I don't believe that a jury would convict a divorced mother of five on the crime of downloading pirated media.
Why? Does being a divorced mother of five make you immune from having to obey the law?
I'm not saying that I agree with the RIAA on this issue, but the burden of proof in civil court is "preponderance of the evidence," and has nothing to do with
being a parent
being a parent of a given sex
having kids
having a certain number of kids
Jury nullification notwithstanding, the jury must decide for the plaintiff or defense based on the evidence presented in court, not the ideology, for or against, pertaining to downloading music on the Internet.
My two cents, and IANAL, but I have spend a LOT of time on the witness stand as an expert witness.
What is the performance gap between dual CPU vs Dual-core?
It's the usual answer: it depends.
We have to get rid of the notion that there is one overall system architecture that is "right" for all computing needs.
For general, every-day desktop use, there should be little difference between a dual CPU SMP box and a dual core box.
I have a small cluster consisting of AMD 64 X2 nodes, and the nodes use the FC4 SMP kernel just fine. All scheduling between CPU's is handled by the OS, and MPI/PVM apps run just as expected when using the configurations suggested for SMP nodes.
In fact, with the dual channel memory model, dual core AMD systems might be a little better than generic dual CPU, since each processor has it's "own" memory.
Next step was to send the DarkSingh chap an email telling him what a cunt he is:-)
That'll teach him. Filing an incident report with the authorities to MAYBE get him caught (so he cannot compromise other people's computers) would have had a bit more long term vision.
But there are also hardware keyloggers that hardly ever get mentioned. They get plugs in usually between your ps2 port and your keyboard.
Once again emphasizing that if you don't have physical security of the system, little else matters.
I've been doing some network consulting for a Dr's office (to help their HIPAA compliance), and the physical security of their systems is completely out of their heads. The hardest thing to do in the whole project is convince them to (and how to) harden the boxes in case the black hat is sitting RIGHT THERE (or steals a box to take with them).
A quick ps auwx will show me if there are evil deeds afoot.
Unless, of course, you've been rooted. It's very common for rootkits to copy hacked versions of ps, ls and other system tools that hide themselves.
A couple of years ago, I got a little behind on upgrading ssh on one of our servers. It got a rootkit installed, and ps did not show anything. It was discovered when the system rebooted (so we caught it RIGHT AWAY).
[science is] about -- wait for it -- natural explanations of phenomena. Explanations without a divine origin.
There is nothing in science that precludes divine origin. Science is about observable phenomena (as you state). For example, I can measure the relationship between voltage and current. That's science. Why it's like that is, ultimately, unanswerable.
Gee, if it's just a theory it could be wrong! Our schools should be open-minded and teach the geocentric theory as well!
Well, we do. Or at least I did when I taught freshman science classes. I started with the Greeks, went through Copernicus, Tyco Brahe, Galileo and Keppler. The whole story is important, including it's beginning: that geocentric theory you mention.
I think the progression illustrates the process of science beautifully.
Thermodynamics requires that the entropy increase, not that the enegy is lost.
minimizing the free energy of a system will also maximize its entropy, under all conditions. You're free to think about it either way.
Free Energy != heat
Free Energy = heat - temp * entropy
When the GP said "enegy[sic] is lost" I think it is important to emphasize that there are (none "free energy") terms for which your statement is incorrect. Minimizing the "heat energy" in a system does not itself obey the Second Law.
the best bet for linux is if a manufacturer acts like apple, and puts together really nice hardware and ships a box that just works for the end user
My company does, but they are not low end boxes. They are purpose-built computational machines, complete with bundled software, bench tested and ready to go.
For that matter, the same could be said for the larger cluster vendors, too.
When was the last time you ran an adware scan and a virus scan? You may have no problems you've detected, but it's quite possible that you've been exploited quite a bit.
Not infected means not infected. Period.
It's also possible you've got a more secure system.
That's why I pointed out nothing else changed besides switching browsers.
It's anecdotal of course, but it is my own, direct experience.
IMO, all this bandying about with numbers is next to pointless. All I know is that in my experience:
1. When I used IE, I got infected out the wazoo; colleagues I know using IE still have problems.
2. After switching to Firefox while still running Windows, I had zero infections. ZERO. Nothing else on the system changed.
3. Now I use Linux exclusively (unless doing work on a client's computer on their behalf), and I sure am not using IE.
On the one hand, it's nice to see Moz hitting back with the PR. But, I wonder if this will ultimately hurt migration away from IE. That is, I can just about hear folks saying "MS says one thing, Mozilla says another...who to believe?"
To the non-techie, MS is a known quantity and The Mozilla Foundation is not (I'm thinking along similar lines to name-recognition at the polls). At the very least, a I-say, they-say approach seems to muddle the issue more than clarify it for those not willing to do their own research.
if someone can find another reason to buy a motherboard with an extra high speed PCI-e slot... that's another story though.
