> how much effort its going to take to actually
> design a chip that uses 400 mil transistors!
If you tried to do a custom design flow for all 400 million transistors, then, yes, your design cycle would be crazy bg. But, if you used VHDL/Verilog and an ASIC-type flow with custom design for only the most speed-critical pieces, it's possible. In an HDL, one line of code (like a = b*c + a) can translate into many thousands of gates.
I have an EE degree (with computer engineering option) from an excellent engineering school (not one of the elite schools, but a highly respected school nonetheless). I have always thought that I worked way harder for my parchment than most others earning bachelors degrees. Part of the reason was somewhat objective (needed more credits at a minimum then most other bachelors degrees) others were more subjective (math, physics, electro dynamics, computer architecture...compounded by having multiple such classes in one semester).
But, am I just arrogant? I think there's a healthy dose of that. I do still believe that earning an engineering degrees does take more work and dedication that most degrees. But, I think we take away from others by doing our little superiority dance. If I tried to get a degree in music or english, I might get the paper, but I would suck at it. I'd barely make it through (in the case of music, I probably would not have made it).
My abilities clearly steered me toward science and mathematics. My interest carried me into ECE. But, we should not take away from others by supposing that one degree requires more ability then others. A different skill set, absolutely. Perhaps more dedication or perserverence. But, not necessarily more talent or intelligence.
This may be a little off topic, but I'm posting it anyway.
I don't believe it was an intentional retrieval of organisms. It was more of a what if some organisms were accidentally captured. In this story, the organism caused blood to become a gel. If the acidity of your blood was over a certain point, you gained immunity from the effects (hence, the crying baby and the old man who was an alcoholoic survived the infection). The organism was also a perfect energy user--it generated no waste product. That is why they had to stop the atomic bomb fail-safe from exploding since that much energy consumed by such an organism would have been disaterous.
How efficient are the current generation of solar cells/panels? Isn't it in the neighborhood of 25%? Also, how much power does a square foot (or square meter) of solar panel produce?
I called Dell and spoke to a sale rep. I asked the sales rep what Dell's implementation of this policy would be. The sale rep informed me that they are still shipping Windows CDs with systems. Therefore, I am a bit confused. Does this policy affect only Windows 2000? The Infoworld article said that this policy was suppose to be in affect for all versions Windows. If that is true, then is Dell a special OEM with respect to this policy and is allowed to ship Windows CDs with its systems?
Re:This it intended to stop dual booting Linux/BSD
on
Copyrant
·
· Score: 1
What about adding a second hard drive and installing Linux/BSD on it? This may cause a problem for the Windows side since the system is no longer exactly the same as it was when you received it. However, it would allow you to install your OS of choice on the second hard drive. Then, in case of disaster, you just pop out the drive to make the computer the same as Windows expects it and do the Windows recovery. Not an ideal solution, but one that might work.
I read Signal's post a much different way. I viewed it as a sarcastic, political statement rather than a "free music manifesto." RIAA is doing what it can to have complete control over music and music artists. The main motivation for this is to make money for RIAA and the studios. I don't believe it is truly in the interests of the artists. Signal's post, the way I read it, was a statement saying that we, the consumer, are using RIAA's tactics as our example. Therefore, we, without conscious, steal music because the example set for us was unethical, selfish, and, in many other ways, bad. Sort of a psuedo parent-child metaphor.
I wonder if any studies have been done on a connection between playing violent sports and violent behavior. This would seem obvious (look at all the off-field criminal activity in football). However, the question we return to is: does the game cause people who would otherwise be non-violet to be violet personality types? Or, is it just that violent people are drawn to the game? Not all football players are violent off the field. I have never heard any study or media outlet talk about parental ratings for sports or whether a child should be allowed to watch such sports. If people think games like Quake cause problems, why do they not also mention a sport like football (a sport which I happen to like)? Why did the people who sued iD over the school shooting also sue the NFL? NHL?
I understand how this news is good from the view of the community. However, I haven't seen anything on how OS X compares to BSD. Why, once it's ready, would I choose OS X rather than just going with *BSD? What does OS X add?
It seems like C/C++ is being touted as the next step after VHDL/Verilog for hardware design. I believe the most significant reason is to enable hardware-software codesign.
Do you believe hardware-software codesign is necessary today? If not, when will it become a necessity? Is C++ adequate to fulfill the hardware-software codesign role, or should a new language be developed for the task?
Another thing to consider is environmental impact. Do we really want to make yet another item to put in a landfill? Is disposable really a good thing? Could they be recycled?
