Amazing Iceman
Apr 21, 12:27 PM
Only ones upset over such news is Johny what's his face who hangs out at the local booby bar, when his wife thinks he's somewhere else. :eek:
He should know better to turn off the location service.
Think about this, people... without it, it would be practically impossible to use the find my iPhone Feature of MobileMe.
Have you thought that the government can track your approximate location based on your SunPass usage? (Sunpass is a automated toll paying system used in Florida, U.S. It's also known by different names in other states. Every time you pass by a Toll, their sensors read your Sunpass and charge your account accordingly.
I have noticed the presence of these 'sensors' in other parts of the road besides Toll plazas.
So, be real: Absolute Privacy does no longer exists.
He should know better to turn off the location service.
Think about this, people... without it, it would be practically impossible to use the find my iPhone Feature of MobileMe.
Have you thought that the government can track your approximate location based on your SunPass usage? (Sunpass is a automated toll paying system used in Florida, U.S. It's also known by different names in other states. Every time you pass by a Toll, their sensors read your Sunpass and charge your account accordingly.
I have noticed the presence of these 'sensors' in other parts of the road besides Toll plazas.
So, be real: Absolute Privacy does no longer exists.
.jpg "justin bieber pictures 2011")
iphone3gs16gb
Jan 23, 12:21 AM
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5247/5249125771_40b962bf86_b.jpg
can anybody guess what year/model it is? :D
can anybody guess what year/model it is? :D
Benjamins
Mar 23, 12:48 AM
Do people seriously have that many songs?!!! seriously?!!!
220gb = 50,000 songs?!!!!! That is totally not necessary.
Apple discontinue that dinosaur! It makes you look bad to just have it on your website.
I think the iPod classic looks beautiful.
220gb = 50,000 songs?!!!!! That is totally not necessary.
Apple discontinue that dinosaur! It makes you look bad to just have it on your website.
I think the iPod classic looks beautiful.
prady16
Aug 24, 10:27 PM
I am just hoping for a MacBook Pro with Merom.
Hopefully it will make the laptop lighter too.
Any idea if the new laptops will have LightScribe?
Hopefully it will make the laptop lighter too.
Any idea if the new laptops will have LightScribe?
Unspeaked
Aug 29, 12:34 PM
If the MacBook and Mini stay with core 1 CPUs, sales will grind to a halt.
I don't understand the people who say stuff like this, and HAVE been saying stuff like this for months.
Look - most of the people who buy MacBooks and Minis don't even know what type of CPU they have.
The obsessive 5% of Mac users that live their lives on MacRumors (which, admittedly, I'm a part of) will put off a purchase for months waiting for their dream processor to show up in a Stevenote.
The 95% of Mac users living in the real world go to the Apple Store and buy a computer. They don't know, nor do they care, if some new Intel processor is in the works. Heck, I bet a lot of them don't even know Apple's using Intel chips now.
I have a buddy who just bought a MacBook Pro last week. I told him the Core 2 Duos are imminent, and he didn't care.
You think the kids going to the Apple store with mom and dad, ready to buy a MacBook, are going to run to Best Buy instead to pick up an HP notebook because it has a Core 2 Duo and the MacBook has a Core Duo? I highly doubt it. In fact, it's ridiculous.
They want the MacBook because it looks cool, it's what those trendy ads talk about, it works well with their iPod, etc, etc.
Ask the majority of MacBook and Mini owners where in level of importance they place the rev of Intel processor that's inside their computer and I bet most of them give a blank stare and go, "huh?"
I don't understand the people who say stuff like this, and HAVE been saying stuff like this for months.
Look - most of the people who buy MacBooks and Minis don't even know what type of CPU they have.
The obsessive 5% of Mac users that live their lives on MacRumors (which, admittedly, I'm a part of) will put off a purchase for months waiting for their dream processor to show up in a Stevenote.
