"Register" gets IBM story wrong

Mike,

The dollar figure we announced in the AMCC/IBM deal was $227 million.

The Register story says $277 million.

Scott Brooks
Systems & Technology Group Communications
Microsoft IBM

[Communications. IBM has heard of it. Ed.]

Paul R. Engel rants

So the F*ck Face Failures at AMD are fessing up that the EU investigation is actually an AMD witch Hunt - to do politically to Intel what the F*ck Face Failures at AMD did to themselves. And now these miserable sh*ts are doing the same thing Japan.

Praise be to the STINQUIRER - for forever supporting **holes like AMD.

Paul R. Engel

[* Letters may be edited to protect the innocent like me. Ed.]

Leave the Vole alone

Dear Mike,

while I really love the British and their dry humor (which I share), and I read the Inquirer daily, but I do get a bit tired of the constant Microsoft/Bill Gates bashing. I would like to point out that without the Microsoft/Bill Gates crusaders, computers would cost twice as much as they do now and 90% of your readers wouldn't be seeing your online magazine (Windows' users).....just a thought.

Mike Taylor
Ft. Worth, TX

Intel's Hypocrisy. Sheesh

So far I had been ignoring the whole Intel model number situation, as it seemed like it was just a transparent marketing ploy; but when I saw that some poor reader thought well of the model numbers, I had to respond. Despite all the bad things that Intel (and everyone else) has to say about AMD's PR ratings, at least they give some objective basis for comparing processors; model numbers can (and will) be manipulated, since consumers seem to automatically equate higher model numbers with better performance.

I don't know why no one has pointed out Intel's hypocrisy in criticizing benchmark-based performance numbers, given that Intel used something called iComp ratings to help sell 486's and the first Pentiums. Strangely, iComp ratings are no longer mentioned at the Intel website, but there is an interesting chart at this address. Intel stopped publishing iComp ratings the moment that comparing clock speeds favoured their processors; now that clock speed isn't so useful for selling new processors, they are going back to numeric ratings. This time, however, Intel is not going through the tedious process of doing meaningful performance measurements; now the marketing department can just make up the numbers that will be used to compare processors. I fail to see how Intel's model numbers will help anyone to decide which processor to buy; any more than clock speeds will tell you if a Celeron is faster than a Pentium M.

Jim Summers

Rio Rancho, not Albuquerque

Mike,

You stated this....

We discussed this with an Intel executive off-the-record some years ago when we were visiting its Albuquerque fab

4100 Sara Rd SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124

That is the address of the fab unit in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

It is not in Albuquerque and I have no idea why folks like you continue to state it is. While Albuquerque is right down the hill from Rio Rancho it is not in Albuquerque. Intel does not have a fab unit in Albuquerque, New Mexico and I doubt they ever will. So once again can you folks please state the proper address of Intel when it comes to stating where in New Mexico they are.

I know first hand where the fab is. I used to drive by it everyday and I've seen it grow over time but again it is not in Albuquerque so stop stating it is.

Kevin V. Jakubowski

[Yeah. As we pointed out to Kevin, Harrow is not in London, but is a separate town. Still, everyone says Harrow's in London. So we're going to continue with our pig ignorant attitude to Albuquerque. Which isn't a bad place at all, provided you ignore the huge taxi fares, the high altitude and the tumbrils. Ed.]

Earth screams as Moon crashes into it

I got a little playful with that asteroid prediction website and started wondering....what if the moon (an "asteroid" with a diameter of about 2,060 miles with a density of 3,350 kg/m^3) were to hit us at a modest speed of about 8 km/sec (assuming it would hit the pacific ocean as a blessing). Well heres the data. I placed the point of impact at 11,000 miles from the observation point meaning if you're in britain...say byebye to hawaii.

