HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: magnus@thep.lu.se (Magnus Olsson)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: PI
Date: 29 Dec 92 09:37:59 GMT
Organization: Theoretical Physics, Lund University, Sweden

In article <1hof98INNalp@uniwa.uwa.edu.au> john@gu.uwa.edu.au (John West) writes:
>samuel@front.se writes:
>
>>One interesting fact about PI (and most of the non-rational/non-algebraic)
>>numbers is that since PI has an infinite number of decimals, which appear in
>>a non-systemathic fashion, then statistically this statement ought to be 
>>correct : Somwhere in the decimals of PI, one can find any given arbitrary
>>sequence of numbers, e.g. 10^100 number 7 (7777...7777; 10^100 7s in a row) !
>
>The decimal expansion of the number SUM(10^-(n!)) is infinite, non-repeating,
>and all that. The number isn't the square root of any rational (as far as I
>know. If it is, I'm sure someone can find some other number that isn't), or 
>anything like that. In other words, its a lot like PI.
>I know I haven't done very much statistics, but I'm pretty sure you're not
>going to find even 3 consecutive 7s in it.

Somehow, that statement seems a pretty sure bet... :-)

Actually, I think the number you quote above was one of the very first
numbers to be proved transcendental, but I may be wrong.

But please note that Samuel wrote "most of the
non-rational/non-algebraic" above. He didn't claim that *all*
transcendental (non-algebraic) numbers shared pi's property of having
a pseudo-random decimal expansion.

In fact, before the advent of cheap computers, when it was still
simpler to use a table of "random" numbers than to generate them on
your own computer, one of the justifications for calculating large
numbers of digits of pi was that the resulting output could be used as
a source of pseudo-random numbers!

              Magnus Olsson                | \e+      /_
    Department of Theoretical Physics      |  \  Z   / q
        University of Lund, Sweden         |   >----<           
 magnus@thep.lu.se, thepmo@seldc52.bitnet  |  /      \===== g
PGP key available via finger or on request | /e-      \q
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: sourada@iastate.edu (Steven D Ourada)
Subject: VCS processor (was Re: Game machine processors)
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 00:24:36 GMT

In <1993Jan2.180042.1@kean.ucs.mun.ca> jbridson@kean.ucs.mun.ca writes:

>I forget the name of the VCS's CPU, but I do remember it was 6-bit, with 12
>-bit address.  Those cartridges had to fit in its 4KB address space!

I remember reading the name F-8, but I can't find the reference...

>I think the VCS also had a different sort of sprite (or player-missile) 
>chip - it was rather limited in the amount of sprites it could have, but it 
>could display several copies of the same sprite.

This brings to mind a question I've had, maybe someone out there knows the
answer: is the graphics chip in the VCS the same as the one in the Atari 
8bits (CTIA/GTIA)? There are many signs that point to that, for example, 
the objects in the VCS games looked like they could be player missile graphics
like the 8bits have, and some games toward the end of the VCS era used the
scrolling rainbow effect that was so common on the 8bits.
 
> --- Robert Bridson (using the account of jbridson)

         Later,
            Steven Ourada
-- 
-------
Steven Ourada -- sourada@iastate.edu
From: john@gu.uwa.edu.au (John West)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: PI
Date: 30 Dec 1992 08:33:09 GMT
Organization: The University of Western Australia
NNTP-Posting-Host: mackerel.gu.uwa.edu.au

samuel@front.se writes:

>In article <1hof98INNalp@uniwa.uwa.edu.au>, john@gu.uwa.edu.au (John West) 
>writes:
<a whole lot of rubbish>

>Neat, very neat. But I have one major objection :

>    The decimals appear in a highly systematic and predictable fashion, which
>    is not the case with PI !

The decimals in PI *do* appear in a highly systematic and predictable fashion.
There are many algorithms for predicting what the next one will be.

They do, of course, take considerably longer to predict than the number I
used, but I could quite easily produce another number of similar complexity.
How about a number consisting of 0. followed by a string of 0s and 1s such that
after the Nth 1, there are PI(N) 0s, where PI(N) is the Nth digit of the
decimal expansion of PI.

The digits of PI are *not* random - every time you calculate them, you'll get
the same result. They may share many properties that we like to see in random
numbers, but they are not random. I have never been satisfied that there is
an ASCII representation of even a single sentence in there anywhere.

Not really the best group for this discussion, but a.f.c is full of irrelevant
rubbish at the best of times.

