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Sometimes running at high
speed can make things become
unstable, just ask those people trying to make the Boeing’s
Hypersonic jetWaveRider work.
So these days I’m a huge fan ofreliable systems,
and less thrilled by the prospect of breaking gigahertz
barriers for notional performance gains. Those wanting to
overclock their systems just need to spend more money
with Intel and not invest any time or effort.
Surely, that sucks the very last drop of enjoyment out
of it, and demonstrates vividly that Intel never understood
why people did this. The final irony is that PCs go so fast
these days generally, that other than posting amazing
benchmarks, the motivation for doing this has largely
vaporised for many.
This latest dolly departure from Intel’s pram is another step
on the PCs ladder to becoming an appliance, and us just not
caring what’s inside them.
Mark PickavanceAcross
7 The measurement of electrical
potential as a technique in chemical
analysis. (13)
8 A communications path from Earth
to an orbiting satellite. (6)
9 A movement back from an
impact. (6)
10 He painted small matchstick
figures set against the iron and
brick expanse of urban and
industrial landscapes. (1,1,5)
12 In botany the central swelling
on the cap of a mushroom or
toadstool. (5)
14 The brightest star in Orion and
the seventh brightest star in the
night sky (5)
16 Cardinal numbers that are the sum
of six and one. (7)
19 An irregularly occurring and
complex series of climatic changes
affecting the equatorial Pacificregion
and beyond every few years. (2,4)
20 A businessman who buys or sells
for another in exchange fora
commission. (6)
22 In geology the upper layer of the
earth’s mantle, below the lithosphere,
in which there isrelatively low
resistance to plastic flow. (13)Down
1 A computer program that performsa
series of instructionsrepeatedly until
some specified condition is satisfied. (4)
2 .mx TLD. (6)
3 People who tended the furnaces on
steamships or steam locomotives. (7)
4 Undesirable pattern whichresults
from incorrect screen angles ona
printed image. (5)
5 A video camera connected toa
computer connected to the Internet, so
that its images can be seen by other
Internet users. (6)
6 In geometric group theorya
topological space in which every small
enough neighbourhood is
homeomorphic to a quotient ofreal
space by the action of a finite group. (8)
11 The use of pretentious superficiality
of knowledge - frequently witnessed
in forums! (8)
13 Using or expressed in more words
than are needed. (7)
15 A Hebrew prophet, disciple and
successor of Elijah. (6)
17 Something given as a token of
victory or success. (6)
18 Recite numbers in ascending
order. (5)
21 Gain money,recognition or status
through applied effort or work. (4)THISWEEK'SCROSSWORD
LASTWEEK'SCROSSWORD
DISCLAIMER
The viewsexpressed by
contributors are not necessarily
those of the publishers. Every
care is taken to ensure that the
contents of the magazine are
accurate but the publishers
cannot accept responsibilityfor
errors. Whilereasonablecare is
taken when accepting
advertisements, the publishers
cannot accept anyresponsibility
for anyresulting unsatisfactory
transactions. John’s beenlooking
at the post box like alost puppy
for two days now, waitingfor a
Raspberry Pi 3to drop through it.
Having ordered hisfor next day
delivery about two hours after it
was released, he’s nowstartingto
get a little frustrated that it hasn’t
appearedyet. Does he need it
urgently? Notreally... If he’s
honest, he’s not short of
computersto play with, and
hasn’teven really worked out
what he’s goingto do with ityet;
he’s still tinkering with the Pi
Zero he finally managedto get his
hands on lastweek, after all (it’s
a Volumio-powered music
streamer blasting out theStar
Warssoundtrack aswe write this.
Whatever next?). That’s not the
point with alot of technology,
though, is it? It’s actually quite
rare that some miraculous piece
of kit fills a gaping hole in our
lives any more. It’s more likely
that we just want it because it’s
cool. And from where he’s sitting,
the RPi 3 islooking prettycool
right now. All that pining is a bit
unseemly, mindyou.Across:7Absolute Pitch, 8 Knight, 9 Status, 10
Hyperon, 12 Decal, 14 Idiom, 16 Courier, 19 Lloyds, 20
Oracle, 22 Intermissions.
Down:1IBAN, 2 Dongle, 3 Auction, 4 Tense, 5 Mirage,
6 Accurate, 11 Yodeling, 13 Colossi, 15 Oxygen, 17
Roadie, 18 Ask Me, 21 Line.
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