Skip to main content

Changing bootstrap

Hmm.. almost reminds me of The Gold Rush by Charles Chaplin. Must see if not already. But I refer to the changes the boot sequence of the personal computer has undergone over time. The term booting a computer actually bears its origins I believe to the art of strapping up them boots before heading out to do what was needed to be done. When I first encountered the fancy calculator it had a switch called AC or ON. That's it. You press it and the 7 element LCD started glowing bright. You could proceed to add or multiply or subtract if you chose and get an answer - lightning quick. Then came the need to do more than just algebra. We wanted to process words and work on elaborating the non elaboratable along with spreading the numbers to cover sheets requiring the invention of a personal computing device. This could not merely be a matter of hitting the ON button. OH NO. You now had to coax the sleeping brain out of its stupor by kicking it with an operating system or the OS. So to go from nothing to ON you had to go through the OS. The OS in turn had its own quirks. As the technolgical advances made it possible to share our creative sheets and processed words with others with a similar device there was a need to control the communication lest the bad guys saw the sheets. Hence the IP to IP internet communication had to be secured. This led to the OS getting to work some more so it could fire up other attendants that watched out for these distractions. They are called the Start Up processes. So now to go to ON you had to kick the OS that secured the IP to allow you to communicate or pontificate. All in all the wait time before you could actually do something got to the point that some of us almost forgot what we booted up for in the first place. That is the exsistential question isn't it?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Of chocolates

I like chocolates. Godiva Dark with Almonds - not sure of the naked woman on the horse to be the icon of some choice cocoa based products but tastes good. Started in Belgium but now owned by some Turks. Cadburys - Fruit and Nut Milk Bars - awesome combination of dried fruit pieces along with a medley of nuts makes your toungue dance - started by a Brit now owen by Kraft USA. Lindt Hazelnut spheres - made by a Swiss confectioner are divine balls that melt in your mouth with a lingering nutty taste Ghirardelli Milk Crisp Squares - crunchy and light these milk squares are easy on the palate but pack some serious calories - all good I say! Originally founded by an Italian who moved around till he landed in SF Bay today also owned by the Swiss Lindt empire.

Columbia SC

 The Palmetto state.  One of the confederate kinds. History dating couple centuries back.  We visited the capital yet again this time to take in the SC State Museum. Occupying the former digs (literally remodeled) of an erstwhile cotton mill this structure is an amazing piece of reimagination.  Four floors of excitement for kids and young at heart alike. Located on the shores of the Congaree River formed when the Broad meets up with the Saluda River, this edifice is approx. 60 years old.  The front of the building has a more modern planetarium that was added about a decade ago.  The museum itself has different areas of interest segregated on each of its four floors. The first floor has gift shop and a diorama of some of the local geography including the swamps and the state beaches with audio guides to help understand what fauna thrives locally. The second floor is all about natural history and showcases animal kingdom that may have survived on this latitud...

Gab about Gaps

There are a number of news stories these days where conversation inevitably turns to discussing some sort of GAP - Gap between rich and poor is growing Gap is losing market share to other clothiers The Dow is Gapping Down (so is the NASDAQ) and the dollar is Gapping Up The guy who advised British public over the PA on dangers of tube travel with the phrase 'MIND THE GAP' has died There is a frightening Gap between our Debts and Savings Gap between Executive pay and Average worker salary is at an all time high All I am doing is listening to all this unfold with my mouth aGAPe. What me worry?