No No No! I'm so fed up of pointing out the obvious. It is impossible to crank chips over 10GHz, its a plain physical fact. The only reason Intel are making this announcement is so that their shareholders don't panic.
The reason it is impossible is due to heating issues, and also that down at 0.01 microns a single bit is represented by only a few hundred electrons. Quantum Mechanics states that the uncertainty od such a conglomeration is about 1 in 200 Billion - ie, the 'bit' is only certain to that degree. Given that a processor at this soeed will precess many times this amount per second, it is impossible for a processor to run at this architectural scale because one in every 250 Billion bits will be corrupted - which is fatal. I have estimated that the top speed we are likely to see is about 3GHz at 0.05 microns. To assert otherwise is hogwash.
The future lies in parallel processing and DNA, mark my words. You can bet AMD and Intel are reseaching it now. The traditional CPU is nearly dead.
During the 1990's, the Internet was like the World 10000 years ago; laws did not exist, and it was in a primordial state of barbarism. However, as in the past, the net is now becoming civilised. It is developing laws to curtail bad behaviour, and is becoming a safer and more stable place for us all. It is becoming a mature civilisation.
What is happening to the net now is similar to what happened in the fertile crescent of the Near East some 7000 years ago, and will have similar beneficial repercusions for us all. The net needs to be civilised, and this is something that should be welcomed by us all.
We should not react as the barbarians did in 5000 BC, or we shall become as redundant and outmoded as they did. We should accept the benefits, and move on.
I was thinking the other day that anime is even more removed from reality than film and television, being a drawn and subjective perspective on the world.
Is this why geeks like it more than other socio-cultural groups? It is well known that geeks are more scared of reality than other subcultures, and so are more likely to run from it into the comforting womb of fantasy.
Is it healthy that anime be promoted among younger geeks? We should surely be encouraging geeks to confront the world they are so afraid of, indtead of retreating into a symbolic arena. I think we should think very carefully about how anime is promoted - it is clearly further removed from reality than other artforms, and so it is more dangerous.
We should be careful with it, and only take it in small doses, and not give it to our children.
Because TLD's are now international, not exclusively US'ian. It should be left to the UN to decide.
America has the.us domain, and thats the one congress should have influence over, not the international TLD's. This is the sort of thing that gets America accused of cultural Imperialism.
This is the beginning, and this is what I have feared for some time now. From now on, expect the business side of the Linux community to consolidate. The simple fact is that the market, perhaps rightly, sees the existance of a dozen different Linux companies all selling the same thing - Linux distributions - as innefficient, and it is only natural that they will push for these companies to merge and consolidate.
There can be only one. Who will win? Probably the most commercially succesful.
I am willing to take bets that in 5 or 10 years, only 2 distros will exist, and that they will be incompatible - Debian and the commercial one. When there is only one commercial distro, it will be powerful enough to ignore its heritage, and it will be under pressure from the shareholders and market to capitalise on its holdings. This will mean that it will become increasingly dissociated from its heritage and ideals.
The true future of Linux and the Open Source way lies with Debian, IMO. The commercial companies just don't have the commitment, and are under to much marketplace pressure to be expected to confirm to fuzzy-wuzzy 'ideals'.
Heh, I am all for Open Source software, but I think that the idea that it is useable for toddlers is a wee bit silly. Hardly anyone works in the free software community on childrens programs, that seems to be an area dominated by commercial companies. The software just doesn't exist in quantity!
Also, Linux is hard enough for adults to use (like me), how can it be translated to children? I fear that this is just too premature for children.
I would really like it if there were good childrens programs for linux though. But I'm afraid that Windows will be better in this way for some time to come. Thats just the plain & honest truth!
I'm sure when Bill G makes a solid decision, he retracts it if the committee isnt unanimous on the decision.
Well, I'm sure he does. Bill Gates isn't a despot - most of his company is owned by others, he has to listen to them. These are not feudal times.
Larry E is also noted for being a major team player, correct?
Well, the same goes for him, you know? He is under the same constraints.
Why are you so hostile anyway? You would think I had suggested that Linus be shot. He will always have input. The very manner of your reply suggests to me that the title of my original post is quite correct!;)
The big problem with that is that, while he is due kudos and respect for what he has done, people are far too much in thrall of him to properly criticise his work. All work needs criticism, even his!
Another thing is that if people want to do something different and he stands in the way, then there is more likely to be a split. I mean, I don't see other major commercial projects with one single man at the helm, do you? It should be a committee of interested parties, all the main organisations that use Linux, who decide what happens to it. Big companies like Red Hat and Debian would have a place, along with representatives from the LUGS.
