Hi kens, thanks for the knowledge sharing all these years. Can you please confirm this one? From Wikipedia, it says that 8087 uses CORDIC algorithm. Does that mean that it's the same (but different speed) as what I'd implement the functions in software, except in microcode (which has more granularity than usual assembly code)?
I found it a bit surprising that as a 45-year old chip, there is no public information of its microcode. I guess hardware is indeed much more secret than software.
Yes, the 8087 uses CORDIC. I extracted the constants from the 8087's internal constant ROM and they are arctangent and log values for the CORDIC algorithm. You can implement the same functions in software, which is what floating-point emulation libraries did back then.
There's almost no public information on the 8087 microcode, but I'm working on that :-)
I kinda agree with you. The US policy won't change much. It is a set policy but not very well executed, simply because such a policy is not in the interest of existing power base, so someone new but crude has to be elected, and that's why he got elected not once, but TWICE.
My understanding is that US is going to shrink back a bit, takes care of its neighbours first, but keep its probing bases intact, so that it can slash some costs and be more flexible in next decades. China is going to reluctantly expand its power base gradually -- but I think it's going to be a slow expansion because any rapid one would either fail, or create a new power group within China, that may threaten the existing players.
Not sure about EU though, it better gear up quickly.
SQL is popular because everyone can learn and start using it after a while. I agree that Python sometimes is a better tool but I don't see SQL going away anytime.
From my experience, the data modelling side is still overwhelmingly in SQL. The ingestion side is definitely mostly Python/Scala though.
Even if that's doable, I suspect most of us would want to sit in a plane with a human in the cockpit. It's like trains and subways where most of the work is mundane but you want someone at the helm to deal with SHTF situations.
I'm still skeptic about driver-less taxis, even when commercial ones like Waymo are already running on the road. But at least taxis run in 2D regulated highways and most of the drivers are sane enough.
I'm in Canada and the landscape is OK. But we can definitely do better. Without properly educated men and women, I'm afraid that democracy degrades to either 1) elites stop caring about responsibilities, or 2) demagogues rallying against the elites in 1)
Not sure about the US, but IT industry in Canada definitely is in a recession. When good graduates from Waterloo CS cannot find an entry level job, you know something is wrong.
I think "The Soul of the New Machine" definitely captures the idea -- I don't have the exact words, but it's like playing pinball -- you win and you get to play the next one. The reward of completing a tough job is a tougher job.
I really love this kind of culture. Life is grey without being challenged to the limit.
I guess it is just because 1) They can, and 2) Everyone wants some data. I think it would be interesting if every website out there starts to push out BS pages just for scrappers. Not sure how much extra cost it's going to take if a website puts up say 50% BS pages that only scrappers can reach, or BS material with extremely small fonts hidden in regular pages that ordinary people cannot see.
Yeah something like this, would be nice if it actually feeds bad data that requires human to double confirm, too. Not something seriously wrong but something subtle, like changing a couple of letters in a name of a country, or randomize the National day. Once a lot of websites start to use it AI might actually get confused, I think? But humans never read these pages so should be largely fine -- unless they are reading AI summaries.
I found it a bit surprising that as a 45-year old chip, there is no public information of its microcode. I guess hardware is indeed much more secret than software.
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