Posts by Caesarius

Leave my jargon alone

"...and matches the emulator model exactly – modulo yield faults – so you can develop the model on the emulator and then download it to the chip for real-time use..."

Modulo? MODULO?!

x mod y < y

So there is something worth having that is less than the number of yield faults?

"...and matches the emulator model exactly – minus yield faults – so you can develop the model on the emulator and then download it to the chip for real-time use..."

FTFY

But, then again: “Words strain, Crack and sometimes break, under the burden, Under the tension, slip, slide, perish, Decay with imprecision, will not stay in place, Will not stay still.”

And back to Eeyore mode.

Meteors (slightly off topic)

Why does everyone say "meteoric rise"? Meteors fall, crash and burn (1). Not necessarily in that order. So we should say Samsung are becoming more meteoric, not less.

(1) Hence icon

Accident waiting to happen

If the food chain were precarious, then a meteor is only one option to topple the dinosaurs. It doesn't sound like luck to me.

See "Foundation", Asimov, (and even "The End of Eternity") for theories of things taking their course in spite of perturbations. In that sense, perhaps the end of the dinosaurs was inevitable.

ASICs

ASICs are unfashionable because it requires an accurate market assessment, a lot of development up front, and there is a risk of an extra design iteration blowing your budget. If you get it right, there are enviable space and power savings, and performance improvements. Much incremental development goes for the low risk quick win.

Voiding the computer

Made me think of what else is "voided". As in "When I read the anti-porn-enforcement email, I voided myself". And then my computer.

Possible motive?

Perhaps the judge (1) wanted to fine the company because he detested the business, but this was the only way to do it.

(1) This may apply to other people who helped in the prosecution.

Where to apply the electrodes

Which way is the flow of energy?

(PS: I know the title is a mis-quote)

A new aspect to credit rating

So MEEELIONS of poor unsuspecting Facebonk readers will borrow time and become hopelessly mired in time-debt. I shudder to think what time-bankruptcy means.

Paris: so many men, so little time.

@RobHeath: Cheap broadband

It is inevitable that most customers will choose the cheapest broadband service, so the service providers struggle to make money from raw packets. I contribute to this effect :-(

I too hope that there will be premium services where, in an upside-down sort of way, you pay more for less functionality at the ISP end. The trouble will be finding a provider who bothers, like providing static IP addresses.

(I sound more and more sad with each post. Let's hope it is only because I am particularly depressed today.)

The nature of the internet

I have always said:

The internet is the best of anarchy, and the worst of anarchy.

and

There is always the trade-off between security and facility.

Over recent years (a relative term that encompasses more and more as I grow older), internet banking etc. has tried to make the internet look organised and safe, so Joe Public is even less inclined to listen to me.

And another saying:

Eyore was an optimist

Raw Data

"The data is also in too raw a format to be of any use to a Genius Bar tech support team."

I am offended that he seems to be trying to pull the wool over my eyes. OK, most Genius Bar staff might be unable to hack the raw data, but the implication is that no-one can hack it.

There are, after all, code breaking competitions where the challenge is to decrypt a block of raw data.

Yahoo sounds a bit like Billy Bunter

"no support for Shi’s assertion that there was ever any sexual relationship between her and Zhang – much less that there was a non-consensual sexual relationship."

OK, so how do you get "much less" than "no support"? It's like Billy Bunter claiming innocence and extenuating circumstances.

(Icon also in respect of Greyfriars)

Niche Schmiche

I never noticed before, but the way "niche" is talked about makes it sound like a euphemism.

Tripple?

So "times 8" is the same as trippled? Because 8=2^3?

Timescale

The time from the theft to the time of arrest might lead to security agencies claiming a need to store data for years, so that they can trawl back over it at leisure. But that's a lot of data.

Did they have trouble finding where he was so that they could arrest him? That would be weird. Of course, I could interpret the article as saying that they only gave the location when they were ready with sufficient evidence, but years?!

It's just a smoke-screen

Surely the Chinese have an iPhone rip-off and are selling it in the rest of the world so that they can track people too? Surely they should have kept quiet, because complaining only raises awareness? </tongueInCheek>

(I think I'm getting the hang of this icon...)

B&Q used to be my friend...

... but not any more. There are still some knowledgeable staff, but the prices for materials puts me off every time.

I still browse Maplin's stores, but it's increasingly disappointing. It's trying to go the way of B&Q, except that their business model for selling components needs a big re-think.

Is it just me, and other enthusiasts from the 70's and 80's, or do younger folk prefer wall to wall dusty shelves choc-full of components?

How about stocks and shares

If the world of bitcoin is considered a business, where bitcoins themselves are shares, should we expect rules about insider trading? But who are the directors and employees? Do we consider un-mined bitcoins as shares that are issued at zero value, or the current bitcoin value? Will there be rules about manipulating the market? Is it possible to regulate the market?