Software revolution?...

[Don Y]

On 12/7/2020 8:45 AM, Martin Brown wrote:

He is right about one thing though. CPU speed has now maxed out and feature
size cannot go down much more so parallel algorithms are going to be the
future. Usually this comes with much pain and suffering unless you happen to be
lucky and have a problem that parallelises cleanly.

Memory bandwidth is the bigger problem. There\'s only so much cache you can
put on the die before the CPU starts to *become* memory!

> Most non-trivial problems cannot which is where life gets interesting.

You need tools that can recognize opportunities in algorithms and
massage the STATED algorithm into an equivalent CONCURRENT algorithm.
Too often, developers THINK serially; it\'s human nature.

I\'ve found dicing \"jobs\" into tiny little snippets (job-ettes?) is
an effective way of visualizing the dependencies that you are
baking into your implementation that aren\'t inherently part of the
problem.

[As formal techniques seem to have fallen out of favor, these issues
are no longer as visible as they once were. Petri nets, anyone?]

 

[Don Y]

On 12/8/2020 12:37 AM, Tom Gardner wrote:

On 08/12/20 04:55, Don Y wrote:
On 12/7/2020 5:48 PM, Dave Platt wrote:
Although the details have changed in the last 50 years, the overall
war between How We Do It Today, and How Someone Says We Really Ought
To Be Doing it, hasn\'t been much altered. The names are different but
the trends are surprisingly similar.

What I find amusing is the alternation of \"big mainframe\" with
\"individual workstations\" that keeps cycling through.

Timesharing bureaux -> personal computer -> cloud computing.

.... -> edge computing

Each \"camp\" rushes in to decry some \"problem\" that the other camp has...
only to rediscover the problem that THEY have that the other camp had
previously decried!

 

[Don Y]

On 12/8/2020 4:29 AM, Martin Brown wrote:

On 08/12/2020 04:55, Don Y wrote:
On 12/7/2020 5:48 PM, Dave Platt wrote:
Although the details have changed in the last 50 years, the overall
war between How We Do It Today, and How Someone Says We Really Ought
To Be Doing it, hasn\'t been much altered. The names are different but
the trends are surprisingly similar.

What I find amusing is the alternation of \"big mainframe\" with
\"individual workstations\" that keeps cycling through.

The \"big\" IBM mainframe of my day had a whopping 4MB of core memory and you had
to have a special ticket to use more than 1MB of that at once.

Try a Nova with 16KW...

 

[Don Y]

On 12/8/2020 1:27 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:

On a sunny day (Tue, 8 Dec 2020 07:37:28 +0000) it happened Tom Gardner
spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in <Y2GzH.274722$kpV8.39994@fx36.ams4>:

On 08/12/20 04:55, Don Y wrote:
On 12/7/2020 5:48 PM, Dave Platt wrote:
Although the details have changed in the last 50 years, the overall
war between How We Do It Today, and How Someone Says We Really Ought
To Be Doing it, hasn\'t been much altered. The names are different but
the trends are surprisingly similar.

What I find amusing is the alternation of \"big mainframe\" with
\"individual workstations\" that keeps cycling through.

Timesharing bureaux -> personal computer -> cloud computing.

What worries me in all this is not the computah power, but the vulnerability.
An enemy can just target data centers, either with bombers or missiles
or using local agents.

We were able to get by without those devices and, in the event of
a prolonged/sustained \"outage\" of those services, would obviously
fall back onto other mechanisms (such as those used decades past).

There are far more potent vulnerabilities that are considerably
harder to \"work around\".

 

[Martin Brown]

On 08/12/2020 08:27, Jan Panteltje wrote:

On a sunny day (Tue, 8 Dec 2020 07:37:28 +0000) it happened Tom Gardner
spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in <Y2GzH.274722$kpV8.39994@fx36.ams4>:

On 08/12/20 04:55, Don Y wrote:
On 12/7/2020 5:48 PM, Dave Platt wrote:
Although the details have changed in the last 50 years, the overall
war between How We Do It Today, and How Someone Says We Really Ought
To Be Doing it, hasn\'t been much altered.  The names are different but
the trends are surprisingly similar.

What I find amusing is the alternation of \"big mainframe\" with
\"individual workstations\" that keeps cycling through.

Timesharing bureaux -> personal computer -> cloud computing.

What worries me in all this is not the computah power, but the vulnerability.
An enemy can just target data centers, either with bombers or missiles
or using local agents.

