raven
Jupiter
That ain't Earth, kiddies.
Posts: 509
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Post by raven on Apr 22, 2008 21:33:59 GMT -4
I'm there. It is a little know fact that the system idle process is what actually runs the MSN web site through distributed computing. The slowdowns and occasional outages at MSN are caused by people either using too many of their own clock cycles or turning off their computers. It is rumored that somewhere in the EULA for Windows, there is a requirement that the user leave a certain amount of clock cycles free for system idle. However no one has ever read and understood the whole EULA without their head exploding, so this can't be confirmed. Even the Softie lawyers must focus on certain sections and limit daily EULA exposure to safe levels. To paraphrase Monty Python. . . "All through the winter of '03, we had translators working in EULA-proof conditions, to try and produce a sensible version of the Microsoft EULA. They worked on one word each for greater safety. One of them, saw two words of the EULA, and spent several weeks in hospital." ;D
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Post by Ginnie on Jun 17, 2008 20:55:03 GMT -4
An overview of the Apollo on-board computers can be found here: history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htmIt is interesting how they entered numbers to represent nouns (events) and verbs (actions). They must have had a manual available at all times. I can't imagine an astronaut remembering them all or taking the chance that they would put in a wrong code.
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Post by Joe Durnavich on Jun 17, 2008 21:04:22 GMT -4
They must have had a manual available at all times. I can't imagine an astronaut remembering them all or taking the chance that they would put in a wrong code.
The crews generally knew the computer system quite well. Dave Scott was said to be able to do creative new things with it (naturally worrying any programmer on the ground because somebody was taking his code into untested territory) . They did practice hundreds, if not thousands, of hours on the procedures.
I wish I could get away with sticking a customer with a noun-verb interface. Web pages are too much work.
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Jason
Pluto
May all your hits be crits
Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Jun 17, 2008 22:36:47 GMT -4
They didn't know all the errors - Armstrong and Aldrin didn't know what the Program Error 1201 meant during the Apollo 11 landing.
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Post by Ginnie on Jun 17, 2008 22:40:09 GMT -4
They didn't know all the errors - Armstrong and Aldrin didn't know what the Program Error 1201 meant during the Apollo 11 landing. Was that the computer overload error?
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Post by Czero 101 on Jun 17, 2008 23:28:23 GMT -4
Was that the computer overload error? Yep...
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Post by Joe Durnavich on Jun 17, 2008 23:29:04 GMT -4
They didn't know all the errors - Armstrong and Aldrin didn't know what the Program Error 1201 meant during the Apollo 11 landing.
Those sorts of errors are best referred to ground support for advice. Not too long before the Apollo 11 mission, Kranz worked with the MIT staff to get a list of all the program alarms and what to do about them. That's one of the reasons they knew right away that the mission was go on the 1202 and 1201 alarms.
The team at MIT did have to work frantically to figure out what to do to prevent the alarms before the LM lifted off. Fortunately, an MIT engineer who as at home during the landings rushed in to tell the others that he seen these alarms happen in a LM simulator when the rendezvous radar was on during the landing. They checked the telemetry and verified that, indeed, the radar was on. (It was written into the procedures at Buzz's request, but testing failed to detect the problem.)
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Post by Grand Lunar on Jun 18, 2008 18:43:52 GMT -4
To be fair, though, I don't know much about how computers work. I would also be in this group, if not for my schooling. Then again, we are being taught about the specific purpose computers used on marine engines. Thanks to a chat with Jay, I did find that Apollo and computers on fuel injected engines are similar in operation.
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Post by Grand Lunar on Jun 18, 2008 18:46:54 GMT -4
But if you re-read my first paragraph you'll discover that the problem lies not in failing to understand the inner workings of a computer, but in one's behavior when that is the case. People who fail to understand something can either trust those who do understand it or expand their own understanding, and thereby still lay claim on reason. Conspiracy theorists persist in their ignorance but deny it, inventing their own rules by which the thing works. You may not understand how computers work, but you don't pretend that you do. That's what makes you a reasonable person. I can see why many HBs dislike you, Jay. You know their behavior better than they know it themselves. It's funny to see HBs pretend to know more than professionals. When this happens in my industry, boating, the customer comes to the pros, often with a bigger problem than he/she began with.* * I must admit, I'm not sure many women would tackle a marine engine problem. Anyone know any different?
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Post by Grand Lunar on Jun 18, 2008 18:47:54 GMT -4
To be fair, though, I don't know much about how computers work. It's a not well known fact that computers run on the tranferance of smoke along tiny tubes set into the boards. If you accidently lett that smoke out, the whole thing ceases to work. Hey, that's exactly what we were taught too!
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Post by Grand Lunar on Jun 18, 2008 18:55:06 GMT -4
They must have had a manual available at all times. I can't imagine an astronaut remembering them all or taking the chance that they would put in a wrong code.The crews generally knew the computer system quite well. Dave Scott was said to be able to do creative new things with it (naturally worrying any programmer on the ground because somebody was taking his code into untested territory) . They did practice hundreds, if not thousands, of hours on the procedures. I wish I could get away with sticking a customer with a noun-verb interface. Web pages are too much work. Any stories on what Dave Scott did with the DSKY?
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Post by Joe Durnavich on Jun 18, 2008 20:33:17 GMT -4
Any stories on what Dave Scott did with the DSKY?
Basically, he used the computer to point the guidance telescope at planets and other features. On Apollo 9, he fed in the jettisoned LM's orbital parameters and had the computer track the telescope on the LM so that he could follow it.
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