John West
--
For the humour impaired: Insert a :-) after every third word
From: jonathan@vinnie.cuc.ab.ca (Jonathan Levine)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: STILL WANTED: Ted Nelson's "Computer Lib / Dream Machines"
Date: 30 Dec 92 05:13:23 GMT

I just read the news today...

>If you wanted "Computer Lib", it is still in print from Tempus Books, an 
>imprint of Microsoft. Just call them at 1-800-MSPRESS. Sorry, I can't 
>remember the ISBN, but just mention name and author and they should be 
>able to locate it for you.
>--
>*******************************************************************           
>* Noah Ramon - The Bi-Bulb     * Your only limitation is your own *
>* Mail to : narxtc@math.uh.edu * imagination - Beans Barton       *
>*******************************************************************

As much as I appreciate the helpful spirit in which this information was
provided, I did find it pretty funny.  Obviously Noah read not my original
posting, but rather a followup which omitted the following:  I'm looking
for the original early 70s edition, not the Microsoft reprint.

p.s. I wish to obtain a copy of this book.  If all you have to say is
     "I'VE got one and YOU can't have it", please don't bother wasting
     the net bandwidth.


--
Jonathan Levine: voice 403-686-0473 | Digital Alternatives      (Calgary AB)
                 fax   403-686-1254 | Virtual Universe Corp.    (Calgary AB)
      uucp: jonathan@vort.cuc.ab.ca | Survival Research Laboratories (SF CA)	
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,alt.folklore.science
From: pt@geovision.gvc.com (Paul Tomblin)
Subject: Re: mean failure time vs power-to-weight ratio (was: Re: Sig file)
Reply-To: pt@geovision.gvc.com
Organization: Not officially GeoVision Systems Inc., Ottawa, Ontario
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 13:09:27 GMT

ST201026@brownvm.brown.edu (nathan marsh) writes:
>(When you increase power-to-weight ratio, what happens to the mean failure
>time, does it increase or decrease?)

>I'd assume that a higher power-to-weight ratio indicates a lower mean failure
>time, because the power beign generated applies stress to smaller/lighter
>parts...thus inducing failure at some earlier time.

Ever enountered a military jet fighter?
Those babies, which have a power-to-wieght ratio of greater than one (they
can accelerate straight up), spend more than one hour in the shop for every
hour in the air.  They also have a lifetime measured in the 1000s of hours -
which is achieved by vigorous overhauls and replacement of components.

Whereas a mountain bike needs about 1 hour service for every month of riding
(about 10 hours off road, 20 hours on road).  Maintained at this rate, I
expect my bike to last 10+ years - except it won't be me riding it: I'll
upgrade!

-- 
Paul Tomblin (I don't make or state policy for this company)
"Does that include the toaster disk drive and printer" - Dilbert
From: samuel@front.se
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: PI
Date: 22 Dec 92 14:08:04 GMT
Organization: Samuel Gustaf Siren

In article <1992Dec22.033205.29006@unislc.uucp>, thayne@unislc.uucp (Thayne 
Forbes) writes:

> No less an authority than Isaac Asimov (gasp) wrote one of his monthly
> articles on this subject for (I believe) Fantasy and Science Fiction 
> magazine, later republished in one of his collections.  He was however 
> showing the silliness of this by showing the delta in a circle equal to 
> the diameter of the earth, rather than the orbit.  It seems to me that 
> the correct number of digits for this exercise is 7-9 digits.  (Yes, I 
> could check, but I am just too lazy).

The reason for calculating the exact number of PI is the academical challenge,
not that one has intended to use this higly accurate PI to calculate the
perimeter of somthing.

One interesting fact about PI (and most of the non-rational/non-algebraic)
numbers is that since PI has an infinite number of decimals, which appear in
a non-systemathic fashion, then statistically this statement ought to be 
correct : Somwhere in the decimals of PI, one can find any given arbitrary
sequence of numbers, e.g. 10^100 number 7 (7777...7777; 10^100 7s in a row) !

Another 'fact' : If each triple of decimals in PI represents an ASCII number,
then the vast majority (excluding all which contain non-ASCII characters) of
all books ever written are 'stored' in the decimals of PI, consecutively,
_in_the_order_they_were_written_ ! This gives you some kinda sense about what
infinity is all about, doesn't it ? A lot of pepole (including myself) seem 
to consider everything greater than 10^38 (or whatever the largest floating-
point may be on their computer) as infinity.

