We all know that π (pi) is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of circle's circumference to the diameter. For many of us, it simply means 3.14 which happens to be an approximate value of pi. I am sure few enthusiasts among us know more accurate value as 3.1415..... However that is still the approximate value.
Going by the history, numerous attempts were made to arrive at the exact value. But nobody could arrive at a number with nth bit as zero meaning the value was still not accurate. So, the question remains- what is the "real" value of pi and whether it is possible to get the exact value?
One Yahoo! cloud computing engineer has claimed that he is able to compute specific bits to an extent that nobody in the world has been able to do that. The result- The two quadrillionth bit of π is 0!
This is one heck of a remarkable achievement. So how he did it? He used hadoop technology that Yahoo has championed for years now. The computing needed amazing computing power. In fact, the computation took 23 full days and required 1000 different machines using Hadoop.
This should be celebrated as a great cloud computing milestone!
Read more at BBC website
Friday, October 29, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Mobile Patents: Who is suing whom anyway?
Well...This is not exactly around cloud computing. It is all about mobile computing. But none the less... it is hard to ignore these news coming about the squabbles among the companies in mobile space.
As mobile computing gets pervasive, companies are vying to stay at the top of the top of increasingly competitive mobile market. Recently Microsoft sued Motorola over its line of Android-based smart phones. The popularity of Android software is also at the heart of a legal battle between Oracle and Google.
Guardian published an interesting chart around who is suing who in mobile business.
A long battle looms before it is clear which companies would be the winners. However one thing is clear ultimately it is the attorneys who would make quick bucks on this !!!
As mobile computing gets pervasive, companies are vying to stay at the top of the top of increasingly competitive mobile market. Recently Microsoft sued Motorola over its line of Android-based smart phones. The popularity of Android software is also at the heart of a legal battle between Oracle and Google.
Guardian published an interesting chart around who is suing who in mobile business.
A long battle looms before it is clear which companies would be the winners. However one thing is clear ultimately it is the attorneys who would make quick bucks on this !!!
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