The basic definition of a supercomputer is a system which has top performance compared to other computer systems (within the top 500 or 100).
In the past, this could only be achieved by having custom CPU's to perform pipelining or parallel processing. Processors in the Cray supercomputers had extremely deep vector pipelines, which was good for three-dimensional simulations like CFD or computer animation. But other systems followed the parallel processing method. The Connection machine had 2^16 one bit processors which was good for encryption/decryption. Other systems used standard CPU's (Intel 80x86's, DEC Alpha's and M680x0's) connected together through a high-speed bus network.
The different types of systems could be defined according to how these processed instructions/data.
SISD - Single Instruction, Single Data - Early home computer SIMD - Single Instruction, Multiple Data - Vector processors MISD - Multiple Instruction, Single Data - Fault tolerant systems MIMD - Multiple Instruction, Multiple Data - Parallel processing CPU's
Some systems had hardwared interconnect configurations - either a 2D square grid, a 3D square grid or torus network, or even star networks, while others had dynamic routing capability. Transputers only knew about the adjacent processors in the four compass directions (NESW).
But all of these techniques have been incorporated into mainstream CPU's now - you now have dual-core and quad-core CPU's that can be used by laptops.
Modern day methods are to make the systems super-scalar. Multi-core CPU's can be arranged side by side onto multi-CPU boards which in turn can be rack mounted into chassis which communicate through high-speed interconnect systems. There is no limit on the number of racks that can be used except space and money.
That's probably what would happen if a dozen of these systems were made. Instead of a system in each office, they would probably be placed in a lab, if not in a server room somewhere with remote access through a thin client.
I know how that kind of manager thinks - they won't let you use some basic skill that you have or some basic piece of office equipment until they feel you have earned that priveledge. Even though you had been using it for three years at university and in your last job. In this case, she won't let you use that cupboard because you haven't earned that priveledge.
Just like the Brittas Empire or The Office:
"I'm sorry but you can't use that kettle - that's the executive kettle. Use the staff one in the janitors office in the basement".
One should wonder if people will demand longer careers (past their 70s) to pay for this extension of life too.
Well, here in the UK, the government has decided that anyone working in the private sector will have to work until they drop by abolishing the retirement age.
Meanwhile, MP's and state workers still get their superannuated pension schemes and early retirement.
Same things are happening in Scotland as England. My aunt is a primary school teacher, and she now has sixteen students out of a class of 30 who don't speak English as a first language (Polish, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Japanese).
Our secondary schools also went for the multi-tiered level of basichigh school qualifications. Instead of just one exam (as in 'O' Grades) there is now Foundation, General and Credit levels. Also, marks are awarded through coursework and not just exams.
I would guess that taken to its natural conclusion, England would end up being two countries - The Union of Rural England and the Home Counties vs. the Metropolitan Caliphate of Londonistan.
Your employers may just be interested in getting you to train up your replacements. Now would seem to be the time to set up your own company and become a consultant/contractor. In this situation I'd be wanting to write a book to raise my profile.
Sad but true - people will pay more to be entertained than to be educated... you can get footballers or singers earning a salary of millions per year, but try finding a professor who can do the same.
They are desert regions - presumably they will have lots of boulders, stones and pebbles, so depending upon the position of the sun during the day, at least half the surface area will be in the shade at any time. Having an array of solar panels shouldn't make that much difference.
Desert areas tend to cool down rapidly at night as well, due to the lack of humidity, cloud cover and foliage.
For a desert area to turn green, it would also need a steady supply of water and minerals.
Network packets on a cable TV network are encrypted between the gateway (the head end) and each individual networked device. Otherwise it would be far too easy for people to intercept each others data traffic. Normally addresses are assigned using DHCP, with each system being given a "lease" on a particular IP address which lasts between a week and several months. You can look up the Webstar/Scientific Atlanta/DOCSIS manuals to see how this works.
Another possible explanation is that someone has spoofed his IP address. It's not too difficult to change the IP address under any OS. If Comcast's accounting system is based on the amount of traffic received or sent to this address from their end, this could be what is happening.
A simple test would be to note the assigned IP address of the computer in question, disconnect it from the network and then attempt to 'ping' the same address from another system.
Normally they switch off the entertainment system before landing and switch it on after take-off. During these times, they play the "look for your nearest emergency exit, and figure out a way of getting past the big guy who is taking up two seats directly in front of you in the event we have to make an emergency landing in Lake Ontario message".
'struct passwd * getpwuid(uid_t uid )' and 'struct passwd *getpwnam(const char *pname)' are the standard function calls for retrieving a users password details, default shell, home directory etc...
They work by reading the password file sequentially and then returning the corresponding data structure.
