Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 887 Network decentralization and P2P
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In terms of the operating system, Tang Huan has indeed never stopped the pace of 64-bit technology research and development, and has already carried out practical applications on high-end database servers, graphics workstations and other platforms.

However, compared to most people at this stage who only see the performance improvement brought about by the use of larger memory space by 64-bit technology, Tang Huan is also concerned about the enhancement of computer security by 64-bit architecture.

Still taking the evaluation criteria of trusted computer systems as an example, it is not that the higher the security level of the product, the better, because there is a dialectical constraint relationship.

First of all, it is not difficult to understand that the higher the security level, the more links, the stricter the review, the more troublesome it is for users to use the system; and this is not necessary for most common application scenarios, for example, you just buy a piece of meat to make dumplings , but the butcher said, you have to go to the street to get a certificate before I can sell it to you-you can imagine how annoying this kind of experience is!

Second, the higher the security level, the greater the system performance overhead.

For example, the C2 level requires the system to audit events such as when it was turned on, which user logged in from where and when, and write them into logs - in this way, by checking the logs, you can find out Intrusion behavior represented by traces such as multiple failed logins; and recording activities performed by system administrators, etc.

Obviously, such audits consume additional processor time and disk resources.

Therefore, for a general operating system aimed at the widest range of user groups, it is enough to reach the C2 level of the Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria; otherwise, it is too much.

In the original time and space, Windows_9 and Windows_XP after the Windows_NT branch and Windows_2000x branch of Microsoft merged into one belong to the C2 level. You can easily find system logs and computer security management in the "Computer Management" and "Disk Properties" interfaces. The function does not cause any discomfort to users in terms of ease of use.

It's a pity that C2 is just a standard, and it cannot guarantee that Windows, which is the target of public criticism, is invincible in terms of security.

Later versions of Windows, Windows_Vista, introduced a new infrastructure technology called User_Account_Control - User Account Control, or UAC, to help prevent malware from causing damage.

This model of leaving security responsibility to users to decide and take responsibility has brought obvious discomfort to users.

In fact, when the user is at a loss or is bothered, the mechanism is useless - the user may click the confirmation button without even looking at it, and the responsibility falls on them.

Another obvious example is installing a program on the Android system—maybe a flashlight program, which can’t reach the permission to ask for phone, address book, text message, etc., and users often don’t bother to spend time thinking about it carefully and agree to all of them. down.

Just ask, if a bad situation such as private information leakage occurs at that time, who is to blame?
Zheru's operating systems for the consumer market and the professional market respectively - StudiOS and Artascope, in terms of architecture, etc., are definitely much better than Windows, and the Android that has not yet popped up, but they also feel the criticism of the public. security pressure.

Tang Huan hopes to adopt a more active solution than throwing the blame on the user - and the 64-bit environment can do some things that the 32-bit environment cannot do.

Of course, the richest man’s enthusiasm also has his own selfish motives - he is a user of his own high-tech products, and sometimes the information he handles is no less secretive than major national events. Of course, he is particularly sensitive to computer security - And it's getting more and more sensitive.

It is undeniable that at this stage, 64-bit security enhancements still mainly serve high-end fields such as workstations and servers.

As for EA's latest home TV game console, the fourth-generation Subaru game console, it introduces 64-bit technology in order to pursue performance.

Tang Huan was asking about IT security issues, and Trip Hawkins happily brought good news—the global sales of the third-generation Xiaobawang game consoles are not far away from the unprecedented benchmark of 1 million units.

The richest man is not surprised by this good news at all - you must know that in the original time and space, Sony's first-generation PlayStation broke through 9 million units in 6 years and 1 months after its debut, and the third-generation Xiaobawang game console is a little bit more technically It is not inferior, and it has a dominant advantage in operation. So after more than 6 years since its launch, it is so surprising that the historical level of 1 million units is within reach.
On the contrary, the status of the small box of the home TV game console is becoming increasingly clear. It has become the center of home entertainment. In addition to playing games and enjoying movies, it can also interact online through the Internet.

It can be said that home TV game consoles can obviously influence and even drive the trend of TV, a traditional home appliance, and digital multimedia standards.

In this case, the successor of the third-generation Xiaobawang game console, the fourth-generation Xiaobawang game console, is particularly important.

First of all, its performance must be sufficient to suppress the threat of personal computers - you know, Tang IT has pushed it onto the 3D runway, and the resulting cool game effects strongly attract players.

Secondly, EA's Internet online service platform, Battle.net, needs to further enhance its functions and integrate applications.

Again, digital video standard DVD, wireless local area network, high-definition and other latest technologies should also be added to support, or ready to support.

The topic between Tang Huan and Tripp Hawkins soon turned to EA’s first 64-bit home video game console, the fourth generation of the Overlord game console, which is about to be announced.

Although the current video game industry has become a bit unrecognizable because of Tang IT's indiscriminate entry, but EA's dominance has not stifled the vitality of this field. On the contrary, because the development prospects have become clearer, And thousands of rocks compete for beauty, and thousands of valleys compete for success.

For example, in addition to the newcomer Sony joining the ranks of the competition, some established manufacturers have hyped cutting-edge concepts in their new products to compete for market share, so that the gimmick of the world's first 64-bit home TV game console has begun to rot. up.