The 95% of Mac users living in the real world go to the Apple Store and buy a computer. They don't know, nor do they care, if some new Intel processor is in the works. Heck, I bet a lot of them don't even know Apple's using Intel chips now.
I have a buddy who just bought a MacBook Pro last week. I told him the Core 2 Duos are imminent, and he didn't care.
You think the kids going to the Apple store with mom and dad, ready to buy a MacBook, are going to run to Best Buy instead to pick up an HP notebook because it has a Core 2 Duo and the MacBook has a Core Duo? I highly doubt it. In fact, it's ridiculous.
They want the MacBook because it looks cool, it's what those trendy ads talk about, it works well with their iPod, etc, etc.
Ask the majority of MacBook and Mini owners where in level of importance they place the rev of Intel processor that's inside their computer and I bet most of them give a blank stare and go, "huh?"
quagmire
Feb 22, 09:35 PM
The vexing part of that is that the cost is largely artificial - i.e. taxes. Popular pickups like the Ford F-250 have been available in a diesel for years, and because they are trucks they are allowed to use diesel engines that are far more polluting and sooty than they need to be, and are tuned for torque rather than economy - meanwhile Volkswagen has to jump through flaming hoops in order to certify a diesel in its passenger cars, meeting stringent emmissions standards. And yet how many huge displacement V6/V8 diesel trucks are sold in the US each year vs diesel VWs? It's all about arbitrary regulatory nonsense.
That has changed. The Cummins, Powerstroke, and Duramax now have to meet the stringent emissions regulations. Why do you think they cost $8K now compared to the $3-4K before the new emission laws?
That has changed. The Cummins, Powerstroke, and Duramax now have to meet the stringent emissions regulations. Why do you think they cost $8K now compared to the $3-4K before the new emission laws?
aafuss1
Aug 29, 09:05 PM
X3000 is the integrated graphics component of GMA965. It basically solves the problem of the GMA950 graphics having no hardware T&L. Hence why UT2004 scores sit in the toilet on Mac mini's and Macbooks.
It'll never challenge a midrange Nvidia or ATI card, but it'll make the mini and macbook a reasonable enry level gaming platform, which it ain't now.
See http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/G965/index.htm
for some juicy technobabble.
M.
Totally agree-even low end PC's have at least a option for a add-in T&L capable card. Plus the GMA 3000 will do Core Image and Animation very well.
It'll never challenge a midrange Nvidia or ATI card, but it'll make the mini and macbook a reasonable enry level gaming platform, which it ain't now.
See http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/G965/index.htm
for some juicy technobabble.
M.
Totally agree-even low end PC's have at least a option for a add-in T&L capable card. Plus the GMA 3000 will do Core Image and Animation very well.
Horrortaxi
Mar 20, 08:32 AM
a hell of alot more people buy IBMs here eg: Toshiba, Hitachi and Sony.
I don't want to sound excessively picky, but only IBM makes IBM computers. Toshiba makes Toshiba computers and Sony makes Sony computers.
I don't want to sound excessively picky, but only IBM makes IBM computers. Toshiba makes Toshiba computers and Sony makes Sony computers.
cube
Mar 24, 01:23 PM
*Children Screaming in background
Im no snob against AMD GPUS...but their CPU's are nearly 2 generations behind intel. I dont think Bulldozer is going to match the 1155 SB, much less the upcoming 2011 socket chips.
What I want to see is a 27inch iMac with an HD 6970 2GB...Whoa whoa wee wow:eek:
AMD is ahead of Intel with the Fusion CPUs, even if the Llano core is not new.
AMD is ahead of Intel with multicore.
AMD is catching up in instruction set with Bulldozer.
Where AMD is behind is in metal gates (which are coming real soon from AMD), and in process geometry, but AMD does continuous improvement of their process.
Im no snob against AMD GPUS...but their CPU's are nearly 2 generations behind intel. I dont think Bulldozer is going to match the 1155 SB, much less the upcoming 2011 socket chips.
