From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.2 (2018-09-13) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_SIGNED,DKIM_VALID, DKIM_VALID_AU,FREEMAIL_FORGED_FROMDOMAIN,FREEMAIL_FROM, HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS,MAILING_LIST_MULTI,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.2 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [45.79.103.53]) by inbox.vuxu.org (OpenSMTPD) with ESMTP id dabe05aa for ; Mon, 21 Oct 2019 19:22:05 +0000 (UTC) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 60ACF9B9E7; Tue, 22 Oct 2019 05:22:04 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2EBDD94772; Tue, 22 Oct 2019 05:21:40 +1000 (AEST) Authentication-Results: minnie.tuhs.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key; unprotected) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="O7ILDYbU"; dkim-atps=neutral Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id A271D94772; Tue, 22 Oct 2019 05:21:38 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail-lf1-f45.google.com (mail-lf1-f45.google.com [209.85.167.45]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id F068093D8C for ; Tue, 22 Oct 2019 05:21:37 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mail-lf1-f45.google.com with SMTP id y6so4763545lfj.2 for ; Mon, 21 Oct 2019 12:21:37 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20161025; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:from:date:message-id:subject:to :cc; bh=1sBUlIqN9ianY5lEsen2rmS8ZaNaX1+Y2TEMjyAIDKs=; b=O7ILDYbUZr20cBwEual6f2HMPkMRqL8rKufKe8PeuKkXpn3NkXaIkZGnH0QutPCjie 1Otj+0DOYCRpUtKDcW0of6Gz9ni5tnQtEtuyDLpimgZOqdtsa7EL43zGpeNAa2ts6m3f m6Pi9nnnNcAdPowh680eJsInAoVtUsC8y/0iAqbeiyQ6801XmktAQPynl+bJ9ueBWHNE vYTe+m2l3+6zXJvG/5SBTGluo6cv9Wis07q2eanRN0uGXkgPrahlg7EOTmj3kEV6wlwE UB0CF3Oj0KSS2rVxLyEKGeVCMr3TiQnjj3h3qV27VgImL4swxq7zKnU7lRjopf+oy1QY h8Qg== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20161025; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:in-reply-to:references:from:date :message-id:subject:to:cc; bh=1sBUlIqN9ianY5lEsen2rmS8ZaNaX1+Y2TEMjyAIDKs=; b=VN4rumE+c1WXiL4d1bysdDFwIUBw/1Weip0RooDugQnCJ3t4gs3LBQx0yhbNfr2Bpv TJWnahwQzMC6g1+9qKbzEgTD9e2KMkwzChsBLoexly/yt9EEHc6YQRIZ/bsnCWRGQTJh xQ19c6Up4KCDthc9J1P0rmSyFk6lH2B/hCxb5hC5j4XKAmzUQMOwzMs6KOlfg1TThD+T DBQw23nnLeLMswO0x2cf+yZ7CGm0kUfzad+yZzQv55A0gz5aAkK6KmC8QhPdcbvdcu7l SAyh73FLsp7U7W94/ykKNI+Aeq3lO5/EVKRk0ziV8URMfx9UmTwJ7th1KeZpkNX7Vkl+ N8+A== X-Gm-Message-State: APjAAAVnFMDBMQdQozuEoAnrYwancoapjYZJxsgWYgMmEZ4Oxmqimfvc ed2S4V1lDfp123NEz2rwx6pY8iKN9a6s12/w5No= X-Google-Smtp-Source: APXvYqxnXPxt2UxMryo3zaRP2f7ZLP0DBQ8+eyCqMN6PoKTEeMR2O33mcbhmKom1rFYJtd/sSWJ80C0PdKbJvbSPUxc= X-Received: by 2002:ac2:5182:: with SMTP id u2mr6875795lfi.143.1571685696162; Mon, 21 Oct 2019 12:21:36 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Received: by 2002:ab3:6598:0:0:0:0:0 with HTTP; Mon, 21 Oct 2019 12:21:34 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: References: <201910191440.x9JEe8PB035921@tahoe.cs.Dartmouth.EDU> From: Paul Winalski Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2019 15:21:34 -0400 Message-ID: To: Dave Horsfall Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Subject: Re: [TUHS] How to do differential/integral on a PDP-7, was: Space Travel X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.26 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Cc: The Eunuchs Hysterical Society Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" On 10/21/19, Dave Horsfall wrote: > > Am I the only one who remembers the Defectium (as we called it)? Intel > denied the the problem until their noses got rubbed into it, after which > they instructed Sales to refuse replacements for any chip that failed > after using a demo program that demonstrated said defect, claiming that it > would hardly ever happen. I'm sure that's become a textbook case study in classes on public relations. It really WAS an obscure corner case, and every CPU chip has an errata list, but that's not the point. Intel would have been far better off admitting the problem and replacing the chips at the get-go. In the end they had to replace them anyway, and the $$$ cost to Intel's reputation way outstripped the cost of replacing the chips. David Letterman even did a "9.9998 reasons to buy genuine Intel" routine. That for me was the definitive proof that computers had gone mainstream in society. > Err, would you fly on an aircraft designed by Defectiums? Or cross a > bridge, etc? I'm much more alarmed by the lack of memory error detection and correction on a lot of modern computers. This is one of my big concerns with the use of GPUs for heavy-duty computation. GPUs typically don't have memory with error detection because the worst that happens if there's a memory error in the GPU is you get a bad pixel or two displayed. I'd not like to cross a bridge whose design software used CUDA. -Paul W.