At the end of the year before last, Atari, which had been skinned and lost all its early copyrights and was still struggling to this day, used the Atari 2600 more than ten years ago to compete with a generation of Xiaobawang game consoles in the era of 8-bit home TV game consoles. Atari, the game department below, released the Atari Jaguar, which is billed as the first 64-bit home TV game console; then, at the end of last year, Sega was not to be outdone and launched its own so-called 64-bit game console. Home video game console - Sega Saturn.

Although Atari Jaguar and Sega Saturn were very popular, EA did not panic, and proceeded methodically according to its own roadmap.

Gein, the improvement of hardware specifications is just a temporary gimmick. Whether the product is really successful depends on whether the software is good or not. There are no games with enough weight to support the scene. No matter how powerful the hardware platform is, it is just a decoration.

Strictly speaking, the 64-bit technology of Atari Jaguar and Sega Saturn is indeed a gimmick-they are only equipped with two 32-bit CPUs, and they hype up the 64-bit selling point in a big way.

It is undeniable that this dual-CPU architecture can indeed improve the performance of home TV game consoles, but the premise is that the computing resources of the two CPUs can be truly dispatched at the same time.

You must know that even a few years later in the original time and space, when dual-core CPUs became popular, the software industry had not yet reached the point where most applications could truly support it. It was far less simple than directly increasing the CPU operating frequency and improving performance. Roughly, it is more likely to find its place in key areas such as enterprise applications - at this stage, Fangyuan servers and Fangyuan workstations using symmetrical multi-processor structures with multiple CPUs fall into this situation.

The decisive factor here is still the software - the difference in difficulty between programming on 1 CPU and programming on 2 CPUs is not 01:30 points, not to mention whether programmers in the video game industry have the ability to serve advanced The skills of peers in the application field are often unacceptable in the development cycle alone.

A common feature of the video game industry is to make quick money—when the market comes, players can be obsessed with a certain game to the point of sleepless nights, which can be called "time is money", and it is impossible to make meticulous work like the enterprise application field , so it is very sensitive to the efficiency of the game development platform.

EA, who understands this well, follows its own rhythm and resolutely takes the real 64-bit road, that is, the home TV game console only uses a 64-bit CPU, and the matching software platform will not test game development programmers. The skills of wasting brain cells for how to schedule the resources of multiple microprocessors.

Trip Hawkins mentioned an industry dynamic, "Nintendo, like us, is developing a next-generation home video game console that uses a 64-bit RISC microprocessor - as far as I know, the CPU it uses is specially designed MIPS_R4300; the image processing part is provided by the famous graphics workstation manufacturer Silicon Valley Graphics, and the progress is very fast, and the details of the product will be announced almost at the same time as us.”

At the COMDEX Las Vegas Autumn Show, which seemed to be a bit late this year, EA removed all confidentiality measures and officially announced the existence of the fourth generation of Xiaobawang game consoles, so that partners in the ecosystem can have a better understanding. And the buffer to adapt to the new platform, and the official shipment will have to wait until next year.

After hearing this, Tang Huan couldn't help but smile: "This seems to be the first time that Nintendo dares to be the first in terms of hardware specifications."

Trip Hawkins laughed knowingly, "However, I guess even though CD-ROMs are quite popular now, Nintendo is still reluctant to replace the traditional game storage media like cassettes."

Tang Huan shook his head, "Sometimes, the stubbornness shown by a manufacturer is really incomprehensible."

The most direct advantage of the cassette is the smooth game loading speed brought by the semiconductor chip, while the CD-ROM sometimes suffers from delays.

At the same time, the cassette can also provide additional functions such as extended functions, additional handle interfaces, and storage of game progress by carrying components such as coprocessors and batteries.

Of course, the real reason why Nintendo holds on to the cassette is probably because of its unique advantages in game copyright protection.

However, compared to cassettes, CD-ROM has more advantages to attract manufacturers such as EA to empathize with others.

The most obvious advantage is that the CD-ROM has a large disc capacity and can store more content-the excellent animations of best-selling works such as "FIFA" and "Need for Speed", which have always been talked about by players.

The advantage to the manufacturers is that CD-ROM discs are easy to produce and the cost is low. Even if they unfortunately encounter a slow-moving market, they will not lose their pants. Think about the background of the Great Depression of the North American video game industry in 1983. It is not difficult to imagine the horror of the cost risk in the tragic scene of Dali truck pulling the unsalable cassette to the garbage dump.

Compared with Nintendo's unspoken preference for the unique protection of game copyrights by cassette tapes, Mr. Richest is more concerned about the impact of CD-ROM on digital video standards - the sales of the third generation of Xiaobawang game consoles will exceed 1 In other words, this means that there are 1 million terminals that can read VCDs, and the layout of Tang IT and Tang Daheng converges in one place!
There is no need for Tang Huan to talk too much with Trip Hawkins, the CEO who has served for many years, for routine operations such as recruiting and controlling high-quality game content to ensure the successful release of the fourth generation of Xiaobawang game consoles next year. He emphasized the construction of Battle.net, "In addition to social functions, it won't take long for Battle.net to support the release of game content and even related electronic payments."

Trip Hawkins joked: "If [-] million users are connected to EA Battle.net to download content at the same time, I am afraid that the scene will be so spectacular that the network will be jammed and the server will go down."

"You are brought into the alley of thinking inertia by the centralized network structure of server/client." Tang Huan explained seriously: "Zheru will soon be present at this year's COMDEX Las Vegas Autumn At the exhibition, we released P2P technology and products that advocate decentralization of the network—this is also the most ideal model of the Internet. At that time, whether it is data downloading or electronic payment, there will be unexpected innovations.”

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(End of this chapter)