Why muck about using physical assets when you can do as much damage with
a computer virus as Stuxnet demonstrated with those Iranian centrifuges.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet

The result: imagine nobody can pay with their card,
no [cellphone] communications, no data preserved of past and present.
No food, hunger...
And such an attack is so easy.
Plus some extra powerful solar cycles could be coming:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201207142308.htm
and knock out some satellites..

We have become way to dependent on computahs and electronics.

People who have forgotten how to read a map will be in trouble if GPS
goes down because of a CME comparable to the 1859 Carrington event.

Much of the national grid could go down and stay down.
https://www.history.com/news/a-perfect-solar-superstorm-the-1859-carrington-event

Certainly they would have to take it offline for a while to try and
protect it from damage - especially at high latitudes and USA/Canada.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

 

[Tom Gardner]

On 10/12/20 11:02, Martin Brown wrote:

On 08/12/2020 08:27, Jan Panteltje wrote:
We have become way to dependent on computahs and electronics.

That is the modern form of a traditional complaint, usually
associated with whatever technology was invented after the
complainant\'s birth.

An early variant was some Greek author (who?) bemoaning the
invention of writing, since then people would trust the written
word rather than their memory.

People who have forgotten how to read a map will be in trouble if GPS goes down
because of a CME comparable to the 1859 Carrington event.

Forgotten? Many youngsters have grown up using google maps!

I just wish google wouldn\'t incorrectly place a postcode on
my street, since we are forever getting incorrect deliveries.
(My worst was full-height scaffolding!)

The correct road has only been there for 80 years or so;
Bing and OpenStreetMap are right, and I suspect satnav
manufacturers have the \"other\" postcode in their devices.

Much of the national grid could go down and stay down.
https://www.history.com/news/a-perfect-solar-superstorm-the-1859-carrington-event

Certainly they would have to take it offline for a while to try and protect it
from damage - especially at high latitudes and USA/Canada.

My limited understanding is that modern thinking is to keep
\"everything\" connected so as to prevent damage to transmission
lines and gear.

I don\'t know whether \"everything\" includes generating plant.

 

[Don Y]

On 12/10/2020 5:51 AM, Tom Gardner wrote:

Much of the national grid could go down and stay down.
https://www.history.com/news/a-perfect-solar-superstorm-the-1859-carrington-event

Certainly they would have to take it offline for a while to try and protect
it from damage - especially at high latitudes and USA/Canada.

My limited understanding is that modern thinking is to keep
\"everything\" connected so as to prevent damage to transmission
lines and gear.

I don\'t know whether \"everything\" includes generating plant.

I\'d be far more concerned with things like water supplies and, in
those particular places, natural gas.

I suspect there are countless a great many alternative sources of
electric power available in most communities -- commercial establishments,
hospitals, etc. But, typically only ONE source of water or natural gas.

Not only are we dependant on water for our own biological needs, but,
imagine what happens when sanitation fails in a \"heavily\" populated
area.

 

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Thu, 10 Dec 2020 07:34:09 -0700) it happened Don Y
<blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <rqtblf$8ge$1@dont-email.me>:

On 12/10/2020 5:51 AM, Tom Gardner wrote:
Much of the national grid could go down and stay down.
https://www.history.com/news/a-perfect-solar-superstorm-the-1859-carrington-event

Certainly they would have to take it offline for a while to try and protect
it from damage - especially at high latitudes and USA/Canada.

My limited understanding is that modern thinking is to keep
\"everything\" connected so as to prevent damage to transmission
lines and gear.

I don\'t know whether \"everything\" includes generating plant.

I\'d be far more concerned with things like water supplies and, in
those particular places, natural gas.

I suspect there are countless a great many alternative sources of
electric power available in most communities -- commercial establishments,
hospitals, etc. But, typically only ONE source of water or natural gas.

Not only are we dependant on water for our own biological needs, but,
imagine what happens when sanitation fails in a \"heavily\" populated
area.

Yes
I live close to the sea.
been experimenting with desalination, heating salty water..
You can do that with solar, but if you still have electrickety then with that.
But it takes a lot of power.
On boats it is often done with high pressure pumps and filters.
About 1000$ for a 12V set IIRC.
You could use solar panels to charge the batteries.
https://www.cruisingworld.com/desalination-decisions-watermakers/
For emergency (say in a liferaft) there exist manual pumps.

Catching rain is cheaper...

