Wrong. AMD has a thermal diode, which TELLS the motherboard that the chip is overheating. If the motherboard doesn't respond in time, TOO BAD. Intel's P4 has a thermal throttle that automatically slows down the chip during high temp conditions; doesn't depend on the motherboard.
Simple answer: Hardware is NOT free to compile and test as software is. With the Linux kernel, I can make mods, and recompile it quite easily to see if it's good. With hardware, it COSTS MONEY to make a mask and fab a prototype of my design. Sure, there are simulators, but they're not nearly good enough. The main thrust of open source software is that you can easily edit, distribute and test the "product". With hardware, it's not half as easy. There aren't even any real silicon design tools yet (gEDA lags very very much behind industrial EDA tools).
True, but not THAT many people use made in software nowadays. The VAST majority use Microsoft, Oracle, etc.
Non widely used software is much more likely to be developed by Malaysian programmers (ie. say, a palm pilot program, etc.) and is MUCH harder to find pirated (because demand is much lower).
So, I would say that piracy doesn't affect the local industry too much, because they couldn't compete with Microsoft and Adobe anyways. Heck, even the US IT industry can't come up with a company that can compete with Microsoft!!
WTF are you talking about? CMOS is used by everyone to make chips. It's a circuit technology, not a material. Silicon is a material, CMOS is the way you put 2 complementary transistors MADE OUT OF SILICON (and other stuff) together to create an inverter (or whatever other logic you want).
uhhh... copper and al are soft metals. they wouldn't stand the pounding it takes to push the humungous amount of pins into a pressure-connect socket that manufacturers use to test the chip.
Ummm... unfortunately the # defects go up exponentially with the increase in die size. Most chip companies are VERY VERY VERY careful with die size, since a larger die size may present a huge cut in yield and therefore, profits.
Uhhh... if you're driving like you do in a NASCAR sim, then tell me which city you're in. I'll make sure to AVOID that like a cow in lingerie.
Seriously, how is having a conversation on a phone different from having one with the passenger beside you? Once you have hands-free handsets, you should be able to use the phone. I do it all the time.
That's not true. If you can make a chip for cheaper (ie. higher yields), you automatically can sell it for cheaper. It's simple math, really. Intel recently moved to 300mm wafers, giving it higher yields per wafer, causing each P4 die to be cheaper.
All the/. posts so far seem to be of the order "Gee whiz, my uber typing skilz are so much better than my writing." For raw data entry, obviously, the keyboard is king. But I can think of at least a bunch of situations where a wireless light pen that works on any surface would be useful.
1. Scribbling notes during meetings. 2. Automagically inputting all the whiteboard discussions with colleagues into your PC. 3. Data input for PDA / phone devices 4. Drawing flowcharts, graphs, chinese characters, math equations, ANYTHING that isn't ASCII text.
There is a HUGE market for these devices, since the entire world doesn't consist of programmers who type code all day.
I don't think it's ironic at all. As someone who has lived in the US for 6 years, but is a Malaysian citizen, it's painfully obvious to most people that Americans are isolated and ignorant of the rest of the world while their government's foreign policy is too intrusive onto other nations. And I'm pretty sure that most of the time, American citizens have no clue what their government is doing in other countries. (Aside from watching CNN "news" reports)
I can't believe this conversation is so US centric... DVDs are ONLY cheap in US or UK. They cost over 100 bucks in malaysia and only the wealthy get them. The thing about the music and movie and software industry is they consistently refuse to come up with "Asian editions" like they do with books. Because of this, Win95 costs about 500 bucks, so does Office, etc. That's why piracy is so rampant in Asia. Fortunately, I use Linux:)
Uhh... you ever worked at Intel? I work about 10-12 hours daily, and other engineers do that too. I'm sure AMD engineers do likewise in this crazy industry. Designing and getting a processor to work, AND making it manufacturable in high volumes is an incredibly difficult job, and I'm constantly amazed that these things actually work:)
Andrew
p/s: This is just my opinion, and obviously does not reflect my employer's views on things.
The processors are backward compatible, not because of the OS, but because of APPLICATIONS. Your applications are all architecture specific, and you will never get millions of users to chuck their apps just to try your funky new microprocessor. Also, the Pentium II (or K6-2) is not a simple and faster x86 with MMX "slapped" on it. I work in Intel (though this post is my opinion, not theirs) and I am awed at the pace that we've made progress through just these few years. Despite many problems, the many, many engineers and scientists in academia and industry have managed to keep semiconductor technology following Moore's law, which is no easy feat.
Now, on to your comment on why people still use Windows instead of Linux. It may be because of the GUI or Hardware support like you mentioned, or lack of ease of use, but I think that the main reason is market inertia. Frankly, windows and unix are both difficult to use, in their own way. Both windows and linux can be difficult to install when your system has unsupported hardware. THE DIFFERENCE IS PEOPLE ARE MORE USED TO WINDOWS, and don't want to RELEARN a new OS. Linux is gaining popularity at an unbelievable rate, and I, as a Linux user and not a developer, am grateful that development is moving so quickly.
Lastly, a word about ranting. While it is generally acceptable to rant (and I do it in my spare time as well), you generally do not post rantings to forums, since this increases the signal-to-noise ratio. Posts to./ should be treated somewhat like a term paper (which you are graded for). This will help you get better and clear comments (instead of flames) and will help./ readership in general.
