Computers

Coputer topics

Understanding Service Availability

Today the dependability of the communications infrastructure and the applications flowing over networks is more important than ever. Users rapidly become dependent on new networked services to conduct their personal and professional lives. Users expect new, innovative distributed services to be delivered on demand and without interruption. Understanding Service Availability article tells that communications and

Syncing Music and Fireworks

Design News has published an interesitng on-line article Gadget Freak Case #128: Syncing Music and Fireworks on how Deane Williams fixed up his PC to synchronize fireworks with music. He used his PC’s parallel printer port to connect the circuit controlling the fireworks. The software was written in Agilent VEE 8.0 but Williams says it

Ethernet history

In 1973, Bob Metcalfe sent an internal memo to his colleagues at Xerox proposing a local system of interacting workstations, files, and printers. The devices would all be linked by one coaxial cable, he said, and would run within a local area network. He called the system an Ether Network, or Ethernet. And 36 years

Parallel port still popular

The traditional PC parallel port is getting more and more rare on new PCs. It could be said that the parallel port is practically dissappearing from the PC technology. For example my new PC I use (bought more than year ago) did not have parallel port in it. Started documenting parallel port controlling document Parallel

PHP gets goto command

PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development. The PHP language is very widely used on web sites. Many parts of ePanorama.net site are built using PHP programming language. PHP programming language finally gets goto command. The goto operator is available as of PHP 5.3. I am not really

USB3 and Linux

Combining 5 Gbps with the convenience of USB sounds like a sure win. The idea is is simple. Just start with widely used, fast, and bulletproof USB 2.0 and put in the PHY (physical-layer) interface from another common and reliable standard, PCIe (peripheral-component-interconnect express) Generation 2. Put two extra differential pairs into the USB connector

USB powered microwave oven

I have seen all kinds of strange USB gadgets, but this might even be more useless than USB coffee cup warmer. World’s Smallest Microwave Is USB Powered article tells that there is now an USB powered microwave oven. Beanzawave is said to be the world’s smallest microwave. Because of the limitations of the power available

Parallel programming challenges

Multicore CPUs are mainstream nowadays. The number of CPU cores is quickly increasing. Getting the most from multicore processors is becoming an increasingly difficult task for programmers. Just adding more CPU cores will not make existing software to run faster. To get most out of the multicore CPUs you need to write your software in