Why are people using the word "compute" in a new way, I think as a short hand for "sever resources" all over the place.
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Why are people using the word "compute" in a new way, I think as a short hand for "sever resources" all over the place.
eg. "we will invest in more compute" and "there isn't enough compute for that" etc.
Where did this start? Do we like it?
@futurebird I've worked in companies where servers weren't uniform, some were meant to compute things, others to handle large data sets in RAM, others to store persistent data. The nodes that were mean to compute were called compute nodes, and collectively, compute resources.
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@futurebird I like it. I think it distinguishes from things like storage or network.
@cford @futurebird this. It’s been the word used by cloud platforms to describe resources that do processing for a while now, especially since “serverless” has changed the unit from server to function call, and billing has become compute time.
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F myrmepropagandist shared this topic
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Why are people using the word "compute" in a new way, I think as a short hand for "sever resources" all over the place.
eg. "we will invest in more compute" and "there isn't enough compute for that" etc.
Where did this start? Do we like it?
@futurebird It comes from cloud billing and resource allocation. Your, eg, AWS bill is broken down by 'Compute' and 'Storage' that your deployments have consumed in the previous billing cycle. It's become a popular term of art in the industry since it allows us to attach billing line items to specific departmental budgets.
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Why are people using the word "compute" in a new way, I think as a short hand for "sever resources" all over the place.
eg. "we will invest in more compute" and "there isn't enough compute for that" etc.
Where did this start? Do we like it?
@futurebird I have learned to identify this use of the word with someone being full of shit in a very specific way. It's a useful tell. It is the language of my enemies.
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@futurebird I have learned to identify this use of the word with someone being full of shit in a very specific way. It's a useful tell. It is the language of my enemies.
OK I wouldn't take it that far. But it's a red flag if the person isn't a serious tech expert... I do think some use it as jargon... and others to make it seem like they know jargon.
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@cford @futurebird this. It’s been the word used by cloud platforms to describe resources that do processing for a while now, especially since “serverless” has changed the unit from server to function call, and billing has become compute time.
The contexts I've encountered it have not used it with enough precision to help me to understand this distinction. I think it's being abused by posers.
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Why are people using the word "compute" in a new way, I think as a short hand for "sever resources" all over the place.
eg. "we will invest in more compute" and "there isn't enough compute for that" etc.
Where did this start? Do we like it?
@futurebird we should only use "computer" in the original sense
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Why are people using the word "compute" in a new way, I think as a short hand for "sever resources" all over the place.
eg. "we will invest in more compute" and "there isn't enough compute for that" etc.
Where did this start? Do we like it?
It kind of reminds me of how in math we call N0 "n sub naught"
Why not "n sub zero" ? Nobody knows. It's not like it isn't a zero in the subscript but that is how I learned to call it as a baby grad student. So that is how it is.
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@futurebird we should only use "computer" in the original sense
Compute is People.
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@futurebird @alec Shocking!
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@futurebird @alec Shocking!
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@futurebird It comes from cloud billing and resource allocation. Your, eg, AWS bill is broken down by 'Compute' and 'Storage' that your deployments have consumed in the previous billing cycle. It's become a popular term of art in the industry since it allows us to attach billing line items to specific departmental budgets.
@micahcraig @futurebird
Why does this remind me of the time Google changed the meaning of "domain name" to "everything between the double slash and the first slash"? -
@micahcraig @futurebird
Why does this remind me of the time Google changed the meaning of "domain name" to "everything between the double slash and the first slash"?What was it before that?
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Why are people using the word "compute" in a new way, I think as a short hand for "sever resources" all over the place.
eg. "we will invest in more compute" and "there isn't enough compute for that" etc.
Where did this start? Do we like it?
"Compute" has been used as a modifier for >20 years, with "cluster", "farm", or "cloud" -- to mean a parallel arrangement of computers optimized for CPU speed (and sometimes RAM).
As opposed to clusters optimized for network requests, which was the norm for a long time.
So they dropped the main noun. Probably "cloud" is implied now?
The only sour note for me is that it tends to be associated with LLM/SD AI and crypto mining these days, instead of science, engineering, or animation.
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Why are people using the word "compute" in a new way, I think as a short hand for "sever resources" all over the place.
eg. "we will invest in more compute" and "there isn't enough compute for that" etc.
Where did this start? Do we like it?
@futurebird In computer science terms, we’ll say a particular task is “compute bound” (or CPU bound), “memory bound,” or “I/O bound.” It’s a shorthand way of identifying whatever the limiting factor is.
When AWS brought us into the “infrastructure as a service” (IaaS) era, before long they offered different categories of virtual servers for each type of workload.
“Compute” in the way you describe is somewhat new but only a short hop from how we’ve been talking about IaaS for a while.
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@futurebird we should only use "computer" in the original sense
@th @futurebird that's the compute cluster. Across the hall is the storage cluster - an office of people typing and looking up index cards. The web cluster is in the corners of the ceiling, catching flies.
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Why are people using the word "compute" in a new way, I think as a short hand for "sever resources" all over the place.
eg. "we will invest in more compute" and "there isn't enough compute for that" etc.
Where did this start? Do we like it?
@futurebird
Being trendy. That’s it. -
Why are people using the word "compute" in a new way, I think as a short hand for "sever resources" all over the place.
eg. "we will invest in more compute" and "there isn't enough compute for that" etc.
Where did this start? Do we like it?
Large Model (in the big bubble)
babbling in the back
check that server rack
my baby's really cute
got stacks of that compute
cus's she a Large Model
(Large Model)
Such a Large ModelShe'll hallucinate for you
shares rising to the moon
She's power, she's trouble
baby please don't pop my bubble. -
Large Model (in the big bubble)
babbling in the back
check that server rack
my baby's really cute
got stacks of that compute
cus's she a Large Model
(Large Model)
Such a Large ModelShe'll hallucinate for you
shares rising to the moon
She's power, she's trouble
baby please don't pop my bubble.Follow me for more innovative bars.
-
Large Model (in the big bubble)
babbling in the back
check that server rack
my baby's really cute
got stacks of that compute
cus's she a Large Model
(Large Model)
Such a Large ModelShe'll hallucinate for you
shares rising to the moon
She's power, she's trouble
baby please don't pop my bubble.
