Re: [GTALUG] life expectancy of 32-bit x86 [was Re: Fedora Netinstall] [long]

[Jamon Camisso via talk]

On 2018-02-14 11:06 AM, Lennart Sorensen via talk wrote:
> If it was actually possible to buy arm servers I think at least some
> people would have (I know I would have in the past), but none of the
> systems announced could actually be bought unless you were google or
> facebook or something like that.

I think you can buy Cavium ThunderX systems if you get in touch with the
distributor in Canada. We have some of their systems in the US for arm64
build farm purposes.

But yes, the long promised ARM in the datacentre thing seems to remain
just that, a promise with no major channel resellers or anyone offering
much in terms of product.

HP tried high density ARM servers with its Moonshot blades, but it seems
like that effort died off in 2014 as soon as it started, and the whole
HP/HPE thing the next year probably didn't help.

Cheers, Jamon
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Re: [GTALUG] Fedora Netinstall

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 14 Feb 2018 13:17:59 -0500
Bob Jonkman via talk  wrote:

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> 
> Howard wrote:
> > I have now updated my website install notes.  I state in them that
> the documentation sucks, and that all the default values work fine.  I
> did not fill in the repository window.
> 
> Pretty good notes, Howard!
> 
> http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson/Lenovo/
> 
> - --Bob.

Bob,

   Thanks.

-- 
Howard Gibson 
hgib...@eol.ca
jhowardgib...@gmail.com
http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson
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Re: [GTALUG] Intel straws and Camel's backs [WAS: life expectancy of 32-bit x86]

[D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk]

[warning: long, didactic and tangential.]

| From: Giles Orr via talk 

| There's this assumption among many computer geeks (until today I was among
| them) that Intel is the chip "gold standard."

The prime aesthetic in the computer world is simplicity.  Every bit of
complexity increases the chance of bug bites.  (I admit that there is
significant complexity inherent in many problems.)

Complexity has an unrelated advantage for enterprises: it creates the
proberbial moat around their business.  This is in no way good for
customers.

In the computer world, all big businesses seem to depend on this kind
of moat.

Perhaps the only way to attack a business behind a moat is by
disruptive innovation.  (I know that term has been worn out; go read
Christensen's "The innovator's Dilemma" from 21 years ago.)  RISC
architectures were disruptive but mostly lost anyway.

Successful businesses are constantly trying to re-enforce their moat,
but often the complexity gets beyond even them.

Examples of complexity as moat:

- x86

- MS Windows

- MS Office

- IBM mainframes

Of course there are other kinds of moats: "intellectual property",
domination of distribution channels, scale requirements, regulatory
capture, bundling, cross subsidization,...  They are often complementary.

Intel has been very good at some things -- they had to be.  I guess
they haven't focussed on being good at things they don't have to be.



Speaking of Windows...

I bought a couple of little computers last week and they arrived when
I was out for TLUG last night.  Today I decided to initialize Wondows
before I wipe it.

I tuned the first one on.  Windows booted and we went through
introductions.

It decided unilaterally to apply updates.  Luckilly, it didn't apply
them all since I'm sure that would have taken a day.

(There seemed to be no way to avoid setting up PIN
security, which I did not want, but eventually I could cancell out of
that process.)

Then, before I get a desktop, it asks to apply updates (again).  What
could go wrong -- I'd hardly done anything to the box.  Well,
something did go wrong.  But neither it nor I know what:

Something wet wrong
Windows can't be updated right no.  We will attempt to update
again later.
You can contact Microsoft support for help with thie error.
Here is the error code 0xc1900203e

[OK]

The "Microsoft support" is a button that fires up Edge browser on a
page with a FAQ about upgrading to Win 10, which I was not doing.
Sheesh.

All my recent experience with Windows has been updating it and all has
been bad.  You would think that this would be something to get right.