You could try obscufating this information under some kernel or system method (eg. windows registry) but that would just make it easier for someone to hide a root kit.
If the police did that on our campus block, our students would be transporting the beer cans from one dorm to another by string from one window to another - or otherwise digging an underground tunnel between the blocks.
On our campus, administration tried banning multiplayer games from being played on the university network - so the students set up their own wireless network using a proxy router and network cables strung from window to window.
And what's to stop someone with a GPS receiver/logger from booking a journey and checking the route made themselves? Consumer groups and undercover journalists have done that before.
I think much of the bloat in Office is because it's faster for the Office developers to re-invent the wheel than to search the Windows API's for things to reuse.
Or maybe the standard API functions don't provide feedback on progress made. Suppose you want to implement a particular operation such as downloading a file using http. The standard API function call may just do the task and return, or timeout with an error. For a quality user interface you want a progress bar to indicate how far into the download the file has taken.
Shorter wavelengths of a photon (ultra-violet, X-rays, Gamma rays) have more energy than longer wavelengths (visible light, infra-red).
Photons that we see from distant parts of the universe become affected by red-shift - anything moving away from us ends up with a longer wavelength that we would have seen if it were stationary. But this can also be caused by gravititional effects (time dialation causes by massive objects).
If the object is moving towards us, then the photos become affects by blue shift.
When a spiral galaxy is observed, the side moving towards the observer will have a slight blue shift, because the photon wavelength has been decreased.
The photons in the void must be getting a longer wavelength somehow - perhaps the spacetime continuum is expanding more there than it is where there is ordinary matter.
It's a Beowolf cluster of NVidia Quadro Fx5600 graphics cards. There are 55 XPS monitors driven by 18 Dell XPS systems combined with grid computing middleware (ROCKS), and graphics API (Cluster GL/CGLX).
Slashdot Mirror
The basic definition of a supercomputer is a system which has top performance compared to other computer systems (within the top 500 or 100).
In the past, this could only be achieved by having custom CPU's to perform pipelining or parallel processing. Processors in the Cray supercomputers had extremely deep vector pipelines, which was good for three-dimensional simulations like CFD or computer animation. But other systems followed the parallel processing method. The Connection machine had 2^16 one bit processors which was good for encryption/decryption. Other systems used standard CPU's (Intel 80x86's, DEC Alpha's and M680x0's) connected together through a high-speed bus network.
The different types of systems could be defined according to how these processed instructions/data.
SISD - Single Instruction, Single Data - Early home computer
SIMD - Single Instruction, Multiple Data - Vector processors
MISD - Multiple Instruction, Single Data - Fault tolerant systems
MIMD - Multiple Instruction, Multiple Data - Parallel processing CPU's
Some systems had hardwared interconnect configurations - either a 2D square grid, a 3D square grid or torus network, or even star networks, while others had dynamic routing capability. Transputers only knew about the adjacent processors in the four compass directions (NESW).
But all of these techniques have been incorporated into mainstream CPU's now - you now have dual-core and quad-core CPU's that can be used by laptops.
Modern day methods are to make the systems super-scalar. Multi-core CPU's can be arranged side by side onto multi-CPU boards which in turn can be rack mounted into chassis which communicate through high-speed interconnect systems. There is no limit on the number of racks that can be used except space and money.
That's probably what would happen if a dozen of these systems were made. Instead of a system in each office, they would probably be placed in a lab, if not in a server room somewhere with remote access through a thin client.
I know how that kind of manager thinks - they won't let you use some basic skill that you have or some basic piece of office equipment until they feel you have earned that priveledge. Even though you had been using it for three years at university and in your last job. In this case, she won't let you use that cupboard because you haven't earned that priveledge.
Just like the Brittas Empire or The Office:
"I'm sorry but you can't use that kettle - that's the executive kettle. Use the staff one in the janitors office in the basement".
One should wonder if people will demand longer careers (past their 70s) to pay for this extension of life too.
Well, here in the UK, the government has decided that anyone working in the private sector will have to work until they drop by abolishing the retirement age.
Meanwhile, MP's and state workers still get their superannuated pension schemes and early retirement.
Same things are happening in Scotland as England. My aunt is a primary school teacher, and she now has sixteen students out of a class of 30 who don't speak English as a first language (Polish, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Japanese).
Our secondary schools also went for the multi-tiered level of basichigh school qualifications. Instead of just one exam (as in 'O' Grades) there is now Foundation, General and Credit levels. Also, marks are awarded through coursework and not just exams.
There is also a policy of closing down primary and secondary schools which have small class rolls, so that the stone buildings can be converted into luxury apartments.