 

[Don Y]

On 12/10/2020 8:21 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:

Not only are we dependant on water for our own biological needs, but,
imagine what happens when sanitation fails in a \"heavily\" populated
area.

Yes
I live close to the sea.
been experimenting with desalination, heating salty water..
You can do that with solar, but if you still have electrickety then with that.
But it takes a lot of power.
On boats it is often done with high pressure pumps and filters.
About 1000$ for a 12V set IIRC.
You could use solar panels to charge the batteries.
https://www.cruisingworld.com/desalination-decisions-watermakers/
For emergency (say in a liferaft) there exist manual pumps.

Catching rain is cheaper...

When you only get 11 inches of precipitation, annually, catching rain is
a dubious proposition! Likewise, when the RH hovers around 15%, capturing
dew is just as improbable.

And, water isn\'t convenient to store in the quantities people need
to survive (large volumes).

 

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Thu, 10 Dec 2020 09:29:53 -0700) it happened Don Y
<blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <rqtieg$s2r$1@dont-email.me>:

On 12/10/2020 8:21 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:

Not only are we dependant on water for our own biological needs, but,
imagine what happens when sanitation fails in a \"heavily\" populated
area.

Yes
I live close to the sea.
been experimenting with desalination, heating salty water..
You can do that with solar, but if you still have electrickety then with that.
But it takes a lot of power.
On boats it is often done with high pressure pumps and filters.
About 1000$ for a 12V set IIRC.
You could use solar panels to charge the batteries.
https://www.cruisingworld.com/desalination-decisions-watermakers/
For emergency (say in a liferaft) there exist manual pumps.

Catching rain is cheaper...

When you only get 11 inches of precipitation, annually, catching rain is
a dubious proposition! Likewise, when the RH hovers around 15%, capturing
dew is just as improbable.

And, water isn\'t convenient to store in the quantities people need
to survive (large volumes).

Really?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_dams_in_the_United_States
Anyways when all cars go \'lectric the tankers can be re-purposed...
Water is not the big problem, look what Saudia Arabia did:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Saudi_Arabia
water can also easily be transported over long distances by pipes.
As long as you have electrickety that is
Most of planet earth is covered by H2O, plus food in the form of fishs etc.
Snow, glaciers, poles..

 

[Don Y]

On 12/10/2020 10:16 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:

On a sunny day (Thu, 10 Dec 2020 09:29:53 -0700) it happened Don Y
blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <rqtieg$s2r$1@dont-email.me>:

On 12/10/2020 8:21 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:

Not only are we dependant on water for our own biological needs, but,
imagine what happens when sanitation fails in a \"heavily\" populated
area.

Yes
I live close to the sea.
been experimenting with desalination, heating salty water..
You can do that with solar, but if you still have electrickety then with that.
But it takes a lot of power.
On boats it is often done with high pressure pumps and filters.
About 1000$ for a 12V set IIRC.
You could use solar panels to charge the batteries.
https://www.cruisingworld.com/desalination-decisions-watermakers/
For emergency (say in a liferaft) there exist manual pumps.

Catching rain is cheaper...

When you only get 11 inches of precipitation, annually, catching rain is
a dubious proposition! Likewise, when the RH hovers around 15%, capturing
dew is just as improbable.

And, water isn\'t convenient to store in the quantities people need
to survive (large volumes).

Really?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_dams_in_the_United_States
Anyways when all cars go \'lectric the tankers can be re-purposed...
Water is not the big problem, look what Saudia Arabia did:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Saudi_Arabia
water can also easily be transported over long distances by pipes.
As long as you have electrickety that is
Most of planet earth is covered by H2O, plus food in the form of fishs etc.
Snow, glaciers, poles..

Those solutions require considerable time/effort to implement.
If you have been \"attacked\", you have folks looking for water (to drink)
within a few DAYS.

 

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Thu, 10 Dec 2020 10:26:41 -0700) it happened Don Y
<blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <rqtloo$ptv$1@dont-email.me>:

On 12/10/2020 10:16 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 10 Dec 2020 09:29:53 -0700) it happened Don Y
blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <rqtieg$s2r$1@dont-email.me>:

On 12/10/2020 8:21 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:

Not only are we dependant on water for our own biological needs, but,
imagine what happens when sanitation fails in a \"heavily\" populated
area.