I did.
I'm running ASUS A8N-SLI's with Athon 64 X2's on board in a small cluster. I'm not using the SLI feature.
I got these boards because:
1. ASUS performance is solid with the dual core Athlon 64.
2. Dual GbE on-board; no purchase of second NIC to use as headless cluster.
I can tie one NIC into my existing LAN and keep the other for the dedicated cluster interconnect. I don't have a KVM, but I can ssh directly into any node if need be.
3. *IF* I can full around and offload SOME number crunching to the GPU(s), maybe the SLI will come in handy in the future? It's a thought I'll keep in the back of my mind.
While I don't have experience with these particular boards, I've have had very good luck with two ABIT models:
KT7E and KX7-333R
The KT7E has been running virtually non-stop for 4 or 5 years; the KX7 likewise about three years. Both have been used constantly for their service life running floating point, number crunching code.
Both boards have withstood cpu fan failures and powersupply failures; replacement of the faulty components and they're up-n-runnin'.
I'd recommend ABIT to anybody with the caveat that I did have some problems with the KX7 until a bios update was done. Since then..no problem.
Though I have to admit, my newer systems are ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxes with Athlon 64 X2's.;)
scientists used to share info just so others could use that same info
We in science like to think that utopia has existed, but when has it?
Many major scientific discoveries have been made under the cloak of secrecy or with back stabbing. Two examples are The Manhattan Project and the structure of DNA (check out the story of Rosalind Franklin's role).
Ammonia based gas absorption refrigeration works well with heat source, such as kerosene or propane. I often thought about ways to focus solar radiation to do the trick, as well.
Neither of these systems are very popular, but because of the rampant advocacy, fans of both systems come up with this fallacious assumption that just because Macs and Linux systems are almost never get hit by viruses or other forms of attacks, that they must be more secure by design. No! No! No!
Then you don't understand the differences in the *nix design compared to the Windows design.
Why would an aircraft carrier have 1,000,000 MRE's on board? It is not a supply ship fcol.
And just a nitpick: people are not dying on the sidewalks from lack of food. It takes more than 2-3 days to die of starvation. Dehydration would do it, but not lack of food.
It sounds to me like you're discounting it before even giving it a chance.
That's probably true >90% of the people who claim Linux is too complicated or does not install/recognize hardware.
Like the parent, I've had FAR more problems with Windows drivers than with Linux. I find editing a config file MUCH easier (and faster) and sensical; ever had to edit the Local Securities Policies in WinXP? You get things like "Disable Machine Account Password Changes: Enable, Disable."
Too many double negatives, too much "MS-speak" and too much "GUI" in Windows configuration. If Windows works great for someone out of the box, I'm happy for them, but it's a misconfigured system built on an inverted pyramid design.
Or should I say speculation, since I had no empirical data.
Anyway, while at SCIENCE CAMP, I proposed to one of the adults a 'different core rotation rate theory.' I remember the look he gave me very clearly: "yeah, right."
Of course, he was right to be skeptical. I was way off, apparently, since my proposal was that it was related to gravity, not the magnetic field. Oh, to be young again.
I think in a way we are saying the same thing; in my internal 'benchmarking,' I don't really count ISA ops and call it a day. All I am doing is normalizing a 'real world' calculation's actual execution time to the smallest loop. In other words, my "OP" in FlOPs is a high level op, such as "row x column in a matrix multiplication." It ain't perfect, but it encapsulates the real total run-time, just in a reduced way.
And, I also agree that the best comparison is to use fully optimized code/compiler option for each system. If the question I want to answer is "which system is better for THIS task," I sure don't want -march=athlon code running on a P4.
No matter how you slice it, getting a good comparison is extremely difficult, and I would argue very task specific.
I know this is not technically accurate, but as a metric of a (purely) computational platform, I think of FlOPs as a practical net quantity of computational work done. So, I'm lumping integer and floating point (and waiting for data, etc) into my misnomer'd "FlOPs."
Or, let me put it another way. The floating point calculation I want done requires some integer work by the processor (eg, loop counters, pointers, etc). Therefore, that integer work should be counted into the practical FlOPs number I am using to benchmark.
Well, I spend more time COMPUTING than compiling, so FlOPS (or number crunching in general, which would include cache parameters, memory bandwidth, etc), is a better metric. I don't consider compiling a meaningful benchmark for the work my computers do.
If I spend 1-2 hours compiling, then a single calculation takes 35 hours and I must do about 20 of those calculations, the compile time is insignificant.
As always, YMMV, and the fact remains, there is no single benchmark or CPU/system best for all tasks.
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Why? Does being a divorced mother of five make you immune from having to obey the law?
