Since we at MiserWare released the MicroMiser Beta for Windows in mid-January, we have had a massive influx of new users eager to try out the software. I personally think that the value of MicroMiser is obvious and resonates well with people: free software that will save you energy with no noticeable impact in the performance of your system. Essentially, it offers energy savings for free, without affecting the user experience.
Since the release though we’ve had several questions about what kind of energy savings one can expect; as an extension, I think people are interested in the actual technology that allows us to save energy without affecting performance. The underlying magic is a technology called dynamic voltage and frequency scaling or DVFS. It allows software running on a computer to lower the power of the CPU without turning the system off.
A good analog is a dimmer switch on your dining room light. When you are writing a letter at the table, you need the full light to be able to see your work, but when you are relaxing with a glass of wine after dinner, you don’t need the brightest available light. You turn down the dimmer to save energy (well, maybe not JUST to save energy) while you are relaxing.
DVFS works in a similar way. When your computer is working hard – for instance, when you are playing a game – the CPU needs to be at full speed so that it can work effectively. When your computer is “relaxing” – for instance, when you are browsing a web site – your CPU can “dim” itself by slowing down execution without you noticing. In the lower state, the CPU consumes less energy, thus making your computer more efficient. If you wanted to, you could switch between the “bright” and “dim” modes yourself to match your usage. In order to get the most efficient use of power in your computer system though, you would need to switch DVFS modes every time you changed your usage.
That is where MiserWare software comes in. Using sophisticated workload modeling and prediction algorithms, MicroMiser can determine when your computer is working and the CPU needs to be “bright” and when your computer is relaxing and the CPU can be “dim” without affecting your work. This allows MicroMiser to automatically change DVFS modes to save energy when you can while still running at full speed when you need it.
As you might guess, the difference between the states and by extension the savings you can experience with MicroMiser varies from system to system. On some test systems we have at MiserWare, we have seen system savings upwards of 40% in the lowest state, with average savings of 10%-30% depending on workload. In the next post, I’ll take a look at what variables appear in the formula for producing your savings, and how you can estimate them to see the range of your possible savings.
Although I wouldn’t call the study rigorous, the Facebook Data Team has done an interesting analysis of the positivity and negativity of the status updates of English speaking people given their relationship status. In particular, arguably unsurprisingly, people who are listed as “In a Relationship” or “Married” have a substantially more positive outlook than those who aren’t. A bit more strikingly, people listed in open relationships are massively negative relative to all other groups, including “Single”. I guess all those philanderers I knew in college weren’t as happy as they seemed.
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Recently in our basement-made-office we have experienced an influx in Girl Scout cookies, as the girls upstairs are all girl scouts, and our company was goodly enough to purchase some from them. Yesterday, one of my co-workers who is by all accounts in fantastic shape generally was lamenting his lack of restraint in eating a box and a half of the ironically named Caramel De Lites, formerly Samoas. These bits of chocolate, caramel, shortbread, and coconut are quite tasty and come in a box with 16 of the treats. After hearing my Jon complain about eating them, we took a look at the back of the box.
A serving size of 2 cookies (1/8th of a box) contains 140 calories, 13g of sugar, 7g of fat, with 6g of saturated fat; all told, Jon had just eaten 1680 calories, 156g of sugar, and 348% of his daily intake of saturated fat. By comparison, you would need to eat 5.6 McDonald’s cheeseburgers to get the calories, 3.55 Hot Carmel Sundaes for the sugar, and a whopping (no pun intended) 20.57 Large Fries to get the saturated fat.
Isn’t a bit odd that in a country with epidemic-level obesity we are sending out our daughters peddling foods like this? What sort of lesson are we teaching children by giving them a quota of junk food to sell? While I think that sending the girls out into the neighborhood to talk to their community and try and raise money is commendable (although it is arguable that much of this goes on anymore), wouldn’t they get the same benefits from going out and directly raising money for their organization? The net profit on a box of cookies that goes for $3.50 is around 50-60 cents; is it really that much easier to sell 10 boxes of cookies than to solicit a $5 donation?