Yes
I live close to the sea.
been experimenting with desalination, heating salty water..
You can do that with solar, but if you still have electrickety then with that.
But it takes a lot of power.
On boats it is often done with high pressure pumps and filters.
About 1000$ for a 12V set IIRC.
You could use solar panels to charge the batteries.
https://www.cruisingworld.com/desalination-decisions-watermakers/
For emergency (say in a liferaft) there exist manual pumps.

Catching rain is cheaper...

When you only get 11 inches of precipitation, annually, catching rain is
a dubious proposition! Likewise, when the RH hovers around 15%, capturing
dew is just as improbable.

And, water isn\'t convenient to store in the quantities people need
to survive (large volumes).

Really?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_dams_in_the_United_States
Anyways when all cars go \'lectric the tankers can be re-purposed...
Water is not the big problem, look what Saudia Arabia did:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Saudi_Arabia
water can also easily be transported over long distances by pipes.
As long as you have electrickety that is
Most of planet earth is covered by H2O, plus food in the form of fishs etc.
Snow, glaciers, poles..

Those solutions require considerable time/effort to implement.
If you have been \"attacked\", you have folks looking for water (to drink)
within a few DAYS.

Yes, under attack, and all teh internet connected smart stuff will
not help pumps pushing water through teh pipes eather
So face it: Its all over!

I was reading Reuters today, and of course now China is about to attack Taiwan:
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/hongkong-taiwan-military/
very unusual page layout from them.
So, US versus China \'defending Taiwan?\'
Justification fed to the people for a Vietnam like war (that the US will then lose)
to justify a draft and burning the jobless that enlisted,,,
History has a few lessons.
Water will be the least of your worries.

....

 

[Martin Brown]

On 10/12/2020 16:29, Don Y wrote:

On 12/10/2020 8:21 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:

Not only are we dependant on water for our own biological needs, but,
imagine what happens when sanitation fails in a \"heavily\" populated
area.

Yes
I live close to the sea.
been experimenting with desalination, heating salty water..
You can do that with solar, but if you still have electrickety then
with that.
But it takes a lot of power.

A hell of a lot of power. Reverse osmosis is another way to do it.

On boats it is often done with high pressure pumps and filters.
About 1000$ for a 12V set IIRC.
You could use solar panels to charge the batteries.
  https://www.cruisingworld.com/desalination-decisions-watermakers/
For emergency (say in a liferaft) there exist manual pumps.

Catching rain is cheaper...

When you only get 11 inches of precipitation, annually, catching rain is
a dubious proposition!  Likewise, when the RH hovers around 15%, capturing
dew is just as improbable.

UK we have 40\" a year and I have a capped well I could extract
groundwater from - it dates from before there was mains water here. When
we first moved here the house still had a private water supply.

The house I had in Belgium was cold war era and had its own bulk tanks
for kerosene, petrol, rainwater and potable water and a bunker
underneath. It was uncomfortably close to NATO HQ though.

And, water isn\'t convenient to store in the quantities people need
to survive (large volumes).

You only need 1L a day to survive if you give up on washing. When I
lived in Japan we had a 40L emergency tank of potable water in case of
earthquake. We didn\'t though until we experienced the first moderately
violent quake and realised that it would be a good idea. We don\'t really
have anything similar in the UK (though Brexit may come close - but that
is a man made cataclysm caused by incompetent populist politicians).

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

 

[Don Y]

On 12/10/2020 11:02 AM, Martin Brown wrote:

On boats it is often done with high pressure pumps and filters.
About 1000$ for a 12V set IIRC.
You could use solar panels to charge the batteries.
https://www.cruisingworld.com/desalination-decisions-watermakers/
For emergency (say in a liferaft) there exist manual pumps.

Catching rain is cheaper...

When you only get 11 inches of precipitation, annually, catching rain is
a dubious proposition! Likewise, when the RH hovers around 15%, capturing
dew is just as improbable.

UK we have 40\" a year and I have a capped well I could extract groundwater from
- it dates from before there was mains water here. When we first moved here the
house still had a private water supply.

Our muni water supply is fed from wells. There\'s one a few hundred yards
(as the crow flies) from here. But, if \"the water is out\", it would imply
that those wells were not functioning (contamination, etc.). If just a lack of
power for the pump and treatment facility, you\'d need a BIG genset to get it
running. And, then you\'d be pushing water into the whole town, as a \"load\",
instead of just trying to harvest some for your own needs.

[We\'ll ignore the legal consequences of tinkering with it!]

The house I had in Belgium was cold war era and had its own bulk tanks for
kerosene, petrol, rainwater and potable water and a bunker underneath. It was
uncomfortably close to NATO HQ though.