What I want to see is a 27inch iMac with an HD 6970 2GB...Whoa whoa wee wow:eek:
AMD is ahead of Intel with the Fusion CPUs, even if the Llano core is not new.
AMD is ahead of Intel with multicore.
AMD is catching up in instruction set with Bulldozer.
Where AMD is behind is in metal gates (which are coming real soon from AMD), and in process geometry, but AMD does continuous improvement of their process.
ChrisA
Nov 15, 10:47 AM
yup, and my webpages will load in the blink of an eye... definitely worth whatever apple will charge. ;)
seriously though, how hard is it to get a program to multi-thread? (if thats the right term; being a complete programming novice, i've no idea)
You answered your own question, in a way. Most people's taskes are not computational. A faster CPU will not make a page load faster. The bottle neck is the speed of the INternet connection. Same with wordprocessing and email. CPU speed is not required.
Whre this WILL help is is video editing and photography. Batch conversions of RAW images will go faster. and for those jobs they are already multi-threaded
As for how easy is it the multi-thread a program. I've done i. Basically you need to design the system from the ground up. There are some special cases where you can add it lter. this would apply to programes that do a computation on a large stack of data while the user waited. You could just swap out the computation modual. But in general it is pretty much a re-design.
seriously though, how hard is it to get a program to multi-thread? (if thats the right term; being a complete programming novice, i've no idea)
You answered your own question, in a way. Most people's taskes are not computational. A faster CPU will not make a page load faster. The bottle neck is the speed of the INternet connection. Same with wordprocessing and email. CPU speed is not required.
Whre this WILL help is is video editing and photography. Batch conversions of RAW images will go faster. and for those jobs they are already multi-threaded
As for how easy is it the multi-thread a program. I've done i. Basically you need to design the system from the ground up. There are some special cases where you can add it lter. this would apply to programes that do a computation on a large stack of data while the user waited. You could just swap out the computation modual. But in general it is pretty much a re-design.
Multimedia
Aug 30, 12:28 PM
Apple Store Refurbs.
A few days ago all the Mini refurbs disappeared from the Apple Store refurb list. After the Think Secret announcement, not only did they come back, but they added PPC models and a 1.66 Core Duo with 1GB RAM & 100GB HDD. Today, there is only one PPC model listed and that's it. Might be just coincidence, but that's a lot of activity.
Anyone know - Do current models usually disappear right before a speed bump and then reappear at a reduced price when new models are available?SAVE page prices don''t go down when new models appear. They are already reduced from original prices. For example, PowerBook G4's are still at the same price they were last year as are the Quad G5 since February. I wouldn't go for a Solo at Fry's at any price. But if the CD with 1GB RAM and 100GB HD were $599 on the SAVE page, it almost might be a steal if the MacBooks weren't $949. But then you could put a 2.33GHz Merom in there and pray. :)
Oh I see. You buy the Core Solo at Fry's for $499 and then put Merom C2D 2.33GHz in immediately and pray. :) I am hesitant to immediately void a new mini warranty when a 1.83GHz model is soon. A 2.33 Merom will cost over $600 I think. Probably worth waiting for the 1.66GHz DC for $599 next week or so.
There should be a lot of churn in that secton of the SAVE page listings. IE more will come back every few days as the overstock and demos come in for inspection and then offerings. Do you remember what the price was for the 1.66GHz CD 1GB RAM 100GB HD? Will be interesting to see how much that config will cost when the new models ship. :)Is this all Fry's stores, or just the one you're referring to. If it's store-wide, I might actually have to make a trip down to my local Burbank Fry's store after work tonight. :)Check you LA Times insert or copy of it online. Or phone them first. Sometimes offerings up here aren't made down there and vice versa.
A few days ago all the Mini refurbs disappeared from the Apple Store refurb list. After the Think Secret announcement, not only did they come back, but they added PPC models and a 1.66 Core Duo with 1GB RAM & 100GB HDD. Today, there is only one PPC model listed and that's it. Might be just coincidence, but that's a lot of activity.
