Swammerdami
Squadron Leader
Is this the right forum for puzzles? (Puzzle design and solving is hobby and craft.) There's a kid's game called "Twenty Questions." What's the best way to play it here? If you do want to play, tell me a good time to be on-line to answer questions.
In the late 1980's I came across a fun idea in the domain of disk storage design for computers. I'll call it "Ben's Method" because Ben was the inventor's name. (Yes, it is Method, not an Apparatus.) I thought "Aha!" when I first heard of the invention and wondered what leading (Socratic?) questions I'd ask to guide a fellow computer buff to the joy of re-invention. To lay some context, I was myself an inventor, with dozens of U.S. patents (not even counting continuations-in-part). Though none of my patents were in the fields of disk storage or file system design, I had considerable experience therewith.
But road led onto road, and zig to zag, and here I am thirty years later, with the Method almost forgotten, wondering if any computer buff wants to enjoy the thrill of invention discovery. I'll post more details if there's interest but briefly: Ben's Method was a clever way to improve effective disk speed while simplifying firmware when used in conjunction with a technique called pre-caching or speculative reads. (You don't need to be a disk expert to grasp the Method — many computer nerds will know enough.)
AFAIK, Ben's method was never implemented, never patented, never published, and is not generally known today. But I still wonder if, after all, the idea does have merit. (If you should apply the idea, please give credit to Ben!)
Anyone want to challenge themselves? Ask a series of yes-no questions that will lead to a rediscovery of Ben's clever invention.
Ask away!
In the late 1980's I came across a fun idea in the domain of disk storage design for computers. I'll call it "Ben's Method" because Ben was the inventor's name. (Yes, it is Method, not an Apparatus.) I thought "Aha!" when I first heard of the invention and wondered what leading (Socratic?) questions I'd ask to guide a fellow computer buff to the joy of re-invention. To lay some context, I was myself an inventor, with dozens of U.S. patents (not even counting continuations-in-part). Though none of my patents were in the fields of disk storage or file system design, I had considerable experience therewith.
But road led onto road, and zig to zag, and here I am thirty years later, with the Method almost forgotten, wondering if any computer buff wants to enjoy the thrill of invention discovery. I'll post more details if there's interest but briefly: Ben's Method was a clever way to improve effective disk speed while simplifying firmware when used in conjunction with a technique called pre-caching or speculative reads. (You don't need to be a disk expert to grasp the Method — many computer nerds will know enough.)
AFAIK, Ben's method was never implemented, never patented, never published, and is not generally known today. But I still wonder if, after all, the idea does have merit. (If you should apply the idea, please give credit to Ben!)
Anyone want to challenge themselves? Ask a series of yes-no questions that will lead to a rediscovery of Ben's clever invention.
Ask away!