considering where consumers generally demand performance the most is in games, i can see this as being very helpful. i was just randomly thinking about it after looking at several images on the site you linked at, and then it hit me... if you combine the ray tracing core with a FPGA-like pixel shader, you could get some highly complex scenes with potentially much less overhead and speed requirements... thus making the chips cooler and smaller.
and on a personal note, i would love to see that mixed with augmented reality, with a new VR setup where i can just walk around with it always on.;)
i would just like to point out that just as easily as you could create a linux install CD with a custom set of drivers, you can do the same for Windows XP. i have a personall custom made copy of Windows XP installation CD which contains "OEM" information and drivers for various peices of hardware that do not default come shipped on the Windows XP CD. Some of these include my 802.11g PCMCIA card with a TI chipset, and my SataLink SATA controller.
its all nice n dandy to say that Windows XP doesnt come with the latest and greatest drivers, but this is because we arent handed out nightly builds. Creating a "distribution" of Windows that includes extra software as well as hardware drivers isnt hard work at all. This is what the pre-built PC manufactures use to streamline the process of installing Windows on multiple machines, and is often the "recorvery" disc that ships with the system (altho, im not saying they do a GOOD job at it)
60 trillian? thats what... about 48 bits of unknown data? how long does it take to crack 56-bit encryption nowadays?;)
truthfully tho, i beleive that the complexity of the password should reflect the confidentiality of the information that is being protected, and the knowledge of the people you are trying to protect the information from.
i have to teenage brothers who share a computer, and each are about as capabable as turning it on and playing star craft/neo pets all day. i doubt they need any sort of 7 day autogenereted password cycling system to prevent each other form seeing their bookmarks in their personal folders. however, when it comes to some of my personal systems, i have a much higher sense of security (such as on my source code repository)
so, basically what im getting at here, is this: put your effort where effort is due. no 2 systems are alike, nor should they be treated that way. there is no one-size-fits-all sollution to security, passwords, encryption, etc...
how does microsoft feel about the x86 CPU being out in the open, considering they used it in the xBox? its a moot point really, because simply having the specs of a CPU doesnt mean you have the exact implementation that one company may be using.
AFAIK, with HT enabled CPUs, some sections of the CPU are shared between the two active threads, such as possibly the ICACHE and DCACHE. on a SMP system, you would have seperate CACHE lines for each core. Because of this, you can have one side of the HT CPU encrypting/decrypting data, while the second side of the HT CPU is spying in on said data.
I personally run a windows based server (yes, hate me if you will, but i need some windows only tools at the moment). I used IIS for about 3 to 4 years, until I started to get heavy into PHP development, running a source control system, and game hosting. I switched from IIS to Apache because it had better support for virtualizing directories based off of conditions in easy to setup script files, which made it easy for me to run the UT2004 server, plus mod download server on the same box. This turned out to be a big hit at lan-parties, since the server had all of the packages, and would share directly from the server folders (but restricted the server's config files from anon access). I later switched to SVN for storing my programming projects, and its integration with Apache is great.
I am a microsft OS user by nature. I switched to using Apache on my Windows server because of features it lacked, and now I'm never turning back.
but then people will remove the junk content, much like they did to get the GD-Roms (1gb storage) to fit on a normal CD-R (700mb) for DreamCast, weather it be to down-sample images and movies, or just flat out remove some (such as some games are missing textures). where there is a will, there is a way....
i develop for embedded CPUs. replacing hardware is NOT an option in this market. what you get is what you get. i have spent that extra 10 hours to get that extra 5% speed, and trust me, it was worth every cycle.
the SP is just as much of an upgrade as the Gameboy Pocket (LCD had higher refresh rate), the Remodled NES (top-loader ment games works, the FIRST time), etc. It wasnt a hardware upgrade in terms of CPU/RAM/GPU/SPU, therefor it technically isnt a new system. It is possible to use rechargable batteries on the original GBA, as well as add either an AfterBurner or an external light to it. Suprisingly, however, you didn't mention the "clamshell" as one of the improvements, as I would see this as most important (to protect the screen while the system is not in use)
GBA was 2001, not 2003. in 2003 was the GBA-SP. Also, you noted the GameBoy Pocket on there, which featured no technical features (CPU, RAM, sound/rendering engine) over the GBA. it was merely a slimmed down remodel of an existing system. the SP in 2003 is the same. there was also a remodled version of the NES to be top-loading, remodeled SNES to be smaller (and lacked the RF connector as i recall), and a special release Pikachu N64. Also in japan was the "GameBoy Light", which was a front-lit version of the GameBoy Pocket, and featured a 2-tone case (i think orange and blue?)