/SS
-- 
+----------------------+--------------------------------------+
|                      |        / \                           |
| Samuel Gustaf Siren  |      __!_/_                          |
|                      |    / \ |  / \                        |
|                      |   |/  || | \__oW)----------          |
| All opinions and     |   !! / /\ \                          |
| questions are my     |     / /  \ \                         |
| own /SS              |    //    //                          |
|                      |   /|    ((                           |
+----------------------+--------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: richg@hatch.socal.com (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Worlds wierdest system crash!
Organization: Hatch Usenet and E-mail.  Playa del Rey, CA
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 05:01:35 GMT

In article <Bznpr9.CBJ@NeoSoft.com> peter@NeoSoft.com (Peter da Silva) writes:
>In article <1992Dec22.084501.17223@ringer.cs.utsa.edu> sbooth@lonestar.utsa.edu (Simon E. Booth) writes:
>> I don't know how familliar people are with this story, but I was once told
>> that the computer term 'bug' actually was derived from an incident in the
>> early or mid-50's in which a dead moth shorted out a magnetic drum.
>
>Grace Hopper used to tell this story, but the word bug predated it.

The moth Grace Hopper found was caught in a relay.  As Simon says,
the term "bug" WAY predated computers....
-- 
Rich Greenberg      Work: rmg50@juts.ccc.amdahl.com   310-417-8999
N6LRT               Play: richg@hatch.socal.com       310-649-0238
What?   Me speak for Amdahl?  Surely you jest....
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: sourada@iastate.edu (Steven D Ourada)
Subject: Re: Game machine processors (was Re: Is 4004 the first microprocessor ?)
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 21:05:29 GMT

In <1993Jan2.180042.1@kean.ucs.mun.ca> jbridson@kean.ucs.mun.ca writes:

>In article <C08HAH.5LB@unix.portal.com>, cpc@shell.portal.com (Chris Cebelenski) writes:
>>  As a semi related thread, does anyone know what processors were used
>>  in home video game systems? (Atari VCS, Magnavox Odysessy, Intelevision,
>>  etc.)  Past and present?

The Atari Lynx has some nice hardware:
A custom version of the 6502 running at 4 MHz with a built-in UART, timers,
sound, etc.
A custom graphics chip that does multiplication and division for the 6502, as
well as being able to uncompress, scale, "tilt", "stretch", collision detect,
and clip sprites on the fly.

(This info is from Atari's own magazine, so there's little doubt that it's 
correct...)

             Later,
               Steven Ourada

-- 
-------
Steven Ourada -- sourada@iastate.edu
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: jbridson@kean.ucs.mun.ca
Subject: Game machine processors (was Re: Is 4004 the first microprocessor ?)
Organization: Memorial University. St.John's Nfld, Canada
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1993 20:30:42 GMT

In article <C08HAH.5LB@unix.portal.com>, cpc@shell.portal.com (Chris Cebelenski) writes:
>  As a semi related thread, does anyone know what processors were used
>  in home video game systems? (Atari VCS, Magnavox Odysessy, Intelevision,
>  etc.)  Past and present?

I forget the name of the VCS's CPU, but I do remember it was 6-bit, with 12
-bit address.  Those cartridges had to fit in its 4KB address space!

I think the VCS also had a different sort of sprite (or player-missile) 
chip - it was rather limited in the amount of sprites it could have, but it 
could display several copies of the same sprite.

 --- Robert Bridson (using the account of jbridson)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: kaufman@eecs.nwu.edu (Michael L. Kaufman)
Subject: Re: WANTED: Ted Nelson's "Computer Lib / Dream Machines"
Organization: EECS Department, Northwestern University
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 04:47:06 GMT

I have an interesting story about this book. About fifteen or so years ago, my
dad got into a conversation with the guy sitting next to him on an airplane.
According to my dad, the guy had all sorts of interesting ideas, some of which
my dad understood (at the time, he was completely computer iliterate). Towards
the end of the flight, the guy gave my dad a copy of a book that he had just
written, and my dad gave it to me. And that's how I got my copy of CL/DM.

Michael

-- 
Michael Kaufman | I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on
 kaufman        | fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in
  @eecs.nwu.edu | the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be
                | lost in time - like tears in rain. Time to die.     Roy Batty 
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.computers:18243 sci.math:17299 comp.compression:4203
From: tgl+@cs.cmu.edu (Tom Lane)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,sci.math,comp.compression
Subject: Re: Compressing decimal expansion of pi (was Re: PI)
Summary: um, how about decimal->binary?
Date: 22 Dec 92 15:43:46 GMT
Article-I.D.: cs.Bzo3p1.6I7.2
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon

madler@cco.caltech.edu (Mark Adler) writes:
> Sure.  First, I calculated what to expect.  Huffman coding bytes that
> are just digits can be done with six 3-bit codes and four 4-bit codes,
> which gives 3.4 bits per byte.  If you need an escape code of some
> sort also, then perhaps five 3-bit codes, five 4-bit codes, and then
> you have one code left for end-of-block or whatever.  That gives 3.5
> bits per byte.

