Computers and Memory/storage question Options

[Cray74]

[Necro Tech]

Your computer doesn't have to have any memory at all the view the library if it on a chip, just a chip port. Since a desk top is bought only as memory, you have to figure the cost of the monitor, key board, etc is already figured in. For the library, anything that can display chips, (pocket sec, simsense deck, cyberdeck) and has a monitor of some type (personal telecom, headware w/image link, electronic suite in rigger van) can be used if you are doing research on the go. Hell, a chipjack with image link allows you to watch it at your leisure. It is only sold in book form for those who like a retro feel.

[Herald of Verjig...]

Pocket secretary is a nice choice. The cost of 100MP of palmtop computing with some other features thrown in at no extra cost.

[Necro Tech]

And for the record, I had a 2MB, then upgraded to a whopping 8MB to go with my 300 Baud modem.

[Kanada Ten]

[hobgoblin]

the way i view sr chip storage is a kind of computer on a chip. think back to the days of 8 and 16 bit nintendo and sega machines. before the cd-rom became popular for games. those days anything shiped on chips and was slotted into the main box. many of the later 16-bit nintendo games had special chips in those "casettes" to pull of new stunts. think of it like haveing the executable stored in nonvolatile ram, cut the power and the chips just stops there and when power is reapplyed it will resume where it ended (or be reset, maybe best in case of a crash). data isnt loaded into memory before being searched, the storage media is optical and probably more similar to ram then rom. only thing the computer needs is a bit of space to store variables and so on for when the "app" is in use. no need for a special pdf app to read that format of files. every pdf file comes wraped in its own reader. data and app is no longer seperate, in many ways its MPAA/RIAA's wet dream as it allows for very tight content control.

there was talk about the us goverment buying huge "ram" drives when the terrorist hunt was hot. basicly they where normal hardrives wrapped in ram so that the whole content of the drive (most likely a database) was loaded into that ram. then you dont have to overload the computers own ram with working with that database and can most likely speed up searches a lot as you remove the load time.

the reason for ram these days is that the storage medium isnt so fast that the cpu can request information straight of it. just watch how your computer slows down when it have to swap stuff into or out of virtual memory (basicly a area of the hd the os accesses as if its a kind of ram, be it a special file or a precreated partition). computers of tomorow will be more like mobiles. instant on and ready to go to work. the only reason a java app on a cellphone have to load is that java apps are stored in independent bytecode rather then native binary of the individual phones cpu and therefor have to be translated. and even that prosess is quicker then a normal computer loading a application. pick up a smartphone and look how fast it can fire up a installed app and then dream about that as a full size desktop computer.

as for why there is active memory in a cyberdeck? gamebalance. in effect you may as well be useing all the apps at any time without needing to swap memory all the time. doing programing only need storage to hold the code your working on. ok so maybe its a safety design carryed over from the virus battles. atleast VR2 and later eliminated the internal loadtimes (now all you have to care about is uploading the icon part to the host your interacting with).

[lokugh]

[Kagetenshi]

Datajacks are cheap and easy. Most hermetics would probably have one.

~J

[lokugh]

[Kagetenshi]

Given the amount of power and knowledge available to a mage from a quickly-searchable library, the one magic point or associated geas is paltry.

~J

[Kanada Ten]

What's wrong with a trode rig? And secondly, why would ASIST be needed to search a libary? A PC can access the Matrix, it just can't do the simsense.

[Eyeless Blond]

If a Mermetic mage is dumb enough to buy his libraries at chargen, he probably has resources B or something like. With that kind of cash you've got plenty left over for some other useful 'ware other than just a datajack, like artwinkulation, Boosted 1, a trauma dampener, plastic bone lacing, etc. The dj is just there to round out the 1.00 Essence of cyberware, which will probably be geased off.

But really there's no reason a trode rig won't work, just as there's no reason to buy the libraries at chargen anyway. Well, maybe the bonjuring library....

[Kagetenshi]

Keep in mind that I'm arguing for mages in general having datajacks, not for PC mages to take them at chargen. Trode rigs are inconvenient and give a kludgy feel to things, you know? And searchable is the wrong term.

~J

[Eyeless Blond]

Heh, okay, from a roleplaying standpoint then. Datajacks are convenient; they're almost required for most middle-class people. Without one you're as technologically crippled as you are without an internet connection today; sure you can get by without it, but you're really missing something. It's a one-time investment of 20-100% of one month's rent to have one installed, which is pretty damn cheap considering how much people spend on their computers today.

[Kanada Ten]

A trode rig that looks like a baseball hat that doesn't infringe on your connection to the ecstacy of magical power, with promises of wireless connections in a few months to years... Yeah, I don't need to think twice about it. If half the SIN population can't be bothered to get a datajack, I don't see more than half the hermetics getting one.

[Kagetenshi]

The ecstasy of magical power comes from knowledge. What are you, some kind of shamanist?

~J

[Kanada Ten]

I totally disagree. As a hermetic, I'd consider lossing Essence comparable to having your member cut off and geasa being required to use a pump to get it up.

And yes, that's totally just my opinion.

This post has been edited by Kanada Ten: Sep 22 2004, 04:54 AM

[Nylan]

thats delightful, Kanada...thats the image I want in my head right before I go to bed.

[Jason Farlander]

[Kagetenshi]

And I'd consider a datajack to be a Mr. Studd implant.

~J

[Kanada Ten]

And what are the benefits of a datajack compared to a wireless trode rig?

[Kagetenshi]

First off, the wireless bit doesn't exist yet. Second, no fiddling with nets and soforth or getting it out of alignment. Third, better responsiveness out of the interface.

Fourth, ability to easily use for other things like driving cars.

~J

[Kanada Ten]

And that overweighs having a barrier between you and magic? I don't see anywhere near half hermetics agreeing with you. Plus there is a chance of losing more magic if the doctor has an accident. The wireless part doesn't exist for datajacks either so you still must fiddle with wires.

[edit] I don't even think cars come standard with a datajack port. Do most people even drive their cars? I would think AutoNAV is the wave of the future.

[Nemo]

@Kanada Ten
The Limit of 1.000Mp per chip was in the Shadowbeat-SB

[Jason Farlander]

Hey, K-10, could you please point out the relevant passages in the descriptions of shamanic and hermetic approaches to magic that imply that hermetics as a whole are more power-hungry than shamans?