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Supposedly a true story.
Seymour Cray -- chief designer of the Control Data Corporation CDC 6600 and most related computers of that family -- had for years resisted adding error-detecting parity bits to data values on his computers, saying "Parity is for farmers".
Later he changed his mind, adding SECDED bits (single error correction, double error detection) to memory words in the newer machines. When asked about this change, he quipped that "More farmers have computers now".
Now farmers -- like nearly everyone else -- have computers.
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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----please, draw me a sheep----
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Joined: Feb 2011
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stranger
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As a little dude, hanging about my Dad's data processing facility, I remember his visits with Mr. Cray. I didn't know to be impressed then... When asked about Seymour and Parity, he was skeptical and responded:
Seymour Cray has a lot of interesting quotes attributed to him. I seriously doubt this story. Parity bits and error correction had been around a long time before he came on the scene with super-computing. Early machines that did not use parity bits and error correction was based upon being cheap - not fast.
An interesting story. Cray was told that Apple Computer had just bought a Cray computer to help them design their new Mac computers - he responded that was interesting, he had just bought a new Mac to help him design the next Cray computer.
True? Amusing, regardless!
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Welcome to you too, Colo_ALF
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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chime in? it's commonly enough attributed to him: link as to veracity, I'm afraid that, even I, really just don't know.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Early machines that did not use parity bits and error correction was based upon being cheap - not fast.
You can have it cheap. You can have it fast. You can have it good. Pick two.
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