I, for one, and sick and tired of the idea of Intel using slots to thwart AMD. Does everyone want the real story? Well here it is: they did it to keep computing affordable.
You see, the P-Pro had a wonderful closely coupled cache right on the processor package, but there was a small problem with that. They had to attach the cache before they could test the core, so if the core failed, the whole thing had to be chucked, and it was EXPENSIVE.
Enter slots. By design, the CPU core could be tested cacheless, and then the cache could be attached, resulting in much lower costs for Intel. They did not have the tech to do on-die cache at the time, so slots it was. (AMD had the same problem with Athlons, hence Slot A was born.)
Bottom line: No more "evil Intel slot" stories, capice?
Oh, and as for AGP... I prefer to call it "MMX II".
It doesn't really matter. Microsoft makes more money from sales of Office than it does selling copies of Windows. Opening the source code would only strengthen their position, since their OS would become more stable and powerful from volunteer work.
I think you brought up some of the best concerns about this project. I can understand how there are plenty of loners out there that are fine without human contact, but your average Joe would suffer some serious psychological effects from not leaving the house for a year. It would be the equivalent of sending a domesticated animal into the wild, and then trying to take it back into domestication after a year. It's not going to know how to interact at all.
More importantly, why is it that the sponsors feel they need to do this to prove the reliability of e-commerce? Those of us in the know have been using it for years, and know it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. If these big corporations are so gung-ho about proving the reliability, why don't they offer a program for their employees (or, God forbid, their executives) to give this a shot? All this project amounts to is a large publicity stunt that only sets them back $100K, but reaches millions effectively.
I hate to burst your bubble, but Linux will NOT be replacing Microsoft on the desktop for several years because of the way it was designed. Do you know why games are designed for Windows (other than the dominance factor)? It allows direct access to hardware. Linux was designed from the ground up as multi-user, so direct access to hardware wasn't even considered (for good design reasons). If Linux is going to take over the desktop, it needs to do a Microsoft-style OS split (a la 9x/NT) and make one version for servers, and another for the desktop.
There would be severe consequences from trying to add direct hardware access to the current Linux kernel. The biggest is security; how can you easily regulate a multi-user OS like that to not let the wrong person directly access hardware? It'd be a nightmare to implement. But without direct hardware access, you are going to gain 0 game developers, and therefore gain 0 home users. I will have a Windows partition on my system until I can run all my games elsewhere, and so will thousands of other users.
Intel needs to sweat over the server markets. Tyan releases their dual-Athlon board next month, and don't forget about that 8-way chipset under developement. If AMD plays their cards right (and gives us the beefy 8MB L2 sizes), Intel will have to cut it's prices on it's top of the line Xeons for the first time since their introduction. (I have yet to see a top of the line Xeon go below $3400.)
As I see it, Athlon will have some big advantages in large SMP systems because of the faster bus, the EV-6 design, and the gobs of L2. I'll be more than happy to see what happens when Athlons go head-to-head with Xeons.
I use the Xing encoder for MP3, and it is the fastest mofo I've ever used. (Think 24 seconds to encode a 3-1/2min 128Kbit CD-quality WAV file.)The files are high quality too. Real appearantly did a little research before buying them out. I just hope this means I can still get updates. That's the only thing that worries me with acquisitions.
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I, for one, and sick and tired of the idea of Intel using slots to thwart AMD. Does everyone want the real story? Well here it is: they did it to keep computing affordable.
You see, the P-Pro had a wonderful closely coupled cache right on the processor package, but there was a small problem with that. They had to attach the cache before they could test the core, so if the core failed, the whole thing had to be chucked, and it was EXPENSIVE.
Enter slots. By design, the CPU core could be tested cacheless, and then the cache could be attached, resulting in much lower costs for Intel. They did not have the tech to do on-die cache at the time, so slots it was. (AMD had the same problem with Athlons, hence Slot A was born.)
Bottom line: No more "evil Intel slot" stories, capice?
Oh, and as for AGP... I prefer to call it "MMX II".
It doesn't really matter. Microsoft makes more money from sales of Office than it does selling copies of Windows. Opening the source code would only strengthen their position, since their OS would become more stable and powerful from volunteer work.
I think you brought up some of the best concerns about this project. I can understand how there are plenty of loners out there that are fine without human contact, but your average Joe would suffer some serious psychological effects from not leaving the house for a year. It would be the equivalent of sending a domesticated animal into the wild, and then trying to take it back into domestication after a year. It's not going to know how to interact at all.
More importantly, why is it that the sponsors feel they need to do this to prove the reliability of e-commerce? Those of us in the know have been using it for years, and know it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. If these big corporations are so gung-ho about proving the reliability, why don't they offer a program for their employees (or, God forbid, their executives) to give this a shot? All this project amounts to is a large publicity stunt that only sets them back $100K, but reaches millions effectively.
I hate to burst your bubble, but Linux will NOT be replacing Microsoft on the desktop for several years because of the way it was designed. Do you know why games are designed for Windows (other than the dominance factor)? It allows direct access to hardware. Linux was designed from the ground up as multi-user, so direct access to hardware wasn't even considered (for good design reasons). If Linux is going to take over the desktop, it needs to do a Microsoft-style OS split (a la 9x/NT) and make one version for servers, and another for the desktop.
There would be severe consequences from trying to add direct hardware access to the current Linux kernel. The biggest is security; how can you easily regulate a multi-user OS like that to not let the wrong person directly access hardware? It'd be a nightmare to implement. But without direct hardware access, you are going to gain 0 game developers, and therefore gain 0 home users. I will have a Windows partition on my system until I can run all my games elsewhere, and so will thousands of other users.
Intel needs to sweat over the server markets. Tyan releases their dual-Athlon board next month, and don't forget about that 8-way chipset under developement. If AMD plays their cards right (and gives us the beefy 8MB L2 sizes), Intel will have to cut it's prices on it's top of the line Xeons for the first time since their introduction. (I have yet to see a top of the line Xeon go below $3400.)
As I see it, Athlon will have some big advantages in large SMP systems because of the faster bus, the EV-6 design, and the gobs of L2. I'll be more than happy to see what happens when Athlons go head-to-head with Xeons.
I use the Xing encoder for MP3, and it is the fastest mofo I've ever used. (Think 24 seconds to encode a 3-1/2min 128Kbit CD-quality WAV file.)The files are high quality too. Real appearantly did a little research before buying them out. I just hope this means I can still get updates. That's the only thing that worries me with acquisitions.