http://emergentchaos.com/archives/2006/02/on-computers-and-irony.html The Emergent Chaos Jazz Combo Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:20:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://emergentchaos.com/archives/2006/02/on-computers-and-irony.html/comment-page-1#comment-1945 Ian Rae Mon, 27 Feb 2006 23:01:34 +0000 http://emergentchaos.com/?p=1534#comment-1945 That should read: more efficient to compute without erasing information. That should read: more efficient to compute without erasing information.

]]> http://emergentchaos.com/archives/2006/02/on-computers-and-irony.html/comment-page-1#comment-1944 Nudecybot Mon, 27 Feb 2006 22:52:04 +0000 http://emergentchaos.com/?p=1534#comment-1944 On a tangential note: from what I understand of the physics of computing, destroying information requires energy, therefore it is more efficient to compute without. Of course that might just apply to bits and universal Turing machines...but it does indicate to me that you have to pay the electrical bill for these "accidental" losses of data, so perhaps if you want to avoid data loss keep you system powered off when it is not under controlled operation. This will also avoid running unwanted code - I too have noted the proliferation of software on Windows that runs by default and is often installed as a service even though I would rather invoke it on demand and then have it go away. On a tangential note: from what I understand of the physics of computing, destroying information requires energy, therefore it is more efficient to compute without. Of course that might just apply to bits and universal Turing machines…but it does indicate to me that you have to pay the electrical bill for these “accidental” losses of data, so perhaps if you want to avoid data loss keep you system powered off when it is not under controlled operation. This will also avoid running unwanted code – I too have noted the proliferation of software on Windows that runs by default and is often installed as a service even though I would rather invoke it on demand and then have it go away.

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