Anyone know - Do current models usually disappear right before a speed bump and then reappear at a reduced price when new models are available?SAVE page prices don''t go down when new models appear. They are already reduced from original prices. For example, PowerBook G4's are still at the same price they were last year as are the Quad G5 since February. I wouldn't go for a Solo at Fry's at any price. But if the CD with 1GB RAM and 100GB HD were $599 on the SAVE page, it almost might be a steal if the MacBooks weren't $949. But then you could put a 2.33GHz Merom in there and pray. :)
Oh I see. You buy the Core Solo at Fry's for $499 and then put Merom C2D 2.33GHz in immediately and pray. :) I am hesitant to immediately void a new mini warranty when a 1.83GHz model is soon. A 2.33 Merom will cost over $600 I think. Probably worth waiting for the 1.66GHz DC for $599 next week or so.
There should be a lot of churn in that secton of the SAVE page listings. IE more will come back every few days as the overstock and demos come in for inspection and then offerings. Do you remember what the price was for the 1.66GHz CD 1GB RAM 100GB HD? Will be interesting to see how much that config will cost when the new models ship. :)Is this all Fry's stores, or just the one you're referring to. If it's store-wide, I might actually have to make a trip down to my local Burbank Fry's store after work tonight. :)Check you LA Times insert or copy of it online. Or phone them first. Sometimes offerings up here aren't made down there and vice versa.
lilcosco08
Mar 26, 10:31 PM
that's awfully nice of you.
Methinks you need yo get your head out of the clouds when it comes to hardcore gaming.
I'll agree that the future of casual games may be going in this direction, but core gamers will use this to supplement their gaming.
Come back when you can play gears, modern warfare or Uncharted and have the same or better tactile experience and I'll gladly eat my own words. Until then it's all a pipe dream.
You need a real dose of reality.
Not exactly true:
PS3 games running in 1080p
Fifa Street 3 = 1920x1080 (no AA)
Full Auto 2 (demo) = 1920x1080 (4x AA)
GT5 Prologue (demo) = 1080p mode is 1280x1080 (2xAA) in-game while the garage/pit/showrooms are 1920x1080 with no AA. 720p mode is 1280x720 (4xAA)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance = 1280x720 & 1920x1080 (no AA)
MLB09: The Show = 1280x720 (2xAA) or 1920x1080 (no AA)
NBA07 (demo) = 1920x1080 (no AA)
NBA08 (demo) = 1920x1080 (no AA)
NBA Street Home court (screenshot) = 1920x1080 (no AA
Ridge Racer 7 (demo) = 1920x1080 (no AA)
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel = 1280x720 when sub-HD output selected, 1920x1080 for any HD output (no AA)
Virtua Tennis 3 = 1920x1080 (2x AA)
World Series Of Poker 2008 = 1920x1080 (2xAA)
there's probably a few more for the 360 - BUT, IMO resolution isn't the be all and end all of visuals, take the uncharted series, it isn't 1080p, but it's spectacular looking where as Sacred 2 looks like crap.
If Kinect wasn't the run away success it was, then yeah, I would have expected some announcement this or next e3 for the 360, but it looks like the Wii 2 will probably be announced first.
The PS3 will probably have some legs actually, as people get more and more used to the developer tools (as they are now) then we'll see more and more impressive titles graphically.
you make a good point, but to really excel at gaming, you can't have a jack of all trades device - look at the PSP for instance- great wee machine, but it was far too spread, functionality wise to be a great success. For this device to appeal to the core gamer it needs to be designed specifically for core gaming, as it is the now (and there's nothing wrong with it this way) it's for casual gamers or 'pick up for 5 mins' kinda games
>modern warfare 2
>hardcore gamer
OH WOW
Methinks you need yo get your head out of the clouds when it comes to hardcore gaming.
