Comment Is this a software or hardware implementation? (Score 1) 81
I suspect that it's mostly my ignorance that is to blame; but what I don't understand about implementing memory compression(especially the schemes that try to do it transparently with high speed general purpose compression/decompression in hardware) is how you compensate for the fact that the amount of memory you need is no longer predictable without significantly more effort(potentially untenably more if you are using RAM because latency is critical).
With normal uncompressed RAM it just demands RAM in direct proportion to its size. Potentially hideously wasteful if there's some memory-backed XML-spew log that would zip down to 10% of its nominal size; but predictable unless you've got memory safety bugs. If you are compressing your RAM suddenly you've got some uses of RAM that are functionally uncompressable and require 100% of the space their nominal size suggests they will; other things might compress exceptionally well and save you 90%; and some might change unpredictably from moment to moment depending on what needs to be stored there.
When you are doing FS compression and dedupe for backups and stuff that is normally manageable; on average enough compression is possible enough of the time that you can safely assume that you'll do better than you would if you just didn't try; and you can just keep an eye on how quickly the big SAN appears to be filling up as versions accumulate and (if tapes or other fixed-sized media are involved) just change the backup media more or less quickly; do you do that for RAM? Just use the big slack area for FS caching or something you can drop on short notice in case a burst of incompressible data comes in? Do you essentially have to rebuild how your entire workload handles RAM so that it considers, at least approximately, how well a given use of memory will compress ahead of time?
Given the sorts of files and data structures you commonly encounter I can easily enough believe that compression is worth the trouble a lot of the time; but unless you are leaving a lot of slack in your available RAM it seems like a situation where, under certain circumstances, you could go from being fine because most of what is in-memory compresses well to suddenly needing as much physical RAM as you do logical RAM because you have a bunch of already-compressed or incompressible data would markedly increase the complexity or potential for things to go wrong.
Comment Re:Because ... (Score 3, Funny) 216
Daemon Spawn at that.
Comment Re:State is probably best stated by the comics (Score 2, Funny) 138
we need to regulate speech then, exactly the same way we want to regulate firearms.
Only those authorized by the state ought to have speech. Safety First!
(this is largely sarcastic in nature)
Comment Re:Wake me when they actually shift (Score 2) 90
The bigger you are, the harder it is to turn the ship in an emergency. See Titanic.
At some point the inertia of change isn't worth it, as you suggested. It is possible, but is it worth it?
The last way to look at this is a way to start the process of diversifying our Tech holdings. Windows, Office, Adobe, VMWare etc. But here is my take, STEAM is showing the way out. We're not there yet, but the tide appears to be turning (to keep the nautical terms going).
Comment Re:Trump admin you've done it again (Score 1) 34
Broken clocks are still broken, even when they occasionally tell the time correctly.
Comment Re:Corpospeak... (Score 1) 26
Yeah, I've become the old greybeard I used to make fun of. The Tech version of a hero living long enough to become the villain.
Now, get off my lawn!
Comment Re:Corpospeak... (Score 3, Funny) 26
"We at Siemens have seen how successful SCO was, and think we can be just as successful!"
Comment Longevity and specificity? (Score 2) 24
Comment Re:Okay, but... (Score 1) 131
Noooooo
You don't see how?
That's why.
It's because its not the same.
Comment Re:Okay, but... (Score 1) 131
I don't understand why Democrats want to stop idiots from losing their money, except as some sort of "gotcha" law passed by Newsom. Who exactly are they trying to protect? And more importantly, why?
Comment Re:Was this ever a problem to begin with? (Score 1) 131
OR
You're a son of a president, selling "Art".
Comment Re:Dear Gov Newsom ... (Score 1) 131
Not so sure about that. We have Biden and McConnel
Comment Re:First Amendment (Score 2) 131
There is a reason why its not enforced, it is exceptionally hard to prove AND generally doesn't rise to criminal activity. Politicians lie all the time in Advertisements. All sides do it. It isn't new, or one side is better than the other.
A politician can say they are in favor of the new "don't kill puppies and kittens" law, that also has a bit that allows them to send millions to their buddies at the "don't kill puppies and kitten NGO" and doesn't save a single puppy or kitten. And if you oppose it, you hate puppies and kittens and want to kill them. Its all a lie, wrapped up in emotional language. What can I do to stop it? Who do I call? And why do they hate puppies and kittens?
So, this Meme Coin Law isn't going to do anything useful except for "Owning " someone somewhere for political points. Puppies and Kittens.
Comment Re:Trade one troll for another (Score 1) 131
What was the basis for his rise to power, if not for SF Political Circle, with Pelosi at the helm?
Its not unfair, because it exists. The SF Democrat Cabal is close nit.