I'm not saying that I agree with the RIAA on this issue, but the burden of proof in civil court is "preponderance of the evidence," and has nothing to do with
Jury nullification notwithstanding, the jury must decide for the plaintiff or defense based on the evidence presented in court, not the ideology, for or against, pertaining to downloading music on the Internet.
My two cents, and IANAL, but I have spend a LOT of time on the witness stand as an expert witness.
But a silicon laser? Physically impossible
Diode lasers use silicon, or at least compounds of silicon. Some details here and here.
Pretty cool, though that this is the "the first directly pumped silicon laser."
What is the performance gap between dual CPU vs Dual-core?
It's the usual answer: it depends.
We have to get rid of the notion that there is one overall system architecture that is "right" for all computing needs.
For general, every-day desktop use, there should be little difference between a dual CPU SMP box and a dual core box.
I have a small cluster consisting of AMD 64 X2 nodes, and the nodes use the FC4 SMP kernel just fine. All scheduling between CPU's is handled by the OS, and MPI/PVM apps run just as expected when using the configurations suggested for SMP nodes.
In fact, with the dual channel memory model, dual core AMD systems might be a little better than generic dual CPU, since each processor has it's "own" memory.
Next step was to send the DarkSingh chap an email telling him what a cunt he is :-)
That'll teach him. Filing an incident report with the authorities to MAYBE get him caught (so he cannot compromise other people's computers) would have had a bit more long term vision.
But there are also hardware keyloggers that hardly ever get mentioned. They get plugs in usually between your ps2 port and your keyboard.
Once again emphasizing that if you don't have physical security of the system, little else matters.
I've been doing some network consulting for a Dr's office (to help their HIPAA compliance), and the physical security of their systems is completely out of their heads. The hardest thing to do in the whole project is convince them to (and how to) harden the boxes in case the black hat is sitting RIGHT THERE (or steals a box to take with them).
A quick ps auwx will show me if there are evil deeds afoot.
Unless, of course, you've been rooted. It's very common for rootkits to copy hacked versions of ps, ls and other system tools that hide themselves.
A couple of years ago, I got a little behind on upgrading ssh on one of our servers. It got a rootkit installed, and ps did not show anything. It was discovered when the system rebooted (so we caught it RIGHT AWAY).
chkrootkit is your friend in the Linux world.
[science is] about -- wait for it -- natural explanations of phenomena. Explanations without a divine origin.
There is nothing in science that precludes divine origin. Science is about observable phenomena (as you state). For example, I can measure the relationship between voltage and current. That's science. Why it's like that is, ultimately, unanswerable.
Gee, if it's just a theory it could be wrong! Our schools should be open-minded and teach the geocentric theory as well!
Well, we do. Or at least I did when I taught freshman science classes. I started with the Greeks, went through Copernicus, Tyco Brahe, Galileo and Keppler. The whole story is important, including it's beginning: that geocentric theory you mention.
I think the progression illustrates the process of science beautifully.
Thermodynamics requires that the entropy increase, not that the enegy is lost.
minimizing the free energy of a system will also maximize its entropy, under all conditions. You're free to think about it either way.
Free Energy != heat
Free Energy = heat - temp * entropy
When the GP said "enegy[sic] is lost" I think it is important to emphasize that there are (none "free energy") terms for which your statement is incorrect. Minimizing the "heat energy" in a system does not itself obey the Second Law.
the best bet for linux is if a manufacturer acts like apple, and puts together really nice hardware and ships a box that just works for the end user
My company does, but they are not low end boxes. They are purpose-built computational machines, complete with bundled software, bench tested and ready to go.
For that matter, the same could be said for the larger cluster vendors, too.
Both Mars rovers have exceeded expected life AND generated a lot of useful, intriguing data. That's a purty good record, too.
I wasn't responding to you, but the AC who replied to you
Ooops. {wipes egg off face}
When was the last time you ran an adware scan and a virus scan? You may have no problems you've detected, but it's quite possible that you've been exploited quite a bit.
Not infected means not infected. Period.
It's also possible you've got a more secure system. That's why I pointed out nothing else changed besides switching browsers.
It's anecdotal of course, but it is my own, direct experience.
IMO, all this bandying about with numbers is next to pointless. All I know is that in my experience:
1. When I used IE, I got infected out the wazoo; colleagues I know using IE still have problems.
2. After switching to Firefox while still running Windows, I had zero infections. ZERO. Nothing else on the system changed.
3. Now I use Linux exclusively (unless doing work on a client's computer on their behalf), and I sure am not using IE.
On the one hand, it's nice to see Moz hitting back with the PR. But, I wonder if this will ultimately hurt migration away from IE. That is, I can just about hear folks saying "MS says one thing, Mozilla says another...who to believe?"