I'll agree that the future of casual games may be going in this direction, but core gamers will use this to supplement their gaming.
Come back when you can play gears, modern warfare or Uncharted and have the same or better tactile experience and I'll gladly eat my own words. Until then it's all a pipe dream.
You need a real dose of reality.
Not exactly true:
PS3 games running in 1080p
Fifa Street 3 = 1920x1080 (no AA)
Full Auto 2 (demo) = 1920x1080 (4x AA)
GT5 Prologue (demo) = 1080p mode is 1280x1080 (2xAA) in-game while the garage/pit/showrooms are 1920x1080 with no AA. 720p mode is 1280x720 (4xAA)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance = 1280x720 & 1920x1080 (no AA)
MLB09: The Show = 1280x720 (2xAA) or 1920x1080 (no AA)
NBA07 (demo) = 1920x1080 (no AA)
NBA08 (demo) = 1920x1080 (no AA)
NBA Street Home court (screenshot) = 1920x1080 (no AA
Ridge Racer 7 (demo) = 1920x1080 (no AA)
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel = 1280x720 when sub-HD output selected, 1920x1080 for any HD output (no AA)
Virtua Tennis 3 = 1920x1080 (2x AA)
World Series Of Poker 2008 = 1920x1080 (2xAA)
there's probably a few more for the 360 - BUT, IMO resolution isn't the be all and end all of visuals, take the uncharted series, it isn't 1080p, but it's spectacular looking where as Sacred 2 looks like crap.
If Kinect wasn't the run away success it was, then yeah, I would have expected some announcement this or next e3 for the 360, but it looks like the Wii 2 will probably be announced first.
The PS3 will probably have some legs actually, as people get more and more used to the developer tools (as they are now) then we'll see more and more impressive titles graphically.
you make a good point, but to really excel at gaming, you can't have a jack of all trades device - look at the PSP for instance- great wee machine, but it was far too spread, functionality wise to be a great success. For this device to appeal to the core gamer it needs to be designed specifically for core gaming, as it is the now (and there's nothing wrong with it this way) it's for casual gamers or 'pick up for 5 mins' kinda games
>modern warfare 2
>hardcore gamer
OH WOW
Porco
Apr 19, 04:55 PM
I've been putting a family member off buying an iMac for months in order to wait for the new ones, I hope the updates are very soon.
imac_japan
Mar 28, 08:04 AM
reasons your wrong
1. he didnt make up a word of it
2. apple made safari before ms pulled ie
3.the ipod has a long time to go their not going to just say screw it when its selling
4.ITMS is making them money after the record companies are paid back for the use of the songs every cent is profit
5. less than 20 people have signed your petition and do you really think its going to get apple to change their entire strategyi can see it now steve jobs sees our online pettion and immediatly calls a meating "i just had an appihany some kid said to make a cheap computer that hooks up to your tv weve been completely wrong all theese yearsapple is now only going to make web tv type systems and nothing else my god what have i been doing"
I'm not getting into a "your right and Im wrong" discussion. The whole point of this thread is to get Apple to make a cheap Mac so they can tackle the cheap $500 market. Its killing them
1. he didnt make up a word of it
2. apple made safari before ms pulled ie
3.the ipod has a long time to go their not going to just say screw it when its selling
4.ITMS is making them money after the record companies are paid back for the use of the songs every cent is profit
5. less than 20 people have signed your petition and do you really think its going to get apple to change their entire strategyi can see it now steve jobs sees our online pettion and immediatly calls a meating "i just had an appihany some kid said to make a cheap computer that hooks up to your tv weve been completely wrong all theese yearsapple is now only going to make web tv type systems and nothing else my god what have i been doing"
I'm not getting into a "your right and Im wrong" discussion. The whole point of this thread is to get Apple to make a cheap Mac so they can tackle the cheap $500 market. Its killing them
Henk Poley
Mar 24, 02:34 PM
Could somebody give an overview of the price and performance range of this list of cards? Just numbers is kind of opaque.