Many people, here, harvest rainwater. But, that\'s usually for irrigation
and not really a potable supply. As rainfall is so seldom (if you pick a
random time of the year), that is just as likely to be depleted when you
need it.

[We\'ve considered burying a 2500G cistern in the back yard but it wouldn\'t
ease our water needs as it wouldn\'t be able to hold ENOUGH water beyond the
rainy season in order to meaningfully impact our muni water demand]

Granted, the water could be treated if you managed to think of doing this
before all of the kit for doing so vanished from store shelves!

And, water isn\'t convenient to store in the quantities people need
to survive (large volumes).

You only need 1L a day to survive if you give up on washing. When I lived in
Japan we had a 40L emergency tank of potable water in case of earthquake. We
didn\'t though until we experienced the first moderately violent quake and
realised that it would be a good idea. We don\'t really have anything similar in
the UK (though Brexit may come close - but that is a man made cataclysm caused
by incompetent populist politicians).

You also need to address waste; what do you do THIS AFTERNOON if the water
supply (which also means your toilet) goes away? It doesn\'t take long for
personal hygiene to suffer considerably.

And, by \"you\" consider your neighbors, the folks down the street, the rest
of the town, etc.

[Each time I have to do any plumbing, around the house, I am amused at
how often we \"need\" water for \"something\" -- just after I\'ve turned off
the main!]

With most water heaters, you have ~40-100G of water to fall back on -- IF
you remember that and are prepared to extract water from the \"boiler drain\"
(cuz lack of water pressure means the \"hot\" water won\'t be flowing).

Will \"you\" (your neighbors, etc.) be savvy enough to INSTANTLY adjust your
water usage to adapt to this new reality? Will you expect it to BE more
than a transient event (cuz if you expect it to be over in a day, you\'re
unlikely to budget your usage for much beyond that interval).

Will you find yourself \"targeted\" for having access to water when those
around you failed to prepare (or make economical use of the supplies they
unknowingly had on hand)?

[This is the same issue faced when you run a genset during an outage and
discover your neighbors all feel ENTITLED to benefit from YOUR investment
and preparation (\"No, I didn\'t buy a genset with the entire neighborhood
in mind as its load!\")]

 

[Don Y]

On 12/10/2020 10:47 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:

On a sunny day (Thu, 10 Dec 2020 10:26:41 -0700) it happened Don Y
blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <rqtloo$ptv$1@dont-email.me>:

On 12/10/2020 10:16 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 10 Dec 2020 09:29:53 -0700) it happened Don Y
blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote in <rqtieg$s2r$1@dont-email.me>:

On 12/10/2020 8:21 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:

Not only are we dependant on water for our own biological needs, but,
imagine what happens when sanitation fails in a \"heavily\" populated
area.

Yes
I live close to the sea.
been experimenting with desalination, heating salty water..
You can do that with solar, but if you still have electrickety then with that.
But it takes a lot of power.
On boats it is often done with high pressure pumps and filters.
About 1000$ for a 12V set IIRC.
You could use solar panels to charge the batteries.
https://www.cruisingworld.com/desalination-decisions-watermakers/
For emergency (say in a liferaft) there exist manual pumps.

Catching rain is cheaper...

When you only get 11 inches of precipitation, annually, catching rain is
a dubious proposition! Likewise, when the RH hovers around 15%, capturing
dew is just as improbable.

And, water isn\'t convenient to store in the quantities people need
to survive (large volumes).

Really?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_dams_in_the_United_States
Anyways when all cars go \'lectric the tankers can be re-purposed...
Water is not the big problem, look what Saudia Arabia did:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Saudi_Arabia
water can also easily be transported over long distances by pipes.
As long as you have electrickety that is
Most of planet earth is covered by H2O, plus food in the form of fishs etc.
Snow, glaciers, poles..

Those solutions require considerable time/effort to implement.
If you have been \"attacked\", you have folks looking for water (to drink)
within a few DAYS.

Yes, under attack, and all teh internet connected smart stuff will
not help pumps pushing water through teh pipes eather
So face it: Its all over!

A city water employee can visit all of the wells around the town in a
day or two; given that they have multiple employees (and getting the
wells back on-line would be an obvious priority), they could have folks at
every well before end of business, the next day.

But, that assumes the wells have been \"attacked\" by attempting to
confuse their controls. If they have been attacked by tainting
the ground water (in or near the intake), then the pumps would
have to be shut down while the extent -- and nature -- of the
contamination is determined.

