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From: zenith-steven@cs.yale.edu (Steven Ericsson Zenith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.transputer
Subject: Re: Those hidden Tp features
Message-ID: <1990Oct25.100229@cs.yale.edu>
Date: 25 Oct 90 14:02:28 GMT
References: <1990Oct25.074638.28328@specialix.co.uk>
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Reply-To: zenith-steven@cs.yale.edu (Steven Ericsson Zenith)
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In article <1990Oct25.074638.28328@specialix.co.uk>,
iann@specialix.co.uk (Ian Nandhra) writes:
> I am just curious. I am *NOT*, repeat **NOT** trying to
> encourage the use of hidden or undocumented features, should any
> exist, just trying to cut through some of the Transputer-eese and
> rumours etc etc (like the one about Pifco using the H1 in their
> new toaster)..... :-)

Damn!! The Parallel Toaster Project! How on earth did that leak out? We
at Yale, of course, are intimately involved in this project and would
very much like you all to keep this in confidence - the project is a 5
year collaboration between the British Government, SGS-Thompson[nee
INMOS] and Pifco aimed at producing a toaster that will simulataneously
generate enough toast for the British and USA troops in the Middle East
(toast and bagels for 250000 is a major concern right now in the desert
- refer to the UK Department of Trade report on the subject). As you
might have guessed the project (first conceived by SGS-Thompson[nee
INMOS] at their Bristol R&D Centre [Architecture Group]) is funded
entirely by ESPRIT. Occam was shown to be unsuitable for programming
such systems and we are developing a special CSP/Linda derivative for
this purpose (see my Yale research report "Toasting with EASE: Linda,
Occam, toasted bagels and cream cheese").

Yes, we know that GE has for sometime been developing a toaster of this
order (we have one in the basement at Yale) - let's hope they don't go
for the purely mechanical variety, then we'd really be in trouble!

Steven

ps. How could you possibly suggest that the transputer has "undocumented
features" !!! By the way ... for those of my ex-colleagues in Bristol
who are humor retarded - yes, I know it's sad but there are a few (go
on, you know who you are) this is supposed to be "funny" (look it up,
F.U.N.N.Y :-) ). :-)

--
Steven Ericsson Zenith              *        email: zenith@cs.yale.edu
Fax: (203) 466 2768                 |            voice: (203) 466 2587
   "All see beauty as beauty only because they see ugliness" LaoTzu
 Yale University Dept of Computer Science 51 Prospect St New Haven CT