Astral Cars
Jan 12, 01:57 AM
There are a lot of interesting possibilities here.
The most obvious meaning of "air" is just some new movie rental iTunes service. Boring.
There is also some sort of possibility that it's related to AppleTV and iPhones or something and now we can wirelessly stream movies from an iPhones to a TV and maybe there's additional possibilities involving the phone.
The most interesting is that of an actually wireless laptop. The notion isn't too absurd and maybe I just have to think about it longer to come up with a solution. But in a way it goes against the elegance that Apple strives for. On one hand your laptop is not connected to anything, but on the other you probably end up with a giant dongle that connects to your outlet and has some USB ports etc. If they can come up with a way to make that look elegant I think it's a possibility. I don't know much about wireless power, but I do know that in general it's an extremely inefficient means of transmitting power.
Anyway, I would love to see some sort of wireless laptop, but I'd be pretty surprised if we did.
The most obvious meaning of "air" is just some new movie rental iTunes service. Boring.
There is also some sort of possibility that it's related to AppleTV and iPhones or something and now we can wirelessly stream movies from an iPhones to a TV and maybe there's additional possibilities involving the phone.
The most interesting is that of an actually wireless laptop. The notion isn't too absurd and maybe I just have to think about it longer to come up with a solution. But in a way it goes against the elegance that Apple strives for. On one hand your laptop is not connected to anything, but on the other you probably end up with a giant dongle that connects to your outlet and has some USB ports etc. If they can come up with a way to make that look elegant I think it's a possibility. I don't know much about wireless power, but I do know that in general it's an extremely inefficient means of transmitting power.
Anyway, I would love to see some sort of wireless laptop, but I'd be pretty surprised if we did.
diamond.g
Mar 24, 02:15 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdPi4GPEI74
Wow, that is impressive (if it is not full of some sort of trickery...)
Wow, that is impressive (if it is not full of some sort of trickery...)
Counterfit
May 2, 02:45 AM
Deader than the hobnails on a centurian's boot, but actually much of English grammar is derived, sometimes mistakely, from Latin forms so it's not a complete waste of time.
Okay maybe it it, but now I know what ergo sum propter means and that quid pro quo is actually gibberish. I must have missed something. What does latin have to do with "Saving" Apple? :confused:
Okay maybe it it, but now I know what ergo sum propter means and that quid pro quo is actually gibberish. I must have missed something. What does latin have to do with "Saving" Apple? :confused:
justinLONG
Apr 3, 11:34 AM
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)
This ad campaign is trying to do what Think Different (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAB83Z1ydE) did. Let's see how good it gets, but nothing will top the Think Different campaign. Nothing.
oh geez there's a tear in my eye now. I love those ads
This ad campaign is trying to do what Think Different (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAB83Z1ydE) did. Let's see how good it gets, but nothing will top the Think Different campaign. Nothing.
oh geez there's a tear in my eye now. I love those ads
SLCentral
Aug 16, 12:02 PM
So I take it that it would be really stupid for me to buy a 5G 30GB iPod today, since I've been using a Mini since they were released?
Gatesbasher
Apr 3, 12:56 PM
wow an ipad 2 being used in the dark and it doesnt leak light! where can i buy one?;)
LOL! "Light bleed" was yesterday's talking point! Better check your instructions for this morning and get with the program.
LOL! "Light bleed" was yesterday's talking point! Better check your instructions for this morning and get with the program.
rasmasyean
Mar 21, 04:31 PM
we can only hope that that point will be reached with as little casualties as possible.
I think this would be conterproductive to the end result though. If you inflict swift and high casualties on the opposition, the rest might be detered from dragging out a lengthy insurgency where even more people suffer (including lots and lots of bystanders).