I recently saw a “friend” of mine (in the Facebook sense..there really should be a better word) join a group called “Why do WE have to learn spanish cause MEXICANS are in AMERICA ?!?!”. I pointed out that this was one of the most ridiculous things I had heard in a long time, not only because of the obvious neo-conservative, xenophobic undertones, and not only because of the complete lack of causal link between the foreign language requirement in schools and immegration, but also because in my experience learning a foreign language is an enriching and valuable experience.
I realized though, that saying that didn’t prove anything, so I searched a bit and found this link that not only extolls the benefits of learning a second language, but goes so far as to cite the research that was the basis for the findings. Very well put together, and very informative. It makes me want to actually pick up some tapes and learn Spanish.
This morning my company MiserWare released the latest beta version of our personal energy-saving software, MicroMiser. MicroMiser is a cutting-edge application that can save up to 35% system energy with no noticeable performance impact. With this version, MicroMiser now has support for Microsoft Windows, in addition to Linux. Additionally, we are reopening the referral incentive program, allowing MicroMiser users to earn points for referring their friends and submitting machine information. Please consider trying out the beta and let us know your thoughts on the software. Click here to sign up for the MiserWare MicroMiser beta.
After years of complaining about the lack of a solid, viable model of Internet distribution for music, I have finally discovered a service that fits my needs well: lala.com. You can purchase MP3s from the site for about the same as anywhere else, 89 cents a song. However, the real quality of the site is twofold. First, you get one free web streaming play of every song in the catalog, and second, you can buy a web-only copy of the song with unlimited plays for 10 cents. The catalog is quite extensive; for instance, I found a copy of Chris Knight’s “Home Sick Gypsy” and Cephas and Wiggins’ “Sick Bed Blues” without any trouble at all.
If you are not already a member, sign up for lala now. At the moment, signing up gives you 25 song credits for web-only songs. Full disclosure: if you sign up using the link on this page, I also get an additional 5 credits, so USE MY LINK 
Months ago, I was at an event at the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, VA for an opening of a new early nature photography exhibit with my girlfriend. After we had taken in the exhibit, we were hungry and we walked to a nearby Mexican restaurant we had seen walking in that we had noticed was already crowded at 5:30 called Alejandro’s Mexican Grill. After a bit of a wait, we finally got a table for 2 in the crowded little space.
Perusing the menu, I could tell this was a step above the average strip-mall Mexican joint (not that I don’t love those places!). The food had more high-end ingredients than the usual beans-rice-tortilla-ground-beef-shredded-chicken. They also featured a salsa bar that had some unique and interesting, not to mention delicious, salsas. We ordered and received our food, enormous portions of well-cooked and seasoned dishes. Allison had the quesadilla del mar, a gigantic portion of tortilla-wrapped scallops, shrimp, and fajitas vegetables; I had the burrito croqueta, a massive cheese-covered chicken fajita burrito with rice and beans. Everything was delicious, and only modestly pricier than a Speedy Gonzalez.
Fast forward six months or so, and one of my coworkers starts talking about a new Mexican place in the dirt mall at the end of my road. Turns out, Alejandro’s has opened a new location in Christiansburg to complement their two locations in Roanoke! Naturally, I felt obliged to try it immediately; luckily, Allison had just come into town, and it was therefore a special occasion. The new location is much larger than the location in downtown Roanoke, and we got seats immediately. Otherwise, everything was more or less the same. Needless to say, you will probably see me there pretty frequently. If you haven’t tried it yet, make sure you try Alejandro’s as soon as possible.
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Let me preface this by saying that no one should actually buy or make me any of these things. These are just a few of the items that I am enamored with. As for an actual gift, I’ve always felt that either a well thought out and unexpected purchase or something made specifically for me are the best presents.
That being said, here is my Christmas Wish List 2009. The list reflects a goal that I have set for myself this year: to stop accumulating so MUCH stuff, and instead insist on having many fewer, but much nicer (and in some instances the best) things, things that will persist in both their beauty and functionality for my whole life. Without further ado…
1. Wusthof 9″ IKON Cook’s Knife
I have always felt that Wusthof makes some of, if not the, best knives out there, both in their functionality and their design. These knives, and particularly the IKON series, with their natural, exotic-wood handles, are as much a work of art as they are a fantastic kitchen tool.
