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Authored by: darrellb on Thursday, July 19 2012 @ 09:15 PM EDT |
If I dye my white cat's coat black do I have a new cat? Do I have a black
cat?[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: PolR on Thursday, July 19 2012 @ 09:38 PM EDT |
My statement: "Having erasable memory for data storage is
obviously irrelevant for the 'new machine' argument. "
Your answer: "It
depends on how the computer is
programmed"
I must have missed something,
but I see no link between
my statement and your comment.
The link
is there many ways to program a computer. Some of these ways do not involve
issuing new instructions to the CPU. They involve giving data as input to an old
already programmed algorithm. Some of the programming techniques available to
programmers cannot be used with PROM. They require RAM because in these cases
the program must be in data storage.
In this thread of comments you
have now set a
new limitation (i.e., changed from 'all cats are white' to
'my
cat is white'). You now argue that computers with
volatile program storage are
not new devices, and I would
agree if you also specify that the reprogramming
remains
an option for the user.
Sir, you have just agreed with the
argument from the article.
I have clearly explained in this article that
main memory in a stored program computer is volatile and that programs are
stored in this memory. I have clearly explained that programs are erasable and
the computer may be reprogrammed. This is not a new limitation, this is what the
article says.
[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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