawes, has been linked in studies to brain cancer.
Hmm, what's this mystery ingredient? Anyone know? Who did the studies? Why is a lawyer being quoted on the subject of whether or not something causes cancer?
Now the concerns raised in the article may be quite valid, but the fearmongering crap makes it almost impossible to take seriously.
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
I'm waiting for the Cyrix M2 to be rebranded as the Moron(tm) processor.
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
While I'm on the subject of beating Visual-Dredd 4.0, did anyone notice that it has limited input options?
Computer: Was the suspect intoxicated?
Cop: No.
Comp: Was the suspect driving in a suspiscious manner?
Cop: No.
Comp: I am ready to give my verdict. Please close all windows and click "OK"
Cop: Click... Click... Damn hourglass.
Comp: (5 minutes later) Not guilty.
Cop: Well Mr. Shoeboy, the computer says I have to let you go - but for the love of god either put some pants on or get tinted windows.
I really can't wait.
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
Only stupid lawbreakers will get sentenced by this program. Those of us that have seen "Logan's Run" 30 times will have no problem. Simply tell the computer "this statement is a lie" and watch it start blinking and saying "does not compute" over and over again until it explodes in a shower of sparks. I can't wait till they get these stateside. I'll get liquored up, smash my taillights and drive around chanting "there is no spoon" -- and get away with it too.
--Shoeboy
(former microserf)
Right at the end of the article I see this:
The average child in the United States sees 200,000 killings, stabbings and beatings on television by the age of 18, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The academy cites numerous scientific studies demonstrating that many children learn violent behavior from shows they watch.
After a few years of exposure to television, it's hard to imagine that anything on the Internet would be worth filtering out--even if the filters worked.
I don't get it. This has nothing to do with the rest of the article. Is there some perl script at CNET that automatically includes this line in any story about children and censorware? Is this part of some conspiracy by CNET to get people away from the TV and onto the net? It just doesn't make sense. Looks like they were desperate for some kind of closing paragraph and just pulled one out of their asses.
Two can play at this game.
The average american consumes 15 gallons of salsa a year. Can moronic CNET articles detract from the spiciness of life after that? Of course not!
--Shoeboy
What you REALLY want is multics.org. It's available and waaaaay more geeky than unix.com.
For the old time COBOL monkeys out there, primeOS.com is available. I think there are ~6 prime boxes still in operation, so there's a built in audience.
If you want to go head to head with taco and hemos, I suggest ampersanddot.org. It's free as well. &., how cool is that?
--Shoeboy
Ok, I work for Microsoft. It's a good gig and I don't generally feel that I'm a servant of evil. After clicking the link and loading the ESR paper, my win2k box promptly rebooted. It took a few minutes of deep breathing before I was able to convince myself that this was a coincidence. Or was it?
--Shoeboy
where can I get one of those indonesian wonders?
one word: ebay
--Shoeboy
Of course if the water isn't pure that would entail a massive ammount of electricity to move through the body killing the person.
Look sissy-boy, overclocking isn't for everyone. If you aren't willing to pay the ultimate price for ultimate performance, why don't you go roll in the grass with the rest of your tree hugging luddite hippie friends. Real men will do anything for a few extra frames in Q3 (Quicken 3.0). Kyle Bennet over at HardOCP.com even has a computer powered by indonesian schoolchildren he bought from Nike. If you can't handle a little thing like death by electrocution I suggest you haul your pansy ass outta here.
Hugs and kisses,
--Shoeboy
How long will the motherboard last for under the conditions that you suggest?
Wow, you really are ignorant of overclocking lore. Motherboards are designed to last ~ 10 years. That's a long time. Overclocking will reduce the life span by about 50%. So if your board was built in 1994 overclocking will cause it to fail in 1999. Since it's already 2000, that would entail a temporal anomaly. This may cause your motherboard to achieve infinite mass and destroy the earth. Proper cooling will prevent this. I suggest water cooling. After completing the upgrade take your computer and plunge it into a bathtub full of ice water. Be sure that a) the computer is still plugged in (it's amazing how many newbies forget this), b) that you are gripping it with both hands and c) that your feet are properly grounded. (wear a grounding strap around your ankle for best results). This will keep your system running fine until ~ 2004. (assuming you keep adding ice to the water)
Your pal,
--Shoeboy
Not exactly overclock savvy are we, here's the deal.
ISA runs at 8Mhz, PCI (Portable C++ Interpreter) at 33Mhz, AGP at 66Mhz. What does this mean? It means that you need to run your ISA bus at ~33Mhz to get it to run correctly with a PCI device. So what I'm gonna tell you is simple. You've only got ISA slots, right? So you've probably got a 386. What you'll need to do is take a soldering iron and replace the clock signal generating crystal and replace it with one that's faster. How do you do that? Simple, go buy an intel 44BX based motherboard. These motherboards run at either 66Mhz or 100Mhz. Find the northbridge chip (should be under a green heatsink) and remove it. Now find a chip of roughly the same size on the 386 motherboard and replace it with the northbrige chip. This should speed your system from 20 Mhz to 100 Mhz. Now your ISA bus is running at 40Mhz!!!! Nearly agp speed. Now to go the rest of the way. Flash your computer with the lateset bios. This will let you get the FSB (fourier series broadside) up to 133Mhz!!!! NOW YOUR ISA SLOTS ARE RUNNING AT a stomping 54Mhz. Well withing the AGP spec! Now insert your agp card into the ISA slot. Doesn't fit does it? Of course not. Remember the BX board? It has an agp slot. Remove it and solder it onto the 386 board in place of one of the ISA slots (which you just removed with a pair of pliers and a claw hammer) Now fire up your computer. Doesn't work does it. Of course not, AGP cards draw too much power for your power supply. You'll need to take your power cord and stip the end to expose the 3 wires. Now throw away your cheap P.S. and drop 120 volts of AC current dirrectly onto the motherboards power connectors. I guarantee you'll be shocked with the performance of your computer.
With love,
--Shoeboy
Too bad all these processes only allow companies w/billions of dollars in the bank to play. .07 micron process in my kitchen? It must be a conspiracy. If these lousy scientists weren't all in the pocket of big buisness we'd see a better world.
Yeah. Damn shame. Modern civilization is opressing the home hobbyist. Why can't I set up a
I've got seventy bags of cement and some turbines, but can I generate massive ammounts of hydroelectric power? Hell no. Thanks to the military industrial complex, they've crippled the technology so that it requires a river to function. A river! Who has one of those in their appartment. Nobody. It's all due to the power companies and the oil companies being in bed with Microsoft!
--Shoeboy
Someone on IRC lying about their identity? It defies belief. I'd write more, but this 19yr old 36DD nympho I met online wants to meet me "alone and unarmed". I'm so excited!
--Shoeboy
It should return a list of responses, which could be marked "commerical but user friendly" or "very technical" as appropriate.
That's extremely subjective, but an interesting idea.
Here's a thought. You could have a "Help me understand more about buying ethernet cable" response as one of the top results. The user would then be lead through a dialogue where they specify how much they know about networking products (linking them to a tutorial if they need it), whether they want bulk cabling or just a 12 foot run, whether they want to find the best deal or just replace what the toddler chewed through etc... With user submitted and properly rated dialogues, you could offer a hell of a lot more value than ask jeeves. You could have a conversation with gneeves.
Coding it would be a lot of fun too. (I admit it, I like database design and SQL coding)
--Shoeboy