"Her name is Yoshimi
She's a black belt in karate
Working for the city
She has to discipline her body
Cause she knows that
It's demanding
To defeat those evil machines
I know she can beat them
Oh Yoshimi, they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots eat me
Yoshimi, they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots defeat me
Those evil-natured robots
They're programmed to destroy us
She's gotta be strong to fight them
So she's taking lots of vitamins
Cause she knows that
It'd be tragic
If those evil robots win
I know she can beat them
Oh Yoshimi, they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots defeat me
Yoshimi, they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots eat me" -- Flaming Lips
Oh shit, valid point. It's only a matter of time before a terrorist removes the serial numbers from a self-driving car and programs it to run down pedestrians until it can no longer move. But then, drone-mounted weapons are already cheap and easy to make.
You can't really harass someone online, because there is nothing forcing them to read the shit you write. Furthermore, most online services provide effective mechanisms for blocking a-holes. Also, computer systems keep a record of all messages, making harassment criminal complaints much easier to prove. (Has anybody gotten away with online harassment be using an anonymous proxy service?)
Intel is claiming a 40% performance gain based on the additional cores. But the fact is that most apps use only a single thread, so with a lower clock rate, most apps will actually run slower! Yes, for the few apps designed to use all available threads there should be an improvement, but only if the memory architecture has enough bandwidth to keep all those CPUs fed with data. The limiting factor in most high performance computing is not CPU cycles, it's delays in getting data to each CPU. In other words memory bandwidth is more important than total available CPU cycles. Also, these processors slow down the clock rate as each additional CPU is utilized to avoid overheating.d Short summary: Your Mileage May Vary.
Simply put, CEOs of publicly traded companies have a fiscal responsibility to their companies. They constantly ask the question, "Will this increase or decrease the value of company shares?"As soon as it becomes apparent that it will DECREASE the value of the stock, they get the hell out of there! Note that this is not a complete explanation, since some of the people that resigned were not the CEOs of publicly traded companies. Apparently they also thought it would be bad for them to be associated with the Trump train wreck.
Ever have one of those days when you google the number the cute girl gave you in a nightclub, and it shows up in an ad on backpage.com? I have. At least now I understand why she gave me her number!
Backpage.com has already been pressured into eliminating their escort/massage section. "Escorts" just moved their ads to the "Women seeking Men" dating section. All websites need is positive deniability and you can't touch them. "What, you expected us to READ everything that anybody posts? Even slashdot doesn't do that!"
If you put several man-years into developing an algorithm, then it should be patentable. A concept anyone could come up with while have beer with nerd friends? Not so much. In this case, I seems like anybody with a smart phone could provide evidence of prior art. One of the tweeks I'd like to see made to the patent system is to make the length of patent protection proportional to the time and money needed to develop the idea. I.e. a drug patent for something that requires multimillion dollar drug trials should last longer than "Do something people have been doing for decades, but on a COMPUTER!"
Again, manufacturing in the US wasn't a Microsoft idea. The Surface Hub is just a relabled Perceptive Pixel touchscreen; Microsoft got the factory when they bought out Perceptive Pixel. They were just waiting for the right time to shift the manufacturing to China, where Microsoft manufacturers every other piece of hardware it sells.
The factory was inherited from Perceptive Pixel when they bought them out, not built by Microsoft. Was Perceptive Pixel doing manufacturing in Wilsonville for tax credits? Probably. I worked there, and all other hardware Microsoft sold was manufactured in China, including the pens used with the touch screen. So I frequently wondered when they were going to move the touchscreen manufacturing itself to China. Problem was, they had to fill the warehouses with unsold product first, so they could afford to shut down for a couple months to move product without impacting availability of the product. About the time I left a couple months ago, the warehouses were full to capacity, and the double shifts were being phased out.
Turns out labor costs are trivial compared to the cost of building a $2 billion fab. Fabs don't even last forever, I believe they are decomissioning the Aloha fab, which I think was the first one they built in Oregon.
The product starts with an 84" 4K television set, which costs about $8000. Meaning it would be rather difficult to create a finished product that costs less than that after adding touch screen sensor, Windows PC, stereo speakers, 2 WiFi routers, 2 cameras, etc.
Obvious solution: increase the transportation costs so that it costs more to ship the raw materials to China and finished good back to the US than they can save on labor costs. This has actually worked for the North Carolina furniture industry; apparently shipping costs exceed labor costs so now the furniture manufacturing is coming back to the state.
