Processing

I have thought for about three years now that the next processing jump would happen when we developed processors that worked on light instead of electricity.  It is the next logical step!!

Intel Milestone Confirms Light Beams Can Replace Electronic Signals for Future Computers

 

Intel Creates World's First End-to-End Silicon Photonics Connection with Integrated Lasers; Could Revolutionize Computer Design, Dramatically Increase Performance, Save Energy

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 27, 2010 – Intel Corporation today announced an important advance in the quest to use light beams to replace the use of electrons to carry data in and around computers. The company has developed a research prototype representing the world's first silicon-based optical data connection with integrated lasers. The link can move data over longer distances and many times faster than today's copper technology; up to 50 gigabits of data per second. This is the equivalent of an entire HD movie being transmitted each second.

Today computer components are connected to each other using copper cables or traces on circuit boards. Due to the signal degradation that comes with using metals such as copper to transmit data, these cables have a limited maximum length. This limits the design of computers, forcing processors, memory and other components to be placed just inches from each other. Today's research achievement is another step toward replacing these connections with extremely thin and light optical fibers that can transfer much more data over far longer distances, radically changing the way computers of the future are designed and altering the way the datacenter of tomorrow is architected.
From: http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/2010/20100727comp_sm.htm

Gopher

So I have a desire to keep old technology alive and kicking.  Nostaliga I suppose...........

http://gopher.floodgap.com/gopher/

Gopher is a well-known information access protocol that predates the World Wide Web, developed at the University of Minnesota during the early 1990s. What is Gopher? (Gopher-hosted, via the Public Proxy)

This proxy is for Gopher resources only -- using it to access websites won't work and is logged!

As the Gopher protocol enters its second decade of existence, its support among many major browsers has declined or has been expunged entirely (Microsoft Internet Explorer), if the browser even ever supported it at all (Opera and Safari never have).

To allow Gopherspace to continue to be usefully accessible in the coming years, since it's still definitely a viable and useful (not to mention lightweight and efficient) information distribution protocol, the Public Proxy offers a standards-based, effective Gopher<->HTTP gateway to facilitate access even when your web browser doesn't.

Is Gopher still relevant?

Most people who "get" Gopher are already using it and instinctively understand why Gopher is still useful and handy. On the other hand, people who inhabit the Web generation after Gopher's decline only see Gopherspace as a prototype Web or a historical curiosity, not a world in its own right -- and more to the point, being only such a "prototype," there is the wide belief that Gopher plays no relevant role in today's Internet and is therefore unnecessary. This has led to many regrettable consequences, such as the neglect of servers and clients, or even active removal of support.

Windows on Windows (WoW64)

Code execution is enable in both the above kind of platforms in two ways

·         Native 64-bit

·         WoW64 x86 emulator

While as the name implies, native 64-bit takes advantage of the native 64-bit computing platform, Windows-On-Windows environment, WoW, WOW64 etc. are all names that refer to an x86 emulator that allows 32-bit Windows-based applications to run on 64-bit Windows. Wow64 allows 32-bit productivity applications developed using the .NET Framework 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 and Win32 to run on 64-bit Windows and take advantage of the 64-bit Windows kernel which offers a larger number of kernel handles and window handles. WoW64 supports 32-bit console, GUI and service application, and although some 32-bit server applications may be certified to run on WoW64, WoW64 is NOT intended for 32-bit server apps. WoW64 does NOT support 16-bit Windows apps.

WoW64 emulation is performed natively (on the chip) by the x64 micro-architecture, which means WoW64 performance on x64 is similar to that of 32-bit Windows. However, because the Itanium (IA64) architecture does not support native WoW64 emulation, WoW64 performance on the Itanium is substantially less than that of 32-bit Windows.

From MSDN blog:  blogs.msdn.com/b/gauravseth/archive/2006/04/24/582091.aspx

From MSDN Dev Center:  https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa384274%28v=vs.85%29.aspx

Dual booting Windows 10 and Linux

The new problem being that Windows 10 is no longer using NTFS partitions!!

When you install Windows after Linux, Windows ignores Linux, doesn’t know how to resize its partitions, and overwrites the Linux boot loader with its own. You’ll have to repair the Linux system’s boot loader before you can boot back into your Linux system again. The Ubuntu wiki has instructions for repairing your boot loader, if you need to. You can always just reinstall Linux, too. But it’s best just to install Linux after Windows.