(Giles: the Windows experience I whined about last week is a
completely different incident.)
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[GTALUG] RAM speed matters in Ryzen

[D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk]

My impression has been that for ordinary workloads, RAM speed hasn't 
mattered much recently.  The reason, I assumed, is that modern processors 
had pushed caches and out-of-order execution quite a distance.

This article shows that the Ryzen 5 240g performance is affected by RAM 
speed.  The article doesn't mention number of channels, but that should 
matter too.



How come?  I suspect that the clue is here:

"The CPU-GPU interconnect system uses AMD’s Infinity Fabric as well, and 
Infinity Fabric’s clock is directly tied to DRAM clock."

I wonder if cranking up the DRAM clock, but adding latency cycles, 
would improve performance without requiring faster RAM.---
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Re: [GTALUG] Feb. 13, 2018 Dinner Location?

[Brice Lopez via talk]

On Tue, Feb 13, 2018 at 10:07:07PM +, Ivan Avery Frey via talk wrote:
> 
> I'll see you there then.

Hello,

I would like to meet you at the GTA LUG meeting tonight. Is the address on the 
website still valid? (245 Churh street, room 203)

Thanks,

-- 
Brice Lopez


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Re: [GTALUG] Fedora Netinstall

[Bob Jonkman via talk]

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Howard wrote:
> I have now updated my website install notes.  I state in them that
the documentation sucks, and that all the default values work fine.  I
did not fill in the repository window.

Pretty good notes, Howard!

http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson/Lenovo/

- --Bob.


On 2018-02-12 06:59 PM, Howard Gibson via talk wrote:
> On Sat, 10 Feb 2018 21:15:57 + Giles Orr via talk
>  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> I'm reading all of this with some interest: I tried a Fedora Net
>> Install about four months back.  And I appear to be the only
>> person on this list who had a problem with it.  Specifically, I
>> got to the page where you have to fill in details about your
>> system and users (I think, I'm doing this from memory) and
>> couldn't proceed further despite having filled in the details
>> because the installer was having a hard time either getting the 
>> list of mirrors or finding a responsive mirror (I think it was
>> the former).  The result was a ten minute delay, despite my
>> having a fully functional network connection.  A bit of research
>> at the time seemed to indicate that this was an uncommon but not
>> unheard-of problem with the Net Installer.  It left me strongly
>> inclined to make the big ISO download ...
>> 
>> -- Giles https://www.gilesorr.com/ giles...@gmail.com
> 
> Giles,
> 
> I have now updated my website install notes.  I state in them that
> the documentation sucks, and that all the default values work fine.
> I did not fill in the repository window.
> 

- -- 
Bob Jonkman   Phone: +1-519-635-9413
SOBAC Microcomputer Services http://sobac.com/sobac/
Software   ---   Office & Business Automation   ---   Consulting
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[GTALUG] HackLab.TO's Junk Independence Day is this Sunday from 2pm to 7pm

[Myles Braithwaite  via talk]

It’s everyone’s favorite time again: the first Junk Independence Day of 
2018! Coming up on February 18th from 2pm-7pm (or later). Bring your 
e-waste and dig through other people’s for treasures. On previous Junk 
Independence Days, people have walked away with an iPod touch, a 1TB 
hard drive, working classic iMacs, bubblejet printers, a Sony mini-DV 
camcorder, stereo amps, speakers, a desktop computer and even walk/don’t 
walk streetlights! Not to be forgotten, there are always lots of little 
chips and bytes for random hacking, too.


Anything left at the end will be picked up on Tuesday, 20th of February 
and responsibly recycled by Revolution Recycling, who has been 
participating in our Junk Independence Days since the first one. Thanks 
Revolution!!


Come hang out with some fellow hackers and search for hidden treasures! 
Tickets are not necessary but Eventbrite[0] is a great way to sign up 
and get reminders. You can also RSVP via our Facebook event[1]. See you 
at JID!


HackLab.TO is located at 1266 Queen St. West, Suite #6[3].

[0]: 


[1]: 
[3]: 

(feel free to share this message with awesome people)
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