What is Digg?76 Comments
- Calypsoaf, on 06/21/2008, -1/+122Admit it, 99% of us have no clue what anything in this article means, but we read the words "optimize computer speed" and dugg the story.
- xlneoMAXlx, on 06/20/2008, -2/+76Crysis cowers in the corner.
- aaabatteries, on 06/21/2008, -1/+58I made this really sweet creature in Spore Creature Creator with a 9 foot wang.
Today was a good day. - Bluetar, on 06/20/2008, -3/+39Next stop, SkyNet, T-1000s and the end of us all. lol
- CyberStriker, on 06/21/2008, -2/+34I know a better app. It's called Windows Optimizer and it helps by clearing out your unneeded win32 folder.
At least, that's what /b/ told me... >_>
Crap, my laptop stopped working. - aaabatteries, on 06/21/2008, -4/+35Sweet I can't wait for this to arrive at consumer level in 15 years.
- Zantive, on 06/21/2008, -0/+18My ADD prevented me from even reading the article, but hell yes I'll Digg this.
- BigManOnCampus, on 06/20/2008, -0/+16This is a new imaging technique that will allow engineers/researchers to observe physical strain on the layers of a die. Optimizing computer speed is only one benefit of this new imaging tool
- mal1964, on 06/21/2008, -0/+15I only read the comments.
- mal1964, on 06/21/2008, -1/+15"Go right to ludicrous speed"
- takeo1775, on 06/21/2008, -0/+12now that you ask again, I'm not so sure
- euro22, on 12/17/2008, -0/+11cures ED.
- takeo1775, on 06/21/2008, -0/+11maybe
- theone156, on 06/21/2008, -0/+9What are the other benefits?
- wonderbriefs, on 06/21/2008, -0/+8Triple-negatives make me go cross-eyed with a headache. How about "Even though it was interesting, I just don't see a point..."
- Chainheart, on 06/21/2008, -3/+11Fulfill cliche: Criticize Vista without trying it with on a decent computer
- dsmx, on 06/21/2008, -0/+7Ludicrous speed?
Sir we've never gone that fast, I don't know if the ship can take it.
What the matter Colonel sanders, chicken? - mal1964, on 06/21/2008, -0/+7LOL! At the beginning I thought you were really talking to me.
- FinestCall, on 06/21/2008, -0/+6Meaning I can get my porn much faster?
- IVillageIdiot, on 06/21/2008, -0/+6A couple of points that may interest some people, first you can learn more if you look up some of the terms that are being used.
For example, this article is a simple explanation of the actual material they are talking about examining with the new testing device:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strained_silicon
(I don't put all my faith in wikipedia, but you can usually find a link or two that will help, if nothing else)
So, basically what they are saying is that they formerly used the time honored engineering method known as the “WAG” (or… Wild Assed Guess), occasionally they would be required to resort to the use of the “SWAG” (or… SUPER Wild Assed Guess) to inform their calculations regarding how the particular methods of stretching atoms apart was effecting/affecting the performance of the pathways in the chips they are making.
They would then measure the performance, and if it was better (or even if it was just good), then it “must have” worked! But why it worked, nobody really knew because they were using theory, and models based on those theories, to construct things well enough to see if it actually worked. (Sound familiar???)
If you have a “pathway” that is NOT stretched, say 100M atoms, the electrons take a certain amount of time to cross that pathway. They loose a tiny bit of speed due to the resistance inherent in the material (whatever it might be), that resistance causes heat, and a loss of efficiency is the result. IF… you stretch that same number of atoms out a bit (IE like the skin of a drumhead, for example) you cross a marginally further distance with less resistance, and less heat, and THERFORE… you’ve increased the efficiency of that pathway. If you do that in enough pathways (and transistors), the whole chip works better.
THE WAY…. they’re doing it, is by using holograms to detect the effects of those stretchings (and everything else unseen that effects/affects/inflects that transmission).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_holography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_electron ...
Apparently, the interesting portion of this method is that it takes direct measurements, not guesses based on theories and modeling. And, that it works over larger areas (relatively larger areas…) at thicker slices. Theory and modeling can only take you so far, and then usually, you have to tweak the model to make it perform closer to the expected results or else you get crazy results and your co-workers look at you funny.
(Imagine this: we couldn’t get a model of the smallest things to work correctly, and had to guess at what the results meant. What if you tried to model something really LARGE, like a planet and it’s weather systems, imagine how much tweaking you’d have to do to make the results look correct?!?!?!? Realization leads to innovation and eventually, matriculation; lest we forget! )
The article doesn’t say they’re using light exactly; perhaps they are using very sensitive fields instead. If you’re using light to measure something, it has to be thin enough for the light to pass through it, or it has to be on the surface where the light is reflected back, or… you may as well be staring at a brick, in the dark….
Having said that, a hologram usually uses light… altogether, very interesting….