My previous job was actually working at the Wilsonville factory on the software used to test the Surface Hub before it was shipped. All the factory workers were temps hired through Kelly Services. Almost all of them looked like immigrants to me. They put on double shifts in order to fill the warehouses with unsold product, so now they can shut down for a couple months while they shift production elsewhere. Why were they doing production in the US in the first place? Microsoft got the Surface Hub by buying out Perceptive PIxel, which was manufacturing it's large touchscreen in the same building Microsoft is now shutting down. Also, there was never enough parking at the plant; it was designed as a shipping warehouse. So the city of WIlsonville didn't allow us to use the entire upstairs portion of the building, since there wasn't parking for employees. Kelly services leased 2 buses to bus in factory workers from whereever they had them park.
My ex did that once, stomped on the accelerator instead of the brake, drove my pickup 50 feet into a field and wrecked it so it had to be towed out. But then, she was an IDIOT!!!
Intel will see steadily declining margins and sales, but they still have more money to spend on R&D than any other chip manufacturer. It seems likely that more and more of their revenue will come from memory, e.g. 3D XPoint, as Intel transitions back into a memory company instead of a CPU company. In general, ARM has won the performance per watt war... for now.
The bottleneck for most problems isn't CPU cycles/second, it's the bandwidth of getting data to/from those CPUs. Adding CPUs does nothing to improve performance unless you also give it a much wider I/O path to memory. Adding more high speed cache, on the other hand, may help more than adding CPUs.
Carrying cash is dangerous because hookers go through your wallet when you're not looking, and you generally leave your wallet in your pants when you get naked...
Shoreline Amphitheater was build over a landfill. You know that moment at the start of a concert when everybody holds their lighter up? They ignited the methane coming off the landfill! File this under, "What could possibly go wrong?"
Slashdot Mirror
"Her name is Yoshimi She's a black belt in karate Working for the city She has to discipline her body Cause she knows that It's demanding To defeat those evil machines I know she can beat them Oh Yoshimi, they don't believe me But you won't let those robots eat me Yoshimi, they don't believe me But you won't let those robots defeat me Those evil-natured robots They're programmed to destroy us She's gotta be strong to fight them So she's taking lots of vitamins Cause she knows that It'd be tragic If those evil robots win I know she can beat them Oh Yoshimi, they don't believe me But you won't let those robots defeat me Yoshimi, they don't believe me But you won't let those robots eat me" -- Flaming Lips
Oh shit, valid point. It's only a matter of time before a terrorist removes the serial numbers from a self-driving car and programs it to run down pedestrians until it can no longer move. But then, drone-mounted weapons are already cheap and easy to make.
Simply put, international bans on killer robots are completely unenforcable. Look at how well the ban on use of chemical weapons is working...
"When killer robots are outlawed, only outlaws will have killer robots!"
All New! "Swastiki" brand torches by Tiki Brand! Get yours today! All the skinheads are carrying one... do you want to feel left out?
You can't really harass someone online, because there is nothing forcing them to read the shit you write. Furthermore, most online services provide effective mechanisms for blocking a-holes. Also, computer systems keep a record of all messages, making harassment criminal complaints much easier to prove. (Has anybody gotten away with online harassment be using an anonymous proxy service?)
Intel is claiming a 40% performance gain based on the additional cores. But the fact is that most apps use only a single thread, so with a lower clock rate, most apps will actually run slower! Yes, for the few apps designed to use all available threads there should be an improvement, but only if the memory architecture has enough bandwidth to keep all those CPUs fed with data. The limiting factor in most high performance computing is not CPU cycles, it's delays in getting data to each CPU. In other words memory bandwidth is more important than total available CPU cycles. Also, these processors slow down the clock rate as each additional CPU is utilized to avoid overheating.d Short summary: Your Mileage May Vary.
Simply put, CEOs of publicly traded companies have a fiscal responsibility to their companies. They constantly ask the question, "Will this increase or decrease the value of company shares?"As soon as it becomes apparent that it will DECREASE the value of the stock, they get the hell out of there! Note that this is not a complete explanation, since some of the people that resigned were not the CEOs of publicly traded companies. Apparently they also thought it would be bad for them to be associated with the Trump train wreck.
Ever have one of those days when you google the number the cute girl gave you in a nightclub, and it shows up in an ad on backpage.com? I have. At least now I understand why she gave me her number!