It's human nature and you can put yourself in their place. When you see your comrades (not just machines that you didn't even pay for) die ruthlessly in a hopeless battle, chances are you would be grateful that you were spared and realize both that you will surely get killed for nothing if you continue your defiance...and that the new regime will be strong. i.e. Most people want to be on the winning side. It "might" be different if you have been oppresed all your life and don't give a crap anymore, but in this case, it's just changing some ways to run the country.
I think this would be conterproductive to the end result though. If you inflict swift and high casualties on the opposition, the rest might be detered from dragging out a lengthy insurgency where even more people suffer (including lots and lots of bystanders).
It's human nature and you can put yourself in their place. When you see your comrades (not just machines that you didn't even pay for) die ruthlessly in a hopeless battle, chances are you would be grateful that you were spared and realize both that you will surely get killed for nothing if you continue your defiance...and that the new regime will be strong. i.e. Most people want to be on the winning side. It "might" be different if you have been oppresed all your life and don't give a crap anymore, but in this case, it's just changing some ways to run the country.
liketom
Jul 19, 04:20 PM
Which is exactly why the past few weeks have been a great time to load up on Apple stock. Apple has been increasing computer sales with transitional computers. The "real" machines aren't out yet.
In other words, Apple growth won't be slowing down any time soon. In fact, it should probably accelerate over the next 12 months.
with a little help from us Mac users out here who end up buying 2 Macs or more a year ;)
i tell you this year is getting real expensive for me , Mac Mini Intel then the Black Book and later this year the new Mac Pro and just don't even talk about iPods yet :D Apple is skinting me worse then a divorce
In other words, Apple growth won't be slowing down any time soon. In fact, it should probably accelerate over the next 12 months.
with a little help from us Mac users out here who end up buying 2 Macs or more a year ;)
i tell you this year is getting real expensive for me , Mac Mini Intel then the Black Book and later this year the new Mac Pro and just don't even talk about iPods yet :D Apple is skinting me worse then a divorce
Baseline
Nov 15, 08:41 AM
seriously though, how hard is it to get a program to multi-thread? (if thats the right term; being a complete programming novice, i've no idea)
That really depends on the program, on how "parallelizable" the application is.
The simplest way to think of it is like this: Let's say you have a program that first has to calculate A. Then, when it's done that, it uses the result of A to calculate B. Then, when it's done that, uses the result of B to calculate C, then C to D, and so on. That's a *serial* problem there. The calculation of B can't begin until A is done, so it doesn't matter how many processors you have running, all computation is held up on one spot.
On the other hand, let's say you have an application that needs to calculate A, B, C and D, but those four values are not dependent on each other at all. In that case, you can use four processors at the same time, to calculate all four values at the same time.
Think of it like baking a cake. You can't start putting on the icing until the cake is done baking. And you can't start baking the cake until the ingredients are all mixed together. But you can have people simultaneously getting out and measuring the ingredients.
So that problem is partially parallelizable, but the majority of its workload is a serial process.
Some software applications, just by their very nature, will never be able to do anything useful with multiple processors.
That really depends on the program, on how "parallelizable" the application is.
The simplest way to think of it is like this: Let's say you have a program that first has to calculate A. Then, when it's done that, it uses the result of A to calculate B. Then, when it's done that, uses the result of B to calculate C, then C to D, and so on. That's a *serial* problem there. The calculation of B can't begin until A is done, so it doesn't matter how many processors you have running, all computation is held up on one spot.
On the other hand, let's say you have an application that needs to calculate A, B, C and D, but those four values are not dependent on each other at all. In that case, you can use four processors at the same time, to calculate all four values at the same time.
Think of it like baking a cake. You can't start putting on the icing until the cake is done baking. And you can't start baking the cake until the ingredients are all mixed together. But you can have people simultaneously getting out and measuring the ingredients.
So that problem is partially parallelizable, but the majority of its workload is a serial process.
Some software applications, just by their very nature, will never be able to do anything useful with multiple processors.
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