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Operating Systems

Submission + - Is power consumption affected by OS? 1

dbbd writes: I was told that a 32 bits OS will make the CPU consume less power, than a 64 bits OS.
If that is so, it would make sense to choose 32bit OSes on laptops whenever 64bits is not a must.

Is that correct? If so, why does a 32bits OS consume less power than a 64?

Comment Passive cooler (Score 1) 422

I have a 8800GT to which I replaced the fan with a passive cooler.

After playing SC2 for a couple of hours, the screen started to blink, and after 2 seconds, died (black).

The game was still on - I could hear the music.

After a reset to the system, everything was fine.

So, should I put back the active cooler?

Programming

Submission + - Refreshing C++

dbbd writes: I am a professional programmer, working as one for the past 25 years.
In the past 10 years I've been deep within the Linux kernel space, using mostly C (and some assembly;)

I need to surface to userland, and it so happens that we'll be using C++.
My C++ background was in the days of cfront; a lot has changed since then.
I've used other object-oriented languages, so its not conceptual problems, more of
a question of syntax, template libraries, best practices etc.

What are your suggestions to getting up to speed as quickly as possible?

Comment Analyze your real needs (Score 1) 611

The biggest mistake, which directly leads to the original question above, is that you need to back up everything.

If you spend some time analyzing your data, you'll find out that not all data is equal. Loosely your data is split among:

1. actual work (spreadsheets, documents, etc.)

2. media

3. programs

4. OS There are different attributes to those different types. Your work files are most likely the most important, they are also the least in size, and the hardest to re-create. Media does not change over time. New is added, but whatever is there, never changes. Programs are easily re-installed, same as OS.

What I'm saying is you need different backup strategies. For me, work files are backed up online via a service. Music media is backed up on DVDs, incrementally, so when new is added, only the new is backed up (and for me media is music only - for movies I keep the original DVD media, or if downloaded, I don't bother. They are re-downloadable. Same for programs - either I have the original, of if downloaded, I create a DVD media for it.

For my pictures collection I use a different scheme. I use online redundant synchronized copies. I have 3 copies. If one disk dies, after I fix the computer, I have 2 more copies to re-sync from.

I think that like any big problem - cutting into smaller ones gives simpler if different solutions to the parts of the problem.

Comment Non Shall Pass (Score 1) 951

Remember Monty Python's black knight fight? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eMkth8FWno

Hammas 'tis but a scratch' will definitely lead to a glorious victory. So they'll loose some arms and legs, so what?

The stupid idiots got their land, got into power, all they had to do was live in peace. All they had to do to prevent this war was give up. Would they be any worse? Using diplomacy would have gotten them much further, perhaps with their limbs intact.

I don't know if they are manipulated or not. What I know is that when the US was whacked (world trade center, remember?) the bombed the hell out of Afganistan. When the British were blitzed, they fought back, didn't they?

So how does it end? "Oh running away? you yellow bastards, come back, I'll bite your legs off..."

Supercomputing

Submission + - Virtualization reversed (hpcwire.com)

dbbd writes: "Aggregation is a virtualization technique that makes multiple physical systems appear to function as a single logical system."
Rather than taking a single physical system and cutting it into multiple virtual systems, aggregation takes multiple physical
systems and virtualizes them into a single virtual SMP system.

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