I suppose what I am trying to say, in my stupid way, is that I thought Linux was supposed to be a democracy? These moves would make sense, and I think they are pretty much inevitable. Don't you agree?;-)
Will game consoles kill family life a little more?
on
First Looks At XBox
·
· Score: 2
See, I remember when I was young, and I used to play on an old 8-bit commodore 64. Well, it was fun, but it wasn't immersive in the same way that modern baiming is. So I tended to play it for an hour or two, and then leave it.
I remember being shocked 6 months ago when I visited my brother, to find that his kids were using their playstation to play "Spyro the Dragon" all the time! I mean, they hardly spent any time at all with their family!
I think that the X-Box will likely be even more addictive, and will offer internet gaming, so I have already cautioned my brother about the 'next generation consoles'. I just think that children should have more of a childhood, and not waste it in the sort of digital oblivion that M$ profit from.
But then, maybe if *I* got addicted I wouldn't be so wary, hehe;)
Well, thanks for a very interesting reply indeed. The good thing about your system is that it discriminates against freeloaders, so if my computer was part of a network like yours I could have it working up credits while it is idle, and then use them up in a burst when I want to do some processor intensive work. I think you have a very good idea there. Thanks!
I mean, could this be the next stage of the Internet we are seeing? Could the internet end up as one big supercoumputing cluster, and when we use it we timeshare? It does seem to be the ultimate long term direction that the Web is heading in, doesn't it?
The thing that scares me is the possibility of said cluster being abused, and hackers using it for ill purpose. Also, what are the implications for privacy? Look at.Net and the like, this is the nest step, and all my private files will be spread all over the Web! Ultimately, the superdupercluster could become conscious and ruin us all!;-) I would like to see these technologies more strictly controlled. Sharing of data is one thing, but sharing of processing power seems a bit on the dangerous side, don't you agree?
Hi. I don't believe in big wasteful government, certainly not! However government funded projects are good when the project is over the commercial horizon, and isn't going to be exploited by private industry. Things like the space program spring (or rocket, hehe) to my mind.
And I did say that they should be handing more of these redundant sites and technologies over to science and our society, didn't I? That is clearly against big government!
I wouldn't say that all government funded projects are a waste of time, because then we couldn't have a government at all. It is a very complicated area, I think.
I suppose this is a good example of how the security services aren't all bad;) It is really surprising how big government projects help science and the common weal now, isn't it?
It almost makes me wish that the government spent more money on big publically funded projects like this, because in the end it benefits everyone.
I wonder how many more government sites are lying around that are completely redundant? Probably loads and loads. Somebody should try and convince them to give back to science and society!;)
Surely the strength of OSS software lies in its variety? I wouldn't want to see everyone straightjacketed into just one license - freedom of choice is what OSS software is all about!;)
Linux mutates to your needs, and its licenses should too, I think.
Thanks very much. I have wanted to read the Cryptonomicon for some time now. I have read some of his essays, but never any of his books. Its just one of these things I have been meaning to get around to.
It is funny how in the computer industry things age so much quicker than in any other field of Human endeavour. Computers that are 5 years old are regarded as antique, so I don't know how this is termed;)
One thing I have always wondered about historical computing is the "what if" question. In this case, what if Babbage had got commercial success with his difference engine? I have wondered just how advanced a purely mechanical computer could be. What if the Victorians had thrown boundless cash at mechanical computers. Just how advanced could we reasonably hope these computers to be? I am most interested;)
Hi. Isn't this a bit elitist? Just because someone doesn't have a good knowledge of computers is no reason to sneer at them at all! People who know nothing about computers use them every day, and that means that we need to make sure that these tricks just do not exist at all.
That *would* be really good! I have, personally, been interested in the stars for ages and the big problem with that would be navigating in some parts of the world (the cloudy parts;). They would also need an accurate measure of the time to navigate by the stars, and using a digital watch seems like cheating, so what could they do? I suppose it depends on the level of technology you are talking about - late 18th and 19th centuries would be fine, because you could get fairly accurate clockwork watches then, but what about earlier? It would be most difficult.
I also wonder how they are going to get to the more difficult intersects (Central Siberia, South Polar Seas etc) - I mean that would be difficult eneough with some of todays technologies (not to mention red tape), but with medieval/renaissance technologies? It would be really hard.
Hi. I have a Mac, and the I reckon that the reason people like Macs is because they are Sexy, and easy to use. I would say that the fact that MacOSX awill be based on a Unix like architecture and OS won't make any real difference to the Mac market at all. Most people that use it arent really bothered as much by stability and the benefits that a Unix like OS will bring, and the people who are are much better served by Linux and other *nix'es.
I think that the big seller with Mac OSX is going to be its 'look and feel' and general good looks. Apple have made all their big breakthroughs in the past on a similar basis, and I don't think things are about to change, really.