You can also try the BBC's GCSE Science multiple choice video quiz:
a mes/rurevising/videomain.swf
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/g
I would guess that taken to its natural conclusion, England would end up being two countries - The Union of Rural England and the Home Counties vs. the Metropolitan Caliphate of Londonistan.
Your employers may just be interested in getting you to train up your replacements. Now would seem to be the time to set up your own company and become a consultant/contractor. In this situation I'd be wanting to write a book to raise my profile.
Sad but true - people will pay more to be entertained than to be educated... you can get footballers or singers earning a salary of millions per year, but try finding a professor who can do the same.
They are desert regions - presumably they will have lots of boulders, stones and pebbles, so depending upon the position of the sun during the day, at least half the surface area will be in the shade at any time. Having an array of solar panels shouldn't make that much difference.
Desert areas tend to cool down rapidly at night as well, due to the lack of humidity, cloud cover and foliage.
For a desert area to turn green, it would also need a steady supply of water and minerals.
Network packets on a cable TV network are encrypted between the gateway (the head end) and each individual networked device. Otherwise it would be far too easy for people to intercept each others data traffic. Normally addresses are assigned using DHCP, with each system being given a "lease" on a particular IP address which lasts between a week and several months. You can look up the Webstar/Scientific Atlanta/DOCSIS manuals to see how this works.
Another possible explanation is that someone has spoofed his IP address. It's not too difficult to change the IP address under any OS. If Comcast's accounting system is based on the amount of traffic received or sent to this address from their end, this could be what is happening.
A simple test would be to note the assigned IP address of the computer in question, disconnect it from the network and then attempt to 'ping' the same address from another system.
I guess that explains why my light bulbs keep popping and the batteries in my remote controls keep going flat whenever there's stormy weather.
scintillation crystals
Apparently the border guards are having problems telling the difference between kitty litter and enrich uranium
Normally they switch off the entertainment system before landing and switch it on after take-off. During these times, they play the "look for your nearest emergency exit, and figure out a way of getting past the big guy who is taking up two seats directly in front of you in the event we have to make an emergency landing in Lake Ontario message".
'struct passwd * getpwuid(uid_t uid )' and 'struct passwd *getpwnam(const char *pname)' are the standard function calls for retrieving a users password details, default shell, home directory etc...
They work by reading the password file sequentially and then returning the corresponding data structure.
You could try obscufating this information under some kernel or system method (eg. windows registry) but that would just make it easier for someone to hide a root kit.
If the police did that on our campus block, our students would be transporting the beer cans from one dorm to another by string from one window to another - or otherwise digging an underground tunnel between the blocks.
On our campus, administration tried banning multiplayer games from being played on the university network - so the students set up their own wireless network using a proxy router and network cables strung from window to window.
And what's to stop someone with a GPS receiver/logger from booking a journey and checking the route made themselves? Consumer groups and undercover journalists have done that before.
Somebody send those villagers a punt gun:
160 clay pigeons in a single shot
I use a jive filter for reading slashdot - it helps liven up those technically complex stories:
Slashdot in Jive
I think much of the bloat in Office is because it's faster for the Office developers to re-invent the wheel than to search the Windows API's for things to reuse.
Or maybe the standard API functions don't provide feedback on progress made. Suppose you want to implement a particular operation such as downloading a file using http. The standard API function call may just do the task and return, or timeout with an error. For a quality user interface you want a progress bar to indicate how far into the download the file has taken.
I'm confused on one point. (This is not a flame). Why would photons going through a void lose energy?
The energy of a photon is directly proportional to the frequency and inversely proportional to the wavelength.
Photoelectric effect
Shorter wavelengths of a photon (ultra-violet, X-rays, Gamma rays) have more energy than longer wavelengths (visible light, infra-red).
Photons that we see from distant parts of the universe become affected by red-shift - anything moving away from us ends up with a longer wavelength that we would have seen if it were stationary. But this can also be caused by gravititional effects (time dialation causes by massive objects).
If the object is moving towards us, then the photos become affects by blue shift.
When a spiral galaxy is observed, the side moving towards the observer will have a slight blue shift, because the photon wavelength has been decreased.
The photons in the void must be getting a longer wavelength somehow - perhaps the spacetime continuum is expanding more there than it is where there is ordinary matter.
SJNW would have made sense:
S = Servers
J = Java
N = (the) Network
W = Workstations
But just Java? Seem to be ignoring three major markets....
And that's just the prototype version - the final version will have no gaps between the monitors.
It's a Beowolf cluster of NVidia Quadro Fx5600 graphics cards. There are 55 XPS monitors driven by 18 Dell XPS systems combined with grid computing middleware (ROCKS), and graphics API (Cluster GL/CGLX).