C[omp]ute

From: "andrew cooke" <andrew@...>

Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2005 12:19:36 -0300 (CLST)

ooo nice links!  i'm not convinced a rhombic dodecahedron is space filling
- i think i need to start building some paper models.  i like the computer
idea too - sounds feasible, though i guess you end up with lower bus
speeds?  maybe you should write to apple ;o)

(my computer has been dead for the last few weeks.  i'm now back in
santiago and managed to "fix" it by pressing the power switch, which i had
been told "didn't work" - i would fire the local admin, but unfortunately
i don't actually pay her and she does own half the house...)

andrew

Shae Matijs Erisson said:
> "andrew cooke" <andrew@...> writes:
>
>> One of the big problems (I think) in making modular objects with
>> properties
>> that "emerge" when they are used together is how to get something useful
>> out,
>> rather than noise.  This shows a couple of good solutions, although it's
>> not
>> clear to me how the Digital Cubes work, in any detail (do they have to
>> all be
>> aligned pointing "north"? does one dominate (if so, which)? are the
>> visible
>> messages really emergent (eg the "noise" really interferes) or do the
>> cubes
>> simply switch from noise to text when they detect neighbours?)
>
> I got distracted, but I meant to reply to this with two urls:
> http://www2.parc.com/spl/projects/modrobots/lattice/digitalclay/
> http://www2.parc.com/spl/projects/modrobots/lattice/proteo/
>
> This fits into a neat idea I've had about infinitely expandable hardware.
> I wish my computer were built out of a bunch space-filling 3D shapes,
> one for each component. If each face of this shape were an expansion plug
> to
> the next component, I'd never have to 'build a new box', I'd just smack on
> another hard drive or CPU or another ram chunk.
> After reading the urls above, I like the rhombic dodecahedron.
> If this ever became a reality, other neat features would be possible.
> You could do asymmetric multiprocessing with CPUs of different flavors,
> one
> type for fast floating point, another one for fast integer ops.
> Linux already has minimal asymmetric CPU support, and hotplug CPU
> support...
>
> Even further, you could 'bud' a running system by splitting it down the
> middle
> and giving the collection of older chunks to your younger siblings, or
> whoever
> gets your hand-me-down computers.
>
> What do you think?
> --
> Shae Matijs Erisson - http://www.ScannedInAvian.com/ - Sockmonster once
> said:
> You could switch out the unicycles for badgers, and the game would be the
> same.
>
>
>


-- 
` __ _ __ ___  ___| |_____   work web site: http://www.ctio.noao.edu/~andrew
 / _` / _/ _ \/ _ \ / / -_)  personal web site: http://www.acooke.org
 \__,_\__\___/\___/_\_\___|  list: http://www.acooke.org/andrew/compute.html


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