Your Inputs:
Distance from Impact: 17710.00 km = 10997.91 miles
Projectile Diameter: 3315240.40 m = 10873988.51 ft = 2058.76 miles
Projectile Density: 3350 kg/m3
Impact Velocity: 8.00 km/s = 4.97 miles/s
Impact Angle: 90 degrees
Target Density: 1000 kg/m3
Target Type: Competent Rock or saturated soil

Energy:
2.05 x 1030 Joules = 4.89 x 1014 MegaTons TNT
The average interval between impacts of this size somewhere on Earth is 2.2 x 1013years

Crater Size:
What does this mean?
Transient Crater Diameter: 6687.40 km = 4152.88 miles
Final Crater Diameter: 21137.68 km = 13126.50 miles
The crater formed is a complex crater.
Thermal Radiation:
What does this mean?

Time for maximum radiation: 3173.36 seconds after impact
Visible fireball radius: 13058.3 km = 8109.2 miles
The fireball appears 167.6 times larger than the sun
Thermal Exposure: 1.27 x 1011 Joules/m2
Duration of Irradiation: 32991 seconds
Radiant flux (relative to the sun): 3840.3

Effects of Thermal Radiation:

Clothing ignites
Much of the body suffers third degree burns
Newspaper ignites
Plywood flames
Deciduous trees ignite
Grass ignites

Seismic Effects:
What does this mean?
The major seismic shaking will arrive at approximately 3542.0 seconds. Richter Scale Magnitude: 14.4 (This is greater than any shaking in recorded history)
Mercalli Scale Intensity at a distance of 17710 km:
IX. General panic. Masonry D destroyed; masonry C heavily damaged, sometimes with complete collapse; masonry B seriously damaged. (General damage to foundations) Frame structures, if not bolted, shifted off foundations. Frames racked. Serious damage to reservoirs. Underground pipes broken. Conspicuous cracks in ground. In alluviated areas sand and mud ejected, earthquake fountains, sand craters.
X. Most masonry and frame structures destroyed with their foundations. Some well-built wooden structures and bridges destroyed. Serious damage to dams, dikes, embankments. Large landslides. Water thrown on banks of canals, rivers, lakes, etc. Sand and mud shifted horizontally on beaches and flat land. Rails bent slightly.
Masonry B. Good workmanship and mortar; reinforced, but not designed in detail to resist lateral forces.
Masonry C. Ordinary workmanship and mortar; no extreme weaknesses like failing to tie in at corners, but neither reinforced nor designed against horizontal forces.
Masonry D. Weak materials, such as adobe; poor mortar; low standards of workmanship; weak horizontally.

Ejecta:
What does this mean?
Little rocky ejecta reaches this site; fallout is dominated by condensed vapor from the projectile
. Air Blast:
What does this mean?
The air blast will arrive at approximately 59033.3 seconds.
Peak Overpressure: 6601453.4 Pa = 66.0145 bars = 937.4064 psi
Max wind velocity: 1864.2 m/s = 4170.0 mph
Sound Intensity: 136 dB (Dangerously Loud)

Damage Description:

Multistory wall-bearing buildings will collapse.
Wood frame buildings will almost completely collapse.
Multistory steel-framed office-type buildings will suffer extreme frame distortion, incipient collapse.
Highway truss bridges will collapse.
Highway girder bridges will collapse.
Glass windows will shatter.
Cars and trucks will be largely displaced and grossly distorted and will require rebuilding before use
. Up to 90 percent of trees blown down; remainder stripped of branches and leaves.

Patent Place

This article

Aren't patents supposed to be for /useful/ things ... okay, let's see the options :

File a Utility Patent Application

Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or compositions of matters, or any new useful improvement thereof.

File a Design Patent Application

Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture.

File a Plant Patent Application

Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.

I'm not qualified to say, but I think it reads as though they patented the technology and not a unique design? Synchronising the LEDs to the fan's motion is one cute idea, but is basically how a laser printer's mirror already works, and those things that draw laser shapes on the ceiling. And if the LEDs are on the fan and powered by induction from magnets on the case, that might be innovative (although you can buy light-up things to fit to bicycle wheels), but they didn't do that.

They could have made this useful. They could have converted the device into a hardware error code reporter, or made it change colour according to CPU temperature. I presume they have to say in the patent how it is useful. It doesn't have to be /very/ useful, just a little bit.

But it's just pretty lights. And while a particular design with pretty lights could maybe be patented, the concept of pretty lights per se cannot be. Or else you could sue fireflies.

Losers.

Name, email supplied