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Path: sserve!euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!simtel!zombie.ncsc.mil!news.mathworks.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!EU.net!Austria.EU.net!news.aut.alcatel.at!atusc75!ladavac From: ladavac@aut.alcatel.at (Marino Ladavac) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Questions suitable for the FAQ Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:09:15 GMT Organization: Alcatel Austria AG Lines: 57 Message-ID: <407umr$qsk@atusks02.aut.alcatel.at> References: <DCyAs7.L6y@midway.uchicago.edu> <405nbk$egg@agate.berkeley.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: atusc75.aut.alcatel.at X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Jordan K. Hubbard (jkh@violet.berkeley.edu) wrote: : > 6. Has anyone done any temperature testing while running FreeBSD? : > I know linux runs cooler than dos, but have never seen a : > mention of FreeBSD. It seems to run really hot compared to : No, but we have done numerous taste tests on blindfolded volunteers who have : also had 250 micrograms of LSD-25 administered beforehand. 35% of the : volunteers said that FreeBSD tasted sort of orange, whereas Linux tasted like : purple haze. Neither group mentioned any particular variances in temperature : that I can remember. We eventually had to throw the results of this survey : out entirely anyway when we found that too many volunteers were wandering out : of the room during the tests, thus skewing the results. I think most : of the volunteers are at Apple now, working on their new "scratch and sniff" : GUI. It's a funny old business we're in! With all respect due, Jordan, but he might have a point there. I am not certain if FreeBSD halts the CPU in the idle loop. Linux does, if HALT is implemented properly (and kernel checks it on boot-up.) This practically sends the CPU to sleep and reduces consumption (i.e. dissipation) to milliwatts. If the CPU is halted, it is awaken by an interrupt. Of course, this gives absolutely no advantages on busy machines, but desktops are seldom such. : > 7. Is there anything "odd" that FreeBSD does when compiling the : > kernel which would cause the memory to make a scratchy : > sound? When compiling (and for a brief moment after recognizing : > the floppy drive upon startup, as well), a strange scratchy : > sound emanates from what appears to be the memory banks. I Never heard off, at least on semiconductor RAM's. Brings back memories to the days when core did have meaning, and memory memorized things over power failures, too. : Yes! You'll see frequent references to "daemons" in the BSD documentation, : and what most people don't know is that this refers to genuine, non-corporeal : entities that now possess your computer. The scratchy sound coming from : your memory is actually high-pitched whispering exchanged among the daemons : as they best decide how to deal with various system administration tasks. : If the noise gets to you, a good `fdisk /mbr' from DOS will get rid of them, : but don't be surprised if they react adversely and try to stop you. In fact, : if at any point during the exercise you hear the satanic voice of Bill Gates : coming from the built-in speaker, take off running and don't ever look back! : Freed from the counterbalancing influence of the BSD daemons, the twin : demons of DOS and Windows are often able to re-assert total control over : your machine to the eternal damnation of your soul. Given a choice, : I think I'd prefer to get used to the scratchy noises, myself! Laying it a bit thick, aren't we? /Alby : Hope this helps. : Jordan