The revolution will most likely be '06 tho, putting it 5 years after GCN which is 5 years after N64, which is 5 years after SNES, which is 5 years after NES. Nintendo is right on track with their home console systems.
The VirtualBoy was an side-line product that only featured 14 games, and doesnt really count twards anything. If this is counted, then what about arcades, Game & Watch, etc?
The DS, while being able to play SINGLE PLAYER GBA GAMES does not replace the gameboy line at all.
Look, the X-Box 360 and Playstation 3 are already designed and getting ready to debut at E3. It's not like they can radically change the design in time for their ship dates by stealing Nintendo's ideas at E3.
DS was featured at E3 in May of last year, and had several changes made to it before its launch on September 21st. 4 months sure can make a difference.
why restrict it to just schools tho? how many people out there learned to increase their hand-eye coordination by making mario jump and hit his head on a brick some 20 years ago? i find that to actually be edicational (at least on part of learning motor skills at an early age)
its a nice theory in all, but im not too sure about it. if done correctly on a single threaded system, if one thread is in a wait state waiting on disc activity, then the CPU should jump threads and handle other tasks in the mean time. there is more then enough RAM and CPU Cache on modern computers that makes this quite effective. Also, isnt this what DMA channels are for? Wasn't the purpose of a DMA channel to mode data from one location to another while the CPU is performing other tasks?.... this is actually getting back to programming at the hardware level of a 386, its nothing new.
another flaw of modern software is race conditions when working with multiple threads.
lets say you have a global pointer to an object... in thread A, you are deleting an instance of the object, then the OS jumps threads in the middle of this operation, and thread B goes and tries to access information from the same object. this is known as a race condition.
basically, which one gets their first, and how much damage will it do? the more you start working with shared memory and threads, the more code protection has to go into place. its simply not as easy as it used to be to write a solid application, because more is going on.
in the massive amount of hand-recounts we recently went thru here in washington state, it eventually went to a hand recount where 3 people had to decide each individual ballot, and they all had to agree. one democrat, one republican, and one non-partisan.
Organizer Plus for the Nintendo DS. Not much information, other then it has been on the DS gamelist on Nintendo.com ever since the DS's launch.
Re:IRC analysis fatally flawed
on
Is IRC All Bad?
·
· Score: 1
who talks in warez channels tho? they are all a bunch of download bots, not actual conversations. personally, i'm more of the "OSS Developer" when it comes to my IRC usage.
I'm a paid member, so I dont see them... but I've seen members in my communities start complaining abuot banner ads on their journals now. Is this the first sign of change already?
actually, winamp now has AOD (AOL On Desktop). this puts an icon on your desktop that basically tells you to install and use AOL. this is technically adware, therefor should not make the "clean" list. also, by default, winamp installs its "winamp agent". this can also be looked down apon for "clean" install purposes. there is also "winamp pro" which isnt free.
note: dont think i'm anti-winamp... this is all coming from a guy that has been developing 3rd party plugins and components for winamp 2/3/5 the past 4 years now.
[edit]. i meant layer 2 "data link layer"... the "physical link layer" is layer 1. (thats what i get for commenting as the first thing i do after i wake up from being up all night working with the DS)
The thing here is tho, is that WiFi only describes layer 1 and 2, nothing beyond. Therefor the DS is fully WiFi compliant, however, it is not implementing a TCP/IP stack. This will have to be done on a per-software basis (each game). Remember, things like NetBEUI and IPX/SPX still work over WiFi connections, and those have nothing at all to do with TCP/IP communication. Nintendo's own protocol is a layer 3 and up protocol, not a layer 1/2 protocol.
Please refere to the OSI Model if you are confused about any of this.