To the non-techie, MS is a known quantity and The Mozilla Foundation is not (I'm thinking along similar lines to name-recognition at the polls). At the very least, a I-say, they-say approach seems to muddle the issue more than clarify it for those not willing to do their own research.
if someone can find another reason to buy a motherboard with an extra high speed PCI-e slot... that's another story though.
I did.
I'm running ASUS A8N-SLI's with Athon 64 X2's on board in a small cluster. I'm not using the SLI feature.
I got these boards because:
1. ASUS performance is solid with the dual core Athlon 64.
2. Dual GbE on-board; no purchase of second NIC to use as headless cluster.
I can tie one NIC into my existing LAN and keep the other for the dedicated cluster interconnect. I don't have a KVM, but I can ssh directly into any node if need be.
3. *IF* I can full around and offload SOME number crunching to the GPU(s), maybe the SLI will come in handy in the future? It's a thought I'll keep in the back of my mind.
While I don't have experience with these particular boards, I've have had very good luck with two ABIT models:
;)
KT7E and KX7-333R
The KT7E has been running virtually non-stop for 4 or 5 years; the KX7 likewise about three years. Both have been used constantly for their service life running floating point, number crunching code.
Both boards have withstood cpu fan failures and powersupply failures; replacement of the faulty components and they're up-n-runnin'.
I'd recommend ABIT to anybody with the caveat that I did have some problems with the KX7 until a bios update was done. Since then..no problem.
Though I have to admit, my newer systems are ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxes with Athlon 64 X2's.
scientists used to share info just so others could use that same info
We in science like to think that utopia has existed, but when has it?
Many major scientific discoveries have been made under the cloak of secrecy or with back stabbing. Two examples are The Manhattan Project and the structure of DNA (check out the story of Rosalind Franklin's role).
Ammonia based gas absorption refrigeration works well with heat source, such as kerosene or propane. I often thought about ways to focus solar radiation to do the trick, as well.
There was even a pretty cool movie made based on it.
Neither of these systems are very popular, but because of the rampant advocacy, fans of both systems come up with this fallacious assumption that just because Macs and Linux systems are almost never get hit by viruses or other forms of attacks, that they must be more secure by design. No! No! No!
Then you don't understand the differences in the *nix design compared to the Windows design.
Why would an aircraft carrier have 1,000,000 MRE's on board? It is not a supply ship fcol.
And just a nitpick: people are not dying on the sidewalks from lack of food. It takes more than 2-3 days to die of starvation. Dehydration would do it, but not lack of food.
It sounds to me like you're discounting it before even giving it a chance.
That's probably true >90% of the people who claim Linux is too complicated or does not install/recognize hardware.
Like the parent, I've had FAR more problems with Windows drivers than with Linux. I find editing a config file MUCH easier (and faster) and sensical; ever had to edit the Local Securities Policies in WinXP? You get things like "Disable Machine Account Password Changes: Enable, Disable."
Too many double negatives, too much "MS-speak" and too much "GUI" in Windows configuration. If Windows works great for someone out of the box, I'm happy for them, but it's a misconfigured system built on an inverted pyramid design.
Or should I say speculation, since I had no empirical data.
Anyway, while at SCIENCE CAMP, I proposed to one of the adults a 'different core rotation rate theory.' I remember the look he gave me very clearly: "yeah, right."
Of course, he was right to be skeptical. I was way off, apparently, since my proposal was that it was related to gravity, not the magnetic field. Oh, to be young again.
I think in a way we are saying the same thing; in my internal 'benchmarking,' I don't really count ISA ops and call it a day. All I am doing is normalizing a 'real world' calculation's actual execution time to the smallest loop. In other words, my "OP" in FlOPs is a high level op, such as "row x column in a matrix multiplication." It ain't perfect, but it encapsulates the real total run-time, just in a reduced way.
And, I also agree that the best comparison is to use fully optimized code/compiler option for each system. If the question I want to answer is "which system is better for THIS task," I sure don't want -march=athlon code running on a P4.
No matter how you slice it, getting a good comparison is extremely difficult, and I would argue very task specific.
I know this is not technically accurate, but as a metric of a (purely) computational platform, I think of FlOPs as a practical net quantity of computational work done. So, I'm lumping integer and floating point (and waiting for data, etc) into my misnomer'd "FlOPs."
Or, let me put it another way. The floating point calculation I want done requires some integer work by the processor (eg, loop counters, pointers, etc). Therefore, that integer work should be counted into the practical FlOPs number I am using to benchmark.
Well, I spend more time COMPUTING than compiling, so FlOPS (or number crunching in general, which would include cache parameters, memory bandwidth, etc), is a better metric. I don't consider compiling a meaningful benchmark for the work my computers do.
If I spend 1-2 hours compiling, then a single calculation takes 35 hours and I must do about 20 of those calculations, the compile time is insignificant.
As always, YMMV, and the fact remains, there is no single benchmark or CPU/system best for all tasks.