Backpage.com has already been pressured into eliminating their escort/massage section. "Escorts" just moved their ads to the "Women seeking Men" dating section. All websites need is positive deniability and you can't touch them. "What, you expected us to READ everything that anybody posts? Even slashdot doesn't do that!"
If you put several man-years into developing an algorithm, then it should be patentable. A concept anyone could come up with while have beer with nerd friends? Not so much. In this case, I seems like anybody with a smart phone could provide evidence of prior art. One of the tweeks I'd like to see made to the patent system is to make the length of patent protection proportional to the time and money needed to develop the idea. I.e. a drug patent for something that requires multimillion dollar drug trials should last longer than "Do something people have been doing for decades, but on a COMPUTER!"
Home of the "American Standard" plumbing manufacturing company!
Again, manufacturing in the US wasn't a Microsoft idea. The Surface Hub is just a relabled Perceptive Pixel touchscreen; Microsoft got the factory when they bought out Perceptive Pixel. They were just waiting for the right time to shift the manufacturing to China, where Microsoft manufacturers every other piece of hardware it sells.
The factory was inherited from Perceptive Pixel when they bought them out, not built by Microsoft. Was Perceptive Pixel doing manufacturing in Wilsonville for tax credits? Probably. I worked there, and all other hardware Microsoft sold was manufactured in China, including the pens used with the touch screen. So I frequently wondered when they were going to move the touchscreen manufacturing itself to China. Problem was, they had to fill the warehouses with unsold product first, so they could afford to shut down for a couple months to move product without impacting availability of the product. About the time I left a couple months ago, the warehouses were full to capacity, and the double shifts were being phased out.
Turns out labor costs are trivial compared to the cost of building a $2 billion fab. Fabs don't even last forever, I believe they are decomissioning the Aloha fab, which I think was the first one they built in Oregon.
HP has completely abandoned the Corvalis campus, as far as I know. Nice campus, hopefully many other tech companies are leasing space there now.
The product starts with an 84" 4K television set, which costs about $8000. Meaning it would be rather difficult to create a finished product that costs less than that after adding touch screen sensor, Windows PC, stereo speakers, 2 WiFi routers, 2 cameras, etc.
Obvious solution: increase the transportation costs so that it costs more to ship the raw materials to China and finished good back to the US than they can save on labor costs. This has actually worked for the North Carolina furniture industry; apparently shipping costs exceed labor costs so now the furniture manufacturing is coming back to the state.
My previous job was actually working at the Wilsonville factory on the software used to test the Surface Hub before it was shipped. All the factory workers were temps hired through Kelly Services. Almost all of them looked like immigrants to me. They put on double shifts in order to fill the warehouses with unsold product, so now they can shut down for a couple months while they shift production elsewhere. Why were they doing production in the US in the first place? Microsoft got the Surface Hub by buying out Perceptive PIxel, which was manufacturing it's large touchscreen in the same building Microsoft is now shutting down. Also, there was never enough parking at the plant; it was designed as a shipping warehouse. So the city of WIlsonville didn't allow us to use the entire upstairs portion of the building, since there wasn't parking for employees. Kelly services leased 2 buses to bus in factory workers from whereever they had them park.
My ex did that once, stomped on the accelerator instead of the brake, drove my pickup 50 feet into a field and wrecked it so it had to be towed out. But then, she was an IDIOT!!!
Intel will see steadily declining margins and sales, but they still have more money to spend on R&D than any other chip manufacturer. It seems likely that more and more of their revenue will come from memory, e.g. 3D XPoint, as Intel transitions back into a memory company instead of a CPU company. In general, ARM has won the performance per watt war... for now.
The bottleneck for most problems isn't CPU cycles/second, it's the bandwidth of getting data to/from those CPUs. Adding CPUs does nothing to improve performance unless you also give it a much wider I/O path to memory. Adding more high speed cache, on the other hand, may help more than adding CPUs.
Carrying cash is dangerous because hookers go through your wallet when you're not looking, and you generally leave your wallet in your pants when you get naked...
Shoreline Amphitheater was build over a landfill. You know that moment at the start of a concert when everybody holds their lighter up? They ignited the methane coming off the landfill! File this under, "What could possibly go wrong?"
Now I can name my band "N*****s With Attitude" and still get a trademark! Oh wait... it's been done, hasn't it?