This is also the book for the junior level EE and CS digital design courses at The University of Washington.
I can't say I really enjoyed this book at all. I already knew the boolean algebra from other CS courses I have taken and found the book to be too general.
I think I would have really enjoyed a book that spends a chapter or two on the basics of digital design and then introduces the rest of the material by showing the actual design of a computer from the ground up. In fact, I found such a book in the library in the last week of class (figures). I don't remember the name though.
Summary: If you are looking to learn more about How Computers Work, skip this book and look for something else. If you are looking for an intro to general (very) digital design, this may be the book for you.
[RANT] "Look buddy!" is how I feel like starting this post, but I will take a gentler approach and say "Think again"! What makes you think you know the background of 'most of Slashdot'?! I thought the whole point of Slashdot is to get a bunch of people with different backgrounds and experience together so that one person can iron out the next guys deficiencies in knowledge. From the various discussions I have seen, there are people from all branches of science, math, engineering, and even [gasp!] humanities reading and participating on Slashdot. The one thing that annoys me is the number of Perl scripters/linux gurus/coders etc who think that because they can play on computers a bit they know everything.
In case you were wondering, I have been a computer geek since I was 13. My background has expanded to include Japanese Language and Literature and Electrical Engineering (Controls and Robotics)...AND I don't plan to limit myself by stoping there.
Actually, W2K BETA 3 ran great on a 100Mhz Pentium with 48 MB RAM! No kidding. It was nearly as fast as NT4 and way faster than Win9x ever ran on that machine.
I love it when something runs great that far below the official spec (what is it now? 200Mhz PII/64MB RAM?).
My experience in learning a language different from my own (Japanese - I am a native English speaker) is that a lot of things can be translated nicely, but a lot of things require something called "human judgement based on context". I have used many handheld JE electronic dictionaries, and there were countless entries that gave translations that made very little sense. I am talking about a simple little dictionary here, not a grand translating scheme. The only source that I trust completely when I come across something new is a combination of sources: Looking in a Japanese-Japanese dictionary (Kokugojiten for all you Japanese literate folks out there), speaking to someone in Japanese about the word or phrase I don't get, speaking to another Japanese fluent English speaker in a combo of Japanese/English, and finally waiting a while for the meaning to sink in from use.
Based on the list of culturally incompatible (that is where a lot of the translation problems stem from) languages on the UN site, I would wager that this is going to produce at best a very very demented version of bable (sp) fish. Any linguistics folks wanna tell me why I am wrong?
magnesium (Mg), metallic element, discovered as an oxide by Sir Humphry DAVY in 1808. A ductile, silver-white, chemically active ALKALINE-EARTH METAL, it is the eighth most abundant element in the earth's crust. Its commercial uses include lightweight alloys in aircraft fuselages, jet-engine parts, rockets and missiles, cameras, and optical instruments. The metal is used in pyrotechnics. Magnesium is found in plant chlorophyll and is necessary in the diet of animals and humans. See CHEMICAL ELEMENTS (table).
I don't think that the people at Amazon grabbed this patent because they think they are going to go hunt down all the online shops that use the concept and charge them or force them to cease and desist. If that were to happen, it would eventually end up in court and Amazon would likely be on the losing end of that court battle (as many of you have pointed out). Rather, it seems that this is just the standard practice (and no, I don't blame Microsoft for starting this, although they are as guilty as the rest). It seems that the real value of holding such a patent is that it is a bargaining chip. The more you collect, the greater the chance that you can leverage one or more the next time you sit down to hammer out a deal with a competitor. Both sides don't want to see it go to court, but the one holding the patent has a slight upper hand...
Is it a sane thing to do in a perfect world? No.
Can the company using this tactic benefit from it? Yes.
Will it happen over and over again? You bet.
The down side: One scenario comes to mind. Amazon, Microsoft, Sun, whoever, sits around collecting little patents on obvious things that are mostly unenforceable. Some little startup comes up with an amazing new product and patents the part of it that is new. Our tragic startup company is approached by the multi-patent owner and told that if they don't sell out or license their product, then they will be in a dozen or more court cases based on the stinky little patents. Little guy loses and consumer possibly loses...
Slashdot Mirror
This is also the book for the junior level EE and CS digital design courses at The University of Washington.
I can't say I really enjoyed this book at all. I already knew the boolean algebra from other CS courses I have taken and found the book to be too general.
I think I would have really enjoyed a book that spends a chapter or two on the basics of digital design and then introduces the rest of the material by showing the actual design of a computer from the ground up. In fact, I found such a book in the library in the last week of class (figures). I don't remember the name though.
Summary: If you are looking to learn more about How Computers Work, skip this book and look for something else. If you are looking for an intro to general (very) digital design, this may be the book for you.
In case you were wondering, I have been a computer geek since I was 13. My background has expanded to include Japanese Language and Literature and Electrical Engineering (Controls and Robotics)...AND I don't plan to limit myself by stoping there.
As they say "knowledge is power"
[/RANT]
I love it when something runs great that far below the official spec (what is it now? 200Mhz PII/64MB RAM?).
It seems that such a specialized machine wouldn't need to be general purpose...just build the desired software in hardware.
Looking in a Japanese-Japanese dictionary (Kokugojiten for all you Japanese literate folks out there), speaking to someone in Japanese about the word or phrase I don't get, speaking to another Japanese fluent English speaker in a combo of Japanese/English, and finally waiting a while for the meaning to sink in from use.
Based on the list of culturally incompatible (that is where a lot of the translation problems stem from) languages on the UN site, I would wager that this is going to produce at best a very very demented version of bable (sp) fish. Any linguistics folks wanna tell me why I am wrong?
magnesium (Mg), metallic element, discovered as an oxide by Sir Humphry DAVY in 1808. A ductile, silver-white, chemically active ALKALINE-EARTH METAL, it is the eighth most abundant element in the earth's crust. Its commercial uses include lightweight alloys in aircraft fuselages, jet-engine parts, rockets and missiles, cameras, and optical instruments. The metal is used in pyrotechnics. Magnesium is found in plant chlorophyll and is necessary in the diet of animals and humans. See CHEMICAL ELEMENTS (table).
From www.encyclopedia.com
Not so flammable in jet-engine parts I would guess ;-)
I don't think that the people at Amazon grabbed this patent because they think they are going to go hunt down all the online shops that use the concept and charge them or force them to cease and desist. If that were to happen, it would eventually end up in court and Amazon would likely be on the losing end of that court battle (as many of you have pointed out). Rather, it seems that this is just the standard practice (and no, I don't blame Microsoft for starting this, although they are as guilty as the rest). It seems that the real value of holding such a patent is that it is a bargaining chip. The more you collect, the greater the chance that you can leverage one or more the next time you sit down to hammer out a deal with a competitor. Both sides don't want to see it go to court, but the one holding the patent has a slight upper hand...
Is it a sane thing to do in a perfect world? No.
Can the company using this tactic benefit from it? Yes.
Will it happen over and over again? You bet.
The down side: One scenario comes to mind. Amazon, Microsoft, Sun, whoever, sits around collecting little patents on obvious things that are mostly unenforceable. Some little startup comes up with an amazing new product and patents the part of it that is new. Our tragic startup company is approached by the multi-patent owner and told that if they don't sell out or license their product, then they will be in a dozen or more court cases based on the stinky little patents. Little guy loses and consumer possibly loses...