Do not make a comparison to a driver's license
on
License to Surf
·
· Score: 1
There is a world of difference between a driver's license and this Internet or Web license. The ability to use/post to a Web site or use the Internet is entangled with fundamental rights--free speech being an obvious one. The ability to drive a car is not. If you do not have a driver's license, you still can speak your mind, travel freely (via bus, train, or plane). However, if you cannot use the Internet because you are not licensed to use it, fundamental rights have been infringed. It will become more and more difficult to survive without Internet access. A good current example is the necessity of downloading patches or software, in general. There are alrady ways to handle accountability on the net when it's needed. Porn sites must do this and they obtain age verification via credit cards. I can see no reason why current methods of accounability should not be used when necessary. There are too many Bad Things possible if licensing was done.
Maybe Delphi will generata Java code? If it could do that, then the free software issue is taken care of since you could distribute the Java source. Delphi retains the title of excellent RAD environment. Perhaps you could even choose between Object Pascal and Java while developing in Delphi. JBuilder may be good enough that the Delphi-with-Java idea doesn't offer enough of advantage to be worth implementing.
While there is definately geek appeal, I'm not sure how truely useful a Palm is to a college student. I don't remember every having such a busy schedule in college that I couldn't remember stuff. Things usually fell into a pattern--homework for class A was due Tuesday, homework for clas B was due Thursday, etc. The pattern made it easy to remember. For midterms and finals, I was WELL aware of when those were--not seomthing I would just forget. And, of course, I'd never "forget" to go out for beer on the weekends. I can see that a PDA might be useful for graduating seniors (you have to keep track of all those interviews).
It would be nice if there were a server-type product available that allowed a college student with a PDA but no computer of their own to use the University computers for syncing. The Palm Pilots have the LAN syncing capability. You'd just need a piee of software on a server somewhere that the Palm would sync to. The PC interface would be web-based (so you could look up addresses even if you forgot your Palm).
Or you have the endless upgradesof $2k/person/year
While I agree that constant upgrades were necessary, I think times have changed. Does a "general" user need to upgrade their P2-350 (or even Pentium-200) to the latest and greatest? I don't think so. The other admin costs, though, still apply. Users can still shoot themselves in the foot, but the hardware upgrades should trail off for most users.
It seems like Sun might do better by designing a computer based on their UltraSparc that runs Linux. They can keep Solaris for their servers or higher-end workstations and use Linux for lower cost, business-type machines. They've got the basic business apps with the Star Office purchase. However, I am not sure this kind of machine offers any advantage for basic business computing over a traditional Wintel solution. Stability is nice, but NT would probably be adequate for those using Word and Excel 90% of the time.
It would be interesting to have a real CPU choice when putting a system together (i.e. X86, PowerPC, UltraSparc).
I believe the concept of reputation (or karma) is good. However, I'd add some factor for the number of replies a post generates. Only posts with >0 score would count. You'd then have two variables affecting a given post's score and the reputation/karma of the person who posted it. The first part is the traditional moderator adjusting the score of a post. That, obviously, affects the post and, via karma, affects the poster. The second factor is the discussion generated by the post. At some threshold of replies (whose score is >0), the original post's score is increased. This would also be reflected in the poster's reputation/karma.
I think it would also be interesting to allow poster's reputation/karma to be affected by the other users (no ACs, though). This could be done through the reply to a post with a numerical indication (0 to 5) of what the person replying to the post thought about the original post. This could ease the burden on moderators and serve as a check (e.g. if the community thoughta post was excellent while a moderator left it at 1). Unfortunately, I'm not sure how honestly this type of feedback would be used.
While maybe a little crude, there is a reasonable point here. The hardware looks promising (mainly, the processor since the other components aren't really unique to Apple machines). I wish I had the choice of hardware platform and OS. Yes, there's LinuxPPC. But, I can't (yet) use Linux to do everything I do. Nor do i want to be forced to use Linux. It's all about choice. The problem is, the software has to exist. It would be nice to pair your choie of OS with hardware.
I agree. There are a couple factors here. The first is Microsoft is improving the "Webability" of their products. For example, everything I've read about MS Word 2000 is the HTML features are much improved (better HTML output, more accurate to the original document, etc.).
I thought I had read that MS plans to put XML into Word to allow users to work with a signal document that can be viewed on a web site or just used as a normal Word document. If this does happen, then there's a major opening for Star Office.