Slashdot Mirror
Wrong. AMD has a thermal diode, which TELLS the motherboard that the chip is overheating. If the motherboard doesn't respond in time, TOO BAD. Intel's P4 has a thermal throttle that automatically slows down the chip during high temp conditions; doesn't depend on the motherboard.
/. amazes me.
Sometimes, the lack of facts on
Simple answer: Hardware is NOT free to compile and test as software is. With the Linux kernel, I can make mods, and recompile it quite easily to see if it's good. With hardware, it COSTS MONEY to make a mask and fab a prototype of my design. Sure, there are simulators, but they're not nearly good enough. The main thrust of open source software is that you can easily edit, distribute and test the "product". With hardware, it's not half as easy. There aren't even any real silicon design tools yet (gEDA lags very very much behind industrial EDA tools).
True, but not THAT many people use made in software nowadays. The VAST majority use Microsoft, Oracle, etc.
Non widely used software is much more likely to be developed by Malaysian programmers (ie. say, a palm pilot program, etc.) and is MUCH harder to find pirated (because demand is much lower).
So, I would say that piracy doesn't affect the local industry too much, because they couldn't compete with Microsoft and Adobe anyways. Heck, even the US IT industry can't come up with a company that can compete with Microsoft!!
WTF are you talking about? CMOS is used by everyone to make chips. It's a circuit technology, not a material. Silicon is a material, CMOS is the way you put 2 complementary transistors MADE OUT OF SILICON (and other stuff) together to create an inverter (or whatever other logic you want).
uhhh... copper and al are soft metals. they wouldn't stand the pounding it takes to push the humungous amount of pins into a pressure-connect socket that manufacturers use to test the chip.
Ummm... unfortunately the # defects go up exponentially with the increase in die size. Most chip companies are VERY VERY VERY careful with die size, since a larger die size may present a huge cut in yield and therefore, profits.
Uhhh... if you're driving like you do in a NASCAR sim, then tell me which city you're in. I'll make sure to AVOID that like a cow in lingerie.
Seriously, how is having a conversation on a phone different from having one with the passenger beside you? Once you have hands-free handsets, you should be able to use the phone. I do it all the time.
That's not true. If you can make a chip for cheaper (ie. higher yields), you automatically can sell it for cheaper. It's simple math, really. Intel recently moved to 300mm wafers, giving it higher yields per wafer, causing each P4 die to be cheaper.
All the /. posts so far seem to be of the order "Gee whiz, my uber typing skilz are so much better than my writing." For raw data entry, obviously, the keyboard is king. But I can think of at least a bunch of situations where a wireless light pen that works on any surface would be useful.
1. Scribbling notes during meetings.
2. Automagically inputting all the whiteboard discussions with colleagues into your PC.
3. Data input for PDA / phone devices
4. Drawing flowcharts, graphs, chinese characters, math equations, ANYTHING that isn't ASCII text.
There is a HUGE market for these devices, since the entire world doesn't consist of programmers who type code all day.
I don't think it's ironic at all. As someone who has lived in the US for 6 years, but is a Malaysian citizen, it's painfully obvious to most people that Americans are isolated and ignorant of the rest of the world while their government's foreign policy is too intrusive onto other nations. And I'm pretty sure that most of the time, American citizens have no clue what their government is doing in other countries. (Aside from watching CNN "news" reports)
I can't believe this conversation is so US centric... DVDs are ONLY cheap in US or UK. They cost over 100 bucks in malaysia and only the wealthy get them. The thing about the music and movie and software industry is they consistently refuse to come up with "Asian editions" like they do with books. Because of this, Win95 costs about 500 bucks, so does Office, etc. That's why piracy is so rampant in Asia. Fortunately, I use Linux :)
andrew
Uhh... you ever worked at Intel? I work about 10-12 hours daily, and other engineers do that too. I'm sure AMD engineers do likewise in this crazy industry. Designing and getting a processor to work, AND making it manufacturable in high volumes is an incredibly difficult job, and I'm constantly amazed that these things actually work :)
Andrew
p/s: This is just my opinion, and obviously does not reflect my employer's views on things.
Hi Rowan,
./ should be treated somewhat like a term paper (which you are graded for). This will help you get better and clear comments (instead of flames) and will help ./ readership in general.
Some comments to your rant:
The processors are backward compatible, not because of the OS, but because of APPLICATIONS. Your applications are all architecture specific, and you will never get millions of users to chuck their apps just to try your funky new microprocessor. Also, the Pentium II (or K6-2) is not a simple and faster x86 with MMX "slapped" on it. I work in Intel (though this post is my opinion, not theirs) and I am awed at the pace that we've made progress through just these few years. Despite many problems, the many, many engineers and scientists in academia and industry have managed to keep semiconductor technology following Moore's law, which is no easy feat.
Now, on to your comment on why people still use Windows instead of Linux. It may be because of the GUI or Hardware support like you mentioned, or lack of ease of use, but I think that the main reason is market inertia. Frankly, windows and unix are both difficult to use, in their own way. Both windows and linux can be difficult to install when your system has unsupported hardware. THE DIFFERENCE IS PEOPLE ARE MORE USED TO WINDOWS, and don't want to RELEARN a new OS. Linux is gaining popularity at an unbelievable rate, and I, as a Linux user and not a developer, am grateful that development is moving so quickly.
Lastly, a word about ranting. While it is generally acceptable to rant (and I do it in my spare time as well), you generally do not post rantings to forums, since this increases the signal-to-noise ratio. Posts to
Thanks,
Andrew