In the end, the very BEST aspect of this new technology isn’t listed at all. Faster chips, better designs, cheaper components, etc, etc, etc are great news. BUT… what is of the most importance is that yet one more group of human beings will be able to abandon theory and the “world-of-the-SWAG”, and begin to use direct and indirect observations to inform their theories, and in so doing they make the theories better, thusly making mankind’s understanding of the world around us better..
That ALONE, is worth the efforts that have been expended in this pursuit.
Congratulations CRNS, you’ve won a great victory! - gldfshnpcklejar, on 06/21/2008, -0/+6I only look at the thumbnail.
- Scaryclouds, on 06/21/2008, -0/+6Yea, I was totally lost. I understand what they are talking about, but have no idea how the science works.
- RAGEdemon, on 06/21/2008, -2/+7"patented" = fail
- takeo1775, on 06/21/2008, -1/+6everyone who says newfag is Poisoning the internet.
(and you also broke the rules) - UtopiaInTheSky, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4Nope, SkyNet is already up there:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7451867. ... - BlakeEM, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4Don't forget its memory...
http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2008/apr-jun/engineerin ... - XternalHD, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4One thing leads to another and then BAM! Skynet is self-aware.
- CalamariAce, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4FTA: "They essentially relied on simulations and monitoring of performance without ever truly knowing the strain state. This problem has now been resolved, thanks to a new strain measurement method developed by a CNRS team in Toulouse."
This seems to be the popular and efficient approach with anything which you cannot or will not bother modeling in detail; rather you just use curve fitting and use simulations and manual adjustments to make the data conform to the ideal pattern. The brute force method, as it were.
I believe that what the article is really saying is that they have managed to improve the design process, so less trial & error and curve fitting etc will be required. I imagine that the main upshot of this would be shorter design periods and as a result lower design costs (which might hopefully translate to lower prices for consumers), but I don't think this kind of optimization will lead to any great leap in processing power. - LEPT0N, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4"Hmm, increase my killing power huh?"
- balrog85, on 06/21/2008, -2/+6So...I'll be able to play Crysis maybe?
- paloooz, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3It's swap space! It will revolutionize computing forever! Double your memory just by installing this program!
- getouttamyfog, on 06/21/2008, -1/+4I hear rubbing your wiener on your LCD optimizes the computer speed.
- garageboy101, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3It's like the Genome Project. They don't fully understand what the whole scheme means, but with the little information they have, they can comprehend what they currently have. The way that the microprocessor works is with silicon (hence the famous Silicon Valley) and the crystal lattice (structure of the silicon) has not been fully understood, but now they do understand it; hence, they can use that information to make stuff work better. It's like the difference between the crystal lattice of diamonds and carbon ashes.
- ThantiK, on 06/21/2008, -0/+31 word that will ensure that none of us see any economical use of this for 20 years. "Patented". Have fun drooling over your unusable technology.
- inactive, on 06/21/2008, -1/+3"naïveté".
- tetsuwan, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Personally I looked for the damn peer-review paper, without finding it. This ***** is very relevant to my field of study.
- teddyrux, on 06/21/2008, -2/+4I read it, didn't understand it, and didn't digg it. I didn't not digg it because it wasn't interesting (albeit, beyond my comprehension), I just don't see a point in digging a story if it's already on the front page and I have no need to bookmark it into my digg profile to search for later.
- MtheoryX, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Stop.
- karmabandit, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Did a theoretical physicist spit in your soup or something? You've got some serious theory-hating issues there. Anyway, I'm writing to clear up your confusion over: "The article doesn’t say they’re using light exactly; perhaps they are using very sensitive fields instead." As the wikipedia article says, electron holography uses "electron waves instead of light waves"-- hence the name. Also, "very sensitive fields" is something that people might say in star trek, not science. Still, I'm digging you up for lots of good information.
- tetsuwan, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2.
- frsrblch, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Aha! All those Materials Engineering courses are paying off now!
- dsmx, on 06/21/2008, -2/+4Answer me this then what does vista do that requires such a high spec computer?
- renegadeafk, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1I use it with a X2 5000+ and 4 gigs of ram and it's been incredibly snappy and responsive for me, gaming ahs been great too. I like linux and have tried A LOT of distros over the years. To me gnome seems much less snappy and responsive then XP or vista.
- inactive, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1My 2.2 GHz 512mb SDRAM system runs Vista at the same speed as Ubuntu 8.04
- paloooz, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1I guess no one liks my Rambus jokes here. :(
- matt.rubin, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1people need to program in 64bit before they tap on this i mean seriously now.
- tetsuwan, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1lol what?
Everything in semiconductor technology that's in use today is patented. Everything. Most patents are used both in-house and licensed to competitors, while only a few collect dust on the shelves. - inactive, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1It doesn't do anything that requires it.
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