For example, Ubuntu’s installer offers an “Install Ubuntu alongside Windows” option that will handle this for you. You will have to choose how much space to reserve for your Linux system. Typically, you’ll be resizing your Windows partition to make room for Linux, and any room you allocate to Linux will be taken away from Windows. It’s up to you how much space you want for Windows and Linux—if you’re just using Linux to fiddle around, you may not need a massive amount of space. If you plan on installing a lot of Steam games or otherwise using it as your main system, you may want a lot more space.

At this point, Linux installers should be fairly mature and capable of resizing Windows NTFS partitions without breaking anything. But it’s essential to always have backups of your important files in case anything bad happens. Of course, the Linux installer will only be able to resize your Windows partition to make room if the Windows partition has a decent amount of free space on it. If you have a PC with multiple hard drives, you could also just leave Windows installed on one hard drive and install Linux on another separate hard drive. But they’re perfectly capable of living alongside each other on separate partitions on the same hard drive.

From:   http://www.pcworld.com/article/2955460/operating-systems/dual-booting-linux-with-windows-what-you-need-to-know.html

More on UEFI/GPT:  https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/Dn898510%28v=VS.85%29.aspx

Disc vs Disk

This has always been a pet peeve of mine!  And I finally found an interesting post to share about the difference and how to keep them straight.

If you’ve found yourself constantly confounded by the difference between “discs” and “disks” then the kind, generous, and—above all good-looking—folks at Apple Support are here to help you out with their new support article/children's book: "What's the difference between a "disc" and a "disk?"

Perhaps you’d just assumed that discs and disks were variant spellings of the same word. Ha! Nothing could be further from the truth. “Disc,” you see, refers to optical media—you know, those shiny things you put under your martini glass to keep from leaving rings on your antique coffee table. Examples include CDs, DVDs, and perhaps even some day a Blu-ray bags of hurt.

Discs are also removable volumes—you can physically take them out of your computer, where they will clutter up your desk and eventually fall behind it, only to collect dust which, after years in the dark, will develop sentience and slowly begin to gnaw through your floorboards.

How does that differ from a “disk,” you might wonder? Well, a disk is a piece of magnetic media—like your computer’s hard drive or a floppy disk. In case you’re unfamiliar with floppy disks, they’re kind of like flash drives that hold half a standard MP3—and you can take them apart to create jewelry.

Sure, that’s easy enough—but how could you ever expect to keep the two of them straight? For that, we recommend this helpful mnemonic device: “disc” ends in a “c”—if you cup your hand in a ‘c’ shape, it’s the perfect grip for holding an optical disc. On the other hand, “disk” ends in a “k,” which is the periodic symbol for the element Potassium, which is in the same period as Iron (Fe), which is highly magnetic! See? Easy!

And remember: never ever mix the two of these up while talking to Apple technical support or else they will hang up on you. After they’ve noted it on your permanent record.

From:  http://www.macworld.com/article/1143421/disc_v_disk.html

Windows 10 Anomalies

Anomalies are; abnormality, exception, peculiarity, oddity, irregularity, inconsistency, incongruity, aberration, quirk, rarity, etc...
The first thing that bothered me is the way MS was forcing Windows 10 as an "update" as opposed to an upgrade!  The next thing that bothered me was the way everything was "rearranged" AGAIN.  Why is it that every time there is a new operating system, all the parts I need to use are located some where else??  I don't mind change, but for goodness sake, make the changes intuitive or useful!!  Don't hide the control panel or my recent items, or my other favorite programs that used to be "right there"!
Now for the things that REALLY bother me!  Windows 10 automatically changes the formatting on your drive to UEFI and changes your BIOS without asking or without another option.
More on this later as I discover more quirks!
Other notes of interest:
1.  A UEFI system can't boot from NTFS, only FAT32.
2. A UEFI system can boot only from a GPT disk, not MBR.
3. A BIOS system can boot only from an MBR disk and not GPT, which is why you can't take an OS disk from a BIOS system and put it in a UEFI system and expect the system to boot.
4. Most UEFI motherboards come with a Compatibility Support Module (CSM), which is enabled by default.  If you want to run your system as UEFI, you need to disable the CSM via the motherboard's interface (see the screenshot below) before you try to install Windows.
5. A CSM makes the motherboard actually look like a BIOS system, allowing it to boot from NTFS and MBR disk--but you lose the UEFI features and are essentially just using BIOS.
6.  Graphics cards need to support UEFI Graphics Output Protocol (GOP), to be able to show information as the computer and OS starts. UEFI GOP replaces the old VGA format most graphics cards use.
7.  Because UEFI requires a GPT disk to boot from, whatever disk you install to must have all partitions deleted from so it can be configured as GPT.
8.  Your UEFI system can boot only from a device that has an EFI boot loader, so after the CSM has been disabled, the only boot devices that are listed will be UEFI aware.