I know I'll be getting one when MacOSX comes out! I have a Linux box too, but I love to relax sometimes on a Mac (Its like going to eat out at a nice resteraunt - everythings so easy;) and I really like the graphics software on it, too.
See, what everyone forgets when they talk about Linuxs superiorities (SMP, Multi-Tasking blah blah drone;) is that sexiness sells! The fact that Linux and Gnome is appearing in a major Hollywood production should help Linux be a little more sexy, which it isn't at the moment, as far as most people are concerned.
Usually in films it is the big commercial offerings that get this sort of product placement, and the Directors don't mind, because expensive things are sexy status symbols (I fell for my last boyfriend because fo his car, so it is probably a bad mistake to make;).
But for Linux, it is important that it try and be sexy to appeal to the vacant audience that Windows and Macintosh so succesfully manages. When it gets sexy enough, lots more people should start using it. People are stupid that way;)
See, the thing that people forget about patents is that they only last for a finite length of time. It seems perfectly good to me that research in this field be spurred by private companies, and that then the benefits filter down to us in twenty years time for the common good.
I know that people get annoyed that they can patent things that already exist and that we all carry around with us, but I actually think that the pharmaceutical industry is one area where the patent system actually works. We can see this by the phenominal successses that it has seen in the last century, the majority of them on the drugs fron done by private companies. The fact that after a time, the knowledge becomes publically available softens the blow and makes up for the rather strange nature of these patents, at least for me.
Why are you so hostile? I may be from a no-US country, but I live in America and I am trying to take an interest. I really don't care about stupid karma, I didn't even know what the hell its supposed to do until a short while ago.
As for the rest of your comment, it just depends on your point of view. Sometimes it is good for a company to have to pay punitive damages, but you can't expect the damages to be punitive on that scale when you are talking about the welfare of just a few people. If you did, every company in America would be bankrupt before the years end! I agree with your last line, but not with your overly punitive attitude to, on the great scale of things, trivial little incidents. Sorry.
Thank you for your informative response. I didn't realise that that was the case, I thought that they would either win, and get the $5 Billion, or lose. I didn't realise that all is not as it appears, and I should have. Thanks.
I'm just not familiar with the American legal system as much as I should be, I suppose.;)
Slashdot Mirror
The reason it is impossible is due to heating issues, and also that down at 0.01 microns a single bit is represented by only a few hundred electrons. Quantum Mechanics states that the uncertainty od such a conglomeration is about 1 in 200 Billion - ie, the 'bit' is only certain to that degree. Given that a processor at this soeed will precess many times this amount per second, it is impossible for a processor to run at this architectural scale because one in every 250 Billion bits will be corrupted - which is fatal. I have estimated that the top speed we are likely to see is about 3GHz at 0.05 microns. To assert otherwise is hogwash.
The future lies in parallel processing and DNA, mark my words. You can bet AMD and Intel are reseaching it now. The traditional CPU is nearly dead.
What is happening to the net now is similar to what happened in the fertile crescent of the Near East some 7000 years ago, and will have similar beneficial repercusions for us all. The net needs to be civilised, and this is something that should be welcomed by us all.
We should not react as the barbarians did in 5000 BC, or we shall become as redundant and outmoded as they did. We should accept the benefits, and move on.
Yes, the japanese are geekier than their American counterparts. This is writ through their culture. This is why they invented anime!
Is this why geeks like it more than other socio-cultural groups? It is well known that geeks are more scared of reality than other subcultures, and so are more likely to run from it into the comforting womb of fantasy.
Is it healthy that anime be promoted among younger geeks? We should surely be encouraging geeks to confront the world they are so afraid of, indtead of retreating into a symbolic arena. I think we should think very carefully about how anime is promoted - it is clearly further removed from reality than other artforms, and so it is more dangerous.
We should be careful with it, and only take it in small doses, and not give it to our children.
America has the .us domain, and thats the one congress should have influence over, not the international TLD's. This is the sort of thing that gets America accused of cultural Imperialism.
There can be only one. Who will win? Probably the most commercially succesful.
I am willing to take bets that in 5 or 10 years, only 2 distros will exist, and that they will be incompatible - Debian and the commercial one. When there is only one commercial distro, it will be powerful enough to ignore its heritage, and it will be under pressure from the shareholders and market to capitalise on its holdings. This will mean that it will become increasingly dissociated from its heritage and ideals.
The true future of Linux and the Open Source way lies with Debian, IMO. The commercial companies just don't have the commitment, and are under to much marketplace pressure to be expected to confirm to fuzzy-wuzzy 'ideals'.
Also, Linux is hard enough for adults to use (like me), how can it be translated to children? I fear that this is just too premature for children.
I would really like it if there were good childrens programs for linux though. But I'm afraid that Windows will be better in this way for some time to come. Thats just the plain & honest truth!
