[geeks] Mac definitions (was: Smart phone data usage)

[Jonathan Patschke]

On Thu, 7 Jul 2011, Sandwich Maker wrote:

> " The Mac UI is not fundamentally different from how it was in System 7.
> " The widgets are more colorful, sure.  The underlying OS is not
> " fundamentally different from modern NeXTStep.
>
> i don't recall system 7; my first unix was sVr1, in the mid '80s.  it
> had no graphic ui at all.  otoh, it was the root for the posix std, so
> modern compliant os are all rather like it under the gui.  osx 10.5
> even has at&t ksh.

I was referring to Macintosh System Software 7, not AT&T Version 7 Unix,
but you're right.

> " Which makes my plan to find and restore a 944 all that more appealing.
>
> interesting choice!  a cow orker had a 924, back in the early '80s.

Well, they're fun (great power/weight ratio and weight distribution), have
very reasonable fuel economy, and look to be very easy to work on (unless
you need to get at the front end of the gearbox).  Also, they have an
engine that's much more familiar in design than the horizontally-opposed
6-cylinder engines that Porsche used in almost everything else.

A 928 would be a lot of fun, too.  Strangely, a well-preserved 928 is
cheaper than a well-preserved 944 in this part of the world, probably
because the 928 drinks fuel at a much quicker pace.

> there's lots of cars i'd like to have if i could, but for porsches i'd
> lean more toward a 916, or 356b speedster like my hs sci teacher had.

I could never afford a 356 unless it were rusted to uselessness.  There
might be attainable 356 kit-cars, though.

> since control algorithms are just bits on a chip, they have unparalleled
> flexibility and adaptability.  they've made not only closed-loop efi but
> also abs and traction control affordable for even ordinary cars.
>
> the danger is that they'll create a generation of point-and-click
> drivers, with no ability to control a car - or even recognize its limits
> - when electronics fail, but that's a different argument.

I think we're already there.  Do driver-education courses even teach about
driving without ABS anymore?

> and one tool -has- fundamentally changed - the gadget you need to
> diagnose the powertrain control system.  one could check and adjust
> timing and mixture, recurve a distributor or rejet a carb for cheap,
> but something that can do more than the most basic diagnostics on the
> car of today - never mind reprogramming - is out of reach of the
> average weekend mechanic.

Yeah, there is that.  However, with so many vehicles using CAN, we can't
be that far away from well-understood open source tools.  If I had any
spare time at all these days, I'd work on one just so that I could take a
look at what's going on.

> " [0] SMP and NUMA rather than attached processors, although I suppose a
> "      modern GPU is a wonderful spin on the attached-processor idea,
> "      especially given the excellently-fast interconnect.
>
> and given that high end gpus have more gates on them than cpus these
> days.

If it moves a little further, maybe the pendulum will swing all the way in
that direction.  The GPU will do the bulk of the work, and the CPU will
just be the "I/O processor".  One could argue that's already the case for
computers built primarily to play games.

-- 
Jonathan Patschke |
Elgin, TX         | "He who is contented is rich." -- Lao Tzu
USA               |