2. Trek District
 The new District by Trek is for me the ultimate commuter bike. It is lightweight, single-speed, and with a tech new twist: it replaces the heavy, maintenance-prone chain with a carbon fiber belt, making the bike lighter and easier to care for than a traditional chain-drive. The design is very retro, and I like that too. My only complaints would be that there is no fixed-gear option (or better yet, a flip flop), and that it doesn’t come standard with a Brooks saddle.
3. Grado GS1000
While luck has yet to afford me the chance to demo a pair of these exemplary headphones, they are widely recognized as one of the best available sub-$1000 (just barely!) pairs of audiophile quality headphones. Together with an appropriate headphone amp (more on that later), these cans produce with great fidelity and response a listening experience unlike any short of being at the actual event.
4. Martin D28
The Martin D28, to my ears, produces the brightest, richest acoustic sound of any dreadnought guitar. The warmth and richness of the tone, coupled with the absolutely minimal, elegant design makes this a guitar to die for. I’ve been telling myself for years that one day I will save up and buy myself a D28, but frankly I don’t think I deserve it yet.
5. Herman Miller Embody
Herman Miller chairs, and particularly the Aeron work chair, have long been sought after as some of the most comfortable, adjustable, and ergonomic chairs, particularly for people who have to work at a desk for the majority of the day. With the Embody, Herman Miller has produced a chair specifically designed with day-long computer users in mind. The design is largely biologically inspired, with the backs support taking cues from the human spine, and the covering mimicking human skin. Beautiful, functional chair.
6. Dyson Air Multiplier
I don’t think I particularly WANT the Dyson Air Multiplier as much as I am enamored with it’s technology and the design that results. Ultimately, the Air Multiplier is a desk fan; not the sexiest of wants. However, the novel way in which it works makes it an object worth of my coveting. The sleek, elegant design that results from its technology transforms the mundane office fan into an object of beauty.
7. Canon 5D Mark II
This one is pretty much a gimme. Everyone I know who shoots wants a 5D Mark II. For my money, it is the current pinnacle of digital photography, hands down.
8. Homemade CMoy Headphone Amplifier (NOT in a mint tin)
One’s listening experience with headphones is greatly enhanced with the use of a headphone amp. The CMoy amp design is a cheap, relatively easy design to put together for budding DIY audiophiles. Being DIY, the amp can be enhanced by a careful eye to the design of the enclosure, as in the butcher’s-block-esqe example seen above (or made very ugly by the use of a mint tin as the enclosure). Furthermore, I can tell everyone I have a hand-crafted piece of audio technology, and that just sounds cool.
There you have it. Total cost: around $9350. But I’m worth it. Hugely.
In a recent interview with Google CEO Eric Schmidt rubbed salt in the wound that is Google’s privacy policy with comments that are drawing some serious criticism, notably from Mozilla, a long-time partner of Google’s. Among other things, Schmidt stated with regards to privacy on the Internet, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place,” after which he alluded to the fact that, with the Patriot Act being what it is, nothing you do (particularly on Google) is safe.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Google is not an arm of the American government. Google has no legal responsibility to hold onto the gobs and gobs of personalized user data that they keep. The implication of Schmidt’s comments is that Google, regardless of its potentially deleterious effect on it’s customers rights (either implicit or explicit), will continue to save and exploit personalized data for the benefit of its shareholders; furthermore, if it’s customer’s rights are undermined, it is THEIR fault for doing secret things on the Internet in the first place.
Isn’t that a callous way to treat your customers, especially on a subject as insidious and poorly understood as privacy? Others seem to agree with me; as alluded to above, Mozilla’s director of community development has gone so far as to encourage Firefox users to switch their default search engine to Bing, despite long-term support of the Mozilla project by Google.
Perhaps Google has finally gotten too large to care anymore. Perhaps they should consider changing their corporate motto from “don’t be evil” to “don’t be evil, unless we can profit from it.” It has been a long time coming, and it is a sad day for me, but it would seem that Google has finally matured into the corporation they were destined to become.
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And they ask what you’ll ever use math for (sic). Upon recommendation of a friend of mine, today I saw one of the better examples of math in action on George Hart’s website: a method for cutting a bagel into two distinct, disconnected halves that are interlocked like links in a chain. Topology is beautiful.
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