Well, I'm sure he does. Bill Gates isn't a despot - most of his company is owned by others, he has to listen to them. These are not feudal times.
Larry E is also noted for being a major team player, correct?
Well, the same goes for him, you know? He is under the same constraints.
Why are you so hostile anyway? You would think I had suggested that Linus be shot. He will always have input. The very manner of your reply suggests to me that the title of my original post is quite correct! ;)
Another thing is that if people want to do something different and he stands in the way, then there is more likely to be a split. I mean, I don't see other major commercial projects with one single man at the helm, do you? It should be a committee of interested parties, all the main organisations that use Linux, who decide what happens to it. Big companies like Red Hat and Debian would have a place, along with representatives from the LUGS.
I suppose what I am trying to say, in my stupid way, is that I thought Linux was supposed to be a democracy? These moves would make sense, and I think they are pretty much inevitable. Don't you agree? ;-)
I remember being shocked 6 months ago when I visited my brother, to find that his kids were using their playstation to play "Spyro the Dragon" all the time! I mean, they hardly spent any time at all with their family!
I think that the X-Box will likely be even more addictive, and will offer internet gaming, so I have already cautioned my brother about the 'next generation consoles'. I just think that children should have more of a childhood, and not waste it in the sort of digital oblivion that M$ profit from.
But then, maybe if *I* got addicted I wouldn't be so wary, hehe ;)
Well, thanks for a very interesting reply indeed. The good thing about your system is that it discriminates against freeloaders, so if my computer was part of a network like yours I could have it working up credits while it is idle, and then use them up in a burst when I want to do some processor intensive work. I think you have a very good idea there. Thanks!
The thing that scares me is the possibility of said cluster being abused, and hackers using it for ill purpose. Also, what are the implications for privacy? Look at .Net and the like, this is the nest step, and all my private files will be spread all over the Web! Ultimately, the superdupercluster could become conscious and ruin us all! ;-) I would like to see these technologies more strictly controlled. Sharing of data is one thing, but sharing of processing power seems a bit on the dangerous side, don't you agree?
Thanks for reading.
And I did say that they should be handing more of these redundant sites and technologies over to science and our society, didn't I? That is clearly against big government!
I wouldn't say that all government funded projects are a waste of time, because then we couldn't have a government at all. It is a very complicated area, I think.
Sorry ;)
It almost makes me wish that the government spent more money on big publically funded projects like this, because in the end it benefits everyone.
I wonder how many more government sites are lying around that are completely redundant? Probably loads and loads. Somebody should try and convince them to give back to science and society! ;)
Linux mutates to your needs, and its licenses should too, I think.
Thanks.
Bye :o)
One thing I have always wondered about historical computing is the "what if" question. In this case, what if Babbage had got commercial success with his difference engine? I have wondered just how advanced a purely mechanical computer could be. What if the Victorians had thrown boundless cash at mechanical computers. Just how advanced could we reasonably hope these computers to be? I am most interested ;)
It seems only fair to me ;)
I also wonder how they are going to get to the more difficult intersects (Central Siberia, South Polar Seas etc) - I mean that would be difficult eneough with some of todays technologies (not to mention red tape), but with medieval/renaissance technologies? It would be really hard.
I think that the big seller with Mac OSX is going to be its 'look and feel' and general good looks. Apple have made all their big breakthroughs in the past on a similar basis, and I don't think things are about to change, really.
I know I'll be getting one when MacOSX comes out! I have a Linux box too, but I love to relax sometimes on a Mac (Its like going to eat out at a nice resteraunt - everythings so easy;) and I really like the graphics software on it, too.
Usually in films it is the big commercial offerings that get this sort of product placement, and the Directors don't mind, because expensive things are sexy status symbols (I fell for my last boyfriend because fo his car, so it is probably a bad mistake to make ;).
But for Linux, it is important that it try and be sexy to appeal to the vacant audience that Windows and Macintosh so succesfully manages. When it gets sexy enough, lots more people should start using it. People are stupid that way ;)
We have to make very painful decisions!
I know that people get annoyed that they can patent things that already exist and that we all carry around with us, but I actually think that the pharmaceutical industry is one area where the patent system actually works. We can see this by the phenominal successses that it has seen in the last century, the majority of them on the drugs fron done by private companies. The fact that after a time, the knowledge becomes publically available softens the blow and makes up for the rather strange nature of these patents, at least for me.
Thanks for reading!
As for the rest of your comment, it just depends on your point of view. Sometimes it is good for a company to have to pay punitive damages, but you can't expect the damages to be punitive on that scale when you are talking about the welfare of just a few people. If you did, every company in America would be bankrupt before the years end! I agree with your last line, but not with your overly punitive attitude to, on the great scale of things, trivial little incidents. Sorry.
I'm just not familiar with the American legal system as much as I should be, I suppose. ;)