I'm not able to find Dr. Palem's original paper from the "computer science meeting in San Francisco," but if, as I surmise, he's advocating a new probabilistically-based microprocessor, the question needs to be asked: If we're willing to consider new architectures (and new ways to program them), is a probabilistic one the best solution to the power consumption and performance problems?
One alternative that should be compared to Palem's would be to do the same thing he's advocating -- reduce the precision -- in a more traditional way: explicity reduce the size of the data path. Quite a few applications could get by with shorter-than-32-bit integers. If not 16, maybe 24? For floating point calculations, many GPUs already support a 16-bit "half" or "s10e5" format (IEEE 754 2008) that's just fine for multimedia. There's also a 24-bit format.
I have my doubts about this. It certainly didn't help the truly demented emcee (Joel Grey) in Cabaret. On the other hand, that was a case of trilingualism.
So what does this mean for coins that have been stamped at those "souvenir coin" machines you see at popular tourist spots? Are you or are you not allowed to melt or export them? Stamping is not melting. Could a coin smelter/smuggler buy such a machine and run the coins through it first to avoid arrest? Or are souvenir coins now under legal protection?
For being a truly stand-up kinda guy, I am all the more pleased to have chosen Tanenbaum's "Modern Operating Systems" (2nd. ed., Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0130313580) as the text for my upper division OS class this Fall. (Aside from that, it's a great book anyway.)
Which reminds me of the funniest line never used in Battlestar Galaxative (of which I must have seen at least two episodes):
The lead scientist has taken valuable time away from such unimportant duties as working on defenses against the Cylons to build a "dagit" for a kid who lost his puppy. He introduces it and...
Either in "The Making of 2001" (author unknown) or Arthur C. Clarke's "The Lost Worlds of 2001", it was mentioned that the (appropriately named) shuttle "Orion" that Heywood Floyd rode from the Space Station to the Moon was originally planned to be nuclear-powered.
In the final script, Kubrick and Clarke dropped the idea, perhaps for the same reason they toned down other nuke references: too reminiscent of "Dr. Strangelove".
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If history is any guide, the next move will be for Microsoft to offer an attractive discount.
Yup.
I'm not able to find Dr. Palem's original paper from the "computer science meeting in San Francisco," but if, as I surmise, he's advocating a new probabilistically-based microprocessor, the question needs to be asked: If we're willing to consider new architectures (and new ways to program them), is a probabilistic one the best solution to the power consumption and performance problems?
One alternative that should be compared to Palem's would be to do the same thing he's advocating -- reduce the precision -- in a more traditional way: explicity reduce the size of the data path. Quite a few applications could get by with shorter-than-32-bit integers. If not 16, maybe 24? For floating point calculations, many GPUs already support a 16-bit "half" or "s10e5" format (IEEE 754 2008) that's just fine for multimedia. There's also a 24-bit format.
Too bad lasers don't come in pink.
Dot vould be megabits-per-zecond, don't you know?
- L. von Drake
I have my doubts about this. It certainly didn't help the truly demented emcee (Joel Grey) in Cabaret. On the other hand, that was a case of trilingualism.
So what does this mean for coins that have been stamped at those "souvenir coin" machines you see at popular tourist spots? Are you or are you not allowed to melt or export them? Stamping is not melting. Could a coin smelter/smuggler buy such a machine and run the coins through it first to avoid arrest? Or are souvenir coins now under legal protection?
Here is an alternative explanation of the connection between extraterrestrial life and ammonia.
For being a truly stand-up kinda guy, I am all the more pleased to have chosen Tanenbaum's "Modern Operating Systems" (2nd. ed., Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0130313580) as the text for my upper division OS class this Fall. (Aside from that, it's a great book anyway.)
Which reminds me of the funniest line never used in Battlestar Galaxative (of which I must have seen at least two episodes):
The lead scientist has taken valuable time away from such unimportant duties as working on defenses against the Cylons to build a "dagit" for a kid who lost his puppy. He introduces it and...
KID: Is this a dagit I see before me?
Either in "The Making of 2001" (author unknown) or Arthur C. Clarke's "The Lost Worlds of 2001", it was mentioned that the (appropriately named) shuttle "Orion" that Heywood Floyd rode from the Space Station to the Moon was originally planned to be nuclear-powered.
In the final script, Kubrick and Clarke dropped the idea, perhaps for the same reason they toned down other nuke references: too reminiscent of "Dr. Strangelove".