This is somerhing I hadn't consciously considered. I saw the stats ad they seemed to indicate the same trends as other studies have shown. However, reading this also brought another question to mind: what will "disadvantaged" homes use a computer for? Before you set your flamethrower to kill, please let me finish.
I think an important piece of information is missing--in the homes having a computer what is the break down of activities it is used for? A similar break down of Net usage would also be good. I don't think owning a computer or having Net access is the cause of a new division. It's just the result of pre-existing discrepancies.
If computers are usually used for entertainment (games, recreational chatting, scanning for porn, etc.), then does it really make a difference? It seems, then, that the owning a computer is just a luxury item. The traditional descrepancies (e.g. eduation level) returns to the spotlight. I think it is obvious that eduation is an important factor in computer and net ownership and usage.
Yes, a computer CAN be used for learning. But, the manner in which it is used for learning is proactive. The Linux community is a good example. When our effing old Sound Blaster card with the proprietary CD-ROM interface doesn't get recognized, we go out to a HOWTO and learn how to set it up. But, just having the computer wouldn't have made a difference. IT'S OUR DESIRE TO LEARN THAT ENABLES THE POWER OF THE COMPUTER AND THE NET. The Net is great for those who use it proactively. But, having Net access and a computer won't change the lives of disadvantged families unless they become proactive about using it. And, for those people who are proactive, wouldn't they find "a way out" anyways?
I wonder what makes Delphi such a good RAD tool. I can't believe that the main reason is the use of Object Pascal. The tool's design and such must contribute significantly. I have nothing against Pascal--it was the first programming language I learned. However, it isn't very popular. I'd rather use a popular language and become an expert in that language since those skills would be useful anywhere. How about a Delphi-like took based on Java?
An excellent question. I immediately thought about this after reading the news. I think we're missing one more important point. Currently, the processor game is Intel and AMD because of the Windows connection. If Linux becomes more popular on the desktop, then this PPC news could give Intel competition from another angle. Competition is always good.
As for the choice of platform architecture, it comes back to the basics: price/performance and software availability. If the software lag that plagues Macs (vesus Wintel machines) happens for X86 versus PPC machines, then PPC will have trouble. If the software is relased more or less simultaneously, then there's the potential for a good fight.
Slashdot Mirror
> how much effort its going to take to actually
> design a chip that uses 400 mil transistors!
If you tried to do a custom design flow for all 400 million transistors, then, yes, your design cycle would be crazy bg. But, if you used VHDL/Verilog and an ASIC-type flow with custom design for only the most speed-critical pieces, it's possible. In an HDL, one line of code (like a = b*c + a) can translate into many thousands of gates.
I have an EE degree (with computer engineering option) from an excellent engineering school (not one of the elite schools, but a highly respected school nonetheless). I have always thought that I worked way harder for my parchment than most others earning bachelors degrees. Part of the reason was somewhat objective (needed more credits at a minimum then most other bachelors degrees) others were more subjective (math, physics, electro dynamics, computer architecture...compounded by having multiple such classes in one semester).
But, am I just arrogant? I think there's a healthy dose of that. I do still believe that earning an engineering degrees does take more work and dedication that most degrees. But, I think we take away from others by doing our little superiority dance. If I tried to get a degree in music or english, I might get the paper, but I would suck at it. I'd barely make it through (in the case of music, I probably would not have made it).
My abilities clearly steered me toward science and mathematics. My interest carried me into ECE. But, we should not take away from others by supposing that one degree requires more ability then others. A different skill set, absolutely. Perhaps more dedication or perserverence. But, not necessarily more talent or intelligence.
This may be a little off topic, but I'm posting it anyway.
I don't believe it was an intentional retrieval of organisms. It was more of a what if some organisms were accidentally captured. In this story, the organism caused blood to become a gel. If the acidity of your blood was over a certain point, you gained immunity from the effects (hence, the crying baby and the old man who was an alcoholoic survived the infection). The organism was also a perfect energy user--it generated no waste product. That is why they had to stop the atomic bomb fail-safe from exploding since that much energy consumed by such an organism would have been disaterous.
How efficient are the current generation of solar cells/panels? Isn't it in the neighborhood of 25%? Also, how much power does a square foot (or square meter) of solar panel produce?
I called Dell and spoke to a sale rep. I asked the sales rep what Dell's implementation of this policy would be. The sale rep informed me that they are still shipping Windows CDs with systems.
Therefore, I am a bit confused. Does this policy affect only Windows 2000? The Infoworld article said that this policy was suppose to be in affect for all versions Windows. If that is true, then is Dell a special OEM with respect to this policy and is allowed to ship Windows CDs with its systems?