Mostly from:  http://windowsitpro.com/windows-8/q-what-tips-will-help-me-install-windows-uefi-machine-i-built-myself

Skeuomorphism in practice

Mechanical watches have been around since 1500s, mass-produced since the 1850s. At that time, functionally the mechanical design of the watch made the use of hour and minute hands a necessity.

Above: The Pebble smartwatch

Image Credit: Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

The first electronic/quartz watches appeared in the early 1970s, more or less simultaneous to the advent of display technologies. Almost overnight, watches with hands were nowhere to be found, and the numerical “digital” display became the standard. People could tell time to the split-second and believed that their speed to read the time was improved.
But today, digital watches are almost a thing of the past.
If a wristwatch is worn today, an analog display is standard — particularly for upscale watches — and could easily be mistaken for the mechanical watch of 50 or 500 years ago. Once the thrill of innovation subsided, users found that the need to tell time to the split-second was less important than the ability to quickly mentally process the approximate time of day using the analog dials on the watch.
What they discovered was that reading the numerical display took longer for the individual to process in terms of the amount of time left in an hour.
Digital displays are still used in places where precise accuracy maters, but when speed matters and approximate assessment of time is enough, hands on a clock face are more efficient. For example, aircraft cockpit designers have found that it may take longer for a pilot to process numerical versus analog gauges — so even though in an aircraft these split seconds can matter, the analog (skeuomorphic) approach has remained on many gauges.
A similar functional skeuomorphic example could be found in a car.
If a driver has information on a fuel gauge indicated 2.69 gallons remaining, he/she may get bogged down by mentally having to compute the miles per gallon, make an assessment of the length of the drive, and then make a decision to go and get gas. With fuel gauge that simply shows “Full” and “Empty,” the driver could look at the gauge pointing towards E and immediately start to think about where to refuel.
 FROM:
http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/11/ios-7-windows-8-and-flat-design-in-defense-of-skeuomorphism/

The Wayback Machine

482 billion web pages saved over time
The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library. Its purposes include offering permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in digital format.

Founded in 1996 and located in San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more well-rounded collections. Now the Internet Archive includes: texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in our collections, and provides specialized services for adaptive reading and information access for the blind and other persons with disabilities.
From:
http://archive.org/web/web.php

iBook Author

My desire to author my own IT manual has consumed me for the last month.
This has NOT come into being as yet!!
As with many tech ideas, I only know enough to make huge mistakes!!
So I want to create this manual on an iPad and edit it with my macbook and my iPad.
Wish me luck!!

iBooks Author
By Apple
Essentials

Open the Mac App Store to buy and download apps.
Description

Now anyone can create stunning iBooks textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books, and more for iPad and Mac. Start with one of the Apple-designed templates that feature a wide variety of page layouts. Add your own text and images with drag-and-drop ease. Use Multi-Touch widgets to include interactive photo galleries, movies, Keynote presentations, 3D objects, and more. Preview your book on your iPad or Mac at any time. Then submit your finished work to the iBooks Store in a few simple steps. And before you know it, you’re a published author.

