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The Scale of the Universe 2. How Computers Boot Up. The previous post described [motherboards and the memory map] memory-map in Intel computers to set the scene for the initial phases of boot. Booting is an involved, hacky, multi-stage affair - fun stuff. Here’s an outline of the process: Things start rolling when you press the power button on the computer (no! Do tell!). If all is well the CPU starts running. Most registers in the CPU have well-defined values after power up, including the instruction pointer (EIP) which holds the memory address for the instruction being executed by the CPU. The motherboard ensures that the instruction at the reset vector is a jump to the memory location mapped to the BIOS entry point. The CPU then starts executing BIOS code, which initializes some of the hardware in the machine.

After the POST the BIOS wants to boot up an operating system, which must be found somewhere: hard drives, CD-ROM drives, floppy disks, etc. The BIOS now reads the first 512-byte sector (sector zero) of the hard disk. 50 Skills Every Real Geek Should Have - Page 1. Back in our September 2008 issue, we published a list of 9 Skills Every Nerd Needs – a lighthearted examination of the essential abilities Maximum PC readers should have in their geek arsenal. We still stand by that list, but we were somewhat one-upped last month when we saw that Gizmodo had since run its own list of 50 key geek skills. Their list was very respectable, but we thought that we could do better by not only expanding and refining our original story, but actually teaching you these skills.

The highest echelon of geeks will be able to do everything in this list, and this is by no means a full categorization of the complete geek skillset – only what we consider to be the most indispensable abilities. Have anything to add to our list? Post it in the comments! Name These Connectors! Finding hidden hardware gems in bins of archaic cards at computer shows and swap meets is an ever-so-crucial nerd skill. A. Run All Your Essential Apps on a USB Stick Straighten the Pins on an Older CPU. List of paradoxes.

This is a list of paradoxes, grouped thematically. The grouping is approximate, as paradoxes may fit into more than one category. Because of varying definitions of the term paradox, some of the following are not considered to be paradoxes by everyone. This list collects only scenarios that have been called a paradox by at least one source and have their own article.

Although considered paradoxes, some of these are based on fallacious reasoning, or incomplete/faulty analysis. Informally, the term is often used to describe a counter-intuitive result. Logic[edit] Self-reference[edit] These paradoxes have in common a contradiction arising from self-reference. Barber paradox: A barber (who is a man) shaves all and only those men who do not shave themselves. Vagueness[edit] Ship of Theseus (a.k.a. Mathematics[edit] Statistics[edit] Probability[edit] Infinity and infinitesimals[edit] Geometry and topology[edit] Greek Gods Family Tree / Genealogy | ludios.org. Ludios.org.