What about adding a second hard drive and installing Linux/BSD on it? This may cause a problem for the Windows side since the system is no longer exactly the same as it was when you received it. However, it would allow you to install your OS of choice on the second hard drive. Then, in case of disaster, you just pop out the drive to make the computer the same as Windows expects it and do the Windows recovery. Not an ideal solution, but one that might work.
I read Signal's post a much different way. I viewed it as a sarcastic, political statement rather than a "free music manifesto." RIAA is doing what it can to have complete control over music and music artists. The main motivation for this is to make money for RIAA and the studios. I don't believe it is truly in the interests of the artists. Signal's post, the way I read it, was a statement saying that we, the consumer, are using RIAA's tactics as our example. Therefore, we, without conscious, steal music because the example set for us was unethical, selfish, and, in many other ways, bad. Sort of a psuedo parent-child metaphor.
The "proof" I remember seein for this one uses a method for converting decimals (usually infinitely rrepeating) into fractions:
x = 0.9999...
10x = 9.999...
10x - x = 9.999... - 0.999...
9x = 9
x = 1
I wonder if any studies have been done on a connection between playing violent sports and violent behavior. This would seem obvious (look at all the off-field criminal activity in football). However, the question we return to is: does the game cause people who would otherwise be non-violet to be violet personality types? Or, is it just that violent people are drawn to the game? Not all football players are violent off the field. I have never heard any study or media outlet talk about parental ratings for sports or whether a child should be allowed to watch such sports. If people think games like Quake cause problems, why do they not also mention a sport like football (a sport which I happen to like)? Why did the people who sued iD over the school shooting also sue the NFL? NHL?
I understand how this news is good from the view of the community. However, I haven't seen anything on how OS X compares to BSD. Why, once it's ready, would I choose OS X rather than just going with *BSD? What does OS X add?
It seems like C/C++ is being touted as the next step after VHDL/Verilog for hardware design. I believe the most significant reason is to enable hardware-software codesign.
Do you believe hardware-software codesign is necessary today? If not, when will it become a necessity? Is C++ adequate to fulfill the hardware-software codesign role, or should a new language be developed for the task?
Why limit yourself to choosing one at boot? Why not have a multi-chip module with four Crusoes in it and emulate several architectures simultaneously?
Another thing to consider is environmental impact. Do we really want to make yet another item to put in a landfill? Is disposable really a good thing? Could they be recycled?
There is a world of difference between a driver's license and this Internet or Web license. The ability to use/post to a Web site or use the Internet is entangled with fundamental rights--free speech being an obvious one. The ability to drive a car is not. If you do not have a driver's license, you still can speak your mind, travel freely (via bus, train, or plane). However, if you cannot use the Internet because you are not licensed to use it, fundamental rights have been infringed. It will become more and more difficult to survive without Internet access. A good current example is the necessity of downloading patches or software, in general. There are alrady ways to handle accountability on the net when it's needed. Porn sites must do this and they obtain age verification via credit cards. I can see no reason why current methods of accounability should not be used when necessary. There are too many Bad Things possible if licensing was done.
Maybe Delphi will generata Java code? If it could do that, then the free software issue is taken care of since you could distribute the Java source. Delphi retains the title of excellent RAD environment. Perhaps you could even choose between Object Pascal and Java while developing in Delphi. JBuilder may be good enough that the Delphi-with-Java idea doesn't offer enough of advantage to be worth implementing.
While there is definately geek appeal, I'm not sure how truely useful a Palm is to a college student. I don't remember every having such a busy schedule in college that I couldn't remember stuff. Things usually fell into a pattern--homework for class A was due Tuesday, homework for clas B was due Thursday, etc. The pattern made it easy to remember. For midterms and finals, I was WELL aware of when those were--not seomthing I would just forget. And, of course, I'd never "forget" to go out for beer on the weekends. I can see that a PDA might be useful for graduating seniors (you have to keep track of all those interviews).
It would be nice if there were a server-type product available that allowed a college student with a PDA but no computer of their own to use the University computers for syncing. The Palm Pilots have the LAN syncing capability. You'd just need a piee of software on a server somewhere that the Palm would sync to. The PC interface would be web-based (so you could look up addresses even if you forgot your Palm).
Or you have the endless upgradesof $2k/person/year
While I agree that constant upgrades were necessary, I think times have changed. Does a "general" user need to upgrade their P2-350 (or even Pentium-200) to the latest and greatest? I don't think so. The other admin costs, though, still apply. Users can still shoot themselves in the foot, but the hardware upgrades should trail off for most users.