[Note that we rely on Central Arizona Project water to recharge
our ground-water supply. This is a 300 mile, overground,
unprotected, man-made canal that transports water from the
northern part of the state. No idea what precautions are
taken against deliberate attacks on that source. And, of course,
even the ability to DETECT an attack doesn\'t mean the water can
be accessed in spite of the attack!]

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Arizona_Project>

 

[three_jeeps]

On Monday, December 7, 2020 at 9:46:42 AM UTC-5, Dean Hoffman wrote:

This article claims there are dramatic changes on the horizon.
Supposedly Google, Facebook, etc are dinosaurs.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/12/how_google_falls.html

Hmmm....Sounds like some wanna-be techie who learned about \'Moore\'s Law\' and tried to free associate it with some delusions of some major software development paradigm shift.
I work in this area, regularly attend the major academic conferences....I\'ve heard no rumblings along the lines he is postulating. A modicum of evidence would be helpful to evaluate the point. Since none is offered, it is mindless drivel.

 

[three_jeeps]

On Monday, December 7, 2020 at 9:25:29 PM UTC-5, gnuarm.del...@gmail.com wrote:

On Monday, December 7, 2020 at 10:39:49 AM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:

The biggest challenge, IMO, still lies in the meatware. Folks
just aren\'t comfortable thinking RELIABLY about concurrent actions.
Too often, they internalize them as serial ones that happen to
be acting in parallel (which isn\'t really the case). People
have a hard time dealing with PSEUDO-concurrency, despite the
fact that it gives you lots of implicit guarantees that TRUE
concurrency can\'t claim.
Man, it must be a bitch designing hardware where everything happens in parallel.
Finally, the sloppy mentality of most \"coders\" will have to change.
Or they can try designing hardware where there is real parallelism.

--

Rick C.

- Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
- Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

There are architectures that address parallelism...VLIW, MPP, Vector machines, all exploit parallelism at different levels of granularity. It is not only about execution concurrency it is about the data dependencies associated with concurrency.

 

[Clifford Heath]

On 11/12/20 4:16 am, Jan Panteltje wrote:

Water is not the big problem, look what Saudia Arabia did:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Saudi_Arabia

Saudi groundwater extraction is a disaster. Natural surface water oases
have vanished; 80% of all the estimated ancient groundwater has been
extracted and the natural water table lowered by up to 150 metres. They
haven\'t invested heavily in solar (that could drive de-sal), and when
the oil dries up their investments in gold Rolls Royces won\'t save them.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Saudi_Arabia#Fossil_groundwater>

CH

 

[Clifford Heath]

On 11/12/20 10:00 am, three_jeeps wrote:

On Monday, December 7, 2020 at 9:46:42 AM UTC-5, Dean Hoffman wrote:
This article claims there are dramatic changes on the horizon.
Supposedly Google, Facebook, etc are dinosaurs.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/12/how_google_falls.html
Hmmm....Sounds like some wanna-be techie who learned about \'Moore\'s Law\' and tried to free associate it with some delusions of some major software development paradigm shift.
I work in this area, regularly attend the major academic conferences....I\'ve heard no rumblings along the lines he is postulating. A modicum of evidence would be helpful to evaluate the point. Since none is offered, it is mindless drivel.

If you read jayvalentine.com, you can see that his ego has been inflated
by having had the opportunity to replace a hopelessly convoluted
wasteful billing system with a green-fields solution that\'s 1000x more
efficient.

The same improvements are possible in almost all enterprise computation,
without any new software or development paradigms; the problem is not
destroying the business while deploying a completely new bespoke solution.

It\'s the deployment, not the development, that poses the big challenge.

CH

 

[Don Y]

On 12/10/2020 4:07 PM, three_jeeps wrote:

There are architectures that address parallelism...VLIW, MPP, Vector
machines, all exploit parallelism at different levels of granularity. It is
not only about execution concurrency it is about the data dependencies
associated with concurrency.

It is *that* which most \"coders\" are incapable of ferreting out.
Their thinking is of the \"first do THIS, then do THAT\" variety.

There are also opportunities for rethinking chosen algorithms
to avoid artificial dependencies.

But, unless you have that as a *goal*, you are unlikely to
expend the effort -- nor have the experience -- in doing so.
As a \"coder\", you\'ve probably not had much formal theory in
developing algorithms and just see applications as exercises
in generating equivalent \"computer prose\" from \"English prose\".