Why not just convert the decimal representation to binary, and store the
binary expansion of pi?  That gives you log2(10) = 3.322 bits per decimal
digit.  Assuming that the digits of pi are actually random, this is the best
that can be done.

				regards, tom lane
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: bernie@metapro.DIALix.oz.au (Bernd Felsche)
Subject: alt.binaries.slide-rule (was: Slide Rules)
Organization: MetaPro Systems, Perth, Western Australia
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 02:31:15 GMT

In <BzG537.KMC@world.std.com> bmarcum@world.std.com (Bill Marcum) writes:

>In article <1992Dec8.030206.11957@metapro.DIALix.oz.au>
>   bernie@metapro.DIALix.oz.au (Bernd Felsche) writes:
>>In <PRENER.92Dec4012121@prener.watson.ibm.com>
>>   prener@watson.ibm.com (Dan Prener) writes:
>>>In article <1992Dec3.094755.9435@metapro.DIALix.oz.au> Bernd Felsche writes:
>>>> Just how do you get the cursor to blink on a slide-rule? :-)
>>>With a simple patch to the microcode, of course.
                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>Please post the patch in alt.binaries.slide-rule

>Of course, there is no such group, because a slide rule is an analog computer.
>Now, how do you uuencode analog code?

Post a GIF of the changes... Isn't that a reasonable way of
digitizing an analogue system?

The alternative would be to attach my Faber-Castell
slide-rule to the net, but I don't know if I can get a
compiler to port INN so that it will accept a feed.  :-)

Merry Xmas to all. It *is* the silly season.

>Bill Marcum  bmarcum@world.std.com

-- 
+-----+ Bernd Felsche                     _--_|\  #include <std/disclaimer.h>
| | | | MetaPro Systems Pty Ltd          /      \ bernie@metapro.DIALix.oz.au
| | | | 328 Albany Highway,              X_.--._/         Fax: +61 9 472 3337
|m|p|s| Victoria Park, Western Australia 6100  v        Phone: +61 9 362 9355
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,sci.math,comp.compression
From: prener@watson.ibm.com (Dan Prener)
Subject: Re: Compressing decimal expansion of pi (was Re: PI)
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 06:57:47 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
	<1992Dec27.133611.3281@pollux.lu.se>
	<1992Dec27.150934.24664@ultb.isc.rit.edu>
	<alien.024p@acheron.amigans.gen.nz>
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Hawthorne, New York

In article <alien.024p@acheron.amigans.gen.nz> alien@acheron.amigans.gen.nz (Ross Smith) writes:

   [ ... most of posting omitted ... ]

   Real compression utilities take advantage of the fact that real data is
   hardly ever random. If the data is truly random, no general-purpose
   compression algorithm is possible.

In fact, that is the basis for the information-theoretic definition of
randomness.
--
                                   Dan Prener (prener@watson.ibm.com)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: andy@research.canon.oz.au (Andy Newman)
Subject: Re: STILL WANTED: Ted Nelson's "Computer Lib / Dream Machines"
Organization: Canon Information Systems Research Australia
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 16:04:27 GMT

jonathan@vinnie.cuc.ab.ca (Jonathan Levine) writes:
>I just read the news today...
Oh boy.


(think about the Beatles.)
-- 
Andy Newman (andy@research.canon.oz.au)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Subject: Re: Apple IIGS being discontinued Dec 1992
Reply-To: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 00:49:51 GMT

In article <SFcNrA5FBh107h@lorc.eskimo.com> lowen@lorc.eskimo.com (Lamar Owen) writes:
>
>I would rather type commands any day to do certain work I do.  Then again, for
>doing graphical work, and certain other operations, a GUI is fine.  But, my point
>is this: I like the *availability* of a CLI inside my GUI.  It's the Mac's 
>insistence on GUI-all-the-way-with-absolutely-never-ever-any-CLI mentality that
>stinks.  I like Pro-Choice computing!
>

Apple is of the "Less is More" school.  As a casual Windows user, I would say
that the most useful feature of Windows is the bottom option of most 
pull-downs on the left:

Exit Windows

If this were on a Mac, what would it do?

cjl
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.computers:18304 alt.folklore.urban:32025 alt.religion.kibology:5538
From: twcaps@tennyson.lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,alt.folklore.urban,alt.religion.kibology
Subject: Re: Proper pronounciation of 'Kibo'
Date: 23 Dec 1992 23:31:50 GMT
Organization: Department of Redundancy Department
Reply-To: TWChan@lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.12.117

billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson) writes:
  +
  +All conjugations are irregular and imperfect - unlike Kibo, who is
  +somewhat regular and partially perfect.

