用 ESP8266 模擬 PC-XT...

看到拿 ESP8266 模擬 PC-XT,是個懷古時間:「IBM PC-XT Emulator on an ESP8266」。

現在小板子的 CPU 跟記憶體都比三十年前的桌機還要大了,直接在上面跑模擬器就算慢一點也已經不是問題了... 直接上麵包板接起來跑:

然後也可以跑 Windows 3.0:

純粹 hacking 的專案 XD

原來 Oracle 與 Microsoft 裡的條款是這樣來的...

看到「That time Larry Ellison allegedly tried to have a professor fired for benchmarking Oracle」這篇文章的講古,想起很久前就有聽過 Microsoft 有這樣的條款 (禁止未經原廠同意公開 benchmark 結果),原來是 Oracle 在三十幾年前創出來的?而且這種條款還有專有名詞「DeWitt Clauses」,出自當初被搞的教授 David DeWitt...

Microsoft 的條款是這樣:

You may not disclose the results of any benchmark test … without Microsoft’s prior written approval

Oracle 的則是:

You may not disclose results of any Program benchmark tests without Oracle’s prior consent

IBM 的反而在 license 裡面直接允許:

Licensee may disclose the results of any benchmark test of the Program or its subcomponents to any third party provided that Licensee (A) publicly discloses the complete methodology used in the benchmark test (for example, hardware and software setup, installation procedure and configuration files), (B) performs Licensee’s benchmark testing running the Program in its Specified Operating Environment using the latest applicable updates, patches and fixes available for the Program from IBM or third parties that provide IBM products (“Third Parties”), and © follows any and all performance tuning and “best practices” guidance available in the Program’s documentation and on IBM’s support web sites for the Program…

新的 DNS Resolver:9.9.9.9

看到新的 DNS Resolver 服務,也拿到了還不錯的 IP address,9.9.9.9:「New “Quad9” DNS service blocks malicious domains for everyone」,服務網站是「Quad 9 | Internet Security and Privacy in a Few Easy Steps」,主打宣稱過濾已知的危險站台...

由政府單位、IBM 以及 Packet Clearing House 成立的:

The Global Cyber Alliance (GCA)—an organization founded by law enforcement and research organizations to help reduce cyber-crime—has partnered with IBM and Packet Clearing House to launch a free public Domain Name Service system.

也就是說,後面三家都不是專門做網路服務的廠商... 於是就會發現連 Client Subnet in DNS Queries (RFC 7871) 都沒提供,於是查出來的地區都不對,這對使用 DNS resolver 位置分配 CDN 節點的服務很傷啊... (或是其他類似服務)

這是 GooglePublic DNS (8.8.8.8) 查出來的:

;; ANSWER SECTION:
i.kfs.io.               576     IN      CNAME   kwc.kkcube.com.country.mp.kkcube.com.
kwc.kkcube.com.country.mp.kkcube.com. 21599 IN CNAME TW.kwc.kkcube.com.
TW.kwc.kkcube.com.      188     IN      CNAME   i.kfs.io.cdn.cloudflare.net.
i.kfs.io.cdn.cloudflare.net. 299 IN     A       104.16.244.238
i.kfs.io.cdn.cloudflare.net. 299 IN     A       104.16.245.238

;; Query time: 28 msec
;; SERVER: 8.8.8.8#53(8.8.8.8)
;; WHEN: Sat Nov 18 05:30:23 CST 2017
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 181

這是 Quad9 (9.9.9.9) 查出來的:

;; ANSWER SECTION:
i.kfs.io.               1800    IN      CNAME   kwc.kkcube.com.country.mp.kkcube.com.
kwc.kkcube.com.country.mp.kkcube.com. 42702 IN CNAME US.kwc.kkcube.com.
US.kwc.kkcube.com.      300     IN      CNAME   i.kfs.io.cdn.cloudflare.net.
i.kfs.io.cdn.cloudflare.net. 300 IN     A       104.16.245.238
i.kfs.io.cdn.cloudflare.net. 300 IN     A       104.16.244.238

;; Query time: 294 msec
;; SERVER: 9.9.9.9#53(9.9.9.9)
;; WHEN: Sat Nov 18 05:30:27 CST 2017
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 181

再來一點是,在科技領域相信政府單位通常都是一件錯誤的事情,我 pass... XD

IBM 的 50 qubit quantum computer

IBM 在展示他們做到了什麼:「IBM makes 20 qubit quantum computing machine available as a cloud service」。

不過重點應該在目前已經拉出 50 qubit prototype 了:

The company also announced that IBM researchers had successfully built a 50 qubit prototype, which is the next milestone for quantum computing, but it’s unclear when we will see this commercially available.

18 個月從 5 qubit 到 20 qubit:

IBM has been offering quantum computing as a cloud service since last year when it came out with a 5 qubit version of the advanced computers. Today, the company announced that it’s releasing 20-qubit quantum computers, quite a leap in just 18 months. A qubit is a single unit of quantum information.

如果是以這樣的速度成長 (每 18 個月變成原來四倍),五年後就有機會殺 RSA 2048 bits 了?(大約需要 4000 個 qubit)

這比想像中快好多,難怪現在密碼學都在討論抵抗 quantum computer 的演算法...

IBM 把自家的 JVM 貢獻出來:Eclipse OpenJ9

IBM 把自家的 JVM 貢獻出來,與 Eclipse 合作,一起推出了 OpenJ9 (原名 IBM J9)。程式碼可以在 GitHub 上的 eclipse/openj9 取得。

在官網上有提到與官方版本不同的特性:

Low memory footprint. Fast start-up time. High application throughput. Optimized to run Java applications cost-effectively in the cloud.

應該會有人包 PPA 吧,之後跑 Java 程式可以拿來用看看...

IBM 中止與 NetApp 的 OEM 關係

IBM 中止與 NetApp 的 OEM 關係,要賣自己的硬體了:「IBM Stops Selling NetApp Units in Favor of Own Storage Devices」。

幾個重點:

The move is poised to be a setback for NetApp, which gets about 2 percent of its revenue from IBM, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“IBM is focused on strengthening its Software Defined Storage portfolio to provide greater scalability to clients,” Sean Tetpon, a spokesman for IBM, said in an e-mail.

有很多種解讀...

有人受不了聯想的鍵盤了...

自從 IBMThinkPad 被聯想買下後,就愈來愈糟糕了,尤其是對鍵盤的品味為人詬病已久...

這次有寫手受不了了,寫了一篇對鍵盤「改進」很不滿的文章:「Stop Trying To 'Innovate' Keyboards, You're Just Making Them Worse」。

上面這張鍵盤的圖出自原文,副標題是「Oh my god.」... XDDD

沒有直接的 F1~F12 按鍵,另外「`~」的位置居然在下方,Home 與 End 則在左方?這應該要花很多時間努力才能熟悉這個鍵盤 XDDD

IBM 買 SoftLayer...

在「IBM Acquiring SoftLayer to Boost its SmartCloud」這邊看到 IBM 已經跟 SoftLayer 達成協議了,依照法令公開的消息可以在 IBM 的官方網站上翻到:「IBM to Acquire SoftLayer to Accelerate Adoption of Cloud Computing in the Enterprise」。

SoftLayer 除了 Hosting 業務以外,也還包括 CDN 業務... 接下來會怎麼玩啊?