Apple-designed templates
• Give your book a great beginning with templates that include a choice of page designs with matching fonts, colors, and textures
• Quickly customize your book with text and images, create new layouts, and even save a custom template
• Easily add a cover, video introduction, table of contents, copyright page, dedication, and foreword

Beautiful text and layouts
• Use a variety of text styles including custom fonts to give your book a rich yet consistent look
• Add text, shapes, charts, tables, and media anywhere on the page
• Import a chapter written in Pages or Microsoft Word and apply a great-looking layout from your current template
• Add sophisticated mathematical expressions with native equation editing using both LaTeX and MathML notation
• Add any word to the glossary with a single click and easily include photos, images, charts, tables, and shapes next to any definition
• Automatically create a portrait view of your landscape book, which allows iPad readers to focus on the text

Multi-Touch widgets
• Choose from a variety of widgets that add Multi-Touch interactivity to your book
• Add a photo gallery, chapter review, movie, audio file, Keynote presentation, scrolling sidebar, dynamic pop-over, interactive image with callouts, 3D object, or custom HTML anywhere in your book
• Many widgets include placeholders for titles and captions and are automatically numbered so you can reference them in your main text
• Add accessibility descriptions to any widget so that it can be used by sight-impaired readers easily with VoiceOver

Export for iBooks Store or iTunes U
• Preview your book in iBooks on iPad and on Mac to see how it looks and works
• Submit your book to the iBooks Store for sale or free download in a few simple steps
• Export your book in iBooks format to share on iTunes U or to give to others
• Export your book as a PDF file

Requirements
• OS X 10.9 or later  (my macbook fulfills THIS requirement-but my iPad does not)
• 2GB of RAM
• 1.2GB of available disk space
• Keynote 6.0 or later (required for importing presentations created in Keynote 6.0+)
• Pages 5.0 or later (required for importing documents created in Pages 5.0+)
• iBooks for iOS 3.0 or later (required for previewing on iPad)
• iBooks for Mac 1.0 or later (required for previewing on Mac)
• iTunes Producer 2.9 or later (required for book publishing)
• Network Connection (required for book publishing)

What's New in Version 2.2

• Import ePub files
• Import Adobe InDesign IDML files
• Create customized books with new Blank templates
• New hyperlink options: link to a location in another book

Other references:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6085561
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201478

The Internet of Things

Well, with the Internet of Things taking off there are people on the cutting edge of developing very small embeddable computers.


 Read about it here!!
From: http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardZero

Don't We All need ARMs?

ARM - an acronym for: Advanced RISC Machines

The processor originated in England in 1984. At its inception ARM stood for Acorn RISC Machine. The first ARM reliant systems include the Acorn: BBC Micro, Masters, and the Archimedes. During this early period they were used mostly for British educational systems, and therefore, were not widely available or known outside England. However in 1987 the ARM became the first commercial RISC processor.

In 1990, the research section of Acorn separated from the parent company and formed: ARM Ltd. (Advanced RISC Machines Limited).  Other historical notables are that the Macintosh Apple ][GS was run by an ARM processor, as was the ill-fated Newton portable note-taking device. (Not ill-fated because of the processor but because of the market timing).

    RISC is an acronym standing for "Reduced Instruction Set Computer", contrasted with a CISC machine (Complex Instruction Set Computer).
    RISC claims of simplicity in comparison to CISC:
        Fixed 32-bit instruction size instead of variable
        Large register bank of GPR 32-bit registers
        Easier to prototype and put together
    RISC Organization:
        Hard-wired instruction decode logic instead of microcoded ROMs to decode
        Pipelined execution
        Possible single cycle execution
    RISC Advantages
        Smaller die sizes
        Shorter time to develop
        Possible higher performance than CISC
        High clock rate with single cycle
    RISC Disadvantages
        Generally less code density than CISC
        Cannot execute x86 code, at least not without some sort of conversion and performance drawback


So, what make the ARM architecture so special?
The sales pitch goes something like this, "The ARM architecture has the best MIPS to Watts ratio as well as best MIPS to $ ratio in the industry; the smallest CPU die size; all the necessary computing capability coupled with low power consumption of which a highly flexible and customizable set of processors are available with options to choose from, all at a low cost."

ARM makers have been able to apply an instruction set called Thumb, which takes 32-bit instructions and compresses them down to 16-bits. This tactic enables programs to be coded much more densely than standard RISC instruction sets, not to mention cutting some portions of the hardware down in size.

Processors enabled to take advantage of Thumb also allow 32-bit instructions to run on the same processor. In fact, 16-bit and 32-bit instructions can be mixed together and the hardware will be able to decode and decompress at the same time without a performance hit, thus maintaining powerful computing capabilities.

FROM:  https://www.cs.umd.edu/~meesh/cmsc411/website/proj01/arm/home.html