Chocolate Ex-Lax will do that for you.

Terry "Kinda gives Spot a whole new meaning don't it?" Chan
--
Energy and Environment Division   | Internet:  TWChan@lbl.gov
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory      | 
Berkeley, California  USA  94720  | Carpe per diem
From: kabreuer@cip.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Klaus Breuer)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Non-English-based computer languages (was: I don't understand this either (was: Another one for the s.c.n. ...))
Date: 30 Dec 92 21:28:09 GMT
Organization: CSD., University of Erlangen
NNTP-Posting-Host: faui00e.informatik.uni-erlangen.de

>|>keywords in Swedish. It was a very funny feeling to write programs in
>|>this language; it just felt so wrong to have the keywords in one's own
>|>language, and the results looked more like jokes than like real
>I once used a Pascal compiler where the common error messages had been
>translated from German to English - but the messages for internal errors
>and strange cases were still in German!  Fortunately there was one
>German speaker in the class.

Well, I lived in South Africa for a while, where the second national language
(next to english) is Afrikaans, a weird mixture of dutch, german and
english. The people are fiercly proud of this language (they have even erected
a massive monument in its honour!) and thus I wasn't terribly surprised when
I found an 'Afrikaans BASIC' for the C64 (on cartridge).
Language structure etc was the same, just the commands were translated, for
example 'GOTO' was 'GAAN NA' and so on.
We had a good laugh with it - I never remembered seeing it used, though.

Ciao,
Klaus
---
Klaus Breuer, Rudelsweiher Str. 6b, 8520 Erlangen, Germany
** "Geez, I need a _reason_ for everything?" --Calvin 
** "Should I or shouldn't I? -- Too late, I did!" --Hobbes
From: pashley@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Montykins)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Waste of Resources
Date: 27 Dec 92 08:45:55 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego

In article <1hipbsINN136@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, wb8foz@skybridge.scl.cwru.edu (David Lesher) writes:
>Others said:
>{3 standalone 486's to sell tickets}
>
>Then how do they know when they have oversold the house?
>

Two ways. First, every time somebody sells a ticket, that person
pushes one o' those little hand-held counters. So it's not done by
the computers.

Second, when people start demanding refunds because they can't find
seats, it's probably almost full.

 -Paul "Monty" Ashley
   (Better to sell too many and give out refunds than to leave a few
seats unsold - - always take the couple extra dollars over the
goodwill of the customer. I guess that's why they went with
IBM-style. <rimshot>)
-- 
I'll be in San Francisco in early January. What shouldn't I miss?
E-mail suggestions to the address cleverly hidden in the header.
From: azog@spatula.rent.com (Billy D'Augustine)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: What is so greate about the PDP 10?
Date: 21 Dec 92 13:42:35 GMT
Organization: A kitchen utensil somewhere in central New Jersey

In article <7477353@zl2tnm.gen.nz> don@zl2tnm.gen.nz (Don Stokes) writes:
>
>And I wouldn't crow too much about IBM -- ever heard of the System/36?  
>Yes, there are a lot of 'em out there.  That architecture is dead; the
>AS/400 is a development of the System/38.
>

As to IBM... In our shop, we run an ES/9000 that replaced a 4381 that
replaced... (you get the idea). Since the dawn of time, we were running
VSE (or DOS, if you prefer). At some point in time, it seems that IBM
considered dumping VSE/DOS, in favour of their flagship MVS, but the
customer base wouldnt let a such a thing happen. 

VSE is much smaller and more maintainable than MVS, abliet at a loss
of power. Also, supposedly, VSE and MVS are ~75% code compatable.

(please note, the above is 3rd party. I have nothing to do with the
IBM machine. I run the VAX/VMS machine. Im simply relating the tale
to point out that when a company decides to kill a product, the 
customers may have something to say about it. In this case, altho 
I dont know the percentage of VSE to MVS installations, I imagine 
that it would have been a nice little slice of IBMs income. Also
along that line is the S/370 stuff...)
-- 
Billy D'Augustine azog@spatula.rent.com

Gentlemen, shall we manufacture salsa, or oven mitts?
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.computers:18244 sci.math:17300 comp.compression:4205