It seems like Sun might do better by designing a computer based on their UltraSparc that runs Linux. They can keep Solaris for their servers or higher-end workstations and use Linux for lower cost, business-type machines. They've got the basic business apps with the Star Office purchase. However, I am not sure this kind of machine offers any advantage for basic business computing over a traditional Wintel solution. Stability is nice, but NT would probably be adequate for those using Word and Excel 90% of the time.
It would be interesting to have a real CPU choice when putting a system together (i.e. X86, PowerPC, UltraSparc).
I believe the concept of reputation (or karma) is good. However, I'd add some factor for the number of replies a post generates. Only posts with >0 score would count. You'd then have two variables affecting a given post's score and the reputation/karma of the person who posted it. The first part is the traditional moderator adjusting the score of a post. That, obviously, affects the post and, via karma, affects the poster. The second factor is the discussion generated by the post. At some threshold of replies (whose score is >0), the original post's score is increased. This would also be reflected in the poster's reputation/karma.
I think it would also be interesting to allow poster's reputation/karma to be affected by the other users (no ACs, though). This could be done through the reply to a post with a numerical indication (0 to 5) of what the person replying to the post thought about the original post. This could ease the burden on moderators and serve as a check (e.g. if the community thoughta post was excellent while a moderator left it at 1). Unfortunately, I'm not sure how honestly this type of feedback would be used.
While maybe a little crude, there is a reasonable point here. The hardware looks promising (mainly, the processor since the other components aren't really unique to Apple machines). I wish I had the choice of hardware platform and OS. Yes, there's LinuxPPC. But, I can't (yet) use Linux to do everything I do. Nor do i want to be forced to use Linux. It's all about choice. The problem is, the software has to exist. It would be nice to pair your choie of OS with hardware.
I agree. There are a couple factors here. The first is Microsoft is improving the "Webability" of their products. For example, everything I've read about MS Word 2000 is the HTML features are much improved (better HTML output, more accurate to the original document, etc.).
I thought I had read that MS plans to put XML into Word to allow users to work with a signal document that can be viewed on a web site or just used as a normal Word document. If this does happen, then there's a major opening for Star Office.
After
This is somerhing I hadn't consciously considered. I saw the stats ad they seemed to indicate the same trends as other studies have shown. However, reading this also brought another question to mind: what will "disadvantaged" homes use a computer for? Before you set your flamethrower to kill, please let me finish.
I think an important piece of information is missing--in the homes having a computer what is the break down of activities it is used for? A similar break down of Net usage would also be good. I don't think owning a computer or having Net access is the cause of a new division. It's just the result of pre-existing discrepancies.
If computers are usually used for entertainment (games, recreational chatting, scanning for porn, etc.), then does it really make a difference? It seems, then, that the owning a computer is just a luxury item. The traditional descrepancies (e.g. eduation level) returns to the spotlight. I think it is obvious that eduation is an important factor in computer and net ownership and usage.
Yes, a computer CAN be used for learning. But, the manner in which it is used for learning is proactive. The Linux community is a good example. When our effing old Sound Blaster card with the proprietary CD-ROM interface doesn't get recognized, we go out to a HOWTO and learn how to set it up. But, just having the computer wouldn't have made a difference. IT'S OUR DESIRE TO LEARN THAT ENABLES THE POWER OF THE COMPUTER AND THE NET. The Net is great for those who use it proactively. But, having Net access and a computer won't change the lives of disadvantged families unless they become proactive about using it. And, for those people who are proactive, wouldn't they find "a way out" anyways?
I wonder what makes Delphi such a good RAD tool. I can't believe that the main reason is the use of Object Pascal. The tool's design and such must contribute significantly. I have nothing against Pascal--it was the first programming language I learned. However, it isn't very popular. I'd rather use a popular language and become an expert in that language since those skills would be useful anywhere. How about a Delphi-like took based on Java?
An excellent question. I immediately thought about this after reading the news. I think we're missing one more important point. Currently, the processor game is Intel and AMD because of the Windows connection. If Linux becomes more popular on the desktop, then this PPC news could give Intel competition from another angle. Competition is always good.
As for the choice of platform architecture, it comes back to the basics: price/performance and software availability. If the software lag that plagues Macs (vesus Wintel machines) happens for X86 versus PPC machines, then PPC will have trouble. If the software is relased more or less simultaneously, then there's the potential for a good fight.