David Patterson, Ten Years, Hennessy discussed on Embedded

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You can disturb memory if you don't protect it and even though you're testing on earth that's a tort horrible way to start a sense but when you're testing memory circuits on earth. You still have to consider that because even though it's a remote probability that you're going to have a disturbance if you do have failures it's something you have to consider Because we still have radiation entering the atmosphere. Although you know thank god it's not Damaging enough to affect us every day but What do you send something like that into space. How do you protect it. How much shielding do you put. Can you put Well let me let me. Just digress. Again back a little bit. Because this'll explain it. I worked on the tower rocketed. A general dynamics and i've learned an important lesson. One of the technicians was taken me through their factory. I went out to reach to touch the shell of one of the centaur second stage rockets. They were building any grabbing. Pulled me back really quick. And i said why did you do that. And he said we'll think about what you're about to do is said the shell on. That rocket is thinner than dime you could puncture that rockets. I could have been responsible for losing one hundred million dollars for the company. Because i was stupid but fortunately i had their somebody that knew better than i was. I was younger and he was the older and he taught me an important lesson that day. Tell the i remember to this day. Well in today when you're building a spacecraft that goes to another planet memories certainly is important the processor. How do you protect the electronics. How do you balance the way to value you know redundancy will be one thing but there's a space is pretty unforgiving environment so i'm not an expert in that aspect of it but i do think about stuff like that even on earth i know i have put a few random bugs down to alpha particles who well i guess i now mine were more gamma. No i'm kidding. I if i could there i get myself into trouble. You've got into touch some interesting silicon. You mentioned he is seventy four series. You mentioned to me a national semiconductor's forbid microcontroller an eight hundred fifty one. Which of those is your favorite Get all i'm thinking. It was a match between the The forbidden eighty ob. I'm sorry the eighty fifty one. They have different aspects. They both used what's called a pl a programmable logic array which is not at fpg a was the precursor so they were hard coded Logic and i learned how to make state machines and stuff like that in a four bit. I also learned the process. I learned how to how the hell machine like that works. But the eighty fifty one was the same thing but It was a little bit more important than used in a lot of different situations or probably typing on one. Eighty forty eight some of these keyboards. But which is a derivative. But they're i mean they're they both have that similar they're they're both that von neumann machines. they arms that were working on are totally different by the way by boss when i was working who was working for significance I introduced me to the concept of reduced instruction set. And i thought it was really cool. The guy david patterson and hennessy who were the Pretty much. They're not the founders. I think it came before them but they were the ones that drove it We have a lot to be thankful for what they did you know for the industry embedded because if brisker or because of what because of what it did low power The ibm that microcontrollers. We have today if we had eighty fifty one today We i mean we do in various forums. But it's so much more powerful and speed and power You there is a at the conference. Do you remember Narrow samak oh yeah. We've had him on the show before. Have you ever Delved into his technology at all. Do you understand what what he does. The state machine focus whilst more important is state machines but What he does with state machines. I don't think a lot of people a lot of people do appreciate. But i don't think people realize how powerful it is Miro is a genus. I can't discuss y. I know what i do But i've worked with some of his stuff. And i've seen some of the things you can do it. I'm thinking in terms of low power systems. They'll silicon labs for example advertise microcontrollers. That'll stay powered up for ten years. I think with muros technology. They could extend it a lot further. And i'm a big fan of his if you can't tell They they guy as i when i saw his website the state machines. I fell in love with the technology. I haven't written anything myself at least not on my own time. So yeah i have to say speaking out of the side of my mouth but i do know that his stuff is very powerful and i would encourage anybody that is doing low power to look at it Because you learned quite a bit from it but anyway there. I go off on attention again. That's why we're here all tangents all the time. It is no hypothesis at all. Nope ed that reminds me One of my favorite sayings is The world is complex. Part of it's real the other parts imaginary right. It's good like that is true. There i worked with this guy that had the best analogies. I've ever heard things like paint white china at bright house to hell..