Re: [iwar] Saddam and the PS2


From: Michael Wilson
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Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 14:33:15 -0800 (PST)
Reply-To: iwar@egroups.com
Subject: Re: [iwar] Saddam and the PS2
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Incidentally, that's supposed to be a tilde, or 'approximately' 70M polys
rendered per second.  Actual performance seems to be dramatically reduced f=
rom
that if you don't handle memory just right, which is asinine.

I also haven't had a chance to dive into the neural network/agent-based mod=
el
aspects coded into the hardware as well, but those are next on my list.  In
many ways, that should be far more disturbing than the poly rendering, but =
my
guess is that application of that technology doesn't trigger the alarms lik=
e
the raw clock speed.

MW

On Tue, 19 Dec 2000, Michael Wilson wrote:

> Actually, there are a number of primary issues with the PS2 that should b=
e of
> concern in defense circles (I've been tracking the PS2 since the announce=
ment,
> so this comes from my own personal assessment):
> - The raw processing power is impressive, at the 'control' level of most =
export
> agreements;
> - The signal processing built in to handle modeling has applications from=
 WMDs
> through cryptanalysis;
> - At ~70M polygons per second, you can handle significant realtime 3D (wh=
ether
> they have access to the intelligence and image resources necessary is ano=
ther
> thing altogether) for unmanned vehicles, but more importantly, for simula=
tion
> and training purposes (since they can't get their own remaining birds int=
o the
> air);
> - Simulations related to weapons design (think: SCUD improvement) are als=
o
> possible; this isn't just technical improvements, but even down to camouf=
lage
> (see the IMINT reference above);
> - Sony has also built PS2 farms--those not familiar with 3D work might no=
t
> understand the utility, but clusters of PS2s handling rendering are prett=
y
> attractive to a lot of 'new media' efforts, so that's going to be a signi=
ficant
> market. Those clusters make all of the above even more powerful.
>=20
> The good news:
> - The PS2 is a bitch to code, even with full technical support;
> - In a comcon (completely, continually) world, location of this sort of
> computing resource is meaningless; you could park the boxen in a non-expo=
rt
> restricted country and get plenty of utility;
> - Utilization of this sort of technology for C2 systems (and the reason I=
've
> been tracking the issue myself is that I could use the PS2 as the ultimat=
e thin
> client) is non-trivial--AKA, it's going to take some work;
> - Massive parallel, massively distributed processing is beyond the techni=
cal
> competence of most programmers (feel free to bitch at me, and we can get =
into
> long discussions about data v. program parallelism, and why most coders c=
an
> hack real parallel implementations), so they'll have to wait for someone =
else
> to solve the problem and make a COTS (commercial off the shelf) solution.
>=20
> MW
>=20
> On Tue, 19 Dec 2000, St. Clair, James wrote:
>=20
> > Why Iraq's buying up=20
> > Sony PlayStation 2s=20
> > Intelligence experts fear games=20
> > bundled for military applications=20
> >=20
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------=
-----
> > ----
> >=20
> > By Joseph Farah
> > =A9 2000 WorldNetDaily.com=20
> >=20
> > Many American kids may be disappointed on Christmas morning because the=
 Sony
> > PlayStation 2 they wanted wound up in Iraq.=20
> > Both the U.S. Customs Service and the FBI are investigating the apparen=
t
> > transfer of large numbers of Sony PlayStation 2s to Iraq, according to
> > military intelligence sources.=20
> >=20
> > A secret Defense Intelligence Agency report states that as many as 4,00=
0 of
> > the popular video game units have been purchased in the United States a=
nd
> > shipped to Iraq in the last two to three months.=20
> >=20
> > What gives? Does Saddam Hussein have an extraordinarily long Christmas
> > shopping list? And why would U.S. military and intelligence officials b=
e
> > concerned about such a transfer?=20
> >=20
> > Two government agencies are investigating the purchases because the
> > PlayStations can be bundled together into a sort of crude super-compute=
r and
> > used for a variety of military applications, say intelligence sources.=
=20
> >=20
> > "Most Americans don't realize that each PlayStation unit contains a 32-=
bit
> > CPU -- every bit as powerful as the processor found in most desktop and
> > laptop computers," said one military intelligence officer who declined =
to be
> > identified. "Beyond that,=20
> >=20
> >=20
> > ------------------
> > http://all.net/
> >=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> ------------------
> http://all.net/
>=20


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