Slashdot Mirror
considering where consumers generally demand performance the most is in games, i can see this as being very helpful. i was just randomly thinking about it after looking at several images on the site you linked at, and then it hit me... if you combine the ray tracing core with a FPGA-like pixel shader, you could get some highly complex scenes with potentially much less overhead and speed requirements... thus making the chips cooler and smaller.
;)
and on a personal note, i would love to see that mixed with augmented reality, with a new VR setup where i can just walk around with it always on.
that never stopped me...
i would just like to point out that just as easily as you could create a linux install CD with a custom set of drivers, you can do the same for Windows XP. i have a personall custom made copy of Windows XP installation CD which contains "OEM" information and drivers for various peices of hardware that do not default come shipped on the Windows XP CD. Some of these include my 802.11g PCMCIA card with a TI chipset, and my SataLink SATA controller.
its all nice n dandy to say that Windows XP doesnt come with the latest and greatest drivers, but this is because we arent handed out nightly builds. Creating a "distribution" of Windows that includes extra software as well as hardware drivers isnt hard work at all. This is what the pre-built PC manufactures use to streamline the process of installing Windows on multiple machines, and is often the "recorvery" disc that ships with the system (altho, im not saying they do a GOOD job at it)
60 trillian? thats what... about 48 bits of unknown data? how long does it take to crack 56-bit encryption nowadays? ;)
truthfully tho, i beleive that the complexity of the password should reflect the confidentiality of the information that is being protected, and the knowledge of the people you are trying to protect the information from.
i have to teenage brothers who share a computer, and each are about as capabable as turning it on and playing star craft/neo pets all day. i doubt they need any sort of 7 day autogenereted password cycling system to prevent each other form seeing their bookmarks in their personal folders. however, when it comes to some of my personal systems, i have a much higher sense of security (such as on my source code repository)
so, basically what im getting at here, is this: put your effort where effort is due. no 2 systems are alike, nor should they be treated that way. there is no one-size-fits-all sollution to security, passwords, encryption, etc...
how does microsoft feel about the x86 CPU being out in the open, considering they used it in the xBox? its a moot point really, because simply having the specs of a CPU doesnt mean you have the exact implementation that one company may be using.
Anyone with an AIM accounts could already log into AIM_Name@Netscape.com for web based email. how is this any different?
AFAIK, with HT enabled CPUs, some sections of the CPU are shared between the two active threads, such as possibly the ICACHE and DCACHE. on a SMP system, you would have seperate CACHE lines for each core. Because of this, you can have one side of the HT CPU encrypting/decrypting data, while the second side of the HT CPU is spying in on said data.
I personally run a windows based server (yes, hate me if you will, but i need some windows only tools at the moment). I used IIS for about 3 to 4 years, until I started to get heavy into PHP development, running a source control system, and game hosting. I switched from IIS to Apache because it had better support for virtualizing directories based off of conditions in easy to setup script files, which made it easy for me to run the UT2004 server, plus mod download server on the same box. This turned out to be a big hit at lan-parties, since the server had all of the packages, and would share directly from the server folders (but restricted the server's config files from anon access). I later switched to SVN for storing my programming projects, and its integration with Apache is great.
I am a microsft OS user by nature. I switched to using Apache on my Windows server because of features it lacked, and now I'm never turning back.
"I am Darkain... and I'm a coder"
but then people will remove the junk content, much like they did to get the GD-Roms (1gb storage) to fit on a normal CD-R (700mb) for DreamCast, weather it be to down-sample images and movies, or just flat out remove some (such as some games are missing textures). where there is a will, there is a way....
i develop for embedded CPUs. replacing hardware is NOT an option in this market. what you get is what you get. i have spent that extra 10 hours to get that extra 5% speed, and trust me, it was worth every cycle.
the SP is just as much of an upgrade as the Gameboy Pocket (LCD had higher refresh rate), the Remodled NES (top-loader ment games works, the FIRST time), etc. It wasnt a hardware upgrade in terms of CPU/RAM/GPU/SPU, therefor it technically isnt a new system. It is possible to use rechargable batteries on the original GBA, as well as add either an AfterBurner or an external light to it. Suprisingly, however, you didn't mention the "clamshell" as one of the improvements, as I would see this as most important (to protect the screen while the system is not in use)
GBA was 2001, not 2003. in 2003 was the GBA-SP. Also, you noted the GameBoy Pocket on there, which featured no technical features (CPU, RAM, sound/rendering engine) over the GBA. it was merely a slimmed down remodel of an existing system. the SP in 2003 is the same. there was also a remodled version of the NES to be top-loading, remodeled SNES to be smaller (and lacked the RF connector as i recall), and a special release Pikachu N64. Also in japan was the "GameBoy Light", which was a front-lit version of the GameBoy Pocket, and featured a 2-tone case (i think orange and blue?) The revolution will most likely be '06 tho, putting it 5 years after GCN which is 5 years after N64, which is 5 years after SNES, which is 5 years after NES. Nintendo is right on track with their home console systems. The VirtualBoy was an side-line product that only featured 14 games, and doesnt really count twards anything. If this is counted, then what about arcades, Game & Watch, etc? The DS, while being able to play SINGLE PLAYER GBA GAMES does not replace the gameboy line at all.
Look, the X-Box 360 and Playstation 3 are already designed and getting ready to debut at E3. It's not like they can radically change the design in time for their ship dates by stealing Nintendo's ideas at E3.
DS was featured at E3 in May of last year, and had several changes made to it before its launch on September 21st. 4 months sure can make a difference.
why restrict it to just schools tho? how many people out there learned to increase their hand-eye coordination by making mario jump and hit his head on a brick some 20 years ago? i find that to actually be edicational (at least on part of learning motor skills at an early age)
and umbrella....
its a nice theory in all, but im not too sure about it. if done correctly on a single threaded system, if one thread is in a wait state waiting on disc activity, then the CPU should jump threads and handle other tasks in the mean time. there is more then enough RAM and CPU Cache on modern computers that makes this quite effective. Also, isnt this what DMA channels are for? Wasn't the purpose of a DMA channel to mode data from one location to another while the CPU is performing other tasks? .... this is actually getting back to programming at the hardware level of a 386, its nothing new.
another flaw of modern software is race conditions when working with multiple threads.
lets say you have a global pointer to an object... in thread A, you are deleting an instance of the object, then the OS jumps threads in the middle of this operation, and thread B goes and tries to access information from the same object. this is known as a race condition.
basically, which one gets their first, and how much damage will it do? the more you start working with shared memory and threads, the more code protection has to go into place. its simply not as easy as it used to be to write a solid application, because more is going on.
in the massive amount of hand-recounts we recently went thru here in washington state, it eventually went to a hand recount where 3 people had to decide each individual ballot, and they all had to agree. one democrat, one republican, and one non-partisan.
Organizer Plus for the Nintendo DS. Not much information, other then it has been on the DS gamelist on Nintendo.com ever since the DS's launch.
who talks in warez channels tho? they are all a bunch of download bots, not actual conversations. personally, i'm more of the "OSS Developer" when it comes to my IRC usage.
I'm a paid member, so I dont see them... but I've seen members in my communities start complaining abuot banner ads on their journals now. Is this the first sign of change already?
actually, winamp now has AOD (AOL On Desktop). this puts an icon on your desktop that basically tells you to install and use AOL. this is technically adware, therefor should not make the "clean" list. also, by default, winamp installs its "winamp agent". this can also be looked down apon for "clean" install purposes. there is also "winamp pro" which isnt free.
note: dont think i'm anti-winamp... this is all coming from a guy that has been developing 3rd party plugins and components for winamp 2/3/5 the past 4 years now.
Because the PSP uses an IP layer, and can be "tunneled" by a simple VPN connection.
[edit]. i meant layer 2 "data link layer"... the "physical link layer" is layer 1. (thats what i get for commenting as the first thing i do after i wake up from being up all night working with the DS)
The thing here is tho, is that WiFi only describes layer 1 and 2, nothing beyond. Therefor the DS is fully WiFi compliant, however, it is not implementing a TCP/IP stack. This will have to be done on a per-software basis (each game). Remember, things like NetBEUI and IPX/SPX still work over WiFi connections, and those have nothing at all to do with TCP/IP communication. Nintendo's own protocol is a layer 3 and up protocol, not a layer 1/2 protocol.
Please refere to the OSI Model if you are confused about any of this.