Author: Albert Silver
Date: 07:40:53 10/19/98
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On October 19, 1998 at 00:35:00, Jim Phillips wrote:
>On October 17, 1998 at 22:21:36, Albert Silver wrote:
>(big snip...)
>>.... Another question will then arise: Now that I have this computer the
>>size of a planet, I need a program to take advantage of it. ....
>(another big snip...)
>
>Hi Albert,
>Interesting post. I have a comment to make about the above snippet, and I
>am only half-joking:
>When we have this planet-sized computer in the year 2098 (or whenever) we
>will also have Windows2098, which will eat up a huge amount of the hard
>drive, take 2 minutes to boot up and require 2 Terabytes of RAM to do it.
>:^) This is the fault of many programmers today; they get lazy because
>they have so much power at their disposal. I consider chess programmers
>to be an exception because they are pushing an envelope; that's one reason
>computer chess appeals to me. I think it's important for any programmer
>to always write source code as if he/she is a little bit short on CPU
>speed. Otherwise we'll see the day when this appears on the screen of our
>planet-sized computer:
> "Warning: System short 35 BazillionBytes of RAM. Program MakeNewSun
> will not load. Eurasia deleted."
>
>8^D -Jim Phillips
You're right about Windows2098, but I think your estimates are very optimistic.
We have been slowly but surely SLOWING down boot times, so that I think that if
we ever get that far and find ourselves in a intergalactic war with completely
automated systems, we will assuredly be wiped out. Reason: when the enemy
struck, our machines were still revving up.
Also, if that last statement ever comes true, then we will have living proof
that either God is NOT a computer, or that